Midwest (U.S.)

Elevated Corn Rootworm Pressure Projected For The Midwest

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 19:53:22 GMT

The “billion-dollar bug” is sharpening its teeth for 2026. Bayer CropScience reports corn rootworm pressure could be significant this year across major corn growing areas.

Based on 2025 beetle capture data from 555 monitored fields, the company projects medium to high rootworm pressure for the upcoming growing season in much of the Midwest:

31% of the corn fields sampled in 2025 had counts exceeding the economic threshold of 2 beetles/trap/day, which was 2% higher than 2024 fields (29%), 22% less than 2023 and 2022 fields (53%), and 7% less than 2021 fields (38%).
46% of the continuous corn fields sampled in 2025 were above the economic threshold, which was up 3% from 2024 (43%), down 25% from 2023 (71%), down 28% from 2022 (74%), and down 6% from 2021 (52%).
17% of the first-year corn fields in 2025 were above the economic threshold, which was 1% higher than 2024 (16%), 3% higher than 2023 (14%), up 7% from 2022 (10%), and equal to 2021 (17%).

On a broad scale, Bayer reports that rootworm larval populations — and consequently the risk potential from all CRW species this season — are likely to be elevated in fields in northern Illinois, south central Illinois, western Iowa, eastern, southeastern, and southwestern Nebraska, eastern and southeastern Wisconsin, and northern Colorado. Read the full report here .

Rootworm larvae feeding on corn roots compromise the plants’ structural integrity and can slice yields in affected fields by as much as 45%.

2026 corn rootworm pressure forecast based on 2025 beetle capture in 555 fields in CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI, and PA.

(Maps: Bayer, Beetle Monitoring Project from 2024 and 2025)

How Two CRW Variants Beat The Corn-Soybean Rotation

“CRW beetles are very, very adaptable to many of the things that we throw at them,” says Ashley Dean, Iowa State University Extension field crop entomologist.

She says CRW is forcing many row-crop growers to rewrite their management playbooks to address the pest better, especially variant populations.

Dean reports that the “variant” label describes two distinct genetic adaptations of corn rootworm:

Northern Corn Rootworm (Extended Diapause): These small green beetles have learned to hit the “snooze” button. Instead of hatching the following spring, their eggs remain dormant in the soil for two or more years—sometimes up to five. This allows larvae to emerge exactly when a field rotates back to corn.
Western Corn Rootworm (The Soybean Variant): These yellow-and-black striped beetles have developed a behavioral shift. Instead of staying in cornfields to lay eggs, females migrate to soybean fields to deposit them. When that field is planted to corn the next season, the larvae are already waiting in the soil. “These variants have essentially lost their fidelity to corn when they’re laying eggs,” Dean notes in a webinar.

These maps give approximate locations for western and northern corn rootworm variants.

(Iowa State University Extension)

A Multi-Pronged Management Strategy

Addressing corn rootworm effectively requires farmers use a localized, field-by-field strategy, says Jim Robinson, chief technology officer for Rob-See-Co. Because geography, soil, and history vary, growers should work with agronomists to tailor traits and stewardship practices to their specific acres rather than relying solely on regional forecasts, he advises.

Here are four additional recommendations Extension and industry advise farmers use in areas with expected high populations of CRW this season:

Make Root Scouting Non-Negotiable: Dig and rate roots in every field—continuous or rotated—to understand your baseline pressure. For assessing damage, use the interactive node-injury scale from Iowa State available here .
Consider Longer Rotations: In areas with heavy Northern corn rootworm extended diapause, adding a third crop like oats can break the cycle, Dean says.
Strategic Use of Bt and Insecticides: While Western corn rootworm has shown resistance to all four Bt traits in some areas, these tools still have a place. However, Iowa State suggests choosing either a Bt hybrid or a soil-applied insecticide rather than using both as “insurance” unless pressure is extreme.

To help farmers make informed decisions, Chris DiFonzo, professor & field crops entomologist at Michigan State University, provides the Handy Bt Trait Table for U.S. Corn Production , a valuable resource that outlines available Bt traits, their targets, and other key information.

Leave a Check Strip: When testing a new transgenic hybrid or insecticide in first-year corn, leave an untreated strip. This is the only way to verify if the treatment provided a return on investment.

John Deere Layoffs Continue Amid Sales Downturn, 142 Iowa Employees Notified

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 15:57:38 GMT

Farm equipment giant John Deere has confirmed it is laying off 101 employees at its Waterloo Operations (last day on October 17) and 41 employees at the Des Moines Works (October 31) plant, according to an official statement emailed to Farm Journal.

It is a little over a month since the last round of layoffs , which affected over 200 employees across factories located in the Quad Cities region of western Illinois and eastern Iowa.

Deere says in the statement: “Production schedules at each John Deere factory vary to align with seasonal farming needs. When fewer orders come in, each factory adjusts accordingly.”

Despite the layoffs and an overall tough farm economy that some think will stretch well into 2026, Deere still intends on moving forward with its $20 billion investment strategy here in the U.S., according to the statement.

During John Deere’s earnings call in August, the company issued a warning that tariff costs could total $600 million for fiscal year 2025. The company’s share price dipped 6% immediately following that call. Deere’s net income for Q3 also sank 26%, and its total net sales decreased by 9% compared to Q3 in 2024.

At the beginning of August, John Deere addressed long-standing Right To Repair concerns with a new digital diagnosis and repair product for John Deere machines and Hagie STS high-clearance sprayers. That tool costs $195 per tractor for farmers and $5,995 per year for independent service technicians.

And in May, Deere acquired Minneapolis-based drone and sensor provider Sentera . Financial terms for that deal have not been disclosed.

John Deere also just dropped a new commercial featuring injured San Francisco 49ers quarterback and Iowa State Cyclone Brock Purdy cooking meals for farmers with tractor influencer @JustAJacksonThing. You can check that out below.

Additional Information

Deere shares the following bullet points regarding compensation benefits available to laid off employees:

Affected employees are eligible to be recalled to their home factory for a period equal to their length of service. Those laid off are automatically placed in seniority order for openings they are qualified to perform at the factory.
Weekly supplemental unemployment benefit (SUB pay), dependent on number of years of continuous employment.
Transitional Assistance Benefit (TAB) pay, which may cover up to 50% of their average weekly earnings for up to 52 weeks. 
Profit sharing, calculated based on hours worked, average earnings and the company’s profit margin.

Healthcare benefits employees can receive during a layoff include: 

Employees can keep healthcare coverage for at least six months, or as long as they are eligible for SUB pay.
Weekly Indemnity (WI): Employees who become disabled while on layoff can get WI benefits for the same duration as their SUB pay.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Employees and their household members can access EAP services for the duration of their recall rights. EAP provides up to eight sessions of in-person or virtual therapy per year.

Other benefits laid-off employees may receive include: 

Life insurance
Legal assistance
Tuition reimbursement and job-placement assistance.

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Broadband Coming To A Field Near You? Data BRIDGE Act Would Bring Connectivity To The Farm

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 14:20:56 GMT

On Tuesday, Republican Congresswoman Erin Houchin (IN-09) introduced bipartisan legislation, H.R. 4950 – the Data BRIDGE Act – to improve how the FCC’s broadband map accounts for agricultural lands.

Today, barns and other farming structures located across the rural countryside are included in the FCC’s broadband map, but the surrounding cropland, pastures, and acreage where farming happens are not.

The Data BRIDGE Act directs the FCC to integrate USDA’s existing cultivated land data layer into its broadband map, with no new cost or mandates, ensuring federal broadband funding “reaches the fields that power America’s food supply.”

Republican Congresswoman Erin Houchin (Ind.-09)

(Photo Credit Nate Payne)

“Our farmers depend on reliable broadband to stay competitive in a modern economy,” writes Houchin in a statement to Farm Journal. “The Data BRIDGE Act is a commonsense, low-cost solution that ensures federal broadband investments actually reach the fields, pastures and production areas where work happens. I have fought for years to expand rural broadband, and this bill is another important step toward closing the connectivity gap for our farm families and rural communities.”

Here is a link to the proposed bill at Congress.gov. The bill has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. It would need to be voted on and passed by both the House and the Senate before making its way to President Donald Trump’s desk. The president could then veto the bill or sign it into law.

The bill currently has seven cosponsors, including four House Democrats and three Republicans.

Contact your local Congressional Representative and ask them to support H.R. 4950 if you would like the bill to become U.S. law.

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Farm Drone News: AgEagle Multispectral Sensor, GPS Satellite Launched and Rantizo Spins Off Software

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 20:32:33 GMT

AgEagle Aerial Systems Unveils New RedEdge-P Green Camera

(AgEagle Aerial Systems)

AgEagle Aerial Systems announces the launch of its new RedEdge-P Green, a multispectral camera designed to enable precision agriculture from planting to harvest.

AgEagle says farmers that use the new sensor payload can achieve higher yields through quicker interventions both early on and late in the crop cycle. Operators can reduce fertilizer and irrigation inputs and engage in smart harvesting techniques using optimized indices and targeted indices like the Plant Senescence Reflectance Index (PSRI).

Available as a standalone camera or in paired configurations with the original RedEdge-P and the RedEdge-P Blue, users can leverage up to 15 noise-resistant, data-rich spectral bands essential for large-area precision agriculture.

The RedEdge-P Green camera is NDAA-compliant and integrates with multiple drone platforms. Each camera kit includes a Calibrated Reflectance Panel (CRP) and a Downwelling Light Sensor (DLS2) for radiometric calibration.

Production of the RedEdge-P Green camera is underway, and the first units are expected to ship this week. For more information about the RedEdge-P Green visit ageagle.com.

Dutch Startup Launches Largest GPS Network for Drones, Tractors

(Lindsey Pound, iStock)

FreshMiners, a Netherlands-based IOT firm, launched a GPS service that enables accurate positioning for agriculture, construction and drone navigation, according to AgriMarketing.com.

AgriMarketing.com writes that the Dutch company is launching a service for extra-accurate GPS. It is intended for drone pilots, farmers and others. With this new technology, users can correct their GPS positions down to the centimeter. Real-time correction signals are sent to the user’s GPS receiver via a global network of base stations. This correction is essential for applications in agriculture, land surveying and drone navigation, among other things.

A subscription gives users access to the GEODNET network, which, with more than 19,000 base stations in over 140 countries, is now reportedly the largest RTK network in the world.

Read more at AgriMarketing.com.

Missouri Doctoral Student Says Drones Are Fine Tool for Crop Scouting

(Photo by Abbie Lankitus)

Researchers at the University of Missouri have discovered a mix of drones and AI can help farmers measure the health of their corn more efficiently.

Instead of relying on handheld devices, which are slow and impractical for larger fields, the researchers surveyed corn fields in mid-Missouri using drones equipped with special cameras to capture images and data.

After combining the drone images with soil data, the Mizzou researchers used a type of AI known as machine learning to quickly predict the chlorophyll content in the corn leaves of the entire field with great accuracy.

The study was led by Fengkai Tian (pictured above), a Mizzou doctoral student who works in the lab of Jianfeng Zhou, an associate professor in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.

Read more from the University of Missouri here.

Rantizo Spin-Off American Autonomy Inc. Says It Can Close the Spray Drone Data Loop

Rantizo is now connected with the John Deere Operations Center through John Deere API services.

(Rantizo)

Ground rig as-applied data has been around for decades, and it comes in handy when you’re tabulating your end of year scorecard to find out which treatments boosted yields and where a spray might have fallen short.

Yet even though spray drones treated over 10 million crop acres in 2024 alone, there’s still a gap that exists in capturing that data and integrating it into your farm management software.

Former Rantizo CEO Mariah Scott, who is now the CEO of a spinoff operation dubbed American Autonomy Inc., says her new outfit’s AcreConnect platform can help close that gap with API connections into John Deere’s Operations Center and more major FMIS platforms.

“We talk to farmers about getting that complete view of your field management, by closing the loop so you understand what’s effective or what’s not,” Scott says. “Most of the farmers we talk to use spray drones and a ground sprayer, and that (as-applied) data from the sprayer goes right into their FMIS account, but with the spray drone it doesn’t always work like that.”

