Bushels per acre to tonnes per hectare, by crop
Convert bu/ac to t/ha with the right factor for corn, soybean, wheat, barley, oats and canola, plus lb/ac, gal/ac, inch and °F conversions.
- Where:
- US, Canada
- When:
- all
- Updated:
- October 19, 2026
- Reading time:
- 6 min
Short answer
There is no single factor for bushels per acre to tonnes per hectare, because a bushel is a volume and each crop is settled at its own standard weight per bushel. Multiply bu/ac by the crop's standard bushel weight in pounds, then by 0.0011209. For corn (56 lb/bu) 1 bu/ac = 0.0628 t/ha; for soybean and wheat (60 lb/bu) it is 0.0673 t/ha; barley (48 lb/bu) 0.0538; oats (32 lb/bu) 0.0359; canola (50 lb/bu) 0.0560. So 200 bu/ac corn is 12.6 t/ha, and 50 bu/ac soybean is 3.4 t/ha.
Why the factor changes with the crop
A US (Winchester) bushel is a volume of about 35.24 L (roughly 1.25 cubic feet). Grain is not traded by volume, though. The elevator weighs the load and divides by a standard weight per bushel that is fixed for each crop: shelled corn 56 lb, soybean 60 lb, wheat 60 lb, rye 56 lb, barley 48 lb and oats 32 lb, as listed in Ohio State's AGF-503. Prairie crops follow the same convention: canola and mustard 50 lb, field pea, lentil and dry bean 60 lb, flax 56 lb, triticale 52 lb.
Because the standard weight differs, a "bushel" of oats is a much smaller mass than a "bushel" of soybean, and the tonnes-per-hectare factor shifts with it.
One point trips people up. The test weight printed on your scale ticket (say 54 lb/bu for a light corn sample) is a grading factor, not the conversion. The elevator still turns your net weight into bushels at the standard 56 lb. A yield of 200 bu/ac is therefore already a weight: 11,200 lb of corn per acre. Convert it at the standard weight, never at the measured test weight, or you will double count the density.
The formula
Written out in full:
t/ha = bu/ac × lb/bu × 0.45359237 ÷ 1,000 ÷ 0.40468564
The constants are the kilograms in a pound (0.45359237) and the hectares in an acre (0.40468564, from 4,046.87 m² per acre), both from NIST SP 811. Collapsing them gives two short forms:
- t/ha = bu/ac × lb/bu × 0.0011209
- kg/ha = bu/ac × lb/bu × 1.1209
To go the other way, bu/ac = t/ha ÷ (lb/bu × 0.0011209). Bushels per tonne, the figure Canadian contracts quote, is 2,204.62 ÷ lb/bu.
Conversion table
Factors below use the standard bushel weights above. Five significant figures are more than enough for a field record; round to three for a conversation.
| Crop | Standard weight (lb/bu) | 1 bu/ac = t/ha | 1 bu/ac = kg/ha | 1 t/ha = bu/ac | Bushels per tonne |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corn (shelled), rye, flax | 56 | 0.06277 | 62.77 | 15.93 | 39.37 |
| Soybean, wheat, field pea, lentil, dry bean | 60 | 0.06725 | 67.25 | 14.87 | 36.74 |
| Triticale | 52 | 0.05828 | 58.28 | 17.16 | 42.40 |
| Canola, mustard | 50 | 0.05604 | 56.04 | 17.84 | 44.09 |
| Barley | 48 | 0.05380 | 53.80 | 18.59 | 45.93 |
| Oats | 32 | 0.03587 | 35.87 | 27.88 | 68.89 |
The reverse factors are exact reciprocals: 1 t/ha of wheat is 14.87 bu/ac, and 1 t/ha of canola is 17.84 bu/ac. If you only remember one number per crop, remember the t/ha column.
