Agriculture expert Chad Hart explains how this year is approaching record corn yields.

Ames

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is projecting a record corn harvest in several states, citing favorable weather conditions and technological improvements in farming practices. Early in the season, some regions experienced excessive moisture and flooding, which delayed planting but ultimately supported strong crop growth. Advances in drought-tolerant seeds and farm machinery have also contributed to increased yields.

Despite the high production, corn prices have fallen significantly compared to previous years, leading to reduced farm incomes. The U.S. remains the world's largest producer and exporter of corn, with states like Iowa and Illinois ranking among the top global producers if considered individually.

USDA expects strong corn harvest

A lot to cover this year as we continue to get through, in my mind, August-September big harvest months. Yeah, and one of the most important crops in the United States, corn. And this year's harvest could be record-breaking in many states. That's according to the USDA. For a look at how weather extremes have shaped this year's corn crop, joining us is Iowa State University Extension Economist Chad Hart. Good morning, Chad. Good morning. Well, we first want to know beyond corn on the cob, why is corn so important for the U.S. economy? Corn is the largest crop that we grow across the U.S., and I like to describe it as it's a very versatile crop. It can be a food crop, a feed crop for our livestock industry, fuel, ethanol, but we also use it for fiber. So there are many ways we can use corn. It makes it very flexible, very versatile, and that's why it tends to be the one that's grown the most here within the U.S. And just for those that don't know, the United States, Chad, is by and large the biggest corn producer. I thought I was reading a state that Illinois and Iowa, if they were their own countries, they'd be, what, in the top five for corn production in the world? They would be up there in the top five. The U.S. produces about one-third of the world's corn, so we are by far the largest producer of corn in the world. We are also the largest exporter of corn, so we sell a lot of our corn to the rest of the world. All right, let's get to the weather specifics. Early in the season, what weather challenges did corn farmers face in 2025, and how did this impact the crop? Well, in this case, for 2025, we saw a reversal of fortunes. For the past several years, corn farmers have been dealing with too little moisture, especially as the drought continued to move around the country. Here in 2025, we were seeing, in some places, an overabundance of moisture. Early in the season, especially if you look at the Ohio River Valley, we saw that flooding there during April and May. That delayed corn planting, but given that rain tends to make grain, we saw the crop set up very well across most of the country. It grew very quickly. In fact, the conditions for corn growth were ideal almost as we moved into June, into early July, and so we saw the national corn crop accelerate in the pollination, which created its own little issues as well, because you don't want the corn to grow too quickly. That can create problems with pollination, and then as we've sort of wrapped up the season here, we've seen those wet conditions continue, and that's leading to some disease concerns as we approach harvest, but as you mentioned in the intro here, overall, it's been an incredible crop year, and the USDA is projecting a record corn crop. What other things beyond weather help farmers and practices to drive corn production? Because we know there's a lot of change in technology now. There definitely is. Not only when we think of the technology of, say, the tractors, the combines that they use on the farm, but when you think about the seed that we're planting there, that we have worked very hard to either through plant breeding or through genetic commodification to improve the corn plant to help us grow more and more, and one of the biggest things that's changed over the past, say, 20-30 years has been our ability to build in more drought tolerance to a lot of the crops we grow here in the U.S. That is what has helped us produce a lot of corn over the past few years when we were drier, yet we've still maintained those high-end yields for years like this when we do have ample moisture. With all this going through and through, how does the price of corn fluctuate? Because from what I've heard, and I could be wrong about this, it doesn't really change much through the decades. It is more stable than, I'd say, a lot of consumer goods, you know, when it comes to its price, but it does have a fair amount of fluctuation. If we compare prices today versus where we were at, say, two or three years ago, we're down 40 to 50 percent, so we do see some sizable swings here. Right now, the pressure of a record-producing crop this year has pushed prices lower. It is lowering farm incomes right now because while the yields are high, prices tend to move more than yields do, and so that tends to bring farmer income down. Chad Hearth, an economist, rather, with the Iowa State University Extension, thanks so much for joining us on AccuWeather Early. Always great to get the insight there and the lowdown on that export.

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