The deal to divest the spray drone operations side of the business was quietly announced on Aug. 1. The Rantizo name, the startup is a pioneering spray drone service provider, still lives on, but now there’s a clean break between the spraying operations and the software on the back end that enables it.

Learn more about the Rantizo-American Autonomy Spinoff over at PRNewswire.

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Spray Drone Season Hits Full Throttle: 3 Service Providers Flying Acres and Boosting Yields

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 19:22:38 GMT

Nebraska native Andy Kreikemeier’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing all week, and it won’t go silent anytime soon.

That’s because his former hobby and volunteer side hustle, flying drones for the county emergency response team, transformed into a full-time gig as a spray drone operator. Kreikemeier is one-third of a team of spray drone pilots with business partners Brett Scheiding and Brad Eisenhauer. Together, the three local volunteer firefighters started Infinity Precision Ag, a custom drone application service provider in southeast Nebraska.

The Infinity team is in the crunch of the summer plant health application season, and farmers without access to a Hagie high-clearance sprayer or an aerial application service need the timely sprays these certified drone pilots provide to get their crop across the finish line and in good shape for fall harvest.

The trio is in their sophomore season offering per-acre spray drone application services to farmers, and the group learned “a ton” from last year’s rookie campaign.

“Spray drones are definitely a good tool because they can do a lot of specialized things, and it’s fun to see the old farmers come out and watch these things. They’ll tell me ‘Never in my day would I have thought this was something I’d be using’,” Kreikemeier says. “It’s a fun change, and it works. You can get more precise with your applications, and you get the stuff where you want it at all times.”

The team at Infinity exclusively flies Hylio spray drones, which are manufactured in Texas. Hylio was among the first U.S. service providers – Iowa-based Rantizo being one of the others – to receive FAA approval to swarm , or operate in concert, multiple spray drones in one flight mission. Swarming is exactly how Kreikemeier and his team prefer to operate the mostly automated quadcopters. By operating multiple spray drones together in a fleet, Infinity can cover more acres per hour.

Related: Trump Issues Executive Order Making Ag Drones More Efficient

Kreikemeier says the service requests from farmers this summer are “about 50-50” fungicide on corn applications and insecticide or foliar-applied biological sprays. There hasn’t been a lot of Tar Spot disease pressure in his area yet, but Gray Leaf Spot in corn is something farmers need to proactively spray for.

(Lindsey Pound)

While he won’t go as far as saying the drones are a superior application tool to a large ground rig or aerial application plane, he does see some advantages to using the technology.

“The drones can definitely get the products deeper into the plant canopy — at least that’s what I’m seeing right now,” Kreikemeier says, adding he’s also seeing improved application quality on end-rows and sensitive areas near buffers, streams and rural housing developments. An aerial applicator would usually have to pull up and gain altitude to avoid those obstacles, potentially leaving some spray to drift off-target. But an unmanned drone can stay low and keep blasting active ingredients directly into the canopy.

“Guys are definitely telling me they can see a difference between what the drones have done and what the planes have done,” he says.

From Photographer to Pilot-In-Charge

Drone shots of a drone spraying fungicide on corn field sprayer spray - By Lindsey Pound

(Lindsey Pound)

Over on the East Coast, Joshua Berry got his start in the drone world along the same lines as many early adopters: he built up a custom photography and videography business for years before making the decision to integrate aerial photography to stay relevant.

The first drone he purchased is widely considered one of the “OGs” in the drone world: DJI’s Phantom 1. Berry recalls his aerial photography service didn’t take off right away, but he always knew ag was an industry he wanted to join. The realization came fast and hard that he was facing an uphill battle to make that dream a reality, as his family didn’t own land or have a legacy in farming.

Berry’s big breakthrough came when he started using drones equipped with thermal cameras to help deer hunters locate fallen prey deep in the woods. The service gave him a foot in the door with local farmers – many of whom are avid hunters or at the very least friends with hunters – along Maryland’s specialty ag-rich Eastern Shore.

refilling drone spraying fungicide on corn field sprayer spray - By Lindsey Pound

(Lindsey Pound)

“A guy out in Ohio saw what I was doing and wanted to get into the deer recovery stuff, so he befriended me, and I helped teach him a couple things,” Berry says. “One day he calls me up and he’s like, ‘Yo, have you seen these agricultural drones?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I have my eye on it.’ And he tells me it’s going to be the next big thing.”

Berry started doing research and soon enough he agreed with his buddy in Ohio that spray drones would be his ticket to a career in farming. He ordered a pair of DJI Agras T-40 models and started working on getting licensed to legally apply chemicals.

That took him a few months (today the FAA licensing process has been streamlined), and he was able to start flying and applying midway through the 2024 growing season.

“I did a lot of research and networking before I flew a single acre, so I felt like I set myself up for success (early on),” Berry says. “Even though it was a dry year – dry and hot means there’s not a lot of pressure on farmers to spray – I ended the season with between 2,500 and 3,000 acres. For a guy in his first half of a season, I was happy with that.

Related: How Spray Drones Revolutionize Corn Farming, Make Farmers More Efficient and Sustainable

This year, Berry’s acreage will double to about 6,000-7,000. That’s an impressive figure, considering how fields are laid out on the East Coast. This isn’t Iowa, Berry says, where a drone operator can park at an intersection and knock out 300 acres of flat, continuous fields without having to move the truck and tender trailer.

As far as the job mix this summer, he is putting on a lot of single pass fungicide-insecticide-liquid fertilizer applications across a diverse mix of crops. Berry is also hearing some farmers in his area are buying drones themselves and skipping the whole FAA licensing process to spray their crops themselves.

“That’s going to hurt us as an industry, big time. And also, it’s going to hurt the farmers eventually. Even though the enforcement wing of the FAA is almost nonexistent, there is enforcement out there,” he says. “They may not have the manpower (now), but if that changes, you’re going to see these unlicensed guys really start to get dinged.”

Tendering for Spray Drones

The Mitten State is a good proving ground for spray drone applications, says Leon Thelen, agricultural drone application specialist, On Point Application Group (Battle Creek, Mich.).

For one, there aren’t many options for custom aerial application services available to growers like there are in the western Corn Belt. And Michigan farms are often broken into collections of smaller, oddly shaped fields with power lines, tree stands and residential developments nearby. That makes plane applications dicey.

And finally, the state has a diverse crop mix that features a lot of high-value, specialty crops like cranberries, cherries, potatoes and sugar beets. There are a lot of farmers looking to make applications without running over expensive plants with a ground rig.

Related: 7 Expert Tips To Maximize Spray Drone Efficiency

Thelen says On Point Application Group is doing a lot of field border insecticide applications, spot spraying tough weed escapes like water hemp, and putting out full field broadcast applications of fungicides with its XAG P140 spray drones.

One critical aspect of the business Thelen and his team have sorted out over the past few months is tendering. He says the giant, bi-level prefab drone tender trailers you see around the Midwest are good for most operations, but a smaller footprint tender that can fit in the back of an extended pickup is ideal for the type of work he’s doing in Michigan.

“Being that I’ve backed a trailer into a lot of fields, I like lightweight equipment that’s nimble,” he says. “We’ve got a trailer with 1,000 gallons of water and a mix tank that we can leave at the field edge and unhook. Then we have this 200-gallon hot tank with our charging equipment , batteries and everything we can take into the field. This setup works well when you’re working off (irrigation) pivot lanes or back in behind the woods. I like to be close to the field.”

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Be Prepared: Intense Storm Cluster With 75+ MPH Winds Working Through Upper Midwest Monday Evening

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 19:57:58 GMT

A powerful cluster of storms is forming in the Upper Midwest with a chance for crop-damaging winds and potential tornados in central South and North Dakota as well as southwestern Minnesota, warns The National Weather Service and meteorologist Bret Walts with BAMWX.com.

Walts expects the cluster will release a lot of wind energy this afternoon and this evening as it gathers steam moving east through the upper Great Plains. It could even intensify into a rare derecho storm with hurricane force winds.

UPDATE: The Weather Channel is now reporting a “derecho is likely to strike the Northern Plains.”

“We’ve got a stronger (atmospheric) jet stream moving in with a lot of instability in place still with the heat and humidity across parts of Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota,” he says.

Walts is paying close attention to how quickly the individual storm cells merge together. He says the faster that formation occurs the more intense the storm has the potential to become.

7/28/25: Intense severe storms are expected to form this afternoon in SD and spread southeastward into MN and IA through tonight. Swaths of damaging winds, potentially 75-90 mph, are the main concern. Be prepared to take action if watches and warnings are issued for your area. pic.twitter.com/wf2rH7eUdD
— NWS Storm Prediction Center (@NWSSPC) July 28, 2025

Walts forecasts the timing as 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. CT for parts of South and North Dakota, while 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. would be the time frame for the most intense winds in northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota.

“If that initial cell to the north shoots out of a lot of boundaries it could lead to the setup becoming a little bit messier,” Walts says. “We’ll know by five or six o’clock that if this thing is not getting organized, then we have an idea it is not going to be that intense. But I don’t anticipate that happening because the environment is very, very unstable and there’s a lot of wind energy. That combination this time of the year normally is not a good thing.”

NOAA says it expects these storms will move very quickly, and it is important to take action when warnings are issued locally. Do not wait until you see or hear signs of a strong storm because by that time it might be too late.

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Yellow Soybeans? Why Weather and Carbon Penalties Are Stressing Midwest Farmers

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 13:40:55 GMT

A Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) in Michigan says a confluence of weather conditions resulted in a roller coaster ride for soybeans over the first two months of the growing season.

The good news is the plants still have time to catch up and recover on the back-end (if timely rains are consistent), but the early season issue is still causing a lot of growers to hang their heads in utter disgust when they head out in the morning and see large areas of small, yellow soybean plants in fields.

How did this happen?
In southern Michigan, northern Indiana, and northwest Ohio, most soybean farmers opted to plant early. That means the beans were in by end of April. The region then had the coolest average night temperatures in May of the past 14 years, followed by the warmest average night temperatures in June of the past 14 years.

A roller coaster ride indeed.

Missy Bauer with B&M Crop Consulting says that two-month yo-yo spell left the region’s soybean farmers battling the “largest carbon penalty the area has seen in 14 years.”

What is the carbon penalty in farming?

(Darrell Smith)

The carbon penalty Bauer refers to is the process where microbes in the soil come alive as soil temps gradually warm and start breaking down last year’s crop residue. The nutrients are then naturally converted to plant-available nutrients through mineralization.

Bauer says the warm-up occurred so quickly it created a sort of massive explosion of microbial activity in the soil. While that sounds like a good thing, she says it actually resulted in some essential early-season nutrients getting “locked up” in the soil, thus unavailable for plant uptake.

“How many calls did we take this year from farmers saying, ‘My beans aren’t growing right, why?’” says Bauer who also serves as a Farm Journal field agronomist. “We’re seeing the biggest carbon penalty we’ve had in 14 years, and this is a hard carbon penalty. It locked up the beans, and that added stress.”

How can I overcome the carbon penalty?
If you have liquid fertilizer technology on your bean planter, Bauer thinks it might pay off this year by offsetting the carbon penalty and helping beans battle that early season stress.

July is currently trending above average for growing degree days (GDD) in the Lake Erie region, which will help shift vegetative growth a gear or two higher and set beans on a course for canopy close and pod fill.

“Basically, we’re back on track (with beans),” Bauer says. “Maybe we’re just a little bit behind last year, but we had better heat units in May last year, too. Now, we’ve made-up for that GDD deficit heat unit-wise, we’re not quite all the way there, we’re still a little behind, but we’re knocking on average.”

Spray drone treatment for nutrient deficiency in soybeans an option, too
Recently, Kameron Barrow, field operations manager, teamed up with B&M owner and CCA Bill Bauer to address some nutrient deficient yellow spots in the operation’s test plots near Coldwater, Mich.

After tissue sampling the affected plants and finding out the culprit was most likely a manganese deficiency, Bauer and Barrow called up a local spray drone service provider and hired it to spot spray a 5% manganese liquid fertilizer over the canopy of the yellow soybean plants. The drone applied a rate of half a pound per acre of manganese.

“We came in and sprayed on July 10 and on July 15 we scouted and immediately those yellow spots are gone, and that’s only after five days,” says Barrow, adding they also left a nearby section of yellow plants untreated as a check. “This just shows we have access to spray drones now, and we can use the technology to use things we’ve never used to better manage the crop.”

