'crop-producing' originates from Modern English, specifically the words 'crop' and 'produce' (used in the present participle form 'producing'), where 'crop' ultimately came from Old English 'cropp' meaning 'a shoot, top, or mass (of produce)' and 'produce' comes from Latin 'producere' (via Old French 'produire') where 'pro-' meant 'forward' and 'ducere' meant 'to lead'.

'crop' changed from Old English 'cropp' into Middle English 'crop' with the sense of 'harvest' or 'yield', while 'produce' passed from Latin 'producere' to Old French 'produire' and into Middle English as 'produce'; the compound adjective 'crop-producing' formed in Modern English by combining these elements to describe land or regions that yield crops.

Initially, 'crop' primarily referred to a 'sprout, top, or mass' and 'produce' originally meant 'to lead forth' or 'bring forth'; over time the combined sense became the specific modern meaning 'yielding agricultural produce' as in 'crop-producing'.