The latest production of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Hybrid-Maize crop model shows mostly favorable prospects for non-irrigated (rainfed) corn in the Corn Belt.

The Hybrid-Maize crop model simulates corn yields at 43 locations and analyzes yield prospects for both rainfed and irrigated corn production. Faculty and Extension educators from 10 universities cooperate in the model updates. Rainfed production is featured in all the states where yield model sites are located.

A summary of the Hybrid-Maize yield model production as of Aug. 25, 2026, offers this detail: "Rainfed outlook remains mostly favorable: Most rainfed locations are projected to have near- or above-average yields, supported by near- to above-average rainfall across much of the Corn Belt in recent weeks." Indeed, a large swath of the Midwest, from eastern Iowa to Ohio, received more than twice the normal amount of rain during July through early August. In contrast, northern Hybrid-Maize yield model sites in Minnesota and North Dakota, along with southern Nebraska and western Kansas, had below-normal precipitation and are on track to show lower yields than average.

Irrigated corn shares yield challenges with the rainfed areas that were left out of the moisture track, according to the Hybrid-Maize yield model summary. The Hybrid-Maize yield model summary noted that very warm nights during July and August were a burden for irrigated corn. Irrigated yields, particularly in eastern Nebraska, southwestern Nebraska, and Kansas, are headed for mostly below-average yields, according to the Aug. 25 update.

A final point has to do with bottom-line numbers. The Aug. 25 Hybrid-Maize yield model update concludes that yields in the various regions across the Corn Belt "remain near the historical trend: Despite variation among locations and production systems, the regional average yield is projected to finish close to the historical trend, with a +2% deviation." Slightly higher yields in central and eastern sites are on track to compensate for lower irrigated and rainfed yields in the West.

An important note on the Hybrid-Maize model is that individual problems with stand emergence, hail or flooding, replanting situations, disease or nitrate leaching will likely cause the actual yield to be lower than the estimates described.

More details of the Aug. 25 run of the Hybrid-Maize yield model are available here: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/….

In addition, the national DTN Digital Yield Tour perspective on 2026 corn yield prospects is available here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Bryce Anderson can be reached at bryce.anderson@dtn.com

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