Agri Commodity Prices: Charts, USDA Outlook and Drivers

Agri commodity prices for US corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton were higher in 2026 than in 2025. In its October 9, 2026 WASDE report, USDA forecast the 2026/27 season-average farm price at $4.70 a bushel for corn, $12.00 for soybeans and $6.30 for wheat, up 13%, 14% and 25% on 2025/26. Cattle stayed high, while hog and milk prices fell.

This page puts the latest dated prices for corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, cattle, hogs and milk in one place. Each number names its source and its basis: a USDA forecast, an average price farmers received, a cash bid at the elevator, a futures settlement or a world export quote. Then it explains what drives ag commodity prices and how farmers use them, with a break-even price calculator you can fill in with your own costs.

The prices here are not live. They were checked on 16 October 2026 and will move every trading day. This is general market information, not financial or trading advice.

Agri commodity prices at a glance

The table compares three kinds of US price for the main farm products. “Received” is the average price US farmers were paid in August 2026, from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The two forecast columns are USDA marketing-year averages from the October WASDE. For livestock, the forecasts are calendar-year averages.

Sources: NASS Agricultural Prices, released 29 September 2026, and the USDA WASDE report of 9 October 2026. The hog forecast is for barrows and gilts on a live-weight basis, so it is not the same series as the NASS all-hogs price. Hay averaged $190 a ton in August 2026, up $29 on a year earlier (NASS).

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USDA crop price forecast: 2026/27 vs 2025/26

% change in USDA’s season-average farm price, 2026/27 forecast vs 2025/26 estimate

How we checked the numbers

Commodity prices come in several forms, and mixing them is the most common mistake in price articles. We kept each one separate and labelled it:

• Prices received (NASS): the average price farmers were paid in a month, across all sales in the US.
• Season-average farm price (WASDE): USDA’s forecast of the average farm price over a whole marketing year, for example September 2026 to August 2027 for corn.
• Cash bids (USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, AMS): what local elevators offered to pay on a given day. These are bids, not completed sales.
• Negotiated cash cattle (AMS): weighted averages of actual feedlot sales, so these are transaction prices.
• World prices (World Bank Pink Sheet): export quotes at ports such as the US Gulf, in dollars per metric ton.
• Index values (FAO): a measure of change in world food prices, not a price you can sell at.

Every figure carries its date. Old forecasts from earlier versions of this page, which had no named source, were taken out.

Grain and oilseed prices: corn, soybeans and wheat

Farm prices for the three big US field crops were higher in August 2026 than a year before. NASS put the average corn price at $4.45 a bushel, up 49 cents on August 2025. Soybeans averaged $12.10, up $2.10. Wheat averaged $6.23, up $1.39. NASS also reported that its grain and oilseed price index was 15% above August 2025.

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Prices US farmers received: a year apart

$ per bushel, US average price received in August

Corn

USDA expects a large US corn crop. In the October WASDE, production rose by 234 million bushels to 16.0 billion bushels on a yield of 181.2 bushels an acre. Total use is forecast at 16.3 billion bushels and exports at 3.3 billion. Ending stocks rise to 1.8 billion bushels. With more corn on hand, USDA cut its 2026/27 season-average price by 10 cents to $4.70 a bushel. That is still above the $4.16 estimate for 2025/26.

Outside the US, USDA lowered its corn forecasts in October, mainly for the EU and Mexico, and says the French crop is forecast 38% below the year before.

Soybeans

The US soybean crop is forecast at 4.56 billion bushels, with a yield of 53.1 bushels an acre. Ending stocks are forecast at 315 million bushels. USDA left its 2026/27 soybean price at $12.00 a bushel, with soybean meal at $340 a short ton and soybean oil at 70 cents a pound. Soybean oil averaged 64.08 cents in 2025/26.

South America sets much of the world soybean price. In the same report, USDA forecast Brazil’s 2026/27 soybean exports at 118.0 million metric tons, against 46.1 million for the US. A good or poor Brazilian crop moves soybean prices for US, Canadian and other growers.

