National Corn Growers Association Chief Economist Krista Swanson is calling the yield and acreage numbers in the USDA report unprecedented. “USDA, which was already projecting a 181 bushel per acre yield, went to 188.8 bushels per acre,” said Swanson. “Just for a little bit of perspective on how significant that is, that is nine and a half bushels per acre above the previous record of 179.3 set in 2024.” USDA also increased planted acres to 97.3 million, the largest since 1937. While demand forecasts rose, Swanson says it is not enough to match the surge in production. “Even though they raised demand across all major usage segments by 545 million bushels, that barely accounts for half of the over 1 billion bushel increase on the production side,” she said. The market year average price is projected at $3.90 per bushel, the lowest since 2019.
