Top Producer

The Only Thing That Lasts: How Ted Turner’s 2 Million Acres Redefined Land Ownership

Thu, 07 May 2026 17:58:50 GMT

Ted Turner’s rise to the top of the Land Report 100 marked a transformative era of American land ownership. Once the largest private landowner in the U.S., Ted Turner had many titles, business accomplishments and accolades as well.

With his death on May 6, 2026, the discussion of his legacy began. And undoubtedly his impressive 2 million acres is the driving force with a “save everything” philosophy toward land stewardship.

“If you visit any of Ted Turner’s properties, there’s a bumper sticker available that reads, “Save Everything,” says Eric O’Keefe editor of The Land Report. “That was his approach, as far as being a landowner. He was a conservationist, first and foremost.”

Turner built a revolutionary business empire—taking father’s billboard company to building a global media powerhouse, pioneering 24-hour news with CNN and acquiring the MGM film library. His business success fueled his land purchases as he reinvested those profits into large tracts of land across the country, and notably in the western states.

“He was one of the original, in this generation, of corporate magnates who plowed their profits into land, O’Keefe says. He adds Turner was friends with the current No. 1 largest landowner John Malone, who he “gave the land bug to.” And it was Turner’s investments that inspired others including Bill Gates.

Turner’s acquisitions gained momentum in the 1990s, making his the first No. 1 largest landowner when The Land Report started its first ranked list in 2007. In the 2025 Land Report list, Turner was the fourth largest with 2 million acres located in Montana, South Dakota, New Mexico, Kansas, Nebraska, Georgia and more.

“He looked around corners in ways that few of us can really comprehend. He was buying the greatest ranches in the American West, and these phenomenal quail plantations decades before anyone else,” he says.

O’Keefe says a hallmark of Turner’s land buying was not only in its accumulation but how he enhanced it with conservation efforts.

“I love that Gone with the Wind quote, and of course, Ted acquired the MGM Library and, owned Gone with the Wind. And the quote is, ‘land, it’s the only thing that lasts.’ And at the end of the day, that was, to him, in my opinion the most powerful element of his legacy.”

One of North America’s Largest Farms Files for Financial Protection, Is Restructuring

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:50:03 GMT

Earlier this week, Monette Group, which farms more than 400,000 acres in Canada and the U.S. filed for financial protection and is restructuring.

The company filed for creditor protector in Canada via the Companies’ Creditor Arrangement Act (CCAA) and filed Chapter 15 in Delaware Bankruptcy Court.

The Cost of Expansion: Efficiency Erosion and the Leverage Trap

The group’s recent financial trajectory highlights a cautionary tale of aggressive, debt-fueled expansion meeting a volatile economic climate. While the organization successfully scaled its footprint and top-line revenue over the last several years, operational efficiency and debt sustainability have reached a critical breaking point. [all dollars are Canadian]

The Era of Aggressive Growth (2017–2022)
Driven by substantial borrowing, the Group underwent a massive scale-up, growing revenue from $45 million to $198 million and expanding its cultivated land from 97,000 to 269,000 acres. While total EBITDA initially followed this upward trend, the underlying efficiency—measured by EBITDA-per-acre—began to signal trouble, dropping significantly from its 2015 highs.
Operational Headwinds and Margin Compression (2024–Present)
The transition into 2024 saw revenue climb to a record $347 million across 440,000 acres, yet profitability decoupled from growth. Diversification into produce and cattle, intended to broaden the portfolio, instead acted as a drag on the bottom line. By 2024, EBITDA-per-acre plummeted to a decade low of $83—a nearly 50% decline. This downward trend was exacerbated in 2025; despite a projected $72 million EBITDA, actual earnings reached only $31 million due to a “perfect storm” of poor crop prices, high input costs, and yield losses.
The Sustainability Crisis
The group’s reliance on cheap capital (approximately 3% interest rates) and rising real estate valuations proved successful in a low-rate environment. However, the convergence of flat property values, persistent inflation, and high interest rates has rendered the current capital structure unsustainable. Despite holding significant underlying asset value, the group is now overleveraged, with compressed margins leaving little room to service debt or maintain liquidity.

What Is Monette Group?

Since 2010, Monette Group has been aggressively expanding from its family farm in Saskatchewan to Manitoba and British Columbia in Canada. Current President Darrel Monette took over the family farm in 2013. In 2019, the company expanded into the U.S. first in Montana and then Arizona and Colorado. The company’s website says its core values are: teamwork, efficiency, growth and ‘get shit done.’

With its expansion and diversification, the business expanded into four main brands:

Monette Farms: growing pulses, wheat, corn, sugar beets, barley, and alfalfa in Canada and the U.S.
Monette Produce: with growing locations in California, Arizona and Canada
Monette Cattle: ranches located in Saskatchewan and British Columbia
Monette Seeds: located in Saskatchewan in partnership with NexGen Seeds

The 18 business entities of Monette Group employ between 300 and 600 people, depending on the season.

