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Record crop leaves heavy supplies in South Dakota

A farmer in southeast South Dakota says there seems to be a lot of corn in storage heading into spring.

Kevin Deinert tells Brownfield many corn piles got picked up over the winter, but there’s still a lot of grain bags in fields.

“The people are waiting to get those picked up,” he says. “I think a lot of the basis at local grain elevators and ethanol plants reflect there’s still a lot of corn out there. Just looking here today, basis on corn here is wider than soybeans, which is unheard of.”

In 2025, South Dakota farmers set a record in corn production, producing more than one billion bushels. 

Deinert says while corn prices have been holding fairly steady, cash flow needs will likely be the driver for farmers to move stored corn.

“The price difference lately with fertilizer, with how high that’s gone,” he says. “I think some people are going to need cash to carry them through the spring and summer, getting to the fall. I think that will trigger some people to get rid of corn earlier this summer instead of later.”

Deinert raises corn, soybeans and small grains in Davison County.