Mo. corn and soybean production up in 2013

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri farmers appear to have grown more corn and soybeans last year than in 2012.

Figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show Missouri farmers produced an estimated 435 million bushels of corn last year, up 76 percent from 2012. Soybean production rose 25 percent to an estimated 197 million bushels.

The amount of Missouri farmland devoted to corn was down in 2013, but the estimated average yield was 136 bushels per acre -- more than twice the 61 bushels in 2012. Land devoted to soybeans increased by 4 percent and yields were 35.5 bushels per acre, up 5.5 bushels from the previous year.