Grain production, primarily canola, wheat and durum accounted for over 60% of group revenue in 2024 and more than 50% in 2025. Grain operations dominate the Canadian footprint with 68% of the group’s production occurring in Canada.

Fresh produce operations are primarily located in Saskatchewan and British Columbia, with significant fall and winter production in Arizona. In 2025, produce accounted for approximately 15% of group revenue. Crops include carrots, squash, broccoli, cabbage, pumpkin, cauliflower and watermelon. The group’s produce is mainly sold to Loblaws and the Little Potato Company.

Cattle ranching accounted for approximately 10% of revenue in 2024 and 17% in 2025. Cattle ranching operations focus on Black and Red Angus cattle, including herd breeding in British Columbia and feedlots across Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Seed processing accounted for 19% of revenue in 2024 and 16% in 2025.

Its main crops 10 years ago were green and red lentils, durum, canola and malting barley.

According to the company’s website, Monette Farms’ newest addition is west of Phoenix, Arizona. It’s a certified organic farm and headquarters to Monette Seeds USA.

What Monette Farms Has Said

President Darrel Monette has penned a letter sent to landowners and leasing partners as well as a press release distributed with general counsel as the point of contact. Both are dated April 21, 2026.

In both Monette says this process will allow them to stabilize finances, restructure debt, and continue operating.

The letter read: “This filing is a proactive response to current industry pressures (higher input costs, higher interest rates, and tighter credit) and is not a liquidation.”

It continued: “We are working with our advisors and a court-appointed Monitor to develop a restructuring plan for credit and court approval.”

Per a company press release, the day-to-day farming activities, spring seeding and livestock care are continuing as planned. The release also said all employees are being retained at this time.

The Assets of Monette Group

According to its 2025 financial statements, the group has $1.24 billion of total assets booked at cost (and not reflective of market value.)

As of April 12, 2026, the group owns 274,000 acres of land. In the U.S. Monette owns 61,700 acres in Arizona, Montana and Colorado.

For crop production, it leases 175,000 acres in Canada and 43,000 acres in the U.S. with annual total lease payments of $29.4 million. For its cattle business, Monette holds grazing licenses on 1.2 million acres of land in Canada.

The group owns three seed processing facilities in Canada.

It leases more than 1,700 separate units of farm equipment, with 1,600 units leased from John Deere Financial. Annually, the group spends $26 million on leased equipment.In 2023, it was newsworthy when the business transitioned from Case IH equipment to John Deere equipment in a reported $100+ million deal.

What Else Is There To Watch?

Monette Group is one of the largest privately held farming operations in North America.

The timing of this filing is critical for the farm to put in a 2026 crop. In the CCAA filing, Monette Group said its seed expenses are $40 million per year. To get set up for seeding, Monette’s operations may receive 41 truck loads of product a day (nearly 15,000 truck loads a year).

The main filing is in Canada with proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) as part of a court-supervised restructuring process. From here is a process by which Monette will work with a court-appointed monitor to develop a restructuring plan for creditor and court approval.

The Chapter 15 filing asks the U.S. court to recognize the Canadian CCAA proceeding as the “foreign main proceeding” which can extend the protection of U.S. assets. It also prevents U.S. creditors from taking legal action such as seizing assets or filing lawsuits.

In the CCAA document, it is stated Monette Group held a $950 million secured credit facility dated December 5, 2018, which matured on April 15, 2026. Repayment of the obligations owing to the syndicate of lenders is a necessary component of the group’s overall restructuring strategy.

The CCAA filing comes after Monette per the guidance of its lending syndicate to sell assets. Two tracts were sold in 2025: in Regina, Saskatchewan for $41.18 million and 17,000 acres of land in Montana for $47.5 million. Additional sales were attempted this this winter, but with only one completed sale of 12,932 acres of farmland in the Stewart Valley of Swift Current, Saskatchewan for $54 million.

In the affadavit, Monette says a restructuring and selling of assets by the court appointed monitor is important to provide an orderly sale of assets and not cause a bulk liquidation which could result in lower values.

The farm has been active on social media:

Farmers Don’t Use AI for Answers — They Use It to Think Better

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:10:26 GMT

What you should know:

To use artificial intelligence in your business for a competitive advantage — not just a gimmick:

Ask better questions than most people
Combine AI with real-world experience
Execute on the answers

For Rachael Sharp, dry weather hasn’t made planting go any easier in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. And when a planter went down, the first thing she did was pull up Chat GPT.

“I pulled up the part number, and I saw that I’d actually entered in there last year. So it told me the date I changed it, and that was helpful, because I was trying to figure out why is this wearing out so quickly?” she says. “We’re in desperate need of rain, and we’re pulling in some pretty hard non-irrigated land right now. I logged that we changed the bearing again, and so next time, knock on wood, it hopefully doesn’t go out again, but if it does I can look and see I changed it twice in the last year.”

That’s just one of many examples of how Sharp is using ChatGPT to manage equipment, her time, and the farm business. She and her father, Don, are featured in an OpenAI commercial, which premiered during the Super Bowl.

