"To see where corn production can go, it is helpful to see how far it has come. In 1945, U.S. farmers harvested about 40 bushels of grain per acre. Today, thanks to elite hybrids, new technologies and growers' management practices, the U.S. average is 160 bushels per acre. Many growers consistently produce 250 bushels, up to a record of 400-plus bushels."
[Link: DesMoinesRegister.com]
It is interesting that nowhere in this article did the author discuss net-energy or try to estimate how much of the increased yields that he does mention are derived from the application of petroleum derived (natural gas) nitrogen fertilizers. I am not an expert on crop yields, I probably couldn't even be considered a knowledgeable layman, but I am pretty sure that a lot of the reason we are continually pulling really high yields from the same land is because we are able to artificially ignore soil replenishment and pest resistance by using hydrocarbon based fertilizers and insecticides. I suspect, as misleading as it is, that these dependencies are hidden in his phrase "management practices." We are going to have to do much more than add technology to our farming practices to increase yields. We are also going to have to find a way to replace the petrochemical fertilizers and insecticides that we rely on now. It would be very interesting to hear about the yields without any petrochemical help.
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