Wheat

Wheat is the stand-out. NASS estimated the 2026 US wheat crop at 1,534 million bushels, which USDA says is the smallest since 1970. Exports are forecast at 750 million bushels, cut by 25 million because hard red winter wheat is priced well above last year and is losing export sales. Ending stocks of 740 million bushels are 20% below last year. USDA’s 2026/27 season-average price is $6.30 a bushel, 10 cents below USDA’s September forecast but well above the $5.06 of 2025/26.

World wheat prices rose too. The FAO Food Price Index release of 2 October 2026 said world wheat prices rose 6.3% in September to their highest level since August 2023. FAO linked this to shipping problems in the Black Sea region and dry weather in parts of North America before winter wheat planting.

▶ Our short look at UK and European wheat and rapeseed prices in 2024 and the weather and economic forces behind them. · 1:46

Cotton, rice and other crop prices

Cotton prices recovered from a weak 2025/26. USDA raised its US cotton crop forecast by 2% to 13.44 million bales in October, on a yield of 790 pounds an acre, with bigger crops in the Delta states. Ending stocks rise to 3.80 million bales, a stocks-to-use ratio of 27.5%. The 2026/27 upland cotton price is forecast at 77 cents a pound, against 62.2 cents in 2025/26. In August 2026, farmers received 66.7 cents a pound, 9.6 cents more than a year earlier (NASS).

Rice goes the other way on supply. USDA cut US rice production to 157.7 million hundredweight on lower yields, and ending stocks are forecast 32% below last year. The all-rice season-average price is $15.20 per cwt, with long-grain at $14.00. In August, farmers received $12.80 per cwt for rice, $1.30 less than a year earlier.

Hay is a cost for livestock farms and income for hay growers. NASS reported an all-hay price of $190 a ton in August 2026, $29 above August 2025.

Cattle, hog and milk prices

Fed cattle prices are high but have eased since spring. USDA’s WASDE table shows 5-area direct steer prices averaging $255.76 per cwt in April to June 2026 and $230.82 in July to September. USDA forecasts $225 for the last quarter and $237.56 for 2026 as a whole, against $224.37 in 2025. Its 2027 forecast is $238, unchanged from September.

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Fed steer prices by quarter

$ per cwt, 5-area direct steers, all grades; Q4 2026 to Q3 2027 are USDA forecasts

Actual sales tell a similar story. In the AMS 5-area weekly cattle report for the week ending 11 October 2026, negotiated cash live steers sold at a weighted average of $220.14 per cwt, and dressed steers at $345.66. NASS put the August all-beef-cattle price at $231 per cwt, $15 below July and $5 below August 2025.

Hog and dairy prices are weaker. The August hog price was $70.50 per cwt, $9.30 below a year earlier, and USDA lowered its hog price forecasts for late 2026 and early 2027 because of a weak pork cutout. The all-milk price was $19.80 per cwt in August. USDA forecasts $19.90 for 2026 and $20.45 for 2027. Market (table) eggs fell to 77 cents a dozen in August, $1.43 below August 2025 (NASS).

World agricultural commodity prices

US farm prices follow world markets, but not one for one. Freight, quality and exchange rates sit in between. The World Bank Pink Sheet of 2 October 2026 gives monthly world prices. It is a useful reference for growers in Canada, Europe and Australia as well as the US.

Grain prices climbed through 2026, while coffee and cocoa came down from their 2025 highs. The World Bank’s grains index stood at 125.4 in September 2026 (2010 = 100), up from an average of 101.3 in 2025.

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 136.0 points in September 2026. That is 5.8% higher than a year earlier but 15.1% below its March 2022 peak. The cereal index rose 17.2% on the year, vegetable oils 18.3% and sugar 14.7%. The dairy index was 19.1% lower than a year earlier, and meat was about level.

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World grain and soybean prices

$ per metric ton; annual averages 2023-2025, then quarterly averages for 2026

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FAO food price sub-indices, September 2026

Index points, 2014-2016 = 100

What drives agri commodity prices

Prices move when supply, demand or costs change, or when traders expect them to change. The October 2026 reports show each of these at work.