And she’s in good company with other farmers in how to use the artificial intelligence platforms.

Marc Arnusch, the 2025 Top Producer of the Year, says ChatGPT is the most used app on his phone.

Jeremy Jack, leader of Silent Shade Planting Company the 2023 Top Producer of the Year, uses AI as his daily management teammate from agronomy and business decisions.

Here are the four ways these farmers use AI every day on the farm.

(Photo: Yvonne Min)

1. Make better decisions faster

Colorado farmer Arnusch uses ChatGPT and Grok to narrow down his consideration set when making decisions.

“It helps on the strategic side of things, and when making a decision, I’ll let it give the top four or five things to choose from, which helps when there’s a million choices,” he says. “It really is like my funnel. I’ll set up my phone on my dashboard and just dictate to it. Then when I’m back at the farm office, my wife Jill is relieved because I’ve already processed out loud with the AI tool.”

While most farms collect data, Jack uses AI to make decisions, particularly agronomic.

“I uploaded multiple years of soil data across our farms,” he says. “And we’ve found ways to manage fertilizer better, for example with sulfur.”

The data interpretation has shifted his thinking by connecting the yield zones with as-applied fertility and return on investment.

Jack is also using the technology to double check every spray application — from rates, to tank mix, to nozzle selection, to pressure optimization.

Sharp has also found AI helpful in managing chemical applications. She can remember chemical boxes marked up with her father’s calculations by hand.

“I tell the prompt what I’m spraying, where I’m spraying, how many acres, tank size, and then I let it tell me what to order,” she says. “Over time, it’s learned which products are liquid and which are dry flowables. And it’s helped me keep track of the inventory we have so we don’t end up with pallets of odds and ends.”

(Photo: OpenAI)

2. Be more efficient

When it comes to where to start with AI, Sharp has one piece of advice.

“Think of the task that you don’t like to do at the end of the day. For me, I didn’t want to do paperwork at the end of the day,” she says. “So I threw it over to ChatGPT, and I said, hey, this is what I planted today, this is the date, and I left it at that. I started really, really simple.”

Now, she’ll record things directly in the field or in the truck. She says it has helped with FSA 578 forms. And in day-to-day operations, she’s found benefits for time management and accuracy in all record keeping.

“We have seed samples that require a handwritten seed form that I turn in along with the sample, but I spoke into my phone and said, hey, Chat GPT, I need you to log that I sent this variety, this lot number, on this date, to the lab. And so, that’s probably one of 15 entries that I’ve made over the course of a month. And at the end when we finally turn in our last sample to the lab, I’ll ask it for a spreadsheet with all that listed,” she says.

(Photo: Sarah Green Photography)

3. Think more clearly about complex problems

Jeremy Jack often asks ChatGPT “What does this mean for my farm?” with current events.

“With the war in Iran, global fertilizer supply chain concerns, and even things like USDA reports, it’s given helpful perspective in how to think about what’s happening off the farm but impacts the farm.”

And he’s found success in using the platform to specifically think about the business strategy for his farm with vendors, including lenders, landowners and more.

4. Manage more professionally

Jack has been active with an advisory board for their farm, but AI has become like a boardroom in his pocket.

“I bounce ideas—pressure test if you will—before it costs me real money,” he says. “This includes input purchases, land agreements, and equipment purchases.”

He’s also come to use it in his external communications about the farm including his regular social media posts on LinkedIn.

When it comes to team management, Arnusch has input culture index results for vendors and employees, then the AI compares their individual characteristics with the job they are being asked to do.

“This has been a breakthrough,” he says. “It’s shown me that at no fault of their own, why some people fail at what they are being asked to do. It wasn’t because they weren’t working hard or doing the job. It was stretching them beyond what they can do.”

He gives the example of a farm foreman position on the farm, and how he used this process to match the candidate with the role.

(Sarah Green Photography)

Inside The Tax Return of Your Farm's Future

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 13:41:28 GMT

The traditional process of preparing agricultural tax returns has long been defined by manual data entry and the complex reconciliation of income. However, the integration of artificial intelligence into financial systems is ushering in a more sophisticated era of tax management. For the modern farm, the future of filing lies in a seamless pipeline where software handles the heavy lifting of data organization, leaving the high-level strategy to human experts.

Comprehensive Data Integration

The foundation of a modern tax return is the accounting system. Platforms like QuickBooks, Xero or specialized farm management software are becoming increasingly autonomous. In the near future, these AI agents will do more than simply record expenses; they will analyze them in real-time.

With direct links to bank feeds and digital invoices, AI can categorize expenditures with precision. It can distinguish between capital investments, such as machinery or land improvements, and standard operating costs like seed and fuel. This continuous synchronization means by the end of the fiscal year, the financial records are already in a format that mirrors the requirements of a tax return.

Automated Document Reconciliation

A significant portion of tax preparation involves matching — ensuring the farm’s internal records align with the documents issued by third parties. A preparer of a farm tax return may spend more time making sure all of the income is in the right box then planning to optimize the income tax level.

