Get Wisconsin Corn Price Alerts
GrainBrief monitors USDA AMS elevator bids, CFTC managed-money positioning, FAS export sales, and ethanol crush margins to send you a weekly price outlook for Wisconsin corn. Sign up free.
Start Free Trial →Wisconsin Corn Market Overview
Wisconsin corn and soybean prices follow Minneapolis cash markets. Dairy demand keeps corn prices seasonally strong year-round, reducing typical harvest basis weakness.
Corn is planted in Wisconsin from late April through late May, with harvest running from September through November. Spring and early summer price movements often reflect weather risk premium during pollination and grain fill.
Understanding Wisconsin Corn Basis
Wisconsin corn basis runs 20–40¢ negative, widening in far northern counties and tightening near Milwaukee/Lake Michigan export terminals.
When and how to use basis in your marketing plan: Most Wisconsin corn producers use a combination of cash sales at harvest, hedge-to-arrive (HTA) contracts, and basis contracts to manage price risk. Forward contracting 20–30% of expected production before planting can lock in historically strong spring prices.
What Drives Wisconsin Corn Prices
- CBOT ZC Futures: The national price benchmark. Local cash prices = futures + basis. Watch nearby and deferred futures spreads (carry structure) to determine whether the market is rewarding or penalizing storage.
- USDA FAS Export Sales: Released every Thursday at 8:30am ET. Strong export commitments — especially to China — typically move futures and local bids within 24 hours.
- CFTC COT Positioning: Large speculative funds (managed money) net position in ZC futures is a 2–4 week leading indicator of price direction. Extreme net-short positions often precede short-covering rallies.
- Ethanol Crush Margin: Corn-ethanol crush profitability directly determines how aggressively ethanol plants bid for local corn. Negative crush = plants throttling back = weaker elevator bids.
- USDA WASDE Report: Monthly supply/demand revision. Carryout-to-use ratio changes of more than 5% typically move prices $0.10–$0.30/bu within minutes of the noon ET release.
- Weather: Drought stress (NOAA Drought Monitor D2+) during critical growth stages is historically the largest single-day market mover. Wisconsin producers should track Corn Belt drought coverage weekly May–August.