The USDA projects the national corn yield for the 2026/27 season at 180.7 bushels an acre, down from 183 bushels an acre projected in July’s report. That’s a much larger cut than the one expected by analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal, who forecast an average yield of 182.5 bushels an acre.\n\nMost-active corn futures on the CBOT jumped after the WASDE’s release, up 2.9% to $4.74 a bushel. The market reacted positively to the yield cut, but the USDA also increased the amount of corn acres expected to be harvested this year to 88.6 million acres.

That adjustment led to higher production expectations, up 13 million bushels from last month, to 16.013 billion bushels. The USDA continues to expect “the second largest U.S. corn harvest on record.”\n\nMeanwhile, the USDA confirmed total U.S. wheat production remains at its lowest in more than 50 years, forecasting an output of 1.53 billion bushels this year on a yield of 47.8 bushels an acre. That is down 5 million bushels from last month and remains the smallest wheat crop grown in the U.S. since 1970.

Following the report release, most-active wheat futures pared gains, now up 2.9% to $6.49 a bushel.