AI is uniquely suited to handle this high-volume verification. The system can automatically ingest Form 1099-PATR (cooperative distributions), 1099-G (government subsidies) and other Form 1099s and W-2s and verify them against recorded deposits.

If a document is missing or a figure does not match the ledger, AI identifies the specific discrepancy immediately, allowing for a targeted correction rather than a manual search through months of records.

The Role of Human Oversight

While AI provides the technical framework for the return, the final stage remains firmly in human hands. Once the software has mapped the data to the appropriate tax schedules, it produces a comprehensive draft for professional review.

This allows the farmer or a tax consultant to transition from a data entry role to a strategic advisory role. Instead of spending hours verifying line items, the human reviewer can focus on critical tax planning decisions including accelerated depreciation choices or income averaging that require professional judgment and an understanding of the farm’s long-term goals.

The result is a more accurate, defensible and efficient tax filing process. By automating the clerical aspects of the return, AI allows agricultural producers to maintain focus on their operations while ensuring full compliance with the evolving tax laws.

Beyond the Blame Game: Navigate the Mental Toll of Modern Ag

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 13:55:12 GMT

When market pressures mount, it is easy to succumb to the “blame game.” Yet, the most resilient operations are those that anchor themselves in a mission larger than the current balance sheet. For leaders like James Burgum and Lamar Steiger, coping with stress isn’t just about managing the books, it’s about managing the mindset.

The Many Hats of the Modern Producer

James Burgum, CEO of The Arthur Companies, believes the first step in managing stress is acknowledging the sheer weight of the roles farmers play.

“One of the things I did when I stepped into my role is an exercise where I said to our team, ‘Help me understand all the hats on the farm – farmworker, agronomist, grain merchandiser, mechanic, truck driver, snow removal lead, banker, economist,’” Burgum said during a discussion at Top Producer Summit. “You start to go down the list, and its dozens and dozens of roles that an individual farmer plays.”

By recognizing the complexity of these roles, Burgum argues that producers can move toward servant leadership—prioritizing the team’s needs.

“There are things that are much more important and much bigger than the challenges we’re wrestling with on the job every day,” Burgum says. “It’s hard to juggle all the balls, but at the end of the day, we want everyone on our team to make sure they get home at night and be there for their families.”

Choosing Abundance Over Scarcity

Lamar Steiger, owner of The 808 Ranch, learned about stress through the lens of his father, a man who seemed to face every possible setback: health crises, financial downturns and missed market peaks.

The farm struggled during times of high interest rates in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s and his father was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, Guillain-Barre, that left him paralyzed for six months.

Still, his dad always had an attitude of abundance, not scarcity, Steiger says.

“With my brothers holding other obligations, I was left to milk the cows,” Steiger says. “We were so far behind, and all my dad would say is, ‘It could be worse.’”

Breaking the Silence

Eventually, his family lost the dairy. After hitting rock bottom and battling depression , Steiger realized that the “tough it out” mentality was a liability, not an asset.

“When the stresses pile up, you’ve got to find help,” Steiger says. “I wasn’t ‘man enough’ to step up and say, ‘Hey, something’s wrong here.’ I should have said, ‘Time out—this is not working.’”

Steiger’s advice for those feeling the weight of the current market is simple: Find your “who.” Whether it is a spouse, a neighbor or a professional, talking through the stress is the only way to separate your self-worth from the volatility of the markets.

“In agriculture, we’re so reliant on outside forces,” Steiger says. “You’ve got to have an attitude that it’s going to work out. As my Dad would say, ‘Well, we never missed a meal.’ That was his bottom line for ‘It’s okay.’”

From Constraints to Catalysts: How Ag Leaders Turn Hardships into Strategy

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 18:19:03 GMT

In an industry defined by “one-year-at-a-time” cycles, the greatest threat to a growing operation isn’t just a market downturn—it’s the inertia that comes with size. Farm Journal CEO Prescott Shibles argues that long-term survival requires a rare blend of faith and agility. To maintain an entrepreneurial mindset, leaders must lean into “conviction” as the core of a strategy that survives the lows.

Here is how four industry leaders are turning today’s constraints into tomorrow’s differentiators.

1. Build when times are hard.

When Brent Smith, president and CEO of NewLeaf Symbiotics, joined the company in 2023, the grain market was entering a significant down cycle. While some saw a risky time to lead a startup, he saw an opportunity.

“I learned in my first startup that the best time to build a business is in hard times,” Smith said said during a discussion at Top Producer Summit. “Because if you can’t withstand tough times, you’re not going to survive long term.”

For Smith, survival meant doubling down on the company’s core: science. Despite the pressure to cut costs, NewLeaf continues to spend half of its operating expenses on science.

“It would be very easy to peel that back,” he admits. “But we focused on projects that make the most impact the quickest, while keeping an eye on the long-term innovation in our pipeline.”

2. Control what you can control.

Farmers face the ultimate constraint every year: the weather. Scott Beck, president of Beck’s Hybrids, recalls the planting crisis of 2019 when constant rains kept tractors out of the fields well into May.

