Corn, Corn Belt (United States)

The Corn Belt (Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Indiana) makes the United States the world's largest corn producer, with about 377 Mt in 2024/25 (14.9 billion bushels), close to 31% of world output, and the top exporter. That corn feeds global livestock and drives a large share of ethanol production. A major drought across a few Midwest states, as in 2012, is enough to send world grain and feed prices sharply higher, with knock-on effects on meat and food inflation.