1. Crop size, yields and weather

Supply is the first driver. A bigger corn forecast, up 234 million bushels in October, pushed USDA’s corn price forecast down, while the smallest US wheat crop since 1970 helped lift wheat. Weather changes the crop size: FAO pointed to dry weather in North America for wheat and in Southeast Asia for palm oil. Weather news from the US Corn Belt or South America can move prices before harvest, because it changes what traders expect the crop to be.

2. Stocks compared with use

Traders watch how much of a crop is left at the end of the year compared with how much is used. When ending stocks rise, prices tend to soften. USDA cut its corn price as stocks rose to 1.8 billion bushels, and lowered its wheat price on higher wheat stocks. Rice stocks are forecast 32% lower, and USDA raised its rice price on firmer long-grain cash and futures prices. The stocks-to-use ratio for US cotton is 27.5%.

3. Energy, fertilizer and other input costs

Costs set the floor that farmers need to cover. The conflict that began on 28 February 2026 cut shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil, gas and fertilizer. A farmdoc daily analysis from April 2026 reports that about one-third of world seaborne fertilizer passes through the strait, and that US retail nitrogen prices kept rising after the April ceasefire.

Prices were still high in the autumn. Brent crude averaged $116.8 a barrel in September 2026 and DAP fertilizer (US Gulf) $800.6 a metric ton, according to the World Bank. USDA AMS dealer asking prices in Iowa for the week ending 2 October 2026 averaged $905.50 a ton for anhydrous ammonia and $5.55 a gallon for farm diesel. NASS’s index of prices paid by farmers was 5.3% higher than a year earlier in August, and the ratio of prices received to prices paid fell from 91 to 85.

4. Trade, logistics and policy

Export demand and shipping routes matter as much as harvests. US hard red winter wheat lost export sales because it was uncompetitive, with prices well above last year, and FAO linked the September jump in wheat prices to Black Sea logistics. Tariffs, export limits and import rules can switch demand from one origin to another. For example, FAO noted that new EU import rules on antimicrobial use reduced poultry import demand from 3 September 2026.

5. Demand for feed, food and fuel

Livestock feed, food and fuel all compete for grain and oilseeds. USDA raised every part of US corn use in October, including exports. Soybean oil is forecast at 70 cents a pound, up from 64.08 cents in 2025/26. On the livestock side, USDA lowered its beef output forecast and left its cattle price forecasts unchanged, while a weak pork cutout pulled hog forecasts down.

Cash price, basis and futures: how to read ag commodity prices

The price on a news ticker is usually a futures price. The price a farmer gets is a local cash price. The gap between them is called basis. The CFTC futures glossary defines basis as the cash price minus the price of the nearest futures contract.

Here is a real example. On 14 October 2026, the AMS Iowa daily cash grain bids report gave a state average corn bid of $4.38 a bushel, 43 cents under the December futures contract, which settled at $4.8075. The soybean average was $12.09, 68 cents under November futures at $12.7725. A year earlier, northwest Iowa country elevators averaged about $3.74 for corn and $9.29 for soybeans.

Basis changes with local supply, storage space, freight and the time of year. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension advises tracking grain price basis at your local elevators and keeping your own basis history, so you know what is normal for your area and can spot a good bid.

How farmers use commodity prices: break-even first

A price is only good or bad compared with your own cost of production. The break-even price is your total cost per acre divided by your expected yield. If the cash price you can lock in is above it, the crop covers its costs at that yield.

University of Illinois economists show how tight this is. In the farmdoc 2027 Illinois crop budgets, published in September 2026, break-even prices to cover total costs including cash rent are just under $5 a bushel for corn in northern and central Illinois and $5.39 in southern Illinois. For soybeans they are $11.10 to $11.28 in central and northern Illinois and nearly $12 in the south. They note that costs have risen faster than trend yields.

Those break-evens sit close to today’s prices. December 2026 corn futures near $4.81, minus a 43-cent Iowa basis, give a cash price below $5. Your own numbers decide whether that covers your costs. Use the calculator below with your figures, not the example values.

Try the numbers for your own farm below.

