First, in a world with over one billion hungry people, there will be constant demand for corn. It’s also important to remember that corn is often used as livestock feed. As many farmers are trying to rebuild depleted herds, it’s likely that demand for corn will increase.  

You also have to think about corn’s role as a hedge against inflation. Investing in stocks that are linked to a commodity like corn can protect you because the price of corn will increase along with, and perhaps faster than, global inflation.  

But let’s get back to the events in the Middle East that is choking off supplies of nitrogen fertilizer. Corn consumes about 78% of the nitrogen applied to grain crops. In fact, corn needs about 150 pounds of nitrogen fertilizer per acre. 

In 2025, that was around $59 per acre. Since the conflict with Iran began, the cost is up to around $78 per acre. That’s because natural gas is a key ingredient in creating nitrogen fertilizer, and the supply of natural gas is being cut off. That means while corn prices are still at multi-year lows, they’re not likely to stay that way. A similar pattern emerged in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine, and it’s likely to repeat itself in 2026. 

The good news is there’s still time to profit from this move. Here are five corn stocks that can give you varying degrees of exposure to this vital commodity.  

The Most Direct Play on Rising Corn Prices

The most direct way to invest in the rising price of corn is through an exchange-traded fund (ETF) like the Teucrium Corn Fund (NYSEARCA: CORN). The fund’s investment objective is to have the daily changes in percentage terms of the shares net asset value reflect the daily changes in percentage terms of a weighted average of the closing settlement prices for three corn futures contracts.  

The fund is up about 2.5% in 2026. That’s even after a 1.14% downturn in the five trading days ending April 1. More notably, short interest in the fund has decreased by 33% in the 30 days ending April 3, which corresponds to strong institutional buying. All suggesting that the “big money” is taking long positions. 

A Corn Processor with Global Reach and Growing Dividends

Ingredion (NYSE: INGR) is a leading global ingredient solutions provider serving customers in nearly 120 countries, with annual net sales of approximately $7.2 billion. The company’s core business involves transforming corn into a wide range of food, beverage, and industrial ingredients, which makes it a compelling pick when corn prices are on the move.

What makes Ingredion particularly attractive right now is how it straddles the line between commodity exposure and value-added specialty products. The company benefits from its growing proportion of specialty ingredients, which carry some degree of pricing power and generate higher profit margins. That means Ingredion is a business with earnings resilience built in.

The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, representing a $3.28 annualized payout and a yield of approximately 2.9%. That income cushion makes INGR a relatively conservative way to get corn exposure. For fiscal 2026, the company has guided for EPS of $11.00 to $11.80, in line with the consensus estimate of $11.37. With analysts setting an average 12-month price target well above current levels, Ingredion offers both income and upside potential for patient investors.

An Ethanol Producer Turning Corn Into a Low-Carbon Opportunity

Green Plains (NASDAQ: GPRE) is an intriguing, but volatile, way to play a rise in corn prices. The company owns nine biorefineries across the Midwest with the capacity to process approximately 264 million bushels of corn annually, and has transformed from a commodity ethanol producer into a low-carbon fuel platform by deploying carbon capture technology and generating 45Z tax credits.

That transformation matters enormously in the current environment. Management expects the carbon opportunity alone to generate at least $188 million of adjusted EBITDA in 2026, reflecting contributions from the 45Z production tax credit at its Nebraska facilities that are sequestering CO2, as well as approximately $38 million of net 45Z benefits from its plants outside of Nebraska.

There’s also a direct ethanol tailwind at play. When oil prices surge past $100 a barrel due to fears of a wider conflict and threats to energy supplies, ethanol becomes a more attractive and profitable alternative fuel. Green Plains is positioned to benefit directly from that dynamic. As corn stocks go, GPRE is extremely volatile, so it’s best suited for investors with a higher risk tolerance who want leveraged exposure to both corn and the energy transition.

Profit From Corn Price Volatility Without Owning a Single Bushel

CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) offers one of the most unique forms of corn stocks exposure on this list. Rather than growing it, processing it, or betting on its price, CME profits whenever traders are actively managing their corn risk. That activity surges in exactly the kind of volatile environment we’re in today.

Corn futures are the most liquid and active market in grains, with an average of 350,000 contracts traded per day, and open interest peaking at 1.7 million contracts. Every one of those trades generates fee revenue for CME, which means geopolitical uncertainty and commodity price swings are good for business.

CME Group set a record quarterly average daily volume of 36.2 million contracts in Q1, with record ADV across interest rates, energy, metals, equity indexes, agriculture, and foreign exchange. The stock has outperformed the S&P 500 over the past year, and analysts expect CME to report full-year 2026 EPS of $11.90, up about 6% from fiscal 2025, with further growth projected into 2027. For investors who want corn exposure with a blue-chip balance sheet and a reliable dividend, CME is a standout choice.

A Grain Merchandising Giant with a Record Q4 Behind It

The Andersons (NASDAQ: ANDE) is one of the most well-rounded corn stocks on this list. Through its Agribusiness segment, the company sells commodities including corn, wheat, and soybeans, manufactures and distributes agricultural fertilizers, and offers logistics for physical commodities such as whole grains, grain products, and feed ingredients. That breadth makes ANDE a diversified play on rising corn prices rather than a single-point bet.

The company reported a record Q4 2025 adjusted EPS of $2.04 per diluted share, with its Renewables segment delivering a fourth-quarter pretax income of $54 million on record production, and its Agribusiness segment contributing $46 million on solid operations through the record corn harvest.

Andersons has set ambitious long-term targets. At its 2025 Investor Day, The Andersons unveiled a growth plan targeting a run-rate EPS of $7.00 exiting 2028, representing a 36% compounded annual growth rate. Add in a dividend that has been paid for 118 consecutive quarters, and ANDE offers the kind of steady, corn-linked income and growth story that should appeal to a wide range of investors.

The Window Is Open — But It Won’t Stay That Way

Corn prices are still near multi-year lows, but the conditions that drove similar rallies in 2022 are rapidly reassembling. Tightening nitrogen fertilizer supplies, persistent global food demand, rebuilding livestock herds, and the inflationary pressures rippling out of Middle East conflict all point in the same direction.

The five corn stocks covered here offer varying risk profiles — from the pure-play price exposure of the Teucrium Corn Fund to the blue-chip stability of CME Group — so investors at every level of risk tolerance have a way in. The smart money, as reflected in declining short interest and rising institutional positioning, is already moving. The question is whether individual investors will act before the harvest is in.