Iowa farmers achieved a record corn harvest in 2025, producing 2.77 million bushels — a 2.6% gain over the 2016 record. Soybean output ranked as the third-best year on record. The achievements came despite a July derecho, heavy rains, crop diseases and economic pressures from trade tensions and high input costs. Iowa's agriculture leaders urged policy changes to ease stress on producers while praising farmers for their resilience.
Iowa Farmers Deliver Record 2025 Corn Crop Despite Derecho, Disease and Economic Pressure
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Iowa farmers set a new state corn-production record in 2025, harvesting 2.77 million bushels despite a season marked by extreme weather, disease outbreaks and economic headwinds.
Record Yields in a Challenging Year
Statewide corn production reached 2.77 million bushels in 2025, a 2.6% increase over the previous benchmark of 2.7 million bushels set in 2016. Soybean production also performed strongly, recording the third-most productive year on record.
Weather, Disease and Regional Impacts
Farmers faced multiple threats throughout the growing season. Rising temperatures have made extreme weather events more frequent and severe, and Iowa was hit by a damaging derecho in July that toppled power lines and battered cornfields. Heavy rains and outbreaks of crop disease added to the pressure on fields across the state.
Wider Agricultural Context
Producers from Mississippi to Michigan reported similar volatility: a rocky start for many operations followed by improved conditions later in the summer. Beyond weather-related challenges, fluctuating tariffs and trade tensions constrained markets and investment decisions, contributing to softer exports and complicating equipment and input purchases.
Policy Response and Farmer Resilience
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig urged federal action to help the farm economy, calling on Congress to relax restrictions on ethanol manufacturing to support demand for corn. He also acknowledged the tight margins facing many operations due to high input costs and low commodity prices.
"This productivity is coming at a time of real stress in the ag economy, with tight margins driven by high input costs and continued pressure from low commodity prices," Naig said in a press release. "The 2025 growing season tested Iowa farmers with highly variable conditions. Even so, Iowa farmers once again delivered a historic and record-breaking crop."
Despite the season's volatility, the results underscore growers' adaptability and the effectiveness of modern management practices and technology in helping farms manage risk and deliver strong yields.
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