“I was concerned for our customers not being able to plant, but also for us not being able to plant our seed for the next year,” Beck says. “There was nothing that we could do to control the weather, but we could control how we interacted with our customers.”

Rather than retreating, the Beck’s team focused on transparency and empathy, using video series to connect with farmers and even forming small groups for prayer and support. Ultimately, they wanted farmers to know they cared and were there to support them however they could.

Despite the financial reality of what could happen if farmers didn’t plant and returned seed, Beck’s decided their course of action would not include employee layoffs. Instead, they prepared to sell land to protect their people.

“Fortunately, the weather broke and everybody was able to get planted,” he says. “Then the second miracle happened. We had the second warmest September on record, and that’s what brought the crop through to enable 2019 to not turn out as bad as it started.”

3. Turn disadvantages into advantages.

In 2014, Lamar Steiger, owner of The 808 Ranch, was tasked with a monumental challenge: helping Walmart reinvent its beef supply chain. At the time, the retail giant was at a disadvantage, forced to accept whatever the major meatpackers provided.

Steiger’s strategy was to turn that lack of control into a new kind of independence.

“I convinced the Walmart team to go around the traditional supply chain,” Steiger says. Today, Walmart sources 28% of its beef from its own “farm-to-table” supply chain.

There’s no question that decision was really good for Walmart. But Steiger says it was also really good for him personally.

“It reminded me that no matter how big you are, there are always challenges,” he says.

4. Create “white space” for the future.

When the day-to-day tasks of an operation become overwhelming, long-term strategy is often the first thing to go. James Burgum, CEO of The Arthur Companies, believes leaders must intentionally carve out “white space” for their teams.

“It’s important to find ways where people can actually spend their time working on the business, not just in the business,” he says.

By protecting time for team members to execute ideas that are three to five years out, Burgum manages the tension between short-term urgency and long-term viability.

“It’s hard to step away from the daily fires you’ll face in your operation, but it’s important,” he adds. “How we manage that tension of short term and long term is creating that white space and making sure that we consciously work on the business.

The Long Game

Ultimately, resilience in agriculture is about knowing when to push and when to pivot.

“You have to know when to put the gas down, and you need to know when to tap the brake,” Smith says. “And regardless of what you are doing, you need to stay focused on what you’re doing.”

Whether it is investing in science during a downturn or choosing customer empathy over the bottom line, these leaders say constraints don’t have to be roadblocks; they can be the very catalysts that drive an operation forward.

The Shrinking Slice: Farmers Receive Less Than 6 Cents of Every Food Dollar

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 20:30:44 GMT

For the past two years, USDA has estimated farmers and ranchers received less than 6 cents of every food dollar. In 2023, that was 5.9 cents, and using the latest data from 2024, it’s 5.8 cents.

“Our oldest data point right now is 2007 [USDA updated the data series] and that’s 14.7 cents per dollar, and now we’re down all the way to 11.8 cents per dollar,” says Faith Parum, economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation. “So we’ve really seen that decline year after year. It reflects how much of the value of things in the grocery store or when you go out to eat is going to other parts of the supply chain and not necessarily to farmers and ranchers.”

Livestock vs. Crops: A Widening Gap

The aggregate decline masks a widening gap between sectors. While the overall farmer share is down, livestock and crop producers are seeing divergent trends:

Crop Farmers: Share dropped from 2.9 cents to 2.5 cents (a 2.5% year-over-year decrease).
Livestock Producers: Share increased from 3 cents to 3.3 cents.

“Overall, the farmer share is down. But we have those two markets really at odds,” Parum says. “We’ve seen that tale of two farm economies where our livestock producers maybe have seen a little bit of better days than they had had in the past, while our row crop farmers and our specialty crop farmers are really facing strong headwinds in the market.”

Effect at the Farm Gate

As highlighted by USDA, farm finances are quickly strained when farmers/ranchers are capturing a small percentage of the food dollar and even modest swings in commodity prices and/or input prices take place.

Parum adds, “when we talk about the health of our farms and the health of future generations on the farm, and being economically viable and sustainable and being able to keep their operations open, the trends we’re seeing right now are really hard for those farmers. Our ranchers are seeing a little bit of better days right now with high beef prices, but that’s not going to last forever, and with production expenses continuing to increase, we’re really going to see that that question come up of, what is sustainable if, if these dollars we’re spending in the grocery store aren’t making it back to our farmers.”

Where Does the Money Get Distributed?

The key takeaway: farmers produce the raw commodities that make food production, however, the price is clearly more determined by what happens after the products first leave the farm.

The USDA Food Dollar Series tracks how each dollar is spent by consumers and then divides it across the industries contributing to the value in the supply chain, such as farming, food processing, transportation, packaging, wholesaling, retail and food service. As noted by the USDA, with each step in the process, the additional services, labor, transportation and infrastructure add value and increase costs to the final food product.

