1/ Over the past twenty years, average cash #rents have more than doubled in Illinois while the cash requirements associated with #farmland ownership have more than tripled. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/10/cash...

1/ Median management #returns declined sharply across all debt categories from 2022 to 2024, but the pattern of decline varied meaningfully by financial position. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/10/solv...

1/ The US #soybean industry has responded to the #renewable #diesel boom by increasing production of soybean oil, an important feedstock in bio-based diesel production. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/10/the-...

1/ Total #storage #cost for US #corn and #soybeans changed little from 1974 through 2005. Declining interest opportunity cost due to declining interest rates offset small, on-going increases in physical storage cost. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/10/annu...

1/ #Farms in the high #interest expense cohort remain in a cautionary leverage position (debt-to-asset ratio of 30-60%), with rising #debt and surging interest costs posing clear financial stress despite asset growth. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/10/solv...

1/ Revised #rent factors for a simple variable #cash #lease are slightly lower than those previously estimated in 2022. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/09/revi...

1/ The USDA’s September #Hogs and #Pigs report was a bit of a surprise. While many analysts expected some #herd expansion, this report’s downward revisions of June 1 inventories by nearly 2% appear to be the alternative explanation. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/09/surp...

1/ Our analysis of the distribution of the #debt-to-asset ratios reveals that most #grain #farms in Illinois have maintained ratios in the strong category (below 30%) over the past two decades. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/09/solv...

1/ Ultimately, federal taxpayer-funded #payments for farmers are no match for the tough reality of lost demand or damaged #markets. For example, in 2024 alone, the U.S. exported almost $176 billion worth of agricultural products. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/09/hist...

1/ U.S. #soybean #harvest began in September without any orders from the world’s largest buyer: #China. American producers are harvesting a crop the USDA estimates at 4.3 billion bushels, and there is no indication of when shipments to China will resume. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/09/us-s...

1/ The financial results on all #Illinois #farms show that on average 2024 was a poorer financial year due to lower incomes. Grain farms had their highest #income ever in 2021 and 2022, leading to build ups of cash and other assets. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/09/illi...

1/ The Federal Reserve yesterday lowered the federal funds #rate by 25 basis points to a target range of 4.00%-4.25%. The decision to cut rates reflects a cautious pivot toward supporting employment, even as #inflation remains above target. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/09/unpa...

1/ For the 2026 crop year, a new #crop #insurance endorsement called Margin Coverage Option (MCO) is available. MCO is an area-based product protecting against operating #margin #declines driven by falling output prices, rising input costs, or both. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/09/a-ne...

1/ #Corn and #soybean futures reversed initial negative reactions to September 12’s bearish USDA report, which lowered yields by less than expected and increased acreage estimates. Despite some fundamentally bearish data, #prices ended up for the day. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/09/corn...

1/ In today's edition of the Weekly Roundup Newsletter from farmdoc Daily, we examine which #farm operations are most at risk financially during the significant downturn in corn, soybean, and wheat #prices since late 2023. www.linkedin.com/pulse/consid...

1/ The implication of this set of four articles is that the US #grain and #oilseed sector should focus less on #SouthAmerica and #China. This implication is consistent with the multivariable regression analysis in this article. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/09/grai...

1/ The #renewable #diesel boom has coincided with significant shifts in the quantity and composition of #soybean crush output. Since 2020, oil extraction rates have jumped from 19.5% to 20.0%. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/09/the-...

1/ Average #cash #rents declined in #Illinois from 2024 to 2025, led by reductions in areas with higher soil productivity. Continued low return projections suggest further reductions in cash rents will occur for 2026. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/09/cons...

1/ Results from the Gardner Food and Ag Policy Survey find that awareness of Make America Healthy Again (#MAHA) remains high and continues to be popular. Support over the last three months, particularly amongst Democratic respondents, has waned. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/09/trac...

1/ In today's edition of the Weekly Roundup Newsletter from @farmdocdaily.bsky.social, we examine how estimated machinery costs have increased since 2023, with most increases in the 1% to 14% range. www.linkedin.com/pulse/machin...

1/ Since 1980, the world excluding China, South America, and US (hereafter, ROW) has produced fewer #grains and #oilseeds than it has consumed. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/09/grai...

1/ #Machinery #cost estimates for 2025 have been released and are available in the Management section on the farmdoc daily website. As is usual, estimated machinery costs have increased, with most increases in the 1% to 14% range. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/09/mach...

1/ In today's Weekly Roundup Newsletter, we discuss how recent projections for the 2026 crop year suggest a fourth consecutive year of negative farmer #returns to corn-soybean rotations in #Illinois on cash rented farmland. www.linkedin.com/pulse/evolut...

1/ A recent survey pertaining to #farm goals shows only about 50% of the sample of farms are expected to #grow in the next 5 years. Of the remaining 50%, 40% expect to remain the same size and 10% expect to reduce the size of their farm. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/fact...

1/ The No. 2 position in the top five most problematic changes to farm #policy in the Reconciliation #FarmBill belongs to the third and final entry for #crop #insurance. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/the-...