Managing price risk

Farmers have several tools to deal with price swings. Each has costs and limits:

• Forward contracts with a local buyer fix a price or a basis for future delivery. You must deliver the agreed amount.
• Futures hedges offset a drop in the cash price with a gain on a futures position. The CFTC glossary describes hedging as a futures position that reduces the risk of a change in value of a physical asset.
• Options set a price floor for a premium and keep some upside.
• Crop insurance can cover losses in yield or revenue. Check what your policy covers with your agent.
• Diversification across crops and livestock spreads price and weather risk.
• Selling in parts: some farmers price a share of the expected crop at set price targets or dates instead of all at once.

Futures and options carry real financial risk, including margin calls. Get professional advice from a licensed broker, a farm business adviser or your lender before you hedge or sign a contract, and check the rules that apply in your country.

▶ Why mixing crops and livestock on one farm spreads risk in a bad year, explained by a cow. · 2:55

A simple marketing plan in five steps

1. Work out your cost per acre. Include seed, fertilizer, chemicals, fuel, machinery, insurance, interest, land rent and your own labor.
2. Estimate your yield. Use your farm’s history, adjusted for this season’s crop condition.
3. Calculate your break-even price and compare it with the futures price plus your usual local basis.
4. Set price targets and dates for selling parts of the crop, and write them down before harvest.
5. Review after each USDA report. The WASDE comes out monthly and can move prices on the day.

A better yield estimate makes the plan safer. If you know early that a field is under stress, you avoid selling bushels you may not have. Satellite crop monitoring, such as the Farmonaut Satellite + AI Farm Monitoring System, shows vegetation changes field by field through the season, which helps you judge yield before harvest. It shows where the crop is changing, not the cause, so field checks are still needed.

▶ How satellite NDVI maps show crop stress across a 400-acre corn farm before it is visible from the ground. · 4:09

Agri commodity price outlook: what to watch

USDA’s October numbers point to a few things to watch over the next months:

• Corn: large supplies of 16.0 billion bushels keep a lid on prices unless demand rises further.
• Soybeans: Brazil’s 2026/27 crop, with exports forecast at 118.0 million tons, will weigh heavily on the world price.
• Wheat: low US stocks and Black Sea shipping support prices, but USDA already trimmed its forecast as stocks rose.
• Cattle: USDA expects steer prices near $238 per cwt in 2027, close to 2026.
• Milk: USDA expects the all-milk price to rise to $20.45 per cwt in 2027.
• Costs: fertilizer and fuel prices remain high, which keeps break-even prices up.

Forecasts change every month. FAO publishes its next Food Price Index on 6 November 2026, and NASS publishes prices received at the end of each month.

Related pages on our site: crop monitoring app, agro admin app for large farms, satellite and weather API docs, satellite data API, crop loan and insurance checks, product traceability, carbon footprinting and fleet management.

FAQ

What are ag commodity prices right now?

In August 2026, US farmers received an average of $4.45 a bushel for corn, $12.10 for soybeans and $6.23 for wheat (NASS). USDA’s October 2026 forecasts for the 2026/27 marketing year are $4.70, $12.00 and $6.30. Check a live futures or local cash quote before you sell.

Why did wheat prices rise so much?

The 2026 US wheat crop is the smallest since 1970, US ending stocks are 20% lower, and Black Sea shipping problems lifted world prices in September (USDA, FAO).

What is the difference between the cash price and the futures price?

The futures price is set on an exchange for a standard grade and delivery point. The cash price is what a local buyer pays today. The difference is the basis, which reflects freight, local supply and storage.

How do I calculate my break-even price?

Divide your total cost per acre by your expected yield per acre. For example, $800 an acre and 180 bushels gives $4.44 a bushel. Include land rent and your own labor so the figure covers all costs.

Where can I find reliable commodity price data?

USDA’s WASDE (monthly forecasts), NASS Agricultural Prices (monthly prices received), USDA AMS Market News (daily cash bids and auction reports), the World Bank Pink Sheet (monthly world prices) and the FAO Food Price Index (monthly world food index) are all public.

Do world prices match what farmers get paid?

No. World prices are export quotes at ports. For exporters such as US growers, farm prices are usually lower because of freight, handling and local basis, and they also depend on quality and the exchange rate.