Corn is the most widely produced feed grain in the United States, accounting for more than 90 percent of total value and production of feed grains. Most of the crop is used as the main ingredient in livestock feed. Corn is also processed into a multitude of food and industrial products including starch, sweeteners, corn oil, beverage and industrial alcohol, and fuel ethanol. The United States is a major player in the world corn trade market, with approximately 20 percent of the corn crop exported to other countries.

U.S. corn production in 2007 reached a record 13.1 billion bushels, up from 10.5 billion bushels in 2006. The increase stems mostly from a 15.3- million-acre increase in planted area. The yield was also up at 151.1 bushels per acre. U.S. planted area, at 93.6 million acres, was up 19 percent, reaching the highest level since 1944. Corn-planted acreage was up in nearly all states because favorable corn prices, driven by growing demand from ethanol producers and strong export sales, encouraged farmers to plant more acres to corn.