The April Feed Outlook report shows global coarse grains production is raised for 2025-26. The foreign 2025-26 coarse grains supply forecast is raised slightly this month, driven primarily by an increased production forecast, with slight increases to beginning stocks and imports. The largest month-to-month production increase is for corn, particularly from India. The increase in India (combined with more modest increases in South Africa, Indonesia, Russia and Taiwan) more than offset month-to-month decreases in corn production for Uruguay, the European Union, the Philippines and Thailand. Foreign domestic consumption is also increased month to month, particularly domestic feed consumption. The largest month-to-month consumption increase is for corn feed and residual consumption for India. Increased domestic consumption combines with an increase in forecast 2025-26 global coarse grains exports to partially offset the supply increase. On net, forecast 2025-26 global coarse grains ending stocks are revised up compared to last month.
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its quarterly Grain Stocks report on March 31, 2026. As of March 1, 2026, U.S. corn stocks stood at 9,024 million bushels, with the bulk (60%) held on-farm. The total March 1 stocks (corresponding to stocks at the end of the second quarter of the marketing year) for 2025-26 are the highest on record, exceeding the previous high – seen in 2017-18 – by about 1%. The Grain Stocks report also included a 23-million-bushel upward revision to marketing year first-quarter 2025-26 stocks (as of Dec.1, 2025). As a result, first-quarter 2025-26 disappearance is revised down 23 million bushels to 5,272 million bushels. Despite the record March 1 stocks, indicated disappearance for second-quarter (December-February) also set a new high (for the quarter) of 4,288 million bushels, surpassing the 4,016 million bushels in second-quarter 2020-21. Forecast corn ending stocks for the 2025-26 marketing year are unchanged this month at 2,127 million bushels, which would be the largest ending stocks since 2018-19 (2,237 million bushels).
Strong second-quarter disappearance was supported by continued strong corn exports in the second quarter of 808 million bushels, 16% above the same quarter last year. Forecast 2025-26 corn exports are unchanged this month at 3,300 million bushels, a record high and 15% above 2024-25. Strong second-quarter disappearance, meanwhile, supports the forecast record-high feed and residual use for 2025-26, which is unchanged this month at 6,200 million bushels. The projected 2025-26 season-average farm price received by corn farmers is raised 5 cents this month to $4.15 per bushel.
This change is made on the basis of strengthening cash prices in key U.S. corn-producing states. For instance, during March, according to USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) reports, monthly average corn prices rose by 19 cents per bushel in Iowa, by 21 cents per bushel in Illinois and by 19 cents per bushel in Nebraska. At the same time, the monthly average futures-corn prices for Chicago Board of Trade May 2026 and July 2026 corn contracts increased by 19 cents and 22 cents per bushel, respectively.
Find additional information on the USDA Feed Outlook report from April.
