Soybean State Rankings: What USDA NASS Data Reveals About U.S. Oilseed Production

Soybeans are the second-largest U.S. row crop by planted acreage and consistently the most-exported U.S. agricultural commodity by dollar value. In most recent years, U.S. farmers planted between 85 and 90 million soybean acres and harvested between 4 and 5 billion bushels. The USDA NASS state-by-state ranking provides the clearest view of where soybean acres are concentrated and which states drive U.S. export competitiveness against Brazil and Argentina.

The geographic pattern resembles corn but is not identical. Illinois and Iowa lead in most years, with each typically producing between 500 and 650 million bushels. Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Nebraska, Missouri, and the Dakotas round out the top ten. The southern soybean belt — Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee — adds another meaningful share, particularly in years when soybean prices favor late-season planting after wheat. The geographic spread is wider than corn because soybeans tolerate a broader climate range and shorter growing seasons.

Export orientation is the defining feature of U.S. soybean agriculture. In a typical year, the U.S. exports roughly 50 to 60 percent of the soybean crop, with China taking the largest single share. The 2018 to 2019 trade dispute, which saw China shift soybean purchases toward Brazil, caused a measurable disruption in U.S. soybean cash receipts that took multiple years to recover. The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service publishes weekly export sales reports that, read alongside the NASS production data, tell the demand-side story.

Soybean yield has improved more slowly than corn yield. Average U.S. soybean yield has risen from around 25 bushels per acre in the mid-1970s to around 50 bushels per acre in the early 2020s — roughly a doubling over five decades but slower in percentage terms than corn. The slower yield growth reflects soybean's biological constraints: soybeans fix their own nitrogen from atmospheric N2 via root nodule bacteria, which limits how much yield can be pushed via fertilizer applications. Soybean yield improvement has come mostly from seed genetics (modern varieties resist more diseases and pests) and from improved planting and harvesting timing.

The Brazil comparison is the dominant strategic concern in U.S. soybean production. Brazil overtook the U.S. as the world's largest soybean producer in the 2020s. Brazilian soybean acres have been expanding rapidly, particularly in the Cerrado region where formerly low-productivity pasture has been converted to row-crop agriculture. The competitive question for U.S. producers is whether they can maintain export competitiveness via yield improvement and shipping infrastructure (Mississippi River barge to Gulf export terminals) against Brazil's larger and growing acreage base.

Reading the NASS data alongside the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Production, Supply, and Distribution data is the right approach for anyone tracking the U.S.-Brazil competitive dynamic. Three figures matter most: U.S. harvested acres, U.S. yield trend, and Chinese soybean import volume. When all three move favorably for the U.S. in the same year, the soybean state rankings stay healthy. When any one moves the wrong direction, U.S. soybean cash receipts feel it.

Caveats: soybean export figures lag the trade flow by 30 to 60 days; the marketing year for soybeans runs September to August, not January to December; and double-cropped soybean acres (planted after winter wheat is harvested) are sometimes reported in different NASS files than first-crop soybean acres, which can confuse year-over-year comparisons in southern states.

Source: USDA NASS Quick Stats, 2026.