Alarms were raised among the nation’s corn growers following the release of USDA’s January WASDE Report, which projected a 17-billion-bushel corn supply in 2025-2026. The data triggered an immediate market reaction.
If the projections prove accurate, this year’s crop will be the largest on record by far. The surplus supply promises to keep corn prices low as farmers struggle to pay higher input costs.
“We need long-term market solutions, and we need them quickly, or this is going to deepen the economic crisis in the countryside,” said Jed Bower, president of the National Corn Growers Association. “The urgency for Congress and the president to open new markets abroad and expand consumer access to ethanol just increased exponentially.”
Bower also noted that an immediate boost to demand would be the passage of legislation authorizing year-round consumer access to fuels with a 15 percent ethanol blend. He said this solution could use 2.4 billion additional bushels of corn annually.
Source: NAFB News Service