USDA’s Economic Research Service Food Dollar Series shows in 2024, farmers received 11.8 cents of every dollar spent on domestically produced food, the remaining 88.2 cents of the food dollar went toward the ‘marketing bill’, which includes costs associated with food processing, transportation, packaging, wholesaling, retailing and food service. Over time, this shift illustrates how an increasing share of food spending is driven by services and supply chain activities rather than farm production itself.

Groceries Leave the Most on The Table For Farmers

Farmers’ share of consumer food spending varies widely depending on the type of food purchased. For example, the farm share of the food-at-home dollar was 18.5 cents in 2024, up slightly from 18.4 cents in 2023. But even in this category it means only than one-fifth of what consumers spend on groceries goes back to farmers.

As you may expect, products with minimal processing, require less of the value to be retained in that part of the food system, and therefore return a larger share of the food dollar to producers.

“The highest commodity that gets the most of that food dollar is fresh eggs,” Parum notes. “That’s just because there’s limited labor to process that food.”

Examples include:

Fresh Eggs: 69.1 cents (+6% from 2023)
Beef: 52.2 cents (+4.8%)
Fresh Milk: 50.8 cents (+5.6%)
Pork: 23.7 cents (+7.2%)
Poultry (+3.1%)
Fish (+2.8%)
Tree nuts and peanuts (-1.7%)
Fresh fruits and vegetables (unchanged)
Bakery Products: 4.8 cents (-9.4%)
Soft Drinks/Bottled Water: 1.3 cents (-7.1%)

Reciprocity and Balance: The New Blueprint for U.S. Agricultural Trade Agreements

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 21:01:54 GMT

Ambassador Julie Callahan is the chief ag negotiator at the U.S. Trade Representative, and she reports positive momentum toward rebuilding trade agreements equating to a positive U.S. ag trade balance.

“We came into a situation in January 2025 where the US ag trade deficit was ballooning in a really unsustainable manner,” she says.

At the beginning of 2025, USDA forecasted a $50 billion deficit for U.S. agricultral trade.

“Compare that to an agricultural trade surplus in 2020 when President Trump left office, of a $6 billion surplus. So we were $56 billion in the hole, you might say, at the beginning of the administration, but through the efforts of the president ensuring trading partners understand they need to treat U.S. farmers and ranchers right, we are seeing real shifts in our trade balance and chipping away at the deficit toward a surplus.”

Trade Wins Highlighted by Government Officials

Callahan points to eight signed trade agreements with: Malaysia, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Argentina, Bangladesh, Taiwan and Indonesia. She says these are binding agreements, where the foreign governments are:

lowering tariffs for U.S. ag products
removing unfair trade practices
and lifting regulatory barriers

“These are serious binding trade agreements that will deliver real value for U.S. farmers and ranchers,” Callahan says. And when asked if Congressional action to codify agreements is necessary, Callahan says that action would be supported but should not be necessary.

“These foreign governments have made binding commitments in terms of adjusting tariff schedules, they are also making regulatory changes. USTR will be enforcing these agreements. They are enforceable.”

Examples of enforceable commitments include:

Indonesia removes its import licensing requirements
Malaysia accepts facilities on their registration list as long as FSIS has them on their list

The Future of the U.S./China Trade Relationship

At the 2026 Top Producer Summit, Lyu Jiang, minister for economic and commercial affairs at the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., characterized the U.S. and Chinese relationship being a phase of stabilization.

When prompted to react, Callahan agreed saying, “We very much want a stable, predictable, transactional relationship with our Chinese counterparts. We do want to normalize, bring reciprocity and balance back to our trade relationship and ensure that U.S. farmers, and ranchers can benefit from the Chinese market again.”

She says her office is balancing the agricultural stakeholders wanting access to the large-scale Chinese market with a strategy to also diversify trade partnerships as to not be too reliant on a single country.

“We are working through the agreement on reciprocal trade to diversify our markets so we don’t overly rely on China,” she says. “We are looking to address that very serious situation where China may see agriculture as a pain point for the United States.”

With the upcoming meeting of President Trump and President Xi in April, Callahan says her team and the larger U.S. trade team is working to prepare and set the stage for a positive outcome. Callahan points to specific issues to be worked through and market focuses spanning crops and livestock.

“Both sides want the meetings to be a success,” she says. “Certainly, in the meetings leading up to the president level discussion, we will be having open and frank conversations with China where we need to see areas of improvement. That’s not limited to soybeans to sorghum. Our beef producers don’t have access to China due to China’s unfortunate actions that are not renewing facility registrations.”

The Review of USMCA

With a goal of “reciprocity and balance across north America” the trade team is working on its review of the North American trade deal.

“We absolutely understand the importance of USMCA for U.S. farmers and ranchers,” Callahan says.

Describing this as a “comprehensive review” she says that spans:

Look at what is working
Maintain what is working
Improve on areas not be delivering the benefits U.S. farmers and ranchers expect

She brings up the overall trade balance with Canada and specifically, Canadian dairy.

“With Canada, we went from a $3 billion deficit in 2020 and now we have an $11 billion ag trade deficit. So there are certainly areas for improvement, and we’re taking all of our stakeholders’ comments into consideration,” Callahan says.

