Karmactive Staff
American farmers will grow the biggest corn crop ever seen in the US this year, according to the latest USDA report. The September forecast shows corn production hitting 16.814 billion bushels, breaking the previous record by nearly 1.5 billion bushels.
Farmers will harvest corn from about 90 million acres, the most since 1933. They planted 98.7 million acres, the highest since 1936. This large increase in farming area shows just how much corn growing has expanded across the country.
The USDA slightly lowered its yield forecast to 186.7 bushels per acre from the August prediction of 188.8. But this small drop doesn’t matter much because farmers are growing corn on so many more acres. Even with this reduction, yields are still close to all-time highs.
“It didn’t matter that USDA reduced the corn yield, because of the amount of corn acreage they found,” said Susan Stroud, founder and analyst at No Bull Agriculture.
This huge harvest will increase US corn supplies by 59% to the highest level in seven years. By the end of the 2025/26 season, leftover corn stocks should reach 2.11 billion bushels. That’s slightly less than predicted last month but still the highest since the 2018/19 season.
US corn exports are also set to break records, jumping by 100 million bushels to reach 3 billion bushels. The USDA credits this to “US export competitiveness and robust early-season demand.”
The price farmers will get for their corn stays unchanged at $3.90 per bushel.
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This corn boom creates winners and losers in farming. Livestock farmers will pay less for animal feed. Ethanol plants will enjoy cheaper raw materials for fuel production. But grain farmers face tough times ahead. Their bumper crop will likely keep corn prices low while their costs to grow it remain high.
When adjusted for inflation, cash earnings from crops are expected to fall to their lowest point since 2007. This puts financial pressure on farmers across America’s corn belt.
For soybeans, the USDA slightly raised its production estimate to 4.301 billion bushels, up from August’s 4.292 billion. This small increase comes from more harvested acres. The yield forecast dropped slightly to 53.5 bushels per acre from 53.6 in August.
Unlike corn, soybean exports were cut by 20 million bushels. This reduction comes from increased competition from Russia, Canada, and Argentina. Leftover soybean stocks are now expected to reach 300 million bushels, up 10 million from last month’s report. The average soybean price fell by 10 cents to $10.00 per bushel.
Corn futures prices on the Chicago Board of Trade barely moved after the report came out. Traders seem to be waiting to see if the USDA might lower its forecasts in future reports. Some analysts note that plant diseases and dry weather late in the growing season might have hurt yields in some areas.
The next WASDE report will come out on October 9. It may provide a clearer picture of this historic corn crop as agriculture communities across the country bring in their harvest.