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Meet The Forge: Kelly Hills Unmanned Puts New Spin on Ag Tech Field Testing

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 21:37:17 GMT

Over the weekend, Kelly Hills Unmanned, a company that says it is dedicated to accelerating multimodal technologies in agriculture and autonomy, announced the launch of The Forge.

It’s being described as a deployment-centered program designed to meld best-in-class ag technologies into new tools that farmers, ranchers and service providers can trust and use for decades to come, according to a press release from the group.

The Forge’s inaugural cohort hopes to bring together a “powerhouse group” of innovators and operators from across the ag technology landscape into a coordinated, systems approach to help growers identify and overcome agronomic issues before they become yield robbers.

The cohort members, or pillars, are:

Precision AI: Developers of real-time drone-based precision spraying systems that reduce chemical inputs and deliver hyper-targeted agronomic action.
Pyka: Builders of autonomous electric aircraft designed for aerial applications, logistics and mission-critical crop operations.
ScanIt Technologies: Experts in using early detection of airborne pathogens to maximize yields and minimize costs.
Heinen Brothers Agra Services: One of the nation’s largest aerial applicators and ag services companies, offering deployment scale and deep field expertise.
Yamaha Precision Agriculture: Pioneers of robotic and aerial technology for small scale, high-efficiency farming.
Drop Flight: Providers of droplet characterization and aircraft calibration tools to optimize spray accuracy and compliance in real-world operations.
Taranis: Global leaders in ultra-high-resolution aerial scouting, delivering precise field-level insights to boost agronomic decision-making.

For more information, head to www.kellyhills.us/the-forge .

Farm Journal reached out to Lukas Koch to pick his brain about this new, novel entrant to the ag tech ecosystem. We first met Koch last year during the Kelly Hills Unmanned summer field day near Seneca, Kan., where his group unveiled the Pyka Pelican Spray drone — at the time the largest, highest-capacity ag spray drone on the market (280-liter capacity). This year Kelly Hills is integrating the Pelican 2 (300-liter capacity, up to 222 acres per hour at 60-foot swath rate) into its aerial application arsenal.

Farm Journal: Would you call this an ag tech incubator or accelerator type of program, and if not, what’s makes The Forge different?

Lukas Koch (LK): “(The Forge) is neither of those, because we’re not taking a cash influx to create an R&D program. What we’re doing is creating new tools with existing technology — if they’re part of plug and play that’s fine, but we don’t care about that. We want to know if the tech has merit and does it fit on the acre, but maybe something with it is not fully there just yet? So, what are we supposed to do with it then? You have a technology and, for example, it can take high-res pictures and identify areas of your fields that need attention, but today the most likely options are using a ground rig or hiring an airplane to manage that in a meaningful way. For that example, we think there’s an opportunity to do that with a small spray drone, but then again the logistics are tough; you have to come back and land and swap out a battery or refill the tank so often. We’re going to take a bunch of existing technologies that already exist, ask them to change nothing and put them to the test — and we’ll push the bounds of what they can do, to make these all work together in a system.”

FJ: How will this all kind of come together and take shape this summer as the program rolls out?

LK: “We have a few drone companies (in the cohort), and there’s a droplet analysis program involved — I thought that was an important piece in analyzing the spray coverage we get. Right now, we have the in-field sensors out in the field to help us ground truth the data we get from overhead. And then the remote sensing piece gives us situational awareness; it tells us where we should be focusing our efforts. And overall, I think, OK, that’s great, but now you still have to make a treatment with either a ground rig or hire an airplane.

(www.KellyHills.us)

“But with our FAA test range (pictured above) that we were approved for last summer within Kelly Hills, now we can autonomously fly to those spots with a drone, either in line of sight or Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS), and we can make those treatments autonomously. This year, the tool we’re focusing on is true spot spraying BVLOS in corn and soybeans, and then next year hopefully we can make more tools or take that technology that already exists and make it into a tool for a grower, who can sign up for this subscription and buy one of these drones, and now I have a full encompassing suite of tools and I can know for sure what works and what does not work.”

FJ: How can farmers in Kansas learn more and possibly sign up to work with you guys?

LK: “There’s really two ways right now. For anything specific they might want to do, maybe there are some projects they are thinking about, go ahead and ping us on the website , and we’ll get back to you. And the other way is, once we’re done with a set tool or we wrap up our summer series of projects, we plan to make the results and findings available online, kind of like Beck’s Hybrids does with its farm applied research studies. We want people to see what we’re doing and to reach out with their ideas on how we can make better tools inside of The Forge and showcase some of these technologies together in one new product, and growers are very interested in this and would love to understand if they can package these technologies together and make an ROI.”

FJ: You already have this inaugural cohort in place, but are you already thinking about what’s next?

LK: “I have a couple companies that I need to further engage with now that they can see what The Forge is all about. A couple of those are involved in year-over-year (data) modeling technology that can say, OK, help me start to determine this is my pattern, and this is what I did last year; now can you tell me what to do next year and how to create more ROI? And then I think soil is a huge key right now, too. I don’t have any any soil type products in there, and soil sampling is great, but there are some neat companies that are focusing on soil-sensing technology that I think would be interesting to package in there, too. You know, in due time I think we’ll get there.”

Koch says the plan is to unveil many of the insights and results from The Forge at this summer’s Kelly Hills Unmanned Field Day. That event is set for Aug. 19, and you can get registered for it here.

And, just for fun, here’s a video breakdown of the Pyka Pelican 2:

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From Omaha to Georgia: Inside the Farm Machinery Reshoring Boom

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 19:38:03 GMT

After releasing our “Where Farm Equipment Is Made” 2025 update in February , we circled back with farm equipment manufacturers to get a read on how tariffs will affect where machines are made.

Many companies across a wide range of industries are considering or even moving forward with plans to reshore production from overseas back into the United States. We’ve learned this process involves long-term, strategic investments in new facilities and/or expanding factories already established here in the States.

Although each manufacturer shared differing visions for how, when and where it plans to build out additional manufacturing capabilities in the years ahead, a common theme did emerge: farm equipment builders are investing big dollars into reshoring, and many have been for quite some time now.

Let’s hear what the machinery companies are planning:

AGCO Corp.

(AGCO Corp.)

The Duluth, Ga.-based equipment manufacturer says its dedication to American farmers and its own strategic investment plans are “key drivers of our overall growth strategy,” according to an AGCO spokesperson.

The rest of the statement from AGCO, which builds the Fendt and Massey Ferguson equipment brands along with its own AGCO machines, regarding U.S. expansion plans can be found below:

Since 2020, we have invested just under $3 billion in the U.S. across new and expanded manufacturing facilities, product innovations and the largest ag tech deal in the history of the industry. Our commitment has extended across our various brands, locations and Research & Development (R&D) efforts, including the notable 2024 joint venture establishing Colorado-based PTx Trimble, the inauguration of Fendt Lodge – the North American headquarters of Fendt – in Minnesota, a new precision ag production facility in Illinois, modernization of systems and technologies in one of our Kansas plants, and U.S.-based R&D for new sprayer and planter technology.

These investments, AGCO says, will not only enhance production at its U.S. facilities for years to come, but also ensure AGCO remains at the forefront of ag innovation around the world.

Claas

(Matthew J. Grassi)

Claas is still a somewhat fresh face to the North American farm equipment market, but the company has deep roots in Europe. It was founded over 100 years ago in a small German farming town, and today the company has global headquarters in Harsewinkel, Germany.

But you may not be aware that Claas has also built a significant manufacturing operation in America’s heartland. The company opened its Lexion combine production campus, located just south of downtown Omaha, Neb., in 1997. This year marks 10,000 Lexion combines rolling off the main production line inside the 120,000 sq. ft. facility.

(Photos: John Deere, Matthew J. Grassi, AGCO, Kubota)

Claas has significant expansion plans in place for its Omaha campus, including doubling its overall production footprint for the main manufacturing building as well as adding a new training and apprenticeship building.

Here is the statement Matthias Ristow, president & managing director of business administration – Claas Omaha, shared regarding the company’s expansion plans:

Claas is investing significantly in its production hub in the United States, and not only recently. Over the last five years, we have added to our production facility to provide a better location for our rework and reconfiguration areas, as well as a dedicated work area for our quality control department for the pre-delivery inspections each machine must go through before being shipped. This is part of our comprehensive quality assurance program.

We also have built a new service academy where we train all the technicians from our U.S. dealer network (we have a similar location in Canada) so we can keep their skills up to date and make sure they have the proper certifications to work on our machines. Technology updates and changes are trained there as well.

Furthermore, our new service academy houses our apprenticeship program where we train the future assembly technicians in a three-year rigorous training program, managed by the German Chamber of Commerce. The program has several advantages. Technicians receive a regular paycheck (“earn while you learn”), receive an associate’s degree from a community college we partner with, receive a certificate from the German Chamber and have a job when they graduate from the program debt free.

Farm Journal recently had the opportunity to tour Claas’ Omaha operation, where we learned the manufacturer is also expanding its partnerships with domestic material and component manufacturers. For example, it recently began working with a finished parts supplier local to Nebraska to fabricate the grain spout for each Lexion combine.

CNH Industrial (Case IH and New Holland)

(CNH Industrial)

Although short on specifics, CNH Industrial (Racine, Wisc.) confirms it plans to “continue to expand our footprint through capital investments in our U.S. facilities, partnerships with local suppliers and programs that strengthen the communities where we live and work.”

CNH adds it currently employs more than 9,000 people across 17 U.S. states, with 14 manufacturing facilities and 22 R&D centers active throughout North America.

And approximately 70% of the components used in CNH Industrial’s U.S. plants are sourced from domestic suppliers while 95% its steel is purchased from U.S.-based mills. It says this approach to domestic material sourcing supports thousands of suppliers’ jobs and reinforces its investment in American-made quality.

John Deere

(John Deere)

The farm equipment manufacturer with global headquarters in Moline, Ill., was first to share its future investment plans with Farm Journal. Back in May, the company announced a 10-year, $20 billion outlay plan for its U.S. production base. This year alone, Deere says it will pour $100 million into its U.S. operations.

John Deere says this initiative includes:

A 120,000 sq. ft. expansion of the company’s remanufacturing facility in Missouri.
Construction of a new excavator factory in Kernersville, N.C.
Expansion of its Greeneville, Tenn., turf equipment factory.
New assembly lines for 9RX high-horsepower tractor production in Waterloo, Iowa.

John Deere plans to invest a total of $22.5 billion into its U.S. manufacturing network once the 10-year project is complete.

Kubota North America

(Kubota North America)

Kubota Tractor Corporation (KTC) established its North America headquarters in Grapevine, TX., in 2017. The Japanese equipment manufacturer shared the following statement regarding U.S. expansion plans.

North America is critical for Kubota, and the U.S. is our largest market. We firmly believe in local production for local consumption and have made more than $1 billion in U.S. infrastructure investments in the last couple years to meet the growing needs of our dealers and customers. For example, we recently announced the opening of a new loader facility in Gainesville, Ga., (invested $190 million), a new Western Distribution Center in California (invested $72 million), and an R&D facility (invested $100 million) that’s also in Georgia. We have other network investment announcements in the works, and we plan to continue to invest over the next five to 10 years as we respond to market demands. Today, we are more than 7,000 American workers strong who market and sell, and fabricate, weld and assemble equipment with domestic and global parts.

Want to learn more about where your favorite farm machines are made? Check out “From the Factory to Your Fields: Where Farm Equipment Is Made”.

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Another Sign of Trouble in the Ag Economy: Farm Bankruptcies Are on the Rise

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 18:35:59 GMT

It’s no secret there’s trouble in the ag economy. As AgWeb reported in March , the Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor found 62% of ag economists think the row crop side of agriculture is currently in a recession, and 85% think the situation will accelerate consolidation on farms and among agribusinesses. A new report from Bloomberg Law shows family farm bankruptcies are also on the rise.

Bloomberg Law’s Alex Wolf and Skye Witley recently reported that family farm bankruptcies had already increased by 55% last year compared to 2023. And there’s no sign of that slowing down, as Wolf and Witley report bankruptcies are trending even higher this year. That’s as farmers continue to grapple with depressed agricultural commodity prices and high input costs.