The Succession Gap: Why Two-Thirds of Farms Face an Uncertain Future

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 20:18:08 GMT

Farm Journal recently reported that 44 million acres of U.S. farmland are expected to change hands in the coming years - nearly 15% of American cropland by 2030.

That’s a staggering number. But what concerns me most isn’t just the acreage. It’s what that number represents: leadership transition, ownership transition and decision-making transition happening all at once across the country.

When I look at the accompanying data, I see both opportunity and vulnerability.

According to the Farm Journal Seed & Planting Survey and Consolidation Index Predictive Model Analysis, only 34% of growing operations have a formal succession plan. Among benchmark producers, that number drops to 29%. For operations identified as at-risk, just 21% have a documented succession plan in place.

Let that sink in.

Even among farms positioned for growth, two-thirds do not have a formal plan for how leadership and ownership will transition. And nearly four out of five at-risk farms are operating without one.

At the same time, consolidation risk is not limited to smaller operations. Farms under $250,000 in gross income show a 58% consolidation risk. Farms between $250,000 and $500,000 show 48%. But even operations in the $1 million to $2.5 million range carry a 32% risk. And those between $2.5 million and $10 million still sit in a baseline consolidation risk zone of roughly 27–30%.

In other words, income alone does not protect you.

Succession gaps, management transitions and strategic exits are driving consolidation regardless of size.

I’ve spent my career working with agricultural families navigating generational transition, and I can tell you this: consolidation rarely happens overnight. It happens when pressure meets unpreparedness. A health event. A lender conversation. A market downturn. A disagreement that was never resolved. A next generation that was never fully developed or clearly empowered to lead.

Agriculture has always been unpredictable. We all understand that. Weather changes. Markets move. Policies shift. But what feels different right now is how layered the uncertainty has become. Interest rates have restructured balance sheets. Input costs remain volatile. Capital demands continue to rise. Technology expectations are accelerating. And the average age of the American farmer keeps climbing.

Generational turnover is not something we can push off for “someday.” It is happening now.

So, here’s the question I would ask any farm leader reading this: If something unexpected happened tomorrow, would your operation be okay?

Would there be clarity about who makes decisions? Would ownership be clearly defined? Would compensation and reinvestment policies be understood? Would lenders feel confident in your continuity? Would your successors be prepared - not just present - to lead?

If you hesitate in answering that, you are not alone. But hesitation is a signal.

The data in the Farm Journal analysis tells an important story. Growing operations are more likely to try new technology. They are more likely to plan land investment. And they are more likely to have formal succession plans in place. That is not coincidence. It reflects intentional leadership.

The leaders that plan tend to think about the long term - not just the next growing season. They understand their profitability by enterprise. They are disciplined about capital allocation. They define leadership roles. They have hard conversations before circumstances force communication. They build clarity into the business so that transition strengthens it rather than destabilizes it.

Succession planning is often misunderstood.

It is not simply an estate planning document. It is not a will tucked in a drawer. It is not something you address only when someone retires. It is a business discipline.

It requires clarity about management transfer and ownership transfer - and those are not always the same thing. It requires fairness, which is not necessarily equality. It requires governance structure so family conversations don’t become a business crises. It requires intentional development of the next generation so leadership transition feels earned and prepared, not assumed.

And perhaps most importantly, it requires timing.

Consolidation favors clarity. It favors farms that reduce ambiguity before outside forces expose it. It favors operations that are structured - not just successful.

One of the most revealing pieces of the consolidation data is that even higher-income farms carry measurable risk. A $3 million or $5 million operation is not immune. Scale does not eliminate vulnerability if leadership transition is unclear or strategic direction is undefined.

The 44 million acres projected to change hands represent a defining moment for American agriculture. Some families will use this season to strengthen continuity and expand. Others will find themselves reacting - not because they lacked work ethic or competence, but because they delayed putting structure in place.

Planning does not eliminate uncertainty - but it does provide framework and stability.

It allows you to make proactive decisions rather than reactive ones. It gives lenders confidence. It gives the next generation clarity. It protects family relationships. And it preserves optionality.

If your farm is truly okay - strategically aligned, financially transparent, leadership-ready - then planning becomes a growth tool.

If it’s not, planning becomes urgent.

Either way, it matters.

Knowing the data should never create paralysis. Understanding your consolidation risk, your succession gaps and your financial position gives you something incredibly valuable: choice. When your business structure is clear and your succession plan is thoughtful but flexible, you can pivot as markets shift, opportunities emerge or circumstances change. You may not be able to eliminate uncertainty - but you can position yourself to move through it with confidence.

The Best Leaders Share These Three Behaviors

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 21:25:27 GMT

Leadership might sound like a big, formal word, but on the farm it’s really just about how you work with people every day. It’s how you talk to your team, how you handle mistakes and how you treat people when things get stressful.

