US corn production to decline by 6% in MY 2026/27

The latest USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report confirms a 6% decline in US corn production in the 2026/27 season, signaling a tightening global supply balance and a more volatile pricing environment for the animal feed industry.

The era of record US corn harvests appears to be coming to an end in 2026. According to the latest USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, published on May 12, 2026, US corn production in the MY 2026/27 is forecast at 16 billion bushels. This is significantly below the historical highs of 2025 and is primarily due to a 3.5 million-acre reduction in planted area.

US farmers are shifting to more profitable crop rotations with soybeans amid rising production costs and geopolitical uncertainty.

For the global feed industry, the supply reduction, and even the projected 18% decline in corn ending stocks, mark a transition from a period of oversupply to a more tight market. While yields remain highly weather-dependent, the revised feed and residual consumption forecasts reflect cautious expectations from the livestock sector as it adjusts to the increasing energy content of feed formulations.

The USDA estimates that global corn consumption will exceed production by almost 20 million tonnes. In this context, feed market participants expect a further transformation of global trade flows, with US corn playing an increasingly important role in offsetting the supply losses from the US.

Tags: corn, USA, crop forecast