A new study released by the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) shows corn farming is a major engine for the U.S. economy, generating $123 billion in total economic output last year, with an estimated contribution of $50 billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 2024, U.S. corn farmers produced 14.9 billion bushels of corn for grain valued at $64.7 billion.

The study, entitled The Economic Value of Corn Farming in the United States for 2024, also shows that corn farming supported over 440,000 jobs and provided $29 billion in wages, strengthening communities in rural America and across the entire nation.

The contribution of corn farming and linkages extended across 506 different industry sectors in all 50 states. Even Hawaii and Alaska benefit from corn farming. The states with the least economic impact from corn are actually Rhode Island and Vermont with $6.4 and 7.3 million in economic output respectively. Not surprisingly, Illinois and Iowa are the top two states, with $18.5 and 19.2 billion.

“Corn farming’s economic value could be even greater if corn growers were able to fully contribute to the domestic fuel supply via increased ethanol blends and access to additional export markets,” said NCGA President Kenneth Hartman Jr.

Corn grower leaders have been advocating for Congress to pass legislation that would allow for the nationwide, year-round sale of fuel with a 15% ethanol blend. They have also worked to make an aviation fuel tax credit accessible so that ethanol and other biofuels could be used in the aviation sector. And NCGA has called on the administration and Congress to aggressively pursue new and expanded foreign markets for American corn exporters.