Harvest Your Independence Tour
Sponsored by Wyffels Hybrids
Profitability is on the line in 2025 as U.S. farmers roll into harvest. With uncertainty around commodity prices, tariffs, trade, and input costs, this fall is one to watch. Earlier this year, Farm Journal tracked planting progress through the “Plant Your Independence Tour.” Now, we’re back on the road for the “Harvest Your Independence Tour,” following 6 Midwestern growers and stopping at a different farm each week. From planter to combine, farm finances hinge on every pass — and in 2025, every load counts.
Corn harvest is just getting started for Rod Parkinson in Wataga, Ill., but early indications show fungicides kept disease pressure down and yields are holding steady.
It’s not disease hurting the Illinois corn and soybean crop this year. It’s dryness and drought. Ashland, Ill., farmer Brent Johnson says just two weeks into harvest, the dry finish to summer is eating into both his corn and soybean yields.