According to the U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council’s (USGBC’s) 2025/2026 Corn Harvest Quality Report, the 15th such annual survey published globally this week, the 2025 U.S. corn crop is projected to be the largest on record, coming in a 425.53 million metric tons (16,752 bushels). The crop is also highlighted by the lowest rate of broken corn and foreign material (BCFM) in the report’s history, a remarkable accomplishment for the entire U.S. corn value chain.
Generally favorable growing season conditions contributed to the highest projected average yield on record, 11.67 metric tons per hectare (186 bushels per acre), and promoted good grain quality.
The 2025 growing season was marked by warm, dry conditions after planting, wetter conditions during pollination and progressively cooler and drier weather during early grain-fill.
This year’s crop, on average, is entering the market channel with characteristics that met or exceeded each grade factor’s numerical requirements for U.S. No. 1 grade corn. The report showed 87.1 percent of the samples met all grade factor requirements for U.S. No. 1 grade, and 97.8 percent met the grade factor requirements for U.S. No. 2 grade corn.
“The Council’s annual quality reports are held in high esteem in the international agricultural sector, and it’s used by purchasers and end-users around the world to identify the best options for their operations,” said Mark Wilson, USGBC chairman.
“U.S. farmers will account for an estimated 38.4 percent of global corn exports this marketing year, showing the outstanding production practices of U.S. growers and the strong reputation U.S. corn has with global customer bases.”
The report is based on 621 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.
Average U.S. aggregate BCFM in 2025 (0.3%) was half the level of 2024 and the lowest in the 15-year history of the quality report. This year’s corn protein concentration registered at 8.4 percent.
The chemical composition of the crop remained in a healthy range, as 100 percent of the samples tested below the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) action level for both aflatoxins.
The Council will present its findings to buyers in a series of roll-out events throughout the first quarter of 2026, including customers in Japan, Latin America, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Asia, South Korea and Taiwan, offering participants clear expectations regarding the quality of corn for this marketing year. During these initiatives, crop quality information is accompanied by updates on U.S. corn grading and handling, that provides importers and end-users with a better understanding of how U.S. corn is moved and controlled through export channels.
Read the full 2025/2026 Corn Harvest Quality Report and stay up to date on its associated rollout events on the Council’s website. A second Council-produced study, the 2025/2026 Corn Export Cargo Quality Report, will measure corn quality at export terminals at the point of loading and will be available in early 2026.