Farm bankruptcies are on the rise in the U.S.

(Bloomberg)

“And while much of the industrywide distress predates his second stint in the White House, (President Donald) Trump has quickly nudged more farmers closer to the brink of going under and created turbulence for producers trying to make ends meet,” Wolf and Witley reported in the Bloomberg Law story. “Unpredictable tariffs, immigration overhauls, federal program cuts and frozen Agriculture Department funding are now part of the discussions farmers are having as they seek financial help.”

The report shows the last time farm bankruptcy filings soared was in 2019, which was the height of the previous trade war with China. The previous Trump administration sent farmers more than $20 billion in Market Facilitation Program payments (MFP) to help cover export losses.

Following that financial aid to farmers, the report shows family farm bankruptcies, filed under Chapter 12 of the U.S. bankruptcy code, declined each year until 2024.

According to court records, the number of new cases in 2024 jumped to 216 from a near 20-year low of 139. The report also shows those filings have continued to speed up this year, with 82 cases filed over the first three months of 2025, which is nearly double the figure for the same period a year ago.

$10 Billion in ECAP Money to Farmers

More help is on the way, if not already on farm. That’s because the American Relief Act of 2025, which was passed by Congress late last year, authorized the $10 billion for ECAP payments to help offset losses growers incurred during the 2024 crop year. Those payments are being dispersed now, and farmers have until August to sign up.

According to Joe Glauber, former USDA chief economist and a current emeritus fellow with the International Food Policy Research Institute, direct payments have helped farmers. But the threat of farm bankruptcies, and the reality of financial pain if markets don’t improve, is still there

“Remember, we are getting a ton of money put into the sector this year from the bill that was passed by Congress in December,” Glauber told “AgriTalk’s” Chip Flory. “So that’s $31 billion coming in with $10 billion of that going out to farmers as direct income support to offset low margins. So, I don’t think we’ll see a lot of farms going out of business. But certainly, if these short, tight margins persist for a long time, then that’s going to affect people.”

Rural Bankers Show Concern

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the number of farm loans at risk of defaulting is the highest it’s been since 2020 as demand for non-real-estate farm loans has surged while repayment rates dropped. The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago serves the Seventh Federal Reserve District , which includes Iowa, and most of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Ag lenders are also concerned. The most recent Rural Mainstreet Index (RMI) shows for the 19^th time in the past 20 months, the RMI sank below the 50.0 growth reading in April. This specific index surveys bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state region dependent on agriculture and/or energy.

While tariffs and Trump’s focus on trade are causing uncertainty, Ernie Goss, MacAllister chair in regional economics at Creighton University, says ag lenders are actually supportive of Trump’s tough stance on trade.

“The economic outlook for 2025 farm income remains weak, according to bank CEOs. Despite the negative fallout from tariffs, 75% of bankers support the tariffs on China, and 79.2% back the 90-day pause on other tariffs,” Goss told “AgriTalk’s” Chip Flory. “I’m an economist and we economists, we’re not very keen on tariffs and trade restrictions. Nonetheless, the bankers, three out of the four bankers are supportive of what the president’s doing there, and I would argue that the farmers are on the president’s side as well.”

The RMI also found rural bankers remain pessimistic about economic growth for their area over the next six months. The April confidence index increased to a weak 36.0 from March’s 30.4.

“Weak grain prices and negative farm cash flows, combined with downturns in farm equipment sales over the past several months, pushed banker confidence lower,” Goss said.

Cotton Hit Especially Hard

Cotton farmers are especially feeling the pain with younger farmers already having difficulty getting financed for this year. Cheap cotton prices and dwindling demand are just part of the problem. Input costs have climbed, and there’s no safety net to be found from a new farm bill. One Georgia farmer told Farm Journal that the current farm bill is irrelevant and worthless, and if a new one doesn’t get passed this year, the cotton industry is doomed.

“We’re going to plant cotton and don’t even have a clue if we’re going to get our money back,” says Franz Rowland, who grows cotton in Boston, Ga. “There’s no farm bill to support us, and the reference price is so low that it’s not anything that we can depend on. So, we’re going to put several million dollars in the ground and don’t even know if we’re going to get it back.”

As president and CEO of National Cotton Council (NCC), Gary Adams sees and hears the somber situation for U.S. cotton farmers from coast to coast. Adams says the outlook for 2025 is even worse than 2024.

“We’ve gone beyond just losing money now that we’re to the point of losing the farm,” he says. “Unfortunately, where the industry is, that’s what it looks like as we’re going into 2025.”

Darren Hudson is the Larry Combest endowed chair for agricultural competitiveness and director of the International Center for Agricultural Competitiveness at Texas Tech University. Hudson focuses on cotton, and on “AgriTalk” this week, he described why cotton farmers, and the entire cotton industry, is feeling the pinch.

“Cotton is fairly input intensive anyway, and so urea, nitrogen costs, all these chemical costs, they’re facing those just like every other farmer out there, but we’ve had three consecutive really bad moisture years,” Hudson told “AgriTalk.” “So, we have a long way to go to get back to what you think of as normal growing conditions.”

Hudson says three consecutive years of declining production due to drought isn’t just a problem for producers, it’s also the cotton infrastructure that relies on that crop.

“We’ve had three years, you know, that processing infrastructure all that stuff is strained and disappearing, and it’s getting harder and harder to farm as a cotton farmer out here,” says Hudson, who’s based in Lubock, Texas. “We’re not unusual compared to everybody else. We don’t want to sing a sad story, but I think all of ag is in a squeeze at this moment with [commodity] prices versus inputs.”

Is the Ag Industry Ripe for Consolidation?

Another reality for U.S. agriculture, while the majority of farms in the U.S. are small family farms, that sector doesn’t represent the majority of farm production today.

USDA ERS data shows while 88% of U.S. farms are considered “small family farms,” those farms only represent18.7% of the total U.S. value of farm production.

(Ben Brown, University of Missouri )

USDA ERS data shows while 88% of U.S. farms are considered “small family farms,” those farms only represent 18.7% of the total U.S. value of farm production.

On the other hand, while 3.4% of U.S. farms are “large-scale family farms,” that sector represents 51.8% of the total value of U.S. farm production.

Missouri Farmer Calls Ford Out for Abandoning Ethanol Flex Fuel in New F-150 Trucks

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 20:23:50 GMT

Missouri Corn Growers Association CEO Bradley Schad, who still helps out around the family farm in his spare time, is calling on Ford Motor Company to reconsider a recent decision he believes will cause long-term harm to U.S. farmers.

“They stopped selling new flex fuel vehicles, so now they don’t have a single new engine platform option for growers to purchase,” Schad says. “The F-Series truck is one of the most important vehicles that we have on the farm today. They’re trying to change that (series) to an electric fleet, and we don’t like that.”

Farm Journal reached out to Ford for comment via a contact form for media on its website. We will update this post if we hear back from anyone at Ford Motor Company.

According to Schad, Ford’s F-150 is not only the top-selling truck in the U.S., but also the top-selling used vehicle in the top five corn-producing states: Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota and Indiana. It is also No. 1 in a handful of ag-friendly states like Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, the Dakotas and the Carolinas.

Model Year 2023 was the last iteration of the F-150 that Ford offered with the V8 5.0-liter Flex Fuel option. Schad, who is a longtime F-150 owner, says he’s not interested in criticizing Ford for the change. After all, recent regulations removed many of the manufacturer incentives that used to exist for flex fuel and E-85 vehicles.

Bradley Schad, Missouri Corn Growers Association

(Photo courtesy Missouri Corn Growers Association )

“We’re just trying to bring some awareness and work with Ford to change the legislation and regulations and help bring that (option) back,” Schad says. “We realize it’s not entirely their own fault necessarily, but work with us to pass some beneficial legislation that helps farmers and rural consumers purchase a more economical fuel and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”

Schad says Ford is still supporting its higher-ethanol compatible engines in South America. Brazil, for example, has a minimum ethanol blend in its fuel of 27.5%.

The company’s chief truck-building rivals at GM still offer flex fuel as an engine option on new base models of the Chevy Silverado and the GMC Sierra. Ford, it would seem, is stepping away from the same farmers that helped catapult its trucks to the top of the auto industry, he argues.

(Photo courtesy Missouri Corn Growers Association)

“We need Ford to stand strong with farmers – the No. 1 customer base of F Series trucks in the nation. I don’t think there’s any business sector that buys more F Series trucks than the agriculture sector,” he says. “We need Ford to give us the option to use our own product and help build demand for corn-based ethanol.”

RELATED - Grassley: Farmers Can Feed And Fuel The World At The Same Time. It’s Not Either/Or

Schad is optimistic a long-awaited-but-yet-to-be-passed new Farm Bill will include some type of carve out supporting ethanol-based fuels. Republican Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley has also been advocating for year-round E-15 fuel availability for years. Grassley and Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer (R) reintroduced the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2025 in February. If passed, that bill would enable year-round, nationwide sales of ethanol fuel blends up to 15%.

“We need permanency and predictability with ethanol and biodiesel,” Grassley recently told AgriTalk host Chip Flory.

And while Schad admits he has heard all the critiques of ethanol-based fuels - subpar performance, increased engine problems, etc. - his experience is that higher ethanol fuels are clean burning, high performing and safe.

“There’s nothing more helpful to a farmer than having a strong truck with a strong fuel providing more horsepower and torque in these engines,” Schad says. “Octane is key, and we want to make sure to partner with everyone we can. Hopefully Ford is willing to help us pass some beneficial legislation that brings ethanol the ability to be produced and consumed across the nation.”

Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced USDA will release funding under the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) for 543 projects totaling $537 million in 29 states. Established at USDA Rural Development during President Trump’s first term, HBIIP helps expand the production of domestic biofuels by helping fueling stations install the pumps, storage containers and other necessary infrastructure needed to offer biofuel options at the pump.

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Goodbye, La Niña? Eric Snodgrass Dissects What the Shift Means for Weather This Spring and Summer

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 21:12:49 GMT

La Niña is weakening, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) expects neutral conditions to develop in the next month . But even with La Niña fading, meteorologists are still concerned about drought this spring and summer.

NOAA this week said forecasters expect ENSO-neutral conditions to develop in the next month and persist through the Northern Hemisphere’s summer. According to NOAA, La Niña’s signature is cooler-than-average surface water in the east-central tropical Pacific, stronger-than-average trade winds, and drier conditions over the central Pacific.

ENSO-neutral means conditions could be close to average, but Eric Snodgrass, Nutrien’s principal atmospheric scientist, says that doesn’t mean the weather will be normal this spring and summer.

“I do expect changes,” Snodgrass says. “Think about it like this: The previous winter was an El Niño winter, and it was very mild and very wet. So, we got into spring ’24 with tons of moisture. I mean, Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota flooded out. Then we had this incredibly dry fall as the La Niña began, and it reached a peak twice. It actually hit a peak in December, and then a secondary peak about a month later at the end of January. It’s been fading ever since. The big question is, as we go into neutral conditions for this upcoming growing season, is it going to be one that paints a picture of precipitation extremes? Did it leave us with any sort of kind of problems from winter that are carrying over?”

Snodgrass says the severe weather outbreaks on Friday, that brought high winds, dust storms and wildfire warnings across the Plains, is a reminder how dry it is in the Southwest.

“We’ve got major pockets of the country that are still dealing with some pretty big drought conditions. It is fading, and that is a signal we have to pay attention to,” Snodgrass says.

USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey is also concerned about what impact the shifting pattern will have on farmers this spring. But it’s not just the dryness. It’s also the fact areas are getting inundated with rains that could pose problems.

“With this stormy weather pattern in place, that is going to create some difficulty for spring field work in some areas. It looks like the primary storm track may be through parts of the middle of the country extending into the lower Midwest and eventually the interior northeast. That is one area where we already have fairly wet conditions,” Rippey says.

How sea surface temperatures in the Niño-3.4 region of the tropical Pacific changed over the course of all La Niña events since 1950 (gray lines) and 2024-25 (black line). This shows the traditional calculation for Niño-3.4, the monthly temperature compared to the most recent 30-year average (1991–2020 for the 2024 line). By this measure, the La Niña threshold was crossed in December 2024, but La Niña remains weak.

