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Business143 words1 min read

Wheat and Corn Prices Fall Before USDA Report

a close up of corn on the cob
Photo by Wouter Supardi Salari on Unsplash
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Listen to the story

On September 9, 2026, the price of wheat and corn went down.

This happened on the grain market. Grain is food like wheat and corn.

The prices fell before a big report from the USDA. USDA means United States Department of Agriculture.

A report is a paper with new information. Traders wait for this report every month.

Traders buy and sell grain. They watch prices every day.

The report can change prices a lot. So traders were careful before it came out.

One expert is called Mike McGlone. He talked about corn futures.

Futures are deals to buy something later, at a fixed price.

He said December corn futures had a very strong August. It was the best August since 1980.

This means corn futures rose a lot last month.

But now, before the USDA report, wheat and corn prices are falling.

Vocabulary16 words

wheat
a plant used to make bread and flour
corn
a yellow plant food, also called maize
grain
food from plants like wheat and corn
report
a paper that gives new information
futures
a deal to buy or sell something at a future date
USDA
the United States government office for farming
trader
a person who buys and sells things like grain
price
how much money something costs
market
a place where people buy and sell things
fall
to go down
rise
to go up
expert
a person who knows a lot about something
strong
very big or powerful
December
the last month of the year
August
the eighth month of the year
since
from a past time until now

Quiz

1. What happened to wheat and corn prices on September 9, 2026?
2. What does USDA stand for?
3. What did Mike McGlone say about December corn futures?

Fill-in-the-blank listening

Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.

On September 9, 2026, the price of wheat and _____ went down.

This happened on the _____ market.

The prices fell before a big _____ from the USDA.

A report is a paper with new information. _____ wait for this report every month.

Traders buy and _____ grain.

The report can change prices a lot.

One expert is called Mike McGlone. He talked about corn _____.

Futures are deals to buy something later, at a fixed _____.

He said December corn futures had a very strong _____.

It was the best August _____ 1980.

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