By Lyndi Allen
As planting begins, Illinois corn farmers are navigating a constantly changing market. Despite some price increases earlier in the year, futures prices remain below break-even levels, making it difficult for growers to cover the full cost of production.
According to farmdoc daily’s revised 2025 crop budgets, recent data shows break-even prices to cover nonland costs remain in the range of $3.17 to $3.66 per bushel for corn and break-even prices to cover total costs (non-land plus average cash rent) range from $4.60 to $4.66 for corn.
A farmdoc daily analysis shows that 2025 marks one of the few years since 2000 where the break-even price for corn exceeds the projected market price, meaning that even efficient producers are likely to see losses.
The fix to this economic downturn is to build demand for U.S. corn, a measure that Congress could do today by passing year-round E15 legislation. Notably, this solution also costs no money for taxpayers. Congress could drive even more demand for corn by passing a high-octane fuel policy that would set a new certification fuel with higher octane, driving fuel efficiency. Neither of these is an ethanol mandate; instead, these options open the marketplace for higher blends of ethanol.
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