Corn & Wheat Futures News: CBOT Prices, USDA Data Today

Reviewed August 2026 against USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) daily grain reports, USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) Wheat Outlook, and USDA WASDE.

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As of August 6, 2026, CBOT corn futures settled at $4.39/bushel for the September contract and $4.62/bushel for December, while CBOT wheat settled at $6.31/bushel (September) and $6.51/bushel (December), according to USDA AMS daily grain bid reports. Cash wheat traded around $6.30/bushel on August 11, 2026, per Trading Economics data drawn from USDA AMS. Those four numbers are the actual answer to “corn futures news” and “wheat futures news” this week — everything else in this article explains why they moved and how to keep checking them yourself after this page goes stale.

This is a grain market update built around two things that move prices right now: a US wheat crop that USDA has revised down sharply for 2026/27, and a summer weather pattern that is shaping how the corn crop finishes. We’ll also cover where to get corn and wheat futures data directly, since a page like this one is a snapshot — the market is not.

Corn Futures News: Where Prices Stand and Why

The most recent settlement data from USDA AMS (reporting CBOT prices, August 6, 2026) puts corn at $4.39/bushel for the nearby September contract and $4.62/bushel for December — a 23-cent carry that reflects the market pricing in tighter supply later in the marketing year rather than at harvest. That’s the direct answer to “corn market news” and “corn and wheat futures” as they stand this week.

Two forces are doing most of the work on the corn side right now:

• Summer heat and rainfall variability: The Farmers’ Almanac 2026 summer forecast calls for above-normal heat and variable precipitation across major US grain regions from June through August 2026, with the sharpest heat indices in the Northeast and Southeast peaking in mid-July. Corn pollination timing makes this a real yield risk in years when heat stress lands during silking.
• Ethanol and feed demand: Corn’s dual role as livestock feed and ethanol feedstock keeps demand relatively inelastic even when prices move, which is part of why the September–December spread widens when supply expectations tighten.

To track this yourself rather than relying on a summary: USDA AMS publishes daily grain bid reports with CBOT settlement prices for every US trading day, Monday through Friday. The report used for the $4.39/$4.62 figures above is USDA AMS Grain Report ams_3192 — the filename changes daily, so search USDA AMS’s Market News grain reports page for the current one rather than bookmarking this exact link.

Wheat News: The Smallest HRW Crop Since 1957/58

This is the story behind “wheat futures news,” “wheat news,” and “grain market predictions” right now, and it’s a bigger deal than the corn side. USDA’s Economic Research Service Wheat Outlook reports US wheat production down 23% year-over-year for the 2026/27 marketing year versus 2025/26, with the Hard Red Winter wheat crop the smallest since the 1957/58 season. USDA’s July 2026 WASDE report put the national wheat yield forecast at 47.9 bushels/acre. Ending stocks for 2026/27 are projected at 722 million bushels, per USDA ERS.

CBOT wheat futures reflect that tightness: $6.31/bushel for September 2026 and $6.51/bushel for December 2026, per USDA AMS (August 6, 2026), pulled from USDA AMS Grain Report ams_3046. Cash wheat was trading close behind at roughly $6.30/bushel on August 11, 2026 — which is the direct answer to “price of wheat per bushel today” as of this writing. That price will have moved by the time you read this; USDA AMS’s daily reports and CBOT’s own quote pages are the fastest way to get the current number rather than this page’s snapshot.

The Northern Plains — a core spring wheat region — are forecast for below-normal precipitation, especially in July 2026, per the Farmers’ Almanac summer outlook. That’s the specific regional detail behind “almanac forecasts indicate a hotter and drier summer across us”: the Almanac’s model is not calling for uniform dryness everywhere, it’s flagging the Northern Plains and broad above-normal heat, with the sharpest heat timing in mid-July for the Northeast and Southeast.

That table is the comparison an AI Overview strips out: contract-by-contract futures prices next to the supply data that’s driving them, all dated and sourced. If you’re reading this more than a few weeks after August 2026, treat every row above as a starting point, not the current market — the refresh paths in each section will get you the live number.