(NOAA)

La Niñas and El Niños Are Strongest in the Winter
Snodgrass points out La Niñas and El Niños are always strongest in Northern Hemisphere’s winter, which means they fade in spring and summer.

While La Niña-like conditions were a trademark in late fall, we didn’t reach the official definition of La Niña until January.

“The atmosphere way back in November was already treating our winter timeframe like a La Niña,” Snodgrass says. So, we were getting the influences of it as it comes in and goes out. And now the question is, what’s it going to do?”

February 2025 sea surface temperature compared to the 1985-1993 average. The surface of the east-central tropical Pacific is slightly below average temperature, but much of the global ocean remains warmer than average.

(NOAA )

“This is a great map to look at,” Snodgrass says, referencing the map above. “If you focus right in the middle, you see the large area of the cooler colors. Our line is now shifting to the central and West Pacific and behind it over by South America. All of the warmer water is beginning to emerge. And that’s what’s killing it because there’s a trade wind across that area from the east to the west. We’re going to watch this fade carefully during the spring. But the question is: Do we get winter’s leftovers?”

What Fueled the Dryness This Winter?
During the winter, Snodgrass points out there was no subtropical jet. That’s what fueled drought in the Southwest and Northwest.

“I’m actually kind of worried about the beginning of April having another shot at cold air after what we’ve been experiencing in March, which has been so very, very mild. Then you say, well, we’ve had so much dry air in place. Are we still worried about more dry air coming back? To be honest, these big storm systems coming through the central U.S., if we could get four, maybe five more of those by early April, we’re going to hate it. It’s nasty weather. It’s not fun, and it’s dangerous, but it returns moisture. That could be part of the mix of things, including the fading of La Niña that could help bring us away from these major early season drought risk scenarios.”

55% of corn production, 46% of soybean production, 33% of the cotton growing area and 27% of the winter wheat production are currently experiencing drought.

(U.S. Drought Monitor )

Growing Drought Concerns
What if it doesn’t? What if we don’t see more of this severe weather hit the Southwest and Plains, and moisture remains absent as we get into the height of spring? Well, the area will enter into the height of the growing season dry and reduce their chances of seeing moisture this summer.

“That’s a box we check every spring,” Snodgrass says. “If the drought monitor saw a reduction in drought over winter, then that gives us a different look for spring. But what we see here is two-thirds of the country in some stage of drought, including the abnormally dry category. But it’s the epicenters of drought that are so concerning. Look at the Western Corn Belt. Look at the Southwest. We just wonder if that funnels into the Mississippi Valley as we go forward.”

At the same time some areas are seeing drought, Kentucky, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas and the boot heel of Missouri are all experiencing heavy rains and flooding.

“By May 11, I want to know what the drought monitor map looks like. If it looks no different, then I’m going to be sounding alarms going into summer with concerns this will start to creep and move because as soon as we get into the summer weather, all we get is convective storms pop off. And what do they do? They just locally deliver rain - not big broad swaths of it,” Snodgrass says.

Tale of Two Weather Scenarios
He says the forecast leading up to May 11 is a tale of two weather patterns, with the Mississippi River being the dividing line for moisture.

“If you are along it and east of it, I think we’re going to have tight windows to plant. You could include a little bit more of Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota in that as well,” Snodgrass says. “I think we’re going to see repeated storm systems. The best moisture is east. It keeps avoiding that southern plains area.”

What to Watch: Where the Storm Chasers End Up
Snodgrass says if storm chasers are busying chasing severe weather across the Ohio Valley, the mid-south and the southeast, but not in Kansas and the Plains, that’s a key indicator there’s a problem with the moisture getting back into the plains.

“If it’s not there by the time we start June, it’s very difficult to rely on the atmosphere to return it once you get into the summer months if you live in the central plains, which is where they could build from,” he adds.

To watch the complete discussion with Snodgrass, visit Farm Journal TV and take advantage of the free trial.

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Farmers Watch As Next-Generation Biofuels Chase Market Growth In 2025

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 16:55:12 GMT

Optimism remains high that growth in the biofuels industry will continue under the new Trump administration. In late February, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced year-round E15 sales in eight Midwest states.

“Today’s decision underscores EPA’s commitment to consumer access to E15 while ensuring a smooth transition for fuel suppliers and refiners,” said EPA Administrator Zeldin in a press release .

In Congress, permanent E15 bills with broad bi-partisan support have been reintroduced in both chambers. A permanent E15 rule would increase ethanol demand by 5 to 7 billion gallons a year.

“The President has been, I believe, fairly unequivocal in stating his support for the importance of biofuels in the larger energy independence picture, and he also understands how important it is to our farmers and our ranchers who produce it,” said U.S. agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins during Top Producer Summit.

While the industry is watching the administration closely, green fuel mandates around the globe and those implemented during the Biden administration helped spark a flurry of investment in the renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) markets.

Farmdoc Daily at the University of Illinois counted 23 renewable diesel plants in operation by the end of 2026 with a total capacity of 5.261 billion gallons.

“I do believe U.S. agriculture’s future is in green diesel and green fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel. That’s where our demand growth is going forward,” says Dan Basse, president and CEO of AgResource. “It takes policy and it takes someone at the helm with a budget to make sure that it happens.”

As those investments mature and as a compliment to renewable diesel, manufacturers are also looking to grow the SAF market. In 2021, the Biden Administration set a goal of 3 billion gallons of SAF by the year 2030. Farmdoc Daily estimates that in 2025, there will be six plants online with a capacity to produce 834 million gallons.

(U.S. Energy Information Administration)

“Just in the U.S. alone, there’s about 30 billion gallons of conventional jet fuel used every year,” says Jeff Davidman, the vice president of state and local government affairs at Delta Airlines. “The U.S. airline industry has made a commitment as an industry to replace 10% of their conventional jet fuel with SAF by 2030. That’s 3 billion gallons. In 2022, there were 25 million gallons made.”

This means the industry can scale quickly to meet those targets as long as the demand for these fuels continues. Delta isn’t alone - other airlines like Southwest touted SAF usage in 2024. The airline is reportedly cutting staff, and looking to pull back on sustainable targets.

However, investments in these “green” fuels continue to be announced. On Feb. 3, 2025, Gevo, Inc. announced the acquisition of Red Tail Energy’s ethanol production plant in Richardton, N.D., where it will focus on SAF.

“We’re primarily focused on sustainable aviation fuel and commercializing essentially a brand new industry,” says Kent Hartwig, director of state government affairs at Gevo. “We’ve been able to utilize ag products for renewable fuels for four decades now. As we see changes in fuel usage, that’s going to mean potential changes in ethanol production. How do we continue to sustain this industry? It’s through new markets. Having a new outlet, like sustainable aviation fuel, is an important market driver to keep farm profitability high.”

Even as a new administration takes over in Washington, Hartwig remains bullish despite the vocal calls to increase domestic oil production.

“The president has been crystal clear on his administration’s desire to see domestic energy dominance,” Hartwig says. “We’ve seen multiple executive orders that have laid out his plan for how we continue to be dominant in that area and in both he specifically calls out biofuels. So, while ‘drill, baby, drill’ is what the President has been saying, I also think he means ‘grow, baby, grow’.”

Ag secretary Rollins echoed those same sentiments during a fireside chat at Top Producer Summit in February.

“Remember during his first primary election, President Trump was the first major candidate to support biofuels, and I think that carried him through Iowa in many ways,” Rollins says. “He hasn’t forgotten that.”

“I think what you see in the policy space is the need to have these fuels available in the future,” says Cory-Ann Wind, director of state regulatory affairs for Clean Fuels Alliance America .

Her organization focuses on advancing biodiesel, renewable diesel and SAF policies.

“I think as long as the regulations or the policies evolve, you’re going to see more and more innovation in this industry,” Wind says.

Wind says regardless of what happens in Washington, state mandates and private industry goals are helping keep the momentum going.

“We’re looking at any mode of transportation that uses diesel,” Wind says. “We’re talking about trucks, ag equipment, construction equipment, long-haul semis and even marine.”

As global demand for these new-era biofuels continues to rise, it’s building a domestic market with the potential to improve prices on the farm.

“In 1979, the U.S. accounted for 62% of world agricultural trade and today that number’s down to 12%,” Basse says. “We now need to find another demand driver for U.S. agriculture.”

In 2024, the U.S. exported a record 1.9 million gallons of ethanol around the globe. CoBank put out a report that says those exports are the key to that industry’s growth. It says exports could top 2 billion gallons in 2025 and 2026.

“This is a real opportunity for the Midwest and Midwest farmer to lead in this space,” Davidman says. “This isn’t just U.S. or Delta demand. This is global demand.”

New ADM Integration Streamlines Grain Elevator Logistics

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 16:51:13 GMT

A new tech integration is on the way at many ADM locations as the company is in the process of implementing Digital Grain Elevator’s FOB Ag Logistics Platform.

The FOB Ag Logistics Platform is a mobile tool that works to both simplify and streamline the grain transportation and delivery process.

“This partnership with ADM is a significant step forward for the future of Ag transportation,” said Aaron Secrest, CEO of Digital Grain Elevator, Inc. “By simplifying dispatch, tracking shipments, digital ticket integration, and automated invoicing, we’re creating a more streamlined and transparent experience for everyone involved.”

Some of its key features include:

Digital Dispatch
The FOB website and mobile app can book and schedule loads, pickups and drop offs with drivers, producers and end-users.
Real-Time Delivery Updates
The control center provides the location, status updates and ETA of a fleet.
Digital Invoicing and Ticketing
Scale tickets, inspections, grain samples, etc. can all be uploaded.

“The successful implementation of this technology across a broad part of our North American footprint is already helping us work with our partners – including our producer customers, commercial grain shippers, carriers and owner-operators – to simplify and streamline the work we do together,” said Alicia Ralston, ADM’s vice president of digital transformation. “Today, we’re seeing the benefits of more efficient dispatching and deliveries, faster payments thanks to automatic invoicing, and more. We’re continuing to expand our use of this exciting technology, and we strongly encourage producers and haulers alike to reach out to us so we can tell them more about it.

Ralston adds this rollout aims to enhance traceability of supply chains.

“There’s more to come,” Ralston says. “We’re excited about the many ways we’re building out our suite of technologies to meet our partners’ needs and help the entire value chain work together more efficiently and effectively for years to come.”

ADM has currently implemented the FOB Ag Logistics Platform in its eastern grain regions including:

Decatur/east central Illinois
Mendota, Illinois
Evansville, Indiana
Frankfort/Central Indiana
Toledo, Ohio
Windsor, Ontario
Memphis, Tennessee

The rollout of this integration will continue across ADM’s North American footprint.

ADM Sued for Alleged Misconduct, Lack of Safety Inspections

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 14:58:25 GMT

By P.J. Huffstutter

Archer-Daniels-Midland Co intentionally failed to test and maintain safety systems on its grain equipment for years, which contributed to an explosion that immolated a worker and put him in a coma last year, according to a lawsuit filed against the company.

The explosion was part of a string of safety incidents at ADM facilities in Decatur, Illinois, site of the global grain trader’s North American headquarters.

ADM on Thursday declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The company’s shares have been under pressure this year from a global glut of grain supplies, and it is also facing U.S. government investigations related to accounting irregularities.

The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in Macon County Circuit Court in Illinois, alleges that worker Antonio McElrath was in a Decatur facility known as the West Plant in April 2023 when a supervisor told him to shut down a grain “leg” tube that started smoking.

An explosion occurred when the tube was opened, and McElrath was standing in its direct path, according to the lawsuit.

McElrath, now 44, was in an induced coma for two to three weeks following the accident, his attorney Timothy Shay said. “He has suffered significant injuries and is still in recovery.”

Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that ADM failed to inspect or test critical safety systems in the explosion that injured McElrath and two other workers.

ADM had fire and explosion suppression systems in place to prevent problems and keep workers safe, but the systems were not working, the lawsuit alleges.

ADM’s sprawling grain and oilseed processing complex in Decatur also suffered dust explosions in 2018 and 2019, fires in 2019, and a smoldering event this summer at the West Plant, according to the lawsuit.

