Indiana corn acres, energy inputs, fertilizer inputs down, but yields continue to rise in refutation of indirect land use change projections

In Indiana, Hoosier Ag Today ran a feature on indirect land use change, finding that corn planting had decreased from 6.5 million acres in 2007 to 5.6 million acres in 2008 and 2009, in response to higher corn prices.

Indiana Corn Marketing Council president Mike Shuter said that Indiana farmers, as a rule, plant corn and soybeans in a two-year rotation, and that production does not change because of changes in acreage, but changes in yield. Indiana producers are planting the same acreage as planted in 1999, but have increased corn production by 150 million bushels due to yield increases, or 30 bushels more per acre.

The Corn Marketing Council also said that 27 percent of corn acres were planted using a no-till system, up from 7 percent in 1990. The Council also said that there has been a 40 percent decrease in nitrogen, 45 percent decrease in phosphorus and 50 percent decrease in potash inputs since 1980, and a 37 percent decrease in energy inputs.

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