Grain Market News: What’s Actually Moving Corn and Wheat Together

“Grain market news” and “grain market trends” searches usually want the corn-and-wheat picture in one place, so here it is: both markets are being pulled by the same two levers — a genuinely smaller wheat crop (HRW at its lowest since 1957/58) and a summer weather pattern that’s running hotter and drier than average across major growing regions, per the Farmers’ Almanac’s 200-year historical forecast model. Wheat is the tighter story on supply; corn is the more weather-sensitive story on yield risk still ahead of harvest.

On “grain futures china trade deal” — soybean demand from China is a separate and real driver of US grain markets, but the current research base for this article is USDA’s corn and wheat data, not soybean trade-flow figures. If you’re specifically tracking China-related soybean or corn purchase announcements, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service publishes export sales data weekly, and that’s the more precise source than a general grain market article for trade-deal-specific movements.

For “grain trading” as a practical activity: CBOT contracts for corn and wheat trade in cents per bushel, in 5,000-bushel contract units, with new-crop (harvest-time) and old-crop (nearby) months priced separately — which is exactly why the September and December figures above differ. The spread between them (23 cents on corn, 20 cents on wheat as of August 6, 2026) is the market’s own forecast of how supply tightens or loosens between now and December.

Try It: Wheat Basis and Local Cash Price Estimator

CBOT futures aren’t what a farmer actually gets paid — the local cash price is the futures price plus or minus a local basis. Enter a CBOT futures price and your elevator’s basis to estimate your local cash price and compare it against the national average.

Assumptions: basis is a flat cents-per-bushel adjustment you enter from your own elevator’s posted bid; the calculator does not account for moisture discounts, protein premiums, or delivery timing. The $6.30/bushel comparison figure is the Aug 11, 2026 US cash average and will not update automatically — replace it with the current figure from USDA AMS or your local elevator board for an accurate comparison.

Weather: Why the Almanac Forecast Matters for Yield

The Farmers’ Almanac’s summer 2026 forecast — built on its 200-year historical forecast model — calls for above-normal heat and variable precipitation across major US grain-growing regions from June through August 2026. Two specifics matter for corn and wheat traders: below-normal precipitation is forecast for the Northern Plains, especially in July, and the sharpest summer heat indices in the Northeast and Southeast are timed for mid-July.

For corn, mid-to-late July is typically when much of the Corn Belt is pollinating, so a hot, dry stretch landing in that window carries more yield risk than the same conditions in June or September. For spring wheat grown in the Northern Plains, July precipitation deficits affect grain fill directly. Farmonaut’s satellite-based crop monitoring tracks vegetation health and moisture stress at the field level throughout this window, which is a way to see whether the Almanac’s regional forecast is actually playing out on a specific farm rather than waiting for the next USDA Crop Progress report.

USDA NASS publishes weekly Crop Progress reports from roughly June through October, covering planting, development stage, and condition ratings (poor to excellent) by state. That’s the most current ground-level complement to the Almanac’s seasonal outlook, and it updates weekly rather than once per season.

Corn Belt and Northern Plains: Regional Risk Compared

USDA’s published forecasts are national-level — state and county yield variation is not broken out in the WASDE or ERS summaries used for this article, so the figures below are the national numbers, not a regional breakdown. For county-level detail, USDA NASS’s QuickStats database aggregates county survey data, though it requires pulling and compiling the underlying tables yourself rather than reading a single summary figure.