Separately, workers were injured from an explosion at the site’s East Plant in September 2023. And on Monday, an industrial fire broke out at ADM’s sorbitol production department of its East Plant, according to the Decatur Fire Department.

ADM has focused on safety efforts companywide, ADM spokeswoman Jackie Anderson said in an email statement late on Thursday.

At its Decatur complex over the past year, the company has hired process safety engineers and taken other steps to improve safety in its processes, among other steps, Anderson said. “We are fully committed to learning and improving when an operational event occurs so that it does not happen again.”

(Reporting by P.J. Huffstutter in Chicago; Editing by Aurora Ellis and Leslie Adler)

Ceres Solutions and Co-Alliance Merge to Form Keystone Cooperative

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 17:54:52 GMT

Ceres Solutions and Co-Alliance , two of Indiana’s largest agricultural cooperatives, have completed a shareholder vote with 99% in favor of merging.

The companies will now be known as Keystone Cooperative, effective March 1, 2024, and headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind.

At the news of the merger, The Scoop had an in-person interview with the new cooperative’s leadership.

Keystone will be led by:

CEO Kevin Still, currently CEO of Co-Alliance
Executive vice president Jeff Troike, currently CEO of Ceres Solutions
Executive vice president Scott Logue, currently executive vice president of Co-Alliance
20 total district directors

With a combined 1,700 employees, 20,000 farmer-owners, $3.1 billion sales revenue and 195 locations across Indiana, Illinois and Ohio, the leaders knew working together would allow them to better serve their owners.

“When you can see those types of synergies and look to the future, it’s our responsibility as a leadership team to take it to our board and say, ‘Here are the possibilities’,” Troike says. “Our members expect us to be able to deliver technology to help them be more productive, more efficient and more profitable. An organization of this size will allow us to continue to do what we’ve been doing in the future.”

Still adds, “We were geographically next to each other in a lot of places. And so in those areas, we’re going to be able to utilize assets together that before we couldn’t and I think that’s going to play a really important role.”

One of the first goals for the new company is to ensure their employee cultures are well aligned.

“The main thing we want to kick off as Keystone Cooperative is that our employees are focused on the customer and we don’t lose focus,” Troike says. “We want to make sure we communicate to our employees because they’re our most valuable asset – they take care of the customer.”

And as they move forward, Keystone’s strategy is to be a long-term solution for their customers.

“We want to continue to be a leader in the market and the employer of choice,” Still says. “We want to partner with our customers and keep that local feeling but still leverage size and scale.”

Related Articles:

Ceres Solutions and Co-Alliance to Vote on Merger

Two of Indiana’s Largest Cooperatives Pursue Due Diligence, Possible Merger

Co-Alliance Says Its Big Year Pays Back to Farmers, Its Business

Business Innovation Award: Digitize then Automate

4 Maps That Show Drought Is Of Little Concern Right Now for Corn and Soybeans

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 15:29:58 GMT

As the 2024 growing season starts to wind down in the Midwest, the weather up to this point has been “uneventful,” describes Brad Rippey, USDA meteorologist. Other than drought in Ohio , extensive hail damage in southern Nebraska and some issues in Minnesota , Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts found minimal evidence of weather-related issues along their route through seven states.

“We have seen a virtual absence of extreme heat in July and August and, for the most part, rainfall has been adequate,” Rippey says. “We haven’t seen any extremes since the late June flooding that struck the Upper Midwest.”

In the final days of August and into September that quiet pattern is expected to continue across the Midwest. Rippey says most of the meaningful rainfall should be associated with the Southwestern monsoon circulation, interacting with a series of weak cold fronts.

“What that means is that most of the rain showers should primarily be across the northwestern Corn Belt and mostly west of the Mississippi River,” he explains. “It should be pretty quiet as you head into the eastern areas.”

In June, July and August, drought covered less than 10% of corn and soybean country. Rippey is not concerned about the continued dryness.

Approximately 6% of corn production is within an area experiencing drought.

(USDA)

Approximately 7% of soybean production is within an area experiencing drought.

(USDA)

“It’s a little drier as you head to the far eastern fringe of the Corn Belt, mostly across Ohio, but areas further west should have enough topsoil and subsoil moisture to get through these final weeks of the growing season,” he says.

Of note in the Aug. 18, 2024, topsoil moisture map are conditions in the Upper Midwest this year versus 2023.

(USDA-NASS)

As of Aug. 18, 2024, subsoil moisture is adequate in most of corn and soybean country.

(USDA-NASS)

When it comes to temperatures, other than the late June heatwave, it’s been cool with very little stressful heat. Rippey says temperatures will begin to moderate in the final days of August, and we could see temperatures back into the 80s and possibly the low-to-middle 90s into early September. Although warming, temperatures should remain below stressful thresholds for the corn and soybeans still maturing, he adds.

“If you look as far south as Illinois, we have not seen a 95-degree day yet in locations such as Moline and Rockford. That is not unprecedented, but rather unusual,” Rippey says. “To compare, during the summer of 2012, which everybody still remembers, Moline had 15 days of 95-degree heat and Rockford 17 days.”

As harvest nears, at least the weather shouldn’t be a big concern.

Your Next Read: Head on over to AgWeb’s weather page.

How Pro Farmer's 2024 Yield Estimates Compare to USDA Expectations

Fri, 23 Aug 2024 19:41:02 GMT

For four days this past week, more than 100 crop scouts sampled 2,000 to 3,000 fields in seven Midwest states as part of the one-of-a-kind Pro Farmer Crop Tour . Building on the boots-on-the-ground data and observations, Pro Farmer considers crop maturity and historical differences in Crop Tour data versus USDA’s final yields to release its national production estimates.

“One of the major questions heading into Crop Tour was whether the corn and soybean crops could live up to the lofty expectations,” says Brian Grete, editor for Pro Farmer. “Of the two crops, I was more impressed with soybeans than corn, and the corn crop is stellar.”

Here are the 2024 Pro Farmer National Production Estimates.

Corn Yield Estimates

“The first two days of the tour all we did was move bushels from South Dakota and Nebraska to Ohio and Indiana compared with USDA estimates,” says Chip Flory, host of “AgriTalk.” “We had laid the groundwork for a really good crop in Iowa, but in northwest Iowa, we ran into problems, which we anticipated after too much rain during the planting season. In our final day running the routes, we’ve got a nice crop in Iowa, but Minnesota is another story.”

On the eastern side of the Corn Belt, Grete and fellow scouts found a strong corn crop.

“USDA put a record yield on corn for five of the seven states,” he says. “Ohio isn’t one of those — but if we weren’t talking about last year’s record crop in Ohio, this year would be up there. This year is comparing to last year’s gold standard.”

Indiana: Trouble spots are few and far between. The corn crop posted higher numbers across the board for ear count, grain length and the number of kernels around the cob compared to the 2023 crop.

Illinois: While scouts saw variability in Illinois, the high-yielding fields far exceeded those that fell short, and the state is holding a big crop . Plant health looks good, and even the lower leaves are still green.

Iowa: Yield potential looks promising , especially in the southeast corner, the garden spot, of the state. The corn in east-central Iowa looks good, but the variability is more noticeable in the northeast.

Minnesota: The corn crop in Minnesota doesn’t look too good from the road, and it seems to have ran out of gas . Record rainfall during planting hurt the crop out of the gate, causing drowned out spots and yellow corn, followed by a dry summer.

Nebraska: Despite hail damage and fewer ears, the Nebraska corn crop looks promising with better numbers for grain length and kernels around the cob compared with 2023. Some dryland corn looks as good as irrigated acres thanks to cooperative weather.

Ohio: Despite drought conditions this year (59% of Ohio is currently seeing some level of dryness), the corn crop is proving to be resilient .

South Dakota: Historic flooding that occurred right after Father’s Day in the southeast part of the state left its mark. Scouts found fields with fewer ears , but grain length was up compared with 2023. It’s obvious the corn crop had two very different planting dates, so there’s two very different crops growing in the state.

Soybean Yield Estimates

“Soybeans could be spectacular as long as there isn’t a weather event that derails the crop ahead of harvest,” Grete says. “Typically, there’s some concern with either the corn crop, soybean crop or both coming out of Crop Tour. There aren’t concerns this year.”

Indiana: If soybeans can get a rain or two, yields should finish strong .

Illinois: Uniformity, heavily podded plants and good soil moisture — Illinois has all the ingredients for a big yield , which is a pleasant surprise. “For beans that don’t look that impressive, they certainly have a lot of pods on them,” says crop scout Mark Bernard.

Iowa: Soybean fields are consisten t and show minimal pest and weed pressure across the state, boasting big pod increases versus last year.

Minnesota: Soybeans seem to have handled the excess water better than the corn crop, but yield will be lucky to top 50 bu. per acre .

Nebraska: More pods and pods with three and four beans are good signs.

Ohio: The pod factory is still working. Plants are heavily podded and recent rains pumped moisture into the pods. The drought seems to have had little impact on yield potential.

South Dakota: Soybeans are inconsistent and could go either way this year. The crop is still filling out and has a ton of work to do to realize its potential, Flory says. If it doesn’t get it done, then it’s probably not going to be last year’s bean crop.

Tyne Morgan, host of “ U.S. Farm Report ,” sits down with Chip Flory and Brian Grete to recap the highlights and lowlights from the 32nd Pro Farmer Crop Tour.

Your Next Read — Take Our Poll: How Are Your Yields Shaping Up This Year?

Pro Farmer Crop Tour, Final Day: Iowa Corn Crop Sets 32-Year Record, Minnesota Corn Ran Out Of Gas

Fri, 23 Aug 2024 01:09:55 GMT

The fourth and final day of the 32^nd Pro Farmer Crop Tour wrapped up on Thursday, Aug. 22 with numbers from Minnesota and eastern Iowa samples combined for full Iowa results.

Scouts sampled the Iowa corn yield average to be 192.79 bu. per acre for the state, while Minnesota’s corn yield estimate was 164.90 bu. per acre.

Iowa’s Crop Tour Results

2024 Pro Farmer Iowa Corn Numbers

(Pro Farmer)

In Iowa, Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts found a strong crop — better than last year and the three-year average. In fact, it sets a new Crop Tour record.

Iowa corn yield estimate: 192.79 bu. per acre, up 5.46% from 2023
Ear count: 102.66, up 0.67% from last year
Grain length: 6.98, up 6.08% from 2023

2024 Pro Farmer Crop Tour Iowa Soybeans

(Pro Farmer)

Iowa’s pod counts were 1,312.31 in a 3’x3’, which is up 10.24% from 2023.

Minnesota’s Crop Tour Results

2024 Pro Farmer Crop Tour Minnesota Corn

(Pro Farmer)

In Minnesota, Pro Farmer Crop Tour Scouts found a corn crop sampling 15 bu. below last year’s.

Minnesota corn yield estimate: 164.90 bu. per acre, down 9.07% from 2023
Ear count: 99.52, up 0.11% from last year
Grain length: 6.04, down 4.43% from 2023

2024 Pro Farmer Crop Tour Minnesota Soybeans

(Pro Farmer)

Minnesota’s pod counts were 1,036.59 in a 3’x3’ square, which is up 5.24% from 2023.

Crop Tour’s Front and Back Half Tell Different Stories

“The first two days of the tour all we did was moved bushels from South Dakota and Nebraska to Ohio and Indiana, compared to the USDA estimates,” says Chip Flory, host of AgriTalk and leader of Pro Farmer Crop Tour’s western leg. “We had laid the groundwork for a really good crop in Iowa, especially in southwest Iowa and south central Iowa. In northwest Iowa, we ran into problems, which we anticipated with having too much rain during the planting season.”

Flory adds the crop in Illinois is frankly, really good.

“In our final day running the routes, we’ve got a nice crop in Iowa, but Minnesota is another story,” Flory says.

Iowa’s Variability Is Overpowered By A Strong Crop Overall

Pro Farmer Crop Tour Scouts sampled a record high corn crop in Iowa and found a heavily podded soybean crop.

Pod counts so good corn samplers are waiting on the soybean samplers to count pods! #pftour24 pic.twitter.com/HQlMmWmTjo
— Bruce Lantzky (@Lantzkyfarms) August 22, 2024

“Last year we had a very good crop, a record crop and most spots. And this year we just–we won’t be there. We’ll be off a solid probably 10 to 15%,” says Zach Egesdal, a farmer from Mason City, Iowa, which experienced a soggy planting season.

