US corn supplies tighten on smaller crop forecast

The US Department of Agriculture's September World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report indicates a tightening of corn supplies due to a reduced crop forecast for 2026. The USDA cut its estimate for the U.S. corn crop by 213 million bushels, bringing the total production down to 15.8 billion bushels. This reduction is primarily attributed to a decrease in the national yield estimate to 178.5 bushels per acre, alongside a slight reduction in harvested acreage to 88.5 million acres. Despite the smaller anticipated harvest, the USDA maintained its export forecast at 3.3 billion bushels, suggesting continued strong global demand for U.S. corn. Consequently, projected ending stocks have fallen to approximately 1.6 billion bushels, an 86 million bushel decrease from August. Reflecting the tighter balance sheet, the USDA increased its projected season-average corn price by 30 cents to $4.80 per bushel. U.S. feed grains ending stocks for the 2026/27 marketing year were also lowered to 42 million metric tons, largely due to increased usage expectations.