How to Read the USDA Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production Report — Corn Used for Ethanol, DDGS and Other Co-Products
USDA Grain Crushings, U.S. mills that produce ethanol, August 2026: 528 million bushels of corn used (+4% from a year earlier), 478 million for fuel alcohol; DDGS 1.85 million tons (-2%).
Key figures (Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production, October 1, 2026 report)
As of 31 October 2026, 00:06 KST; most recently published report: Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production, released October 1, 2026, by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), covering corn consumed and co-products produced by U.S. dry and wet mills that produce ethanol in August 2026. The NASS October 2026 calendar lists the release at 3:00 pm ET; the publication page lists the next scheduled releases on November 2 and December 1, 2026, at 3:00 PM without a time zone. Primary source: https://esmis.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/release-files/796092/cagc1026.txt[1][3][4]
| Indicator (United States, August 2026) | Previous (July 2026, as revised in the October 1 report) | Current (August 2026) | Change vs previous | Change vs year ago (August 2025) | Evidence type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corn consumed, all uses listed (1,000 bushels; this page's sum of the four lines) | 528,984 | 528,104 | down less than 1% (published); -0.2% (calculated) | up 4% (published) from 507,130; +4.1% (calculated) | levels and published % changes: USDA NASS primary statistical record; calculated %: this page |
| Corn consumed for fuel alcohol (1,000 bushels) | 476,146 | 477,732 | up less than 1% (published); +0.3% (calculated) | up 4% (published) from 459,373; +4.0% (calculated) | levels and published % changes: USDA NASS primary statistical record; calculated %: this page |
| Corn consumed for beverage alcohol (1,000 bushels) | 3,704 | 3,309 | down 11% (published); -10.7% (calculated) | down 3% (published) from 3,407; -2.9% (calculated) | levels and published % changes: USDA NASS primary statistical record; calculated %: this page |
| Distillers dried grains with solubles, dry mill (tons) | 1,849,717 | 1,845,438 | down less than 1% (published); -0.2% (calculated) | down 2% (published) from 1,873,585; -1.5% (calculated) | levels and published % changes: USDA NASS primary statistical record; calculated %: this page |
| Corn gluten feed, wet mill (tons) | 250,692 | 278,611 | up 11% (published); +11.1% (calculated) | up 11% (published) from 251,036; +11.0% (calculated) | levels and published % changes: USDA NASS primary statistical record; calculated %: this page |
| Carbon dioxide captured, dry and wet mill (tons) | 284,535 | 292,163 | +2.7% (calculated) | +9.0% (calculated) from 268,024 | levels: USDA NASS primary statistical record; percentage changes: this page's calculations |
Comparison basis: levels are as published; July 2026 values are the revised figures printed in the October 1 report, not the first print. The report states the total corn figure only in rounded form (528 million bushels), so the total row is this page's sum of the four corn lines in the table. Published changes are whole percentages or "less than 1 percent"; this page's calculated changes are rounded to one decimal. The two releases, publication page and calendar are all from USDA and count as one source.[1][2]
In three lines
1. The monthly NASS report covers corn and other feedstocks consumed and co-products produced by U.S. mills that produce ethanol, for the previous calendar month.
2. In August 2026, those mills used 528 million bushels of corn, 478 million of it for fuel alcohol, up 4% from August 2025.
3. Dry mills produced 1.85 million tons of distillers dried grains with solubles, down 2% from a year earlier.[1]
What the report says (in NASS's words)
"Total corn consumed for alcohol and other uses was 528 million bushels in August 2026." "Total corn consumption was down less than 1 percent from July 2026 but up 4 percent from August 2025." "August 2026 usage included 92.6 percent for alcohol and 7.4 percent for other purposes." "Corn for fuel alcohol, at 478 million bushels, was up less than 1 percent from July 2026 and up 4 percent from August 2025." "Corn consumed for beverage alcohol totaled 3.31 million bushels, down 11 percent from July 2026 and down 3 percent from August 2025."[1]
"Dry mill co-product production of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) was 1.85 million tons during August 2026, down less than 1 percent from July 2026 and down 2 percent from August 2025." "Wet mill corn gluten feed production was 278,611 tons during August 2026, up 11 percent from July 2026 and up 11 percent from August 2025."[1]
Who reports. "Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production is part of the Current Agricultural Industrial Reports (CAIR) program." "Response to CAIR surveys are required by law (Title 7, U.S. Code)." "Data are collected from all known mills that produce ethanol." "The census universe was determined during operation profile interviews which were completed for each potential facility to identify the presence of ethanol production in 2014." "Approximately 130 reports are received each month which represent about 90 percent of total capacity."[1]
Filling gaps. "Imputation is done for operations with non-response by using historical data and current data relationships." "Data for reporting firms are added to estimates for non-reporting firms to obtain National totals."[1]
Reading in pairs
First print vs revised. "Data are revised the following month based on late reports or corrected data." "Final figures are published in the annual summary of the following year." July 2026 corn for beverage alcohol was first published as 4,285 thousand bushels (with the September 1 report saying: "Corn consumed for beverage alcohol totaled 4.29 million bushels, up 12 percent from June 2026 and up 54 percent from July 2025.") and revised to 3,704 thousand (-581, this page's subtraction); July fuel alcohol corn was revised from 474,741 to 476,146 thousand bushels (+1,405), and July DDGS from 1,853,111 to 1,849,717 tons (-3,394).[1][2]
Fuel vs everything else. Fuel alcohol takes most of the corn (477,732 of 528,104 thousand bushels in August 2026 by this page's sum); beverage and industrial alcohol and wet mill products other than fuel make up the rest. A large percentage change in beverage alcohol is a change in a small line.[1]
Corn in vs co-products out. Corn is reported in bushels and co-products in tons; the report publishes both but does not convert one into the other, and co-products such as DDGS, distillers wet grains and corn oil are separate lines that should not be added to corn use.[1]
Coverage vs month-to-month change. "Monthly data can vary due to different firms reporting month to month." The report does not attribute these particular month-to-month or year-to-year changes to specific causes.[1]
Verified facts
Each fact is labelled with its evidence typeEach fact in this section carries its evidence type — either cross-checked against independent sources, or confirmed from a single authoritative record.