Other conversions you will need on the same page
Yield is rarely the only number that needs converting. These are the ones that come up in the same conversation, with the exact constants from NIST and the rounded versions from the Kansas State soils manual.
| Quantity | US to metric | Metric to US |
|---|---|---|
| Rate, lb/ac to kg/ha | × 1.121 | kg/ha × 0.892 = lb/ac |
| Spray volume, gal/ac to L/ha | × 9.354 | L/ha × 0.1069 = gal/ac |
| Rainfall or depth, in to mm | × 25.4 (exact) | mm × 0.03937 = in |
| Temperature, °F to °C | (°F − 32) ÷ 1.8 | °C × 1.8 + 32 = °F |
| Area, acres to hectares | × 0.4047 | ha × 2.471 = ac |
| Mass, lb to kg | × 0.4536 | kg × 2.205 = lb |
| Short tons (2,000 lb) to tonnes | × 0.9072 | t × 1.1023 = short tons |
Note that "ton" on a US scale ticket means the 2,000 lb short ton, while a tonne (metric ton) is 1,000 kg or 2,204.6 lb. A Canadian or export contract in tonnes is about 10 percent heavier per unit than a US ton.
Worked examples
Corn, 200 bu/ac to t/ha. 200 × 56 × 0.0011209 = 12.55 t/ha, or about 12,550 kg/ha. Using the table directly, 200 × 0.06277 = 12.55 t/ha.
Soybean, 50 bu/ac to t/ha. 50 × 60 × 0.0011209 = 3.36 t/ha.
Wheat, 4.5 t/ha to bu/ac. 4.5 ÷ 0.06725 = 66.9 bu/ac. The same wheat is 4.5 × 36.74 = 165 bushels per hectare, which is how a Prairie elevator would settle it before dividing by 2.471 to get per acre.
Canola, 2.5 t/ha to bu/ac. 2.5 × 17.84 = 44.6 bu/ac.
Barley, 80 bu/ac to t/ha. 80 × 0.05380 = 4.30 t/ha.
Nitrogen rate, 150 lb N/ac to kg N/ha. 150 × 1.121 = 168 kg N/ha. The reverse: a Canadian recommendation of 100 kg N/ha is 89 lb N/ac.
Spray volume, 10 gal/ac to L/ha. 10 × 9.354 = 93.5 L/ha. A label written for 100 L/ha is asking for 10.7 gal/ac.
Rainfall, 1.5 in to mm. 1.5 × 25.4 = 38 mm.
Caveats and adjustments
Canada measures density differently. Official Canadian grading reports test weight in kilograms per hectolitre, and the Canadian Grain Commission notes that the historic Canadian (Avery) bushel is 36.37 L against the 35.24 L US Winchester bushel. That matters for test-weight charts, not for yield conversion: the bushels-per-tonne figures in Canadian contracts (36.744 for wheat, 44.092 for canola, 39.368 for corn) are the Winchester-based numbers in the table above.
Insurers and buyers can use their own weights. Alberta's AFSC, for example, converts barley at 50 lb/bu and oats at 41 lb/bu for its insurance programs and notes that grain elevators may use different rates. If a contract, insurance claim or settlement depends on the number, use the factor written into that document rather than the trade standard.
Moisture travels with the number. A yield in bu/ac is a weight at whatever moisture basis your buyer settles on, and the tonnes you calculate are at that same moisture. Before comparing with a trial reported on a dry-matter or different moisture basis, correct the moisture first, then convert units.
Rounded factors drift. Using 0.063 for corn instead of 0.06277 overstates yield by about 0.4 percent, which is fine for a field conversation and not fine for a settlement. Keep the four- or five-figure factor in any spreadsheet.
Silage is not grain. Corn silage is quoted in wet tons per acre or tonnes per hectare at a stated moisture, not in bushels, so none of the grain factors apply.
Do it for your field
Enter your own crop, yield and moisture basis to get the factor and the converted figure for your field.
Sources
- Bushels, test weights, and calculations (AGF-503) — Ohio State University Extension
- NIST Guide to the SI, Appendix B.9: Factors for units listed by kind of quantity
- Conversion factors and formulas — Soils Laboratory Manual, Kansas State University
- Grain conversion table — Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (Alberta)
- Test weight for Canadian grains — Canadian Grain Commission
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This guide is educational and does not replace a site-specific recommendation from your agronomist or Certified Crop Adviser. Reference to a product is not an endorsement over similar products; users assume responsibility for use in accordance with current label directions. Last updated October 19, 2026.