Corn harvest falling by 50% in 2026 in France, according to the producers' association

Hard blow for hundreds of French farmers. The corn harvest for 2026, almost finished in France, is down 50% compared to the previous year, according to estimates from the main producers' association, which is calling on the State for help. Grain corn production, at some 7 million tonnes, is at its lowest since 1976, due to a drop in cultivated areas but above all to drought and heatwaves, including that of the end of June which was particularly harmful for the plants, AGPM officials indicated at a press conference on Tuesday.

“We have taken another step forward. This year, disaster has arrived,” declared Franck Laborde, farmer in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and president of the association, attached to the FNSEA, the dominant agricultural union. In mid-October, the statistics department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agreste, estimated the harvest at 7.3 million tonnes (compared to 13.6 million tonnes in 2025). The analysis firm Argus Media forecasts 6.9 million tonnes.

2.5 billion euros in losses

The financial loss is estimated by the AGPM at 2.5 billion euros for farmers in their corn activity. The association calls on the government to “act without delay to save farms and ensure the 2027 campaign”. On an estimated cost of 900 euros per hectare, it is asking for support of 450 euros per hectare, which would be both “avoided expenses and aid in hard cash”, in the words of Franck Laborde.

She wants farmers to be able to waive the obligation to plant cover crops on plots (between the corn harvest and sowing in spring), a system which aims to enrich the soil and which costs around 200 euros per hectare. “We are not calling into question these covers but this year the soils are too dry and farmers do not have the means to make this expense,” declared Franck Laborde, affirming that Brussels had given its agreement to this exemption.

The remaining 250 euros claimed by the AGPM - and all the associations of field crop producers - are planned aid but sometimes poorly calibrated depending on the association: aid for the purchase of nitrogen fertilizers, tax exemptions on undeveloped land, regional support, etc. The AGPM once again requested an extension of the opening dates of the fertilizer purchase aid window, open from August to the end of December, when corn producers buy their fertilizer in February/March. Only 10% of the envelope for this window had been consumed by mid-October, according to the association.