Diesel prices are soaring just as the energy-thirsty peak of harvest season looms for many of the country’s largest crops. Mid-August diesel prices are at their highest levels in the last decade, per AAA data.
Budget
Inflation-Adjusted Midwest Farmland Values Fall Most Since 2016
When adjusted for inflation, values in the Federal Reserve’s Seventh District fell 3.7% year over year in the second quarter of 2026 — the steepest real decline in a decade — even as demand from data centers and solar farms helped prop up prices.
USDA Providing 60-Day Extension to Pay Crop Insurance Premiums
Farmers will get a two-month reprieve on their crop insurance premiums this year and USDA will also reinstate prevented planting buy-up coverage as well, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Tuesday.
Farmers Spent $1.4 Billion More on Diesel During Planting Season
Successful Farming’s Mariah Squire reported that, “a new study by Joint Economic Committee Democrats found that farmers of key crops in the U.S. spent $1.4 billion more on diesel fuel during the 2025–2026 planting season than they did last season.” “The study, released last Thursday, analyzed corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and rice planted by U.S. […]
American Farmers May See Deeper Losses in 2027
Northern AG Network reported that, “several years of high inflation and low commodity prices, coupled with volatile production costs, are continuing to squeeze farmers financially. These forces are projected to hit farmers with $32 billion in losses for the major row crops in 2027 after a projected loss of $31 billion in 2026. Fruit, vegetable, […]
NCGA Study Finds Input Costs Higher for US Farmers Than Brazilian Counterparts
AgWeb’s Margy Eckelkamp and Tyne Morgan reported that, “for years, U.S. farmers have argued they face higher production costs than competitors such as Brazil while selling into the same global commodity market. A new analysis released Tuesday by the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) suggests those concerns are well founded.” “The study, conducted by Kynetec […]
USDA to Fund $500 Million Expansion of Domestic Fertilizer Production
Reuters’ Karl Plume reported that “U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced $500 million in new funding on Wednesday to expand domestic fertilizer production after the Iran war drove up prices.” “Fertilizer prices have soared since the U.S. and Israel launched the war, as more than 30% of global exports were caught in Iran’s near-total closure […]
NY, CT Become First States to Offer Tariff Relief to Farmers
New York farmers can start submitting applications for up to $25,000 in relief from the state as part of a $30 million aid effort aimed at easing the hit to farmers from Republican U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul said on Monday.
White House Requests $11 Billion in Farmer Aid
The White House on Wednesday asked Congress to pass a supplemental funding package that includes a request for $11.1 billion for farmers and calls for Congress to pass year-round E15.
Farm Bankruptcies Hit Six-Year High in April
During the month of April, 62 bankruptcies were launched under Chapter 12, a 130% jump from April 2025 and the highest monthly total since February 2020. That figure is also 82% higher than the 34 Chapter 12 filings in March 2026, the data showed.
Trump Budget Would Cut USDA Funding by $4.9 Billion
The Department of Agriculture is a “bloated Washington, D.C., bureaucracy,” the Trump administration’s fiscal 2027 budget request says, proposing to cut USDA spending by $4.9 billion, or 19%, from current funding levels and eliminate international food aid programs.
Lawmakers Seek Fertilizer Price Transparency Amid Rising Costs
A bipartisan group of US Senators introduced a bill that would require mandatory price reporting of fertilizer — a bid for more market information after the war in Iran prompted the biggest surge in crop nutrient costs in years.
Lawmakers Eye War Funding Package for More Farm Aid
Republicans are debating whether to attach wildfire aid and $15 billion in tariff relief for farmers to a military funding package President Donald Trump is expected to seek for the unfolding conflict in Iran, according to four people granted anonymity to share internal deliberations.
House Ag Chair Aiming for Late February Farm Bill 2.0
House Agriculture Chair G.T. Thompson has tentatively scheduled a farm bill markup for the week of Feb. 23, according to three people familiar with the plans.
Proposed Gov’t Funding Bills Don’t Include Farm Aid, E15
A package of funding bills assembled by House and Senate appropriators that needs to pass before the end of January does not contain any more aid for farmers. It’s also without a provision authorizing year-round E15 biofuel sales despite a last-minute push from farm-district Republicans.
Farm Economy to Stabilize in 2026, Ag Economists Predict
As 2026 ushers in a fresh start, agricultural economists say the U.S. farm economy has stopped sliding, but it’s far from fully healed.The December Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor shows month-to-month sentiment is improving, but deep structural strain remains — especially in row crops.
Gap Between Farm Costs and Prices Received Hits 10-Year High
U.S. farmers are facing one of the widest gaps in a decade between what they pay to produce food and what they earn from selling it. New USDA data released on Dec. 15 show that by October 2025, the prices paid index had climbed to 154.6, while the prices received index had fallen to 120.5.
Lawmakers Eye More Farm Aid on Top of USDA Bridge Assistance
Agriculture leaders in the United States House of Representatives are looking to provide at least an additional $10 billion in farmer aid to supplement the recently announced Farmer Bridge Assistance Program. That additional aid would likely have to be driven by Congress, as a USDA undersecretary says it’s unlikely the agency will provide a second farmer aid package.
JBS Closing Beef Plant in California
JBS will permanently close a facility outside Los Angeles that prepares beef for sale at U.S. grocery stores, the world’s largest meat company said on Friday, as tight cattle supplies have raised costs for meatpackers. JBS will shut its Swift Beef Company facility in Riverside, California, on February 2, eliminating 374 jobs.
$12 Billion Farm Aid Package Not Enough, Farm Leaders Say
U.S. farmers facing steep losses this year welcomed President Donald Trump’s $12 billion aid package announced on Monday, but said they would need more than that to fully offset low crop prices and lost export opportunities from his trade war.