bushels

Bushel is a unit of volume used to measure dry commodities, especially agricultural crops. It is common in the United States and Canada, and historically in the United Kingdom. A bushel is a unit of quantity, not a unit of weight; the actual mass of a bushel depends on the material being measured.

In the United States, one bushel equals eight US dry gallons, four pecks, or 2,150.42 cubic inches, approximately 35.239 liters. In the British imperial system, a bushel equals eight imperial gallons, about 2,219.36 cubic inches, or roughly 36.368 liters. The two systems therefore define slightly different volumes, with the imperial bushel being larger.

The bushel is related to other dry measures: one bushel equals four pecks, and one peck equals two gallons. These relationships reflect traditional farming and trade practices that organized larger quantities into bushels for convenience.

The weight of a bushel varies by commodity. In the United States, common reference values include roughly 60 pounds per bushel for wheat, about 56 pounds for corn (maize), and around 32 pounds for oats. Soybeans are commonly cited near 60 pounds per bushel as well. Because density differs among crops, a bushel does not translate to a fixed weight across products.

Use and usage remain most prevalent in agriculture, pricing, and storage. While metric units are widely used in many contexts, the term bushel persists in North American trade and in certain international discussions for specific crops, often alongside the abbreviated form bu or bu.