Crop breakevens / Corn
What an acre of corn costs, and what it has to make
Iowa State's 2026 budget for corn following soybeans comes to $911.98 an acre at 211 bushels. That works out to $4.32 a bushel just to cover every cost, including rent, machinery, and your own labor.
Updated October 5, 2026
- Cost per acre
- $911.98
- Budget yield
- 211 bu/acre
- Breakeven price
- $4.32 per bu
Run it with your numbersOpens the free calculator with these numbers filled in, ready to change.
Where the money goes
| Per acre | Share | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Seed | 12% | $113.70 |
| Fertilizer | 19% | $169.44 |
| Chemical | 6% | $56.00 |
| Fuel/Labor | 27% | $248.39 |
| Land rent | 30% | $274.00 |
| Other | 6% | $50.45 |
| Total | $911.98 |
From Iowa State University, Estimated Costs of Crop Production in Iowa 2026 (corn following soybeans, 211 bu), grouped into Fencerow's six lines. Fuel/Labor in these examples covers all machinery costs (ownership, fuel, repairs), hauling, drying, irrigation, and labor. Insurance, interest, and miscellaneous costs are under Other.
- Rent is the biggest single line. $274 of the $911.98 is the budget's cash rent equivalent. On owned ground that line is your own cost of holding the land, not zero.
- Fertilizer comes next. $169.44 an acre: 159 pounds of nitrogen at $0.53, plus phosphate, potash, and lime.
- Drying is easy to forget. Drying alone is $49.54 an acre in this budget at $1.54 a gallon for LP gas, and it grows with every bushel you dry.
Ten years of USDA prices and yields
| Year | US average price received | US average yield |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $4.16/bu | 186.5 bu/acre |
| 2024 | $4.24/bu | 179.3 bu/acre |
| 2023 | $4.55/bu | 177.3 bu/acre |
| 2022 | $6.54/bu | 173.4 bu/acre |
| 2021 | $6.00/bu | 176.7 bu/acre |
| 2020 | $4.53/bu | 171.4 bu/acre |
| 2019 | $3.56/bu | 167.5 bu/acre |
| 2018 | $3.61/bu | 176.4 bu/acre |
| 2017 | $3.36/bu | 176.6 bu/acre |
| 2016 | $3.36/bu | 174.6 bu/acre |
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Quick Stats (national, marketing-year price received; final annual yield). Years USDA hasn't published yet are left out, not estimated. This product uses the NASS API but is not endorsed or certified by NASS.
What changes the answer for your farm
- Corn after corn costs more. Iowa State's corn following corn budget is $960.02 an acre at 193 bushels, or $4.97 a bushel. It assumes 194 pounds of nitrogen instead of 159, adds a $25 insecticide pass, and expects 18 fewer bushels.
- Yield moves the price you need. If you spend for 211 bushels and harvest 190, the same $911.98 works out to about $4.80 a bushel instead of $4.32. A short crop raises your breakeven after the money is already spent.
- Your rent and your inputs. Swap in your own rent and fertilizer bill first. Those two lines are most of the difference between this budget and your farm.
These are one university's numbers, not yours. Put in your own costs, yield, and price, and keep them by field from year to year. Free for up to three fields.
Other crops
- Soybeans breakeven $679.11/acre, $11.13/bu
- Rice breakeven $1,304.74/acre, $17.06/cwt
- Wheat breakeven $297.01/acre, $4.79/bu
- Cotton breakeven $1,450.12/acre, $1.21/lb
- Grain sorghum breakeven $814.94/acre, $7.76/bu