Row Crops Today — May 27, 2026
The 5-minute 5 AM brief for row crop producers and ag professionals
Headline Stack
🌽 NCGA: $917/acre corn cost vs. $4.10/bu price puts growers on pace to lose $100/acre
📊 USDA: 86% of U.S. corn and 79% of soybeans planted, both ahead of average
🌧️ Ohio at 52% corn planted as wet weather pushes acres toward soybean switch
📋 House passes H.R. 1346 for year-round E15; Senate path uncertain
💰 Missouri economist warns dry pockets could open wide summer corn trading range
Top Story
🌽 NCGA: $917/acre corn cost vs. $4.10/bu price puts growers on pace to lose $100/acre. — LINK
USDA projects the baseline cost to grow a single acre of corn will average $917 in 2026, while the market-year average price is hovering near $4.10 per bushel — a 37% collapse from values seen four years ago. The National Corn Growers Association says the average grower is on pace to lose up to $100 per acre on this year's crop without a market correction. Fertilizer alone accounts for roughly one-third of total operating costs, with prices still inflated by industry consolidation and import duties. "The emotion is pretty raw. Some of these farmers who haven't really paid attention to inputs or were hoping that things went down, as those bills come in and the fertilizer prices are a reality, I think that's gonna hit home even harder," said Matt Frostic, NCGA First Vice President and a Michigan corn farmer leading a national task force on input cost solutions. Core expenses have plateaued at record-high levels since 2022, even as global supply hits record levels and weighs on corn futures.
More This Week
📊 USDA: 86% of corn and 79% of soybeans planted nationwide. — LINK
USDA's crop progress report shows U.S. corn at 86% planted as of Sunday, ahead of the 83% five-year average, with 60% emerged — up from 39% the previous week. Soybeans are 79% planted versus the 68% average, with 49% emerged.
"The sorghum crop is 36% planted which is just below the five-year average of 37%," USDA reported in the weekly crop progress and condition release.
Pasture and range conditions are rated 29% good to excellent, up from 28% last week but down from 41% a year ago; weekly crop progress reports run through the end of November.
🌧️ Ohio corn at 52% planted as wet weather threatens final acres. — LINK
Ohio corn is 52% planted and 27% emerged, with topsoil moisture at 88% adequate-to-surplus and subsoil at 78% adequate-to-surplus, according to USDA's latest crop progress report.
"We've got all the beans in, and we've got about half the corn in. If we get more rain this week, those acres will probably get switched to bean acres, since it's so close to the insurance cutoff," said Justin Gravatt, a Union County, Ohio corn, soybean, and wheat farmer.
Ohio soybeans are 46% planted and 24% emerged; winter wheat is 88% headed and rated 68% good to excellent.
📋 House passes year-round E15 bill; Senate path uncertain. — LINK
The U.S. House passed H.R. 1346 to authorize year-round nationwide sales of E15 ethanol, sending the measure to the Senate where it faces a 60-vote cloture threshold after the Memorial Day recess.
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Shelley Moore Capito expressed doubt the bill can clear 60 votes in its current form, leaving a key corn-demand driver unresolved.
E15 contains 15% ethanol versus the standard 10% blend; current federal rules restrict summertime sales of E15 in much of the country absent annual EPA waivers.
💰 Missouri economist: dry pockets could widen summer corn trading range. — LINK
University of Missouri Extension economist Ben Brown flags pockets of dryness in the western Corn Belt and the southeastern U.S., with parts of North Carolina and Georgia needing corn for feed.
"The heart of the Corn Belt right now is relatively well off compared to everybody else. The southeast, you know, there's part of the corn in North Carolina and Georgia that need corn for feed," said Ben Brown, University of Missouri Extension economist.
Brown told Brownfield that some farmers are making new-crop sales but the activity is "not widespread," with below-trend yields capable of triggering a summer price rally.
Basis Watch
Missouri North Central corn basis firmed 10 cents on Tuesday, the day's largest old-crop corn move. Missouri Central improved 5 cents on the low end, while Missouri Northeast broke 5 cents in the opposite direction. Iowa Northwest narrowed 6 cents on the top of its range. The pattern fit the spring clearout window, with old-crop corn basis improving across most of the Corn Belt while new-crop corn softened — Colorado North Central new-crop weakened 5 cents on the high end.
On the soybean side, South Dakota East Central and South Dakota Southeast each broke 10 cents on the top of their ranges. Minnesota South firmed 10 cents on the low end, and Missouri Northeast strengthened 9 cents.
Source: USDA AMS
$917 — USDA's estimated baseline cost to grow one acre of corn in 2026, against a projected market-year average price of $4.10 per bushel.
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