Virginia crop production boomed in 2021, though few commodities fared better than the state’s record-breaking soybean harvest.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service annual crop production report, Virginia soybean growers harvested an estimated 27.1 million bushels in 2021, up 15 percent from 2020. Harvested acreage also increased by 30,000 acres to 590,000 acres.

The resulting yield of 46 bushels per acre was up four bushels from 2020, and eclipsed the state record of 44 bushels per acre, which was set in 2017.

A seed salesman by trade, Virginia Soybean Association president Tyler Franklin said his job allowed him to visit fields across the state and see firsthand the progress of last year’s crop unfold.

He noted that, despite severe drought conditions delaying some plantings and hampering most of Virginia throughout the growing season, soybean production never waned, and generated unexpected results.

“Soybean yields ...