The Farm Service Agency (FSA) of the USDA has released some final county yields for the 2025 crop year. Based on the USDA’s latest estimates for the 2025 marketing year average prices for corn and soybeans, the county yields suggest ARC-CO payments will be widespread with about half of counties triggering payments and many counties triggering the maximum payment. Reported yields and the final MYA price for wheat indicate ARC-CO payments in more than 80% of counties, with over half of counties triggering the maximum payment rate.

Over the last 50 years, the private market has not covered the cost to produce the nine crops for which USDA (US Department of Agriculture) computes a cost of production…

Cattle finishing is a tight margin business where profitability relies on feeder cattle prices relative to fed cattle prices and feed costs.  This means that relatively high fed cattle prices,…

Lower commodity prices and high production costs have led to a margin squeeze for grain producers in the Corn Belt since 2023. This has led to increased interest in crop…

Agri-food supply chains can be disrupted by more than production shocks. Transportation, trade, processing, labor, and demand can also affect how food moves. From 2018 to 2022, the United States…

Farmland prices in Illinois increased dramatically between 2020 and 2023. Since 2023, farmland prices have remained stable or declined slightly. At the same time, farmer returns have declined dramatically and…