US Corn Consumption Declines Amid Shifts in Alcohol Production

The US Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service released its 2025 Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production summary in September 2026. The report covers data from January to December 2025, showing a decline in corn consumption for alcohol production.

Total corn consumed for alcohol production reached 5.56 billion bushels in 2025, down 2 percent from 2024. Corn used for beverage alcohol totaled 39.6 million bushels, a decrease of 17 percent year over year, while corn for fuel alcohol amounted to 5.43 billion bushels, down 2 percent.

Among dry mill co-products, distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) production fell 4 percent to 21.6 million tons. The report also shows a slight increase in distillers wet grains with 65 percent or more moisture and a decrease in distillers dried grains.

The data is collected from all known ethanol-producing mills, with about 130 reports received monthly representing roughly 90 percent of total capacity.