Explore Farmonaut’s API for advanced data integration

What’s Not Yet Published — and How to Get It Yourself

Being direct about the limits of this data matters more than filling gaps with guesses. A few things this article cannot state as figures, and how to get them:

• Soybean futures prices: USDA production and yield forecasts for soybeans exist, but active CBOT soybean futures quotes were not part of the research base for this update. USDA AMS’s daily grain bid reports (the same series used for the corn and wheat figures above) also carry soybean contract settlements — check the current day’s report for live prices.
• Wheat class premiums: Spreads between Hard Red Winter, Hard Red Spring, and Soft Red Winter wheat are not in the sources used here. USDA AMS’s grain reports break out prices by class and delivery point if you need class-specific spreads.
• State and county yield detail: Only national yield averages are in the WASDE and ERS summaries cited above. USDA NASS QuickStats holds the county-level survey data, aggregated by you or a state Extension office.
• Export destination detail: Country-by-country wheat export and flour-use breakdowns aren’t in USDA ERS’s summary Wheat Outlook page — USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and the FAO’s trade databases carry that granularity.

The pattern for staying current: USDA AMS’s daily grain bid reports for prices (updated every US trading day), USDA’s WASDE report for production and yield (monthly, around the 12th, with the next full-season update expected early September 2026), and USDA NASS’s weekly Crop Progress reports (June through October) for field-level condition data. Those three feeds, checked in that order, cover nearly everything a “grain market news” search is actually looking for.

Precision Monitoring: Turning Weather Risk Into Field-Level Data

Futures prices react to weather forecasts; farm outcomes depend on what actually happens in a specific field. Farmonaut’s satellite-based crop monitoring gives growers a way to check field-level vegetation health, moisture stress, and growth stage against the Almanac’s regional outlook and USDA’s Crop Progress ratings, rather than relying on either as a proxy for one farm’s conditions.

• Satellite vegetation indices: Track crop health signals through the mid-July heat window the Almanac flags as the peak stress period.
• AI-driven advisories: Get irrigation and input timing recommendations tied to actual field conditions rather than regional averages.
• Historical comparison: Compare a given season’s satellite data against prior seasons on the same fields.

For developers and agribusinesses building market or farm-management tools on top of this kind of data, Farmonaut’s weather and satellite API documentation covers the available endpoints.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the current CBOT corn futures price?
   $4.39/bushel for the September 2026 contract and $4.62/bushel for December 2026, per USDA AMS’s daily grain bid report dated August 6, 2026. USDA AMS publishes a new report every US trading day — search USDA AMS’s Market News grain reports for the current figure.
2. What is the current CBOT wheat futures price?
   $6.31/bushel for September 2026 and $6.51/bushel for December 2026, per USDA AMS, August 6, 2026. Cash wheat was near $6.30/bushel on August 11, 2026, per Trading Economics data sourced from USDA AMS.
3. Why is the 2026/27 US wheat crop so much smaller?
   USDA’s Economic Research Service reports US wheat production down 23% year-over-year for 2026/27, with the Hard Red Winter crop the smallest since 1957/58. Ending stocks are projected at 722 million bushels for the season.
4. How does the Farmers’ Almanac summer forecast affect grain prices?
   The Almanac’s 2026 summer outlook calls for above-normal heat and variable precipitation across major grain regions, with below-normal precipitation in the Northern Plains (especially July) and peak heat indices in the Northeast and Southeast around mid-July. Markets price weather risk into futures ahead of confirmed yield data, which is part of why prices move on forecasts, not just on harvest results.
5. Where can I check today’s grain futures prices myself?
   USDA AMS’s daily grain bid reports (Monday–Friday) carry CBOT settlement prices for corn, wheat, and soybeans. USDA’s WASDE report updates national production and yield forecasts monthly, and USDA NASS’s weekly Crop Progress reports (June–October) track field conditions.

The Bottom Line

Corn futures at $4.39–$4.62/bushel and wheat at $6.31–$6.51/bushel (USDA AMS, August 6, 2026) reflect a market pricing in a genuinely smaller US wheat crop — down 23% year-over-year, the smallest HRW harvest since 1957/58 — against a summer weather pattern running hotter and drier than average across the Northern Plains and parts of the Corn Belt. Neither of those figures will still be current by the time you’re reading this in a different week. The durable part is the method: check USDA AMS daily for futures prices, USDA WASDE monthly for production and yield, and USDA NASS weekly during the growing season for field conditions — in that order, that’s the whole picture, updated on its own schedule rather than a single article’s.