From what the scouts collected, Iowa’s garden spot may be the southeast part of the state in 2024.

“My best crop was 2018, and I really think I had the potential to have a better crop than 2018 right now,” says Dustin Guy from Booker, Iowa.

And while Scout Bryan Kaufman, who farms in southeast Iowa says he thinks his area may see corn yields top 250 bu. to 260 bu. He shares his soybean crop is also strong—maybe in his top two or three of all time.

Minnesota’s Corn Crop Leaves A Lot To Be Desired

“The corn crop in Minnesota looks like it ran out of gas,” Flory says.

Record-setting rains throughout the planting season set up the Minnesota crop on the wrong foot. And then a dry summer brought another set of challenges.

10 stops along my route in southwest Minnesota. Not a single #corn field looked good from the road, and that largely held true inside. Corn was yellow and uneven everywhere. Average yield 164 bu/acre. This same route was 177 last year, 210 in 2022 and 201 in 2021. #pftour24 pic.twitter.com/EvemmtXGqm
— Karen Braun (@kannbwx) August 22, 2024

“For our farm, it’s looking like 175-180 bu. corn which we should have 225 bu. And soybeans I don’t know. We’re lucky to get 50 bu. and they should be 60 bu. plus,” says James Willers, a farmer from Beaver Creek, Minn.

Reflections On The Eastern Leg Of The Tour

As eastern leg tour lead, Pro Farmer editor Brian Grete shares the strength of this crop will still depend on getting it across the finish line.

“On the eastern side of the corn belt, it’s a strong crop, but it should be,” Grete says. “USDA put a record yield on corn for five of the seven states. Ohio isn’t one of those—but if we weren’t talking about last year’s record crop in Ohio, this year would be up there. This year is comparing to last year’s gold standard.”
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
View Day 3 Results
View Day 2 Results
View Day 1 Results
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
For more than 30 years, Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts have been providing the agriculture industry with insights into potential corn and soybean production, gathering scout reports from 2,000-plus fields across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and South Dakota.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
For exclusive access to professional grade news, analysis and advice, subscribe to Pro Farmer here .

Pro Farmer Crop Tour, Day 3: Soybeans Steal The Show in Iowa, Illinois Corn Crop Makes Crop Tour Record

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 01:15:17 GMT

Going into day 3 of the 2024 Pro Farmer Crop Tour, expectations were high. While the crop might not have quite lived up to those expectations, scouts are still seeing big increases over 2023 — especially in soybeans.

The results from day 3 were released Wednesday night :

District 1 Iowa: 176.59 bu./acre
District 4 Iowa: 195.86 bu./acre
District 7 Iowa: 191.59 bu./acre
Illinois: 204.14 bu./acre

Are Recent Rains Enough In Iowa?
Scouts knew if Iowa is going to hit record yield numbers, moisture levels from timely rains would play a big role.

In District 1, estimates show a 3.28% yield decrease from last year’s numbers.

Iowa District 1 Corn Yield Estimate: 176.59 bu./acre
Ear Count: 102.18
Grain Length: 6.52

Crop Tour Day 3 Iowa District 1 Corn

(Lori Hays)

District 4 showed the best numbers of the three areas sampled with a slight yield increase estimate of 2.24% from last year.

Iowa District 4 Corn Yield Estimate: 195.86 bu./acre
Ear Count: 100.09
Grain Length: 7.08

Crop Tour Day 3 Iowa District 4 Corn

(Lori Hays)

This year’s yield estimate in District 7 is a 3.65% increase from 2024 and 4.31% over the three-year average — something Roger Cerven, farmer and scout in Stanton, Iowa, predicted while scouting.

“Southwest Iowa in District 7 is going to be a lot better than what it was a year ago,” he says.

Iowa District 7 Corn Yield Estimate: 191.59 bu./acre
Ear Count: 98.31
Grain Length: 7.09

Crop Tour Day 3 Iowa District 7 Corn

(Lori Hays)

Chip Flory, Pro Farmer Crop Tour director for the western leg, says this Iowa region has been the most impressive of the week.

Soybean fields showed minimal pest and weed pressure along the route, which led to big pod increases versus last year in some parts of the state.

Crop Tour Day 3 Iowa District 1 Soybeans

(Lori Hays)

In District 1, pod counts were estimated at 1,108.76 in a 3’x3' square, which is a 2.5% decrease over 2023.

Crop Tour Day 3 Iowa District 4 Soybeans

(Lori Hays)

District 4 found pod counts at 1,254.09 in a 3’x3' square — an 11.94% increase from last year.

Crop Tour Day 3 Iowa District 7 Soybeans

(Lori Hays)

District 7 kept up the trend, showing a 1,366 pod count in a 3’x3' square — a 16.74% increase from 2023.

Iowa route report on #pftour24 (from my finger to Spencer, 11 stops): #soybeans were great, pod counts safely above the last 3 years on same route. #Corn avg yield was 183.5 bu/acre, roughly 10 better than last 2 years but below 188.2 in 2021. Flood issues evident at very end. pic.twitter.com/nh8tvJ24h5
— Karen Braun (@kannbwx) August 21, 2024

“We pulled our No. 2 sample and found 2,800-some pods,” says Denny Rollenhagen, Wells, Minn., farmer and scout. “From the way they look now, if they finish they’ll be really good beans.”

Illinois’ Corn Crop Makes Crop Tour Record

Crop Tour Day 3 Illinois Corn Chart

(Lori Hays)

With USDA’s yield estimate of 225 bu. per acre in mind, the third day of the 2024 Pro Farmer Crop Tour didn’t quite meet expectations. Overall, the word of the day for the state’s corn is “variable.”

Just finished our sixth stop in northern Illinois today. Averaging 198.0 bushels/acre so far but fields have been variable.
Beans continue to look pretty good across our route#PFTour24 pic.twitter.com/oQ67NV5pCu
— Lane (@iwatchcorn) August 21, 2024

“From a yield perspective, it’s been a bit more variable than I anticipated. If you’re going to get to the 225, it has to be pretty stellar on a consistent basis,” said Brian Grete, eastern leg director. “But, there are some really big yields out there in some of these fields and that can help offset some of the ones that didn’t quite get there.”

However, the state is still holding a big crop. In fact, Grete says it hit a new Crop Tour record. This year’s estimate is 5.38% higher than 2023’s number and 5.46% above the three-year average.

Illinois Corn Yield Estimate: 204.14 bu./acre
Ear Count: 107.75
Grain Length: 7.02

“We had two stops where three of the six ears were 9" in length. Baseball bats as I like to refer to them,” Grete says.

Bloomington, Ill., farmer Dennis Wentworth says he’s still excited about the potential for a record crop.

“We’re not seeing tar spot, and you see really good plant health here,” Wentworth says. “Even the lower leaves are still green — we haven’t run out of nitrogen. We’re excited about this.”

Crop Tour Day 3 Illinois Soybean Chart

(Lori Hays)

Like southern Iowa, Illinois’ soybeans were a pleasant surprise. The state’s pod counts in a 3’x3' square are estimated at 1,419.11 — a whopping 11.69% increase from 2023.

Grete says Illinois has had all the ingredients for a big yield — uniformity, heavily podded, and good soil moisture.

The Illinois beans are starting to play a game of "find Alejandra". The next sample was over her shoulders! 😂 #pftour24 pic.twitter.com/DXPWR2asNc
— Kristi Goedken (@KristiGoedken12) August 21, 2024

“For beans that don’t look that impressive, they certainly have a lot of pods on them,” says scout Mark Bernard.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
View Day 2 Results
View Day 1 Results
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
For more than 30 years, Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts have been providing the agriculture industry with insights into potential corn and soybean production, gathering scout reports from 2,000-plus fields across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and South Dakota.

This year’s event takes place August 19-22. Register now to attend in-person or watch results live each night at 8 p.m. Central Standard Time.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

For exclusive access to professional grade news, analysis and advice, subscribe to Pro Farmer here .

A Tale Of Two Crops: Farmers Struggle Against Flooding And Drought

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 15:23:00 GMT

This week’s USDA crop progress report shows conditions continuing to decline for corn and soybeans. For corn, 69% is in good to excellent condition (down 3% from last week). The total soybean crop in good to excellent condition is also down 3% - from 70% last week to 67% this week.

And while some growers have severe drought to blame, others can point to extreme flooding.

This June has held two different extremes--

💧One of the wettest on record for the Upper Midwest/Northern Plains

☀️While being one of the driest on record for the Ohio Valley/Mid-Atlantic

👉The rest of the month? More rain for the Upper Midwest while drier than normal… pic.twitter.com/aWVZ1o5gsB
— BAM Weather (BAMWX) (@bamwxcom) June 23, 2024

In Iowa, growers might need to grab a life jacket before going to check their fields.

Abby and I went out and scouted a little bit of corn this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/yBBLsAjFkp
— Pete Crew. (Not the sharpest knife in the drawer). (@pete_90210) June 23, 2024

Last year we had 5.5" rain during growing season and this farm averaged 240 bu. This year 16" so far in May/June. pic.twitter.com/wOsGJsH4hm
— Living the dream (@NeIowaFarmer) June 22, 2024

Rock Valley, IA Flooding today. What a trainwreck pic.twitter.com/rumOfxyslQ
— Chris VB🐷🐖🌾🚤⛳ (@chrsvnbk) June 22, 2024

South Dakota farmers are having a similar experience - with this operation reporting 10" of rain in one day.

Water running into lake, yes my folks have house here! My farm is completely engulfed, can’t get within 15 miles. Animals safe, daughter safe we appreciate all of the kindness. Stay safe ❤️ pic.twitter.com/NvVMjqXDas
— ChelLewis (@LewisEQAcademy) June 24, 2024

The Oklahoma Pork Council has even started work to help those affected by the flood.

We are working to support our friends in the panhandle with food and other assistance as they recover from severe flash flooding. If you know of a direct need that our alliance of great community members can help meet, please give us a call or email us at kdeniz@okpork.org. pic.twitter.com/KT0meG0k5H
— Oklahoma Pork (@Okpork) June 19, 2024

But it seems the rain is only falling in one part of the country as farmers further east are hoping the skies open up soon.

Somewhere between the flood and us

It is just right pic.twitter.com/jUvV2wWBTY
— Stephen Ellis 190/58 (@sellis_1994) June 22, 2024

Hot Weather and Recent Dryness Create Favorable Conditions for Rapid Drought Development. https://t.co/UMw8lZcKJV pic.twitter.com/Unqb9Al6oa
— NWS Climate Prediction Center (@NWSCPC) June 24, 2024

Click here to let us know how your crops are progressing.

How to Time Fungicide Applications To Best Tackle Tar Spot

Fri, 21 Jun 2024 17:27:09 GMT

It may be time to brace yourself for a summer heavy with tar spot outbreaks. According to ipmPIPE , an online pest mapping system, nearly 20 counties across four states have reported fields with tar spot by mid-June.

Timing fungicide applications will be critical to keep the disease from getting out of control. Darcy Telenko, Purdue Extension field crop pathologist, says Purdue’s research shows the optimal time to apply is between the VT/R1 and R3 growth stages.

“You have time to get out, look and scout for the disease to make an informed decision that tar spot is active in the canopy, but also understand you have to be there before you reach R4 stage,” Telenko shared in a video from Purdue Field Crop Pathology . “Some of the first lesions are hard to find, but give it time, go back next week and look around. See if your neighbors are finding it. Then understand what stage the corn is in.”

Telenko doesn’t recommend treating tar spot before the corn reaches the tassel stage, despite it showing up earlier in fields this year, to ensure the leaves of concern for yield are being treated.

“In 2001 when the disease started earlier like this year, two applications could provide a good return on investment, but that’s only happened in a couple of our research trials where we had gone out at V8 or V10,” she says. “If we go that early, we may need a 3-week-later treatment so that’s something to think about. If we just held on a little bit, maybe one application would’ve gotten us there.”

In addition to properly timing application, the Crop Protection Network recommends choosing a product with multiple fungicide classes because they provide better efficacy and delay the development of fungicide resistance.

