Collision damage is the most common type of damage that occurs in fresh corn ears at harvest, and this type of damage is difficult to quantify. The objective of this study was to determine the bruise susceptibility of fresh corn ears under various collision scenarios using the finite element method (FEM). Explicit dynamics were used to simulate the characteristics of collision deformation during the harvest of fresh corn ears. The precise external shape of the fresh corn ear was obtained by reverse engineering and the material properties of the fresh corn kernels and cob were determined using compression tests to build a finite element model of the fresh corn ear as a two-layer material. Data and deformation images were obtained by running collision simulations using three common impact contact surfaces (steel, neoprene, and PVC), three impact heights (0.6 m, 1.2 m, and 1.8 m), and three impact angles (−30°, 0°, and 30°) were considered. The results showed that the maximum bruise susceptibility value of fresh corn ears was 3.59 × 10−6 m3 J−1 when the impact height was 1.2 m, the collision angle was 0°, and the impact surface was neoprene, whereas the minimum value of fresh corn ear bruise susceptibility was 1.493 × 10−6 m3 J−1 when the impact height was 0.6 m, the impact angle was 30°, and the impact surface was neoprene. An empirical model for predicting the bruise susceptibility of fresh corn ears was obtained using a response surface analysis approach. The relative errors between the simulated and calculated results of the empirical model ranged from 0 % to 8.6 %. The relative error of the results predicted by the empirical model and verified using the drop test was less than 17.3 %. These results indicate that this model can be used to determine the bruise susceptibility of fresh corn ears with respect to specific impact surfaces during harvest. This study provides a theoretical basis for the design of fresh corn ear harvesters.