Favorable weather and record yields in soybeans and corn powered Alabama's farms to an almost $100 million increase in value in 2017.

According to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Alabama bucked a national trend which saw a slight decrease. Alabama's crop values were up 11 percent over 2016.

Carla Hornady of the Alabama Farmers Federation said farmers needed higher yields to offset higher prices in seed, fertilizer, equipment and labor. Hornady is director for the Soybean, Cotton and Wheat & Feed Grain division of the federation.

Where were the increases? Soybean production was up 21 percent in 2017, with a record-high yield of 46 bushels an acre. There was also a record high yield in corn, with 167 bushels per acre for 39 million bushels statewide.

Alabama farmers produced 810,000 bales of cotton, up 15 percent over the previous year. They also harvested 704 million pounds of peanuts, a 14 percent increase.

Hay values were up by nearly $21 million over 2016.