U.S. ethanol-producing mills consumed 528 million bushels of corn for alcohol and other uses in August 2026, up 4 percent from August 2025.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
Corn for fuel alcohol was 478 million bushels in August 2026, up 4 percent from August 2025.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
U.S. dry mills produced 1.85 million tons of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) in August 2026, down 2 percent from August 2025.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
NASS receives approximately 130 reports each month for the report, representing about 90 percent of total capacity.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
The USDA publication page lists the next scheduled Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production releases on November 2 and December 1, 2026.[3] 1 source · authoritative record
Statements and readings
Not counted as facts — each item shows what kind of statement it isFrom here on: statements not counted as facts — single-source reports, the issuing body’s own statements, and this page’s own readings, each labeled.
July 2026 corn for beverage alcohol was revised down by 581 thousand bushels, from 4,285 thousand to 3,704 thousand.[1][2] This page’s own calculation or reading · This page's comparison of the September 1 and October 1 releases
The four corn lines in the August 2026 table add to 528,104 thousand bushels, matching the published 528 million bushels.[1] This page’s own calculation or reading · This page's sum of the corn table in the October 1 release
Timeline
- 2026-09-01
NASS releases Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production for July 2026.[2]
- 2026-10-01
NASS releases Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production for August 2026.[1][4]
- 2026-11-02
Next scheduled release listed on the USDA publication page.[3]
- 2026-12-01
Following scheduled release listed on the USDA publication page.[3]
What this page could not establish
These are questions this page tried to answer and could not. The gaps are left open rather than filled with a guess.- Why was July 2026 beverage alcohol corn use revised down by 581 thousand bushels?
- Why did corn gluten feed rise 11% from a year earlier?
- Model
- claude-opus-5
- Time
- 10/31/2026, 00:09
- Body characters
- 6,395
- Sources
- 4 sources adopted
- Model
- ChatGPT (checked sources on the web)
- Time
- 10/31/2026, 00:12
- Verdict
- Revision required
Show revision history (3)
| 10/31/2026, 09:00 | First authored (claude-opus-5) | Created |
| 10/31/2026 | First version. Read in full the USDA NASS Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production text releases of October 1 and September 1, 2026, including the corn and co-product tables and methodology, plus the publication page and the NASS October 2026 release calendar; quotations are complete sentences matched against the source text. | Updated |
| 10/31/2026 | Revised after review: the carbon dioxide row marks its percentage changes as this page's calculations because the report publishes none for that item; the coverage answer says NASS surveys all known ethanol-producing mills but not all respond each month; the closing note says the report does not attribute these particular changes to specific causes. | Updated |
Frequently asked
How much corn did U.S. ethanol-producing mills consume for fuel alcohol in August 2026?
477,732 thousand bushels (published as 478 million), up less than 1% from July 2026 as revised and up 4% from August 2025.[1]
How much corn did U.S. ethanol-producing mills consume for all listed uses in August 2026?
528 million bushels, of which 92.6% went to alcohol and 7.4% to other purposes; the four table lines add to 528,104 thousand bushels.[1]
How much DDGS did U.S. dry mills produce in August 2026?
1,845,438 tons (1.85 million), down less than 1% from July 2026 and down 2% from August 2025.[1]
Does the August 2026 Grain Crushings report cover every U.S. ethanol plant?
NASS surveys all known ethanol-producing mills, but not all respond each month; about 130 reports a month represent about 90% of total capacity, and non-response is imputed.[1]
Why did July 2026 U.S. beverage alcohol corn use change in the October 1, 2026 report?
Data are revised the following month based on late reports or corrected data: the July figure went from 4,285 to 3,704 thousand bushels; the report gives no item-level reason.[1][2]
Is carbon dioxide captured by U.S. ethanol mills in August 2026 reported in the Grain Crushings report?
Yes: 292,163 tons for dry and wet mills combined in August 2026, compared with 284,535 tons in July 2026 and 268,024 tons in August 2025.[1]
Official links
Sources
- [1] Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production, released October 1, 2026 (USDA NASS, text release) primary
- [2] Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production, released September 1, 2026 (USDA NASS, text release) primary
- [3] Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production publication page (USDA ESMIS, page as current on 2026-10-31) primary
- [4] NASS Reports by Date calendar, October 2026 primary