U.S. Farmers Shun Buyers, Keep Corn As Prices Slump

South Dakota farmer Eric Kroupa received a flurry of calls from grain dealers and ethanol plants asking to buy the corn locked away in his bins when prices neared 4.5-month peaks last month.

After stockpiling crops for much of this season due to low prices, many farmers in the world's largest corn-producing nation continue to shun buyers despite few signs that prices will improve.

He sold some but is waiting for buyers to up their bids to sell more. Prices have since eased and are hovering just above three-year lows posted in February, reported P.J. Huffstutter and Karl Plume for Reuters.

"There's a lot of corn out there but it's sitting in the farmers' bins and not the end-users' hands," Kroupa said.

After stockpiling crops for much of this season due to low prices, many farmers in the world's largest corn-producing nation continue to shun buyers despite few signs that prices will improve.

Grain supplies are ample and early ratings of summer crops are the best in years.

A larger-than-normal volume of grain remains unsold, according to Reuters interviews with 15 grain farmers across the US Midwest.

By September 2025, US corn inventories are expected to reach a six-year high, according to the US Agriculture Department. Uncertainty around if and when farmers will liquidate their stocks could make for choppy grain prices, both in cash and futures markets.