US corn crop sees high yield, good quality

Favorable growing conditions resulted in the highest projected average yield on record and good grain quality for the 2024-25 US corn harvest, according to the US Grains Council’s (USGC) Corn Harvest Quality Report, its 14th annual survey.

The 2024 growing season was characterized by quick emergence, warm conditions during the growing season, ample moisture and milder temperatures during pollination and warm, dry conditions during dry-down and harvest, the USGC said.

The 2024 US corn crop is expected to be the third largest on record with the highest 100-kernel weight in the history of the report. The crop also is projected to have lower broken corn and foreign material (BCFM), total damage and moisture than in the last five years.

“The Council takes pride in producing this annual report that proves the quality and abundance of US corn year over year,” said Verity Ulibarri, USGC chairwoman. “Because the US is dedicated to transparency and sharing it with potential buyers, it helps them make informed decisions and aligns with the Council’s mission of developing markets, enabling trade and improving lives. The information contained in the report provides the foundation for evaluating trends and the factors that impact corn quality. The cumulative reports also enable export buyers to make year-to-year comparisons and assess patterns of corn quality based on crop growing conditions across the years.”

The 2024 crop, on average, is entering the market channel with characteristics that met or exceeded each grade factor’s numerical requirements for US No. 1 grade corn. The report also showed that 89.2% of the samples met all grade factor requirements for US No. 1 grade, and 96.2% met the grade factor requirements for US No. 2 grade corn.

Test weight of 58.9 pounds per bushel or 75.8 kilograms per hectoliter, achieved the highest value observed in the history of the report. Average US aggregate BCFM in 2024 (0.6%) and average US aggregate total damage (1.1%) were both lower than the five-year average.

The report is based on 620 yellow corn samples taken from defined areas within 12 of the top corn-producing and exporting states. Inbound samples were collected from local grain elevators to measure and analyze quality at the point of origin and provide representative information about the variability of the quality characteristics across the diverse geographic regions.

The Council will present its findings to buyers around the world in a series of roll-out events through the first quarter of 2025.

Tags: corn, USA, yield, crop forecast