Corn surged the most in three months after the US Department of Agriculture surprised traders with a bigger-than-expected cut to yield and production of America’s most widely grown crop. USDA lowered corn yield 1.6 bushels per acre from October to 179.6 bpa, which was below trade estimates.
Farm Policy News
USDA Provided ‘Little Transparency’ for Reorganization, Watchdog Agency Says
“Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins lashed out at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for scrutinizing USDA’s reorganization plan, calling the GAO’s report partisan, politicized and incomplete, while the GAO said USDA repeatedly failed to provide information needed to evaluate the reorganization plan’s costs and effects on services.”
USDA Will Use AI Tool To Double Check Data Releases
“The US Department of Agriculture will use an artificial intelligence tool it built to check data in (this) week’s monthly crop production report, agency officials said, after a series of data missteps eroded farmers’ and traders’ trust in its forecasts.”
How ‘Blue Wave’ Election Could Shape Ag Policy, Lame Duck Farm Bill
“A remarkable streak of wins in farm country battlegrounds delivered Democrats majority control of Congress on Tuesday.” They will now “face pressure to address rising fuel and agricultural input costs, trade concerns and the effects of global conflicts on agricultural markets while needing to find compromises with the White House.”
John Deere to Close Two Iowa Manufacturing Plants
Less than a week after announcing plans to recall and hire hundreds of employees across the Midwest, “John Deere announced plans to close two Iowa manufacturing plants in the next few years and move production to other cities, in a news release from the company on Wednesday.”
Democrats Surge to Power in Congress With Wins in Farm Country
“Farmers and ranchers spent the past year paying record prices for diesel and waiting on a farm bill that never came. Tuesday night, many of the states they farm in helped change who will write farm policy in Washington. Democrats won control of both the House and Senate.”
John Deere Hiring, Recalling 675 Workers in the Midwest
“John Deere says it ‘anticipates’ it will hire more than 400 people across its factories and will call back more than 275 to its Waterloo, Iowa, operations in the coming months, which would bring total callbacks since 2024 to about 1,000 employees.”
Midterm Elections Preview: Ag Committees Face Major Turnover
“Agriculture policy advocates face a major shake-up in the next Congress, with significant turnover possible on the House and Senate agriculture committees. At least nine House Agriculture Committee members and five Senate Agriculture Committee members are leaving Congress at the end of the 119th Congress, including leadership.”
Screwworm Confirmed in Arizona as Infestations Increase in October
New World screwworm was found in Arizona for the first time, as cases of the deadly parasite threatening the US cattle herd spread west into a third state. The spread of the parasitic fly has increased this month. There have been a total of 74 cases of screwworm in the US since the outbreak began.
US Farm Bankruptcies Up 19% Through Three Quarters of 2026
According to federal court data, 292 Chapter 12 (farm bankruptcy) cases have been filed so far in 2026, nearly 19 percent more than the 246 filed during the first three quarters of 2025. In the third quarter alone, 91 Chapter 12 bankruptcy filings were recorded nationwide.
Higher Diesel Prices Cost Farmers $2.4 Billion More During 2026 Planting and Harvest
American farmers are facing an estimated $2.4 billion increase in diesel expenses during the 2025-2026 planting and harvesting season, according to an analysis released in October 2026 by Democrats on the U.S. Joint Economic Committee.
USDA Teaming Up With NASA in Latest Effort to Improve Ag Data
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and National Aeronautics and Space Administration Administrator Jared Isaacman signed an interagency agreement to modernize USDA data, including agricultural statistics, remote sensing science, modeling, geospatial data engineering and super intelligence or machine learning.
USDA September Corn Forecast Error Raises Fresh Data Concerns
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) announced it found a processing error affecting September 2026 corn plant populations, ear counts, yields and production for Kansas and Nebraska. The error also affected September averages for plant populations and ear counts across 10 states, along with U.S. corn yield and production forecasts. However, NASS didn’t say exactly what the error was or why.
USDA to Provide $573M to Boost Domestic Fertilizer Production
The Trump administration on Thursday announced $573 million in grants to help boost construction of eight new domestic fertilizer facilities under USDA’s Fertilizer Investment & Expansion for Long-Term Domestic Supply (FIELDS) Program. The eight projects selected for funding combine for more than $1.34 billion in domestic investments in fertilizer production across as many as 18 states.
Third US-Mexico Border Crossing Set to Reopen to Livestock Imports
The port of entry at Columbus, N.M., will be the third crossing reopened for imports of Mexican cattle as of Oct. 26, the USDA said Monday, in spite of last week’s confirmation of two new cases of New World screwworm infestation in southwestern New Mexico.
Diesel Aid Could Push 2026 Government Payments to Farmers to Record $55 Billion
USDA’s recently announced Harvest Fuel Relief Program could “push US government payments to farmers in 2026 to $55.4 billion, based on USDA’s earlier net farm income forecast with $8 billion added to it. The highest previous aid year was $45.6 billion in 2020, driven by trade aid and pandemic payments.”
USDA to Provide $8 Billion in Diesel Fuel Aid to Farmers
President Donald Trump said on Monday the US Department of Agriculture will launch what he called a new ‘harvest fuel relief program’ that will provide farmers with $8 billion in support to offset diesel costs during the harvest season.
ARC & PLC Payments to Hit Record $13.8 Billion for 2025
USDA’s Farm Service Agency estimates Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) will generate approximately $13.8 billion in gross payments to eligible agricultural producers for the 2025 crop year — the largest annual payout by far since the key safety net programs were established in the 2014 Farm Bill.
China Buys First US Soybeans Since Trump-Xi Meeting
China has purchased more cargoes of US soybeans, extending a buying spree this week that marks its first acquisitions since the leaders of the two countries held a summit in late September. State-owned companies have booked at least 20 soybean shipments, equivalent to around 1.3 million tons.
EPA to Protect Biofuel Demand by Reallocating Small Refinery Exemptions
In a move aimed at protecting demand for ethanol and biodiesel, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin used a trip to Iowa on Tuesday to announce a proposal to reallocate 770 million renewable fuel blending credits granted to small refiners by adding them to volume obligations for refiners either this year or next year.