A crop insurance expert says growers can head into the 2026 season with increased confidence in federal coverage. Tom Zacharias is the president of National Crop Insurance Services and says, “They should have plenty of coverage options out there. It should much more affordable than in the past.” He tells Brownfield the One Big Beautiful…… Continue Reading
Another down day for soybeans, corn, wheat in low trade volume
Soybeans were lower on fund and technical selling. Beans are monitoring development weather in South America, and very early harvest activity in Brazil. Ahead of Tuesday’s open, unknown destinations bought 231,000 tons of U.S. soybeans and China picked up 136,000 tons, both for 2025/26 delivery. Including Monday’s sale to Egypt, the running total for the…… Continue Reading
GROWMARK plans new biological crop input facility to meet rising demand in agriculture
The senior vice president of strategy and logistics with GROWMARK says the cooperative’s planned state-of-the-art biological crop input manufacturing facility is aimed at meeting the demands of one of the fastest-growing sectors in the industry. Rod Wells says agricultural biologicals are the next step in crop production and nutrition. “Our facility will allow those companies that…… Continue Reading
Renewable power helping farms and rural communities, Gaesser says
A leader with Solutions from the Land says there’s been a push for more renewable energy sources on farms. Ray Gaesser, who farms in the southwest corner of Iowa, says it’s been prevalent in his state. “In Iowa, 63% of our electricity is renewable. It’s wind and solar (energy), but mostly wind.” He tells Brownfield…… Continue Reading
Farmers weigh crop options for 2026
Farmers are evaluating their crop options ahead of the next growing season. Brent Gatton from western Kentucky says his farm will stick to its normal corn-soybean rotation next year, but double crop wheat acres are expected to decline, locally. Locally, the price of wheat and what it costs to put the crop out, a lot…… Continue Reading
RMI survey: Farmland prices highest in 20 months
The latest Rural Mainstreet Index says farm and ranchland prices have reached their highest level since April 2024. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says, “Our farmland price index moved above growth neutral and that was a welcomed addition to our survey.” The RMI is a monthly survey of ag bankers in 10 states including Illinois,…… Continue Reading
Beck’s research shows yield advantage with planting early in corn and soybeans
A regional agronomy manager at Beck’s Hybrids says longstanding research data shows that planting date has an impact on yield. Steve Gauck tells Brownfield, “PFR data for 25 years on corn and over 25 years on soybeans shows there’s an advantage there. There’s actually less of a penalty in planting soybeans early than there is…… Continue Reading
Why Affordable Holiday Meals Don’t Tell the Whole Story About Farming and Sustainability
Commentary. Every holiday season we tell consumers they should be thankful for an abundant and affordable food supply. It has almost become a seasonal slogan; a gentle reminder that in the United States food remains relatively accessible and less expensive than in many parts of the world. Yet what often goes unacknowledged is how strongly…… Continue Reading
Wisconsin farmer: profitability hinges on input costs
Heading into the New Year, a west-central Wisconsin farmer has one question on his mind. “How do we remain profitable?” Tony Mellenthin says it’s a tough thing to do in the current environment. “Input prices have not relieved the pressure at all, even though our commodity prices have gone down.” Mellenthin says he makes the…… Continue Reading
One ‘Landman’ Season 2 Death That Everyone Sees Coming
After Ep. 7, 44 percent of ‘Landman’ fans agree that one character’s time is short. Continue reading…… Continue Reading
