Corn futures closed out the first session of 2026 with losses of 2 to 3 cents. March was back down 12 ½ cents on the holiday week. The CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price was up 2 ½ cents at $3.98 1/4. 

USDA reported a private export sale of 132,000 MT of corn to South Korea this morning. Export Sales data will be officially caught up on Monday, as traders are looking for between 0.7-1.5 MMT in corn bookings during the week of 12/25.

A monthly Grains Crushing report from USDA was released this afternoon, showing a total of 471.87 mbu of corn used in ethanol during November. That was slightly above last year and 0.7% below last month. Corn grind in the first quarter was down just 0.2 mbu from 2024/25.

On Wednesday afternoon, USDA released the payment details for the Farm Bridge Assistance program, with the corn payment listed at $44.36/acre. Sorghum was tallied at $48.11.

Mar 26 Corn  closed at $4.37 1/2, down 2 3/4 cents,

Nearby Cash  was $3.98 1/4, up 2 1/2 cents,

May 26 Corn  closed at $4.45 1/2, down 2 3/4 cents,

Jul 26 Corn  closed at $4.52, down 2 1/2 cents,