The American agricultural market, a colossal engine of the U.S. economy, is largely defined by two crops: corn and soybeans. These commodities don’t just feed the nation’s livestock and fuel its ethanol industry; they form the bedrock of the country’s export strength and represent a massive, interconnected value chain facing both record production and complex global trade headwinds.
The Staggering Scale of Production
The scale of corn and soybean production in the U.S. is truly immense. Together, the cash receipts from these two crops accounted for roughly 45% of all U.S. crop cash receipts in 2024, representing an estimated $110.2 billion in revenue for that year.
• Corn: The U.S. is the world’s largest producer and exporter of corn. Recent years have seen harvests exceeding 15 billion bushels from over 86 million harvested acres, with record yields demonstrating continuous advancements in seed genetics and precision farming. The corn industry alone generated an estimated $123 billion in total economic output in 2024.
• Soybeans: The U.S. is a top-two global producer and exporter of soybeans, often harvesting over 4 billion bushels from around 80-87 million acres. The soybean value chain contributed more than $124 billion in total economic output in 2023.
These two crops are often grown in rotation, dominating the landscape of the Midwest, with states like Iowa and Illinois leading national acreage and production volume.
Despite the record output, the market faces significant challenges driven by the classic forces of supply and demand:
The massive market size of corn and soybeans extends far beyond the farm gate, supporting vast domestic industries:
In short, the U.S. corn and soybean market is a multi-billion dollar economic driver characterized by its sheer volume, high levels of technological efficiency, and deep integration into global trade and domestic industry
