A bushel is a volume that grain trading long ago converted into fixed legal weights — different for every crop. This Grain Conversion Calculator converts bushels to pounds, short tons and metric tonnes (and pounds back to bushels) using the official standard test weights: corn 56 lb, wheat 60, soybeans 60, oats 32, barley 48, rye 56 and grain sorghum 56 lb per bushel.
Worked Example: 500 Bushels of Corn
At the standard 56 lb per bushel, 500 bushels of corn weigh 500 × 56 = 28,000 lb — 14.0 short tons, or 12.70 metric tonnes. The reverse direction prices the scale ticket: 10,000 lb of wheat at 60 lb/bu is 10,000 / 60 = 166.67 bushels. These two operations settle most farm-gate arithmetic: yield monitors report bushels per acre while trucks, bins and contracts move in pounds and tons, and a semi load’s legal payload (about 50,000 lb) becomes “roughly 890 bushels of corn or 830 of wheat” the moment the standard weights are applied. Note the subtlety the calculator is honest about: the standard weight is a trading convention, not a claim that your physical bushel of corn weighs 56.0 lb — actual test weight varies with moisture and hybrid, and elevators measure it precisely because heavy, dense grain stores and grades better. The conversion this page performs is the commercial one, the arithmetic of settlement sheets.
Standard Weights and Where They Come From
The bushel began as a volume (2,150.42 cubic inches in the US Winchester bushel) and grain filled it to different weights by crop, kernel shape and packing. Legislatures froze the observed averages into law, and the frozen figures — corn and rye and sorghum at 56, wheat and soybeans at 60, barley at 48, oats at a featherweight 32 — are now the constants of the trade, used by the USDA and grain exchanges regardless of any particular load’s true density. Oats’ low figure surprises newcomers until a bushel basket of oats is lifted beside one of wheat: hull-heavy, airy kernels pack barely half the mass into the same volume, which is also why oats yield more bushels per acre on paper for less actual feed. Canada and other metric exporters trade grain in tonnes with their own bushel equivalents (the Canadian wheat bushel is also 60 lb by statute, but the tonne conversions on trade documents use exact kilogram definitions) — when a quote crosses borders, this calculator’s tonne line is the one to trust, and the local bushel definition is the thing to verify.
Moisture: The Conversion Behind the Conversion
Grain is bought and sold at standard moisture contents (corn conventionally 15.5%, soybeans 13%, wheat 13.5% in US practice), and wet grain is discounted by shrink — the weight that will evaporate in drying. The full shrink arithmetic (accounting for both water loss and handling) belongs to elevator practice, but the water-only core is one line: dry weight = wet weight × (100 − wet moisture) / (100 − standard moisture). A 28,000 lb load of corn at 20% moisture shrinks to 28,000 × 80/84.5 = 26,509 lb at 15.5% before any handling factor — which is why harvest weight and settlement weight are never the same number, and why this page’s clean standard-weight conversions should be applied to settlement (already moisture-adjusted) bushels when reconciling tickets. Test weight per bushel and moisture are separate measurements that both move the final cheque; confusing them is the commonest scale-house misunderstanding, and the standard weights in the selector above are neither — they are the fixed legal bridge between volume language and weight language.
Common Mistakes
Using one crop’s standard weight for another — pricing oats at corn’s 56 lb/bu overstates a load by 75%. Assuming a physical bushel of your grain weighs the standard weight: the standard is statutory, your load’s test weight is a grade factor measured separately. Converting with the imperial (UK) bushel, a different volume and history. Forgetting that settlement bushels are already moisture-shrunk, then shrinking them again. And rounding mid-chain: convert with full precision and round the final figure, especially on truckload-scale quantities where a 0.5% slip is hundreds of pounds.
Related Tools
Continue with the Grain Bin Calculator, the Cattle per Acre Calculator, the Acres Per Hour Calculator, or browse the full Biology Calculators hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many pounds are in a bushel of corn?
56 lb by the official US standard weight. So 500 bushels of corn = 28,000 lb = 14.0 short tons = 12.70 tonnes. Wheat and soybeans use 60 lb; oats only 32 lb per bushel.
How do I convert pounds of grain to bushels?
Divide by the crop’s standard weight: bushels = pounds ÷ lb-per-bushel. 10,000 lb of wheat ÷ 60 = 166.67 bushels. The calculator’s reverse direction does exactly this.
Does a real bushel of grain actually weigh the standard weight?
Not exactly — the standard weight is a legal trading convention. Your load’s actual test weight (density) is measured separately as a grade factor and varies with moisture and variety. Settlement conversions use the standard.
Why do oats weigh so much less per bushel?
Kernel structure: oats carry a large, airy hull, so a bushel volume packs far less mass — 32 lb against wheat’s 60. Same basket, different physics, frozen into law.
What about moisture shrink?
Wet grain is discounted toward standard moisture: dry weight = wet weight × (100 − actual %) / (100 − standard %). Apply this page’s bushel conversions to settlement weight, not field weight, when reconciling tickets.
How many bushels fit on a semi truck?
By payload weight: at about 50,000 lb legal payload, roughly 890 bushels of corn (÷56) or 830 of wheat (÷60) — volume and axle rules permitting, which is why weight, not bushels, loads the truck.