For help selecting the right fungicide, check out The Scoop’s Tar Spot Product Guide.

To keep an eye on optimal tar spot conditions this growing season, Farm Journal field agronomist Missy Bauer advises charting your area’s daily relative humidity .

“Universities have found when average daily humidity is above 75%, crops are at risk,” Bauer says.

MKC Expands Workforce Through Rural Kansas Apprenticeship Program

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 23:17:58 GMT

Mid-Kansas Cooperative (MKC) is putting an emphasis on its next generation of leaders.

Through Kansas Farm Bureau’s Rural Kansas Apprenticeship Program (RKAP), the cooperative has selected five new full-time employees to train for leadership roles:

Tristen Burger
Matt Pauly
Mark Perry
Anthony Redar
Kyle Sherwood

“The Rural Kansas Apprenticeship Program is a crucial part of our people strategy to build a robust and skilled workforce,” says Anne Warren, chief talent officer at MKC. “By investing in these apprentices, we’re not only strengthening our company but also contributing to the economic vitality of rural Kansas. Our apprentices gain invaluable hands-on experience and leadership training, positioning them for successful careers with MKC.”

The apprenticeships will last for one year and focus on leadership development. Throughout that year, the five participants will rotate through multiple MKC locations to train in agronomy, grain, risk management, feed, energy, information technology, human resources, accounting and safety with experts in each division.

Kansas Farm Bureau created RKAP at the end of 2022 to help address the workforce needs in rural communities across the state. MKC previously participated in 2023 with seven apprentices and currently has additional openings for CDL drivers.

“The goal is to create trained and skilled workers for companies operating in rural Kansas,” says Kylee Stout, Kansas Farm Bureau’s business development manager. “RKAP gives employers the ability to create pathways for workers to acquire practical skills that lead to well-paying jobs in any role where a company has a need.”

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Planting Progress: Fewer Than 10% of Corn Acres Left to Go

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 21:26:36 GMT

Many farmers will be making their way through their final fields this week as planting begins to wrap up.

According to USDA’s latest crop progress report, 91% of corn acres and 78% of soybean acres have been planted. That’s an increase of 8% and 10%, respectively, from last week. While both crops remain significantly behind last year’s progress, they are still on track with the 5-year average.

Of the 18 states USDA tracks, 10 have reached at least 90% of corn acres planted — with North Carolina reporting 100% — and half of them report 80% of soybeans in the ground.

The majority of these states had roughly four suitable days for fieldwork last week by USDA’s standards. Pennsylvania is the outlier with seven suitable days, which makes it no surprise they were able to make the most progress in corn planting (17% increase). South Dakota also used their five suitable days to make a 17% jump in soybeans.

There was also a large jump in crop emergence, with corn reaching 74% emerged and soybeans 55% emerged.

Early corn is loving this weather #plant24 pic.twitter.com/BlYH9u5PxC
— Justin Harre (@jharre611) May 29, 2024

Across the country, many growers are celebrating successfully getting their crops in the ground — despite a challenging start to the season.

#plant24 is a wrap, nice to have moisture, even though it came in different forms. pic.twitter.com/78DlN8haAX
— Allison farms (@Allisonfarms) May 31, 2024

That’s it that’s all! Been another adventure in seeding for 2024! #Plant24 pic.twitter.com/FPE7kxzckX
— Warren (@wstevenson4) June 1, 2024

This is the first week USDA’s report included corn condition. Just over half (53%) is in good condition and 30% is in fair condition, but it’s most likely too soon to use this as an accurate measurement for the crop.

USDA's weekly Crop Progress report will release the first corn condition rating this afternoon. Of note, ratings at this time of year are a relatively inaccurate measurement of final yields. The first report explains only 13% of final yields. Accuracy increases in July. pic.twitter.com/pJwjY9TEp7
— Rich Nelson (@RichNelsonMkts) June 3, 2024

BAMwx chief communications officer and meteorologist Bret Walts joined Monday’s episode of AgriTalk to share the week ahead looks promising for planting progress. According to Walts, states east of Iowa will have a bit more of an active weather pattern while those further west will experience some sporadic rain patches. Overall, he says this looks like it could be the best chance for five days of dry time in the Corn Belt since winter.

A Potential Setback For Fieldwork Is On The Way

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 13:46:36 GMT

Though we’ve passed the official first day of spring, winter weather still poses a threat to growers in the North itching to start planting. USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says changes are on the way over the next several days for the Northern Plains and Midwest regions that could delay planting progress.

“We are expecting a snowstorm to arrive across the Northern Plains and upper Midwest Thursday, and a second storm arriving over the weekend into early next week,” Rippey says.

He adds areas that have been experiencing snow drought this winter, such as Minnesota and northern Iowa, could potentially see more snowfall in the next few weeks than they have all winter. This map from NOAA shows snowfall accumulation - or lack thereof - across the country between late September and mid-March.

But while winter weather attempts to slowdown planting in the North, Rippey says growers in the South have gotten a significant head start. As of March 17, Texas reported 34% of corn and 27% of sorghum acreage has already been planted, while Arizona has completed 2% of cotton planting.

“The bottom line is, for many parts of the country, spring has come early and we expect planting to be normal or ahead of normal given soil conditions,” he says. “But as we focus on some of those northern areas, we do expect deteriorating conditions for pre-planting fieldwork due to these late-season snowstorms.”

Rippey adds rain is in the outlook for the South, but he doesn’t anticipate it delaying planting progress.

New Purdue Report Says The Number Of Dust Explosions Is Unchanged

Tue, 27 Feb 2024 16:46:17 GMT

According to a newly issued report from Purdue University , the number of incidents related to grain dust explosions did not increase in 2023.

The report says there was a total of nine reported incidents in the U.S. last year – the same number as 2022. Those nine explosions led to 12 injuries with no fatalities.

The 10-year average of grain dust explosions also remained the same at 8.4, which the university notes is much lower than it has been in the past – thanks to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s grain handling standard.

“Dust explosions are one of the most serious hazards that can occur in the grain industry,” said Kingsly Ambrose, Purdue University professor of agricultural and biological engineering and author of the report. “The explosions can also lead to significant financial and personal losses from downtime, repair, injuries and fatalities.”
The report says explosions occurred in the following states:

Illinois (3)
Minnesota (3)
Iowa (2)
Indiana (1)

The types of facilities involved included:

An ethanol plant.
A wheat mill.
Two grain elevators.
Two soybean processing plants.
Two corn processing plants.
One corncob processing plant.

A closer look at the explosions showed a probable ignition source of fire at two of the facilities and equipment malfunction at one. The remaining sources are unknown.

To help combat the issue, Ambrose shares grain facilities need hands-on education materials to increase awareness of grain dust explosion prevention techniques within their staff.

“There is a critical need to educate the workers and employers on dust explosion prevention within a facility, including assessments of dust accumulation and dust explosion protection methods,” he said.

Click here to view more information related to grain dust explosions in the U.S. from Purdue’s database.

Farmland Values Are Holding Up, But There Are Hints of a Reset At a New Level

Thu, 01 Feb 2024 23:48:17 GMT

Eye-popping land sales continue to take the farmland market by storm. From the $34,800 per acre land sale in Missouri that smashed records last fall, to farmland in Sioux County, Iowa, selling for more than $22,000 per acre to start the year, it’s proof the strength in the farmland market hasn’t fizzled out yet.

“The key point, without a doubt, is resiliency,” says Paul Schadegg, senior vice president of Real Estate at Farmers National Company (FNC).

A new report from the company shows even with declining commodity prices and elevated interest rates, land values are higher than expected.

“We really haven’t seen any decreases to speak of, and there are still some really strong sales out there in the country,” Schadegg says.

“It is just remarkable how stable these market conditions have been,” says Jim Rothermich, vice president of agricultural appraisals for Iowa Appraisal. “Based on my auction data, farmland values are down 1% from 2022 to 2023, and I think it’s amazing we’re seeing it hold up that well.”

Farmers in the Driver’s Seat
The farmland market in Iowa remains the strongest, but both Rothermich and Schadegg say there are other states with impressive sales.

“Illinois and Indiana have picked up a little steam — a lot of the sales are in the $20,000-plus range,” Schadegg says.

While resilient farmland prices were the theme in 2023, Rothermich recently uncovered one change in the market.

“One thing I have noticed is the number of price reductions on the listings of these companies. I haven’t seen that before,” Rothermich says. “It’s a sign the market is being affected by high interest rates.”

He’s also seen an uptick in no sales in auction, yet farmers are still in the driver’s seat in most farmland sales.

“Over the past several years, when this land market really took off, the primary pool of buyers have been operating farmers, and they continue to be the most successful buyer of land,” Schadegg says.

A Potential Reset
Now the question is: Just how much of a correction could the farmland market see in 2024?

“If we look at the past 25 years, we’ve seen some run-up in land values, and then it resets at a new normal,” Schadegg says. “I think over the next 12 to 24 months, we’re probably going to see land values reset at a new level.”

“The last time we had a run-up was in 2013/14 when values went down 20% to 25%. It just doesn’t seem like it’s going to do that this time,” Rothermich says, who instead thinks the farmland market could be setting up for a correction in the single digits.

Mike Walsten of Pro Farmer’s LandOwner newsletter says the best-case scenario for 2024 is for prices to hold steady for better-quality ground.

“The more likely case, in my opinion, is a 5% decrease,” Walsten says. “I look for continued weakness going into 2025 to 2027, if things do not change radically. Values could correct 10% to 15% eventually. If energy prices go crazy again, a 20% decline is likely, but I don’t see prices correcting any more than that because I don’t see a rush of panic farm sales hitting the market and overwhelming demand.”

Walsten says farmers, in general, have manageable leverage in their recent purchases, and lenders aren’t willing to let farmers get overleveraged on land buys, which will constrain the number of farms that are moving to the market and help keep supply and demand in balance.

Farmland Values Remain Strong, Expected To Stabilize In 2024

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 22:25:26 GMT

After multiple years of record land values, Farmers National Company (FNC) is expecting the market to stabilize in the year ahead.

In their January 2024 land values report, the company shared the sharp increase in farmland values has slowed, and values are holding strong.

“The key point, without a doubt, is resiliency,” Paul Schadegg, FNC senior vice president of real estate operations, shared with U.S. Farm Report. “Even with all the pressures that we’ve seen - some declining commodity markets, interest rates being higher than what we’re used to, and the cost of inputs - we really expected more of a settling of land values. And we really haven’t seen it–no decreases to speak of and still some really strong sales out there in the country.”

Demand for farmland has remained strong as well, though the focus has turned to high quality land that is available in a limited supply – something Schadegg says will help maintain current values.

The limited supply of land is anticipated to continue as some landowners decide to hold their assets due to its value.

“When we look at the seller side, we have many sellers that are looking at their land right now and deciding that it’s never been worth more than it is today and make that decision to sell. But at the same time, some of those sellers are looking at it and at the appreciation in value that they’ve seen over the last 20 to 25 years, and realizing that it’s a very valuable asset that provides them a return and making the decision to hold that land. And that’s keeping a certain amount of inventory off the market,” Schadegg says.

FNC completed nearly 700 transactions across the Midwest in 2023 – a number that is below 2021 and 2022 levels but still above average for the company. Of those sales, 80% of the buyers have been local farmers and operators.

“When this land market it really took off, the primary pool of buyers were operating farmers, and they continue to be the successful buyer of land,” Schadegg says. “But behind that is the investor that is pushing them to the levels they are paying for the land.”

As far as what may come in the year ahead, FNC expects the commodity markets and input costs to play a large role. And while easing interest rates and reduced inflation could help the farmland market, global uncertainty and U.S. political factors remain a wild card.

“Over the past 25 years, average land values have experienced steady growth following the 1980s farm crisis. Under a strong ag economy, Farmers National Company expects that trend to continue,” Schadegg says.

The company breaks down what to expect by region as well.

“Iowa continues to be a strong point, but also, Illinois and Indiana have picked up a little steam. And a lot of the sales that we’re seeing out there are quite strong, in the $20,000 plus range,” Schadegg says. “Another little pocket that has typically not seen a lot of activity in the recent past, but we have here in the last six to 12 months, is northwest Missouri. There’s some very good quality land that hasn’t changed hands much in the past, and there’s been some great competition there.”