1/ Since 1980, US #exports of #grains and #oilseeds have grown, but at a slower rate than US domestic consumption, resulting in a declining relative role of exports in the US grain-oilseed sector. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/grai...

1/ Recent projections for the 2026 crop year suggest a fourth consecutive year of negative #returns to corn-soybean rotations in #Illinois on cash rented #farmland. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/comp...

1/ The approximation given in the standard #soybean crush margin calculation of 18.3% #oil content may need to be revised higher. Over 60 years, we find that oil extraction rates have increased from 17.9% to 19.8% while waste rates declined. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/the-...

1/ Although Brazil dominates US attention, #SouthAmerican #grains and #oilseeds are far more than Brazilian grains and oilseeds. In the 2024 crop year, countries other than Brazil accounted for 37% of South American grain plus oilseed production. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/grai...

1/ The third most problematic change to farm policy in the Reconciliation #FarmBill belongs to the large and unbalanced increases in statutory reference #prices for farm program subsidies. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/the-...

1/ This farmdoc daily article uses a case #farm in west central Indiana to compare the net return to land for crop share, fixed cash rent, and flexible cash #leases. The average net returns to land for a landowner were similar among the three leases. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/comp...

1/ Today’s farmdoc daily article highlights our first release of 2026 crop #budgets for #Illinois. It assumes trend yield levels for corn and soybeans in all Illinois regions. The corn and soybean prices for 2026 are set at $4.15 and $10.30 per bushel. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/2026...

1/ Data on crop acres enrolled in Farm Service Agency programs suggests the dramatic increase in estimated US #corn #planted acres from 95.2 to 97.3 million seen in last week’s #WASDE report is real. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/yes-...

Harvest season is slowly getting underway in central Illinois and @farmdocdaily.bsky.social's Jim Baltz captured some great photos of a crew from Walker Bros AG busy at the beginning of last week with #corn silage #harvest at Stone Ridge Dairy.

1/ In today's edition of the Weekly Roundup Newsletter from @farmdocdaily.bsky.social, we examine how #Illinois #farm real estate #values remained strong in 2025, even with lower farm incomes. www.linkedin.com/pulse/2026-f...

1/ Based on Illinois FBFM Association records, average #farm operator #returns for labor and management on 2,009 #Illinois farms were lower for all geographic areas in the state in 2024 compared to 2023 and below the average for the last five years. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/lowe...

1/ The No. 4 spot in the top five most problematic changes to #farm #policy in the Reconciliation #FarmBill is that Congress provided an additional subsidy to crop insurance companies to encourage continued sales of policies in high-risk states. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/the-...

1/ This @farmdocdaily.bsky.social article explores the relationship reported by farmers between commercially applied #phosphorus (P) #fertilizer, accumulated P in the soil, and the yield of #corn. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/opti...

1/ Farmers will begin to consider management decisions for the 2026 crop year as fall approaches and the 2025 growing season winds down. Recent #price averages for #nitrogen products in Illinois have been 6% to 20% higher than the same time last year. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/fert...

1/ With #China remaining in the news lately for having not yet purchased a single cargo of new-crop #soybeans, take a look back at this @farmdocdaily.bsky.social article exploring how U.S. trade policy has potentially influenced global grain markets. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/05/trad...

1/ Good Monday afternoon! In this edition of the Weekly Roundup Newsletter from farmdoc Daily, we examine the agricultural trade implications of recently imposed US #tariffs on #Brazil — with outsized impact likely on coffee, beef, and seafood trade. www.linkedin.com/pulse/us-tar...

1/ The average #farm real estate #value for #Illinois in 2025 was $8,930 per acre. This includes the value of all land and buildings used for agricultural production. The figure was 2.6% higher than the adjusted 2024 average of $8,700 per acre. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/illi...

1/ The 50% #tariffs imposed by President Trump on #Brazil's imports — effective August 6 — are expected to bring some implications for #agricultural #trade between the two countries. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/us-t...

1/ In general, support #price has declined notably relative to #market price during the 21st Century, where market price is measured as the market price plateau when the #FarmBill was enacted. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/supp...

1/ Payments from Federal programs continue to be an important source of #funds for #farmers as they continue to deal with lower commodity prices relative to production costs. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/proj...

1/ In today's edition of the Weekly Roundup Newsletter from @farmdocdaily.bsky.social, we examine whether or not #cattle inventories are turning the corner toward expansion. www.linkedin.com/pulse/red-cr...

1/ Approximately 10% of a sample of U.S. #farms in late February 2025 indicated that #conservation was their most important farm goal. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/08/adop...

1/ This new series of @farmdocdaily.bsky.social articles will review the top five most problematic changes in farm policy enacted in the Reconciliation #FarmBill. The discussion begins with number 5: the increases in premium subsidy for #crop #insurance. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/07/the-...

1/ A defining feature of the 2025 #FarmBill is higher statutory reference #prices. A central rationale for the increase was higher cost of production. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/07/supp...

1/ Over the past 25 years, the global #fertilizer market has steadily expanded. China, the U.S., Brazil, and India have emerged as major #consumers, while China, Russia, the U.S., and Canada are key #producers. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/07/us-f...