When you’re just starting out, being a leader doesn’t mean you need all the answers or that you have to run everything perfectly. It’s okay to learn as you go. According to Marcel Schwantes, author of “ Humane Leadership: Lead with Radical Love, Be a Kick-ass Boss ,” when you’re just starting out, being a leader doesn’t mean you need all the answers or that you have to run everything perfectly. It’s okay to learn as you go.

He suggests regardless of the operation or title, strong leaders consistently rely on a small set of practical skills that can be learned, practiced and improved over time.

These skills include:

Show Real Interest in Your People

Take time to get to know the people who work for you, not just the job they were hired to do. Ask what they enjoy, where they want to improve and what they hope to learn next. That might mean running new equipment, taking on more responsibility or growing into a leadership role themselves.

“The best leaders genuinely want their people to thrive,” Schwantes says. “They’re willing to put the team’s needs first, share credit freely and take responsibility when things go sideways.”

He recommends supporting raises and added responsibility when they are earned and looking for chances to stretch people’s skills instead of keeping them in the same position. When employees feel genuinely valued, they take more pride in their work and show up differently every day.

Have Empathy

Many farm leaders were raised to believe emotions stay out of the workplace. Unfortunately in agriculture, empathy is often misunderstood as being too soft or letting things slide. But Schwantes notes empathy is actually one of the strongest leadership characteristics a person can have, because it helps leaders understand problems sooner and lead more effectively.

“Empathic leaders don’t just hear what people say; they understand the context, emotions and challenges behind it,” he says. “That perspective creates psychological safety, and safety unlocks creativity, problem-solving and collaboration.”

On a farm, this might look like noticing when a team member is struggling, checking in when someone seems overwhelmed or understanding the pressures your employees face at home. It’s about listening, recognizing stress and creating an environment where people feel safe asking for help.

Be Clear and Transparent

On a farm, clear communication makes everything run smoother. When your team knows what’s expected and why decisions are being made, they can work more confidently and avoid mistakes.

“A transparent culture builds trust and fosters collaboration,” Schwantes says. “When people feel safe voicing their thoughts, it deepens engagement and creates a more resilient, trustworthy team dynamic.”

Transparency also means being honest about challenges and inviting input. If something’s not working, your team should feel comfortable speaking up. The more open you are, the more trust you build — and the better your crew can handle the ups and downs.

Lead by Serving Your Team

A leadership role can feel overwhelming in some workplaces, but on the farm it doesn’t have to be complicated. Schwantes says it comes down to a few core skills — showing real interest in your people, practicing empathy and being clear and transparent.

Strong farms are built on strong teams, and strong teams are built by leaders who serve first. A leader who’s willing to jump in, listen and set a positive tone creates an environment where everyone can do their best work. And over time, that kind of leadership builds trust and creates a crew that’s ready to take on whatever comes their way.

Farmer Financials: From a Yellow Light to a Check Engine Warning

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 21:40:49 GMT

In 2025, the average size of loans for farmer operating expenses reached a record high (30% higher than last year) and pushed up lending volumes, according to the National Survey of Terms of Lending to Farmers. As noted by Federal Reserve of Kansas City Economist, Ty Kreitman, demand for farm loans has risen with tighter working capital, elevated production costs and higher cattle prices.

What is the outlook for on-farm finances?

USDA did not issue a farm income forecast in December, due to the government shutdown. With a pending update coming at the beginning of February, Meridian Agribusiness Advisors and Ag Access partnered on a farmer-facing survey to provide insights.

“There’s a group of farmers that are doing okay now, and I think that’s something for us to celebrate in the farm economy that farmers are being resilient through this period and finding opportunities, but there are others in our community that need help right now,” says Wes Davis Meridian economist. “It may look like if you’re looking at a traffic light it would be a yellow light. But, I would describe it more as a check engine light.”

Davis says from the recent survey, he can pull forward a divergence between those farm businesses focused on row crops and livestock.

Whereas 56% of livestock farmers in their survey said their working capital situation was very strong or somewhat strong, only 43% of crop farmers said the same.

About that same range for both groups say working capital is tight or very tight.

“There is that group of farmers, 10% to 15% of them, that are challenged with working capital,” Davis says. “They are questioning if they can stay in business this year.”

Mike Mostransky of Ag Access shares the survey had national representation but about 70% of respondents were from the Midwest.

For 2026, the survey sponsors say profitability expectations are factoring into two developments:

A change in behaviors for operating expenditures
Further erosion of working capital

“Farmers who are in challenging times look for help from their input providers, their financial service providers and other,” Davis says. “Farmers are asking them questions like: ‘How can I adjust what I’m doing without compromising my yield and my financial outcomes?’ And they’re looking for a thought partner that can help them with that.”

For row crop respondents, the top actions to preserve operating expenses were listed to be: switching to generics, reducing field passes, reducing or delaying fertilizer rates, and changing crop rotation.

“There’s a position right now that they don’t know what they don’t know, and they’re not about to take the risk.” Mostransky says. “It’s clear farmers are more focused on machinery repair rather than replacement. And they are saying things like, ‘give me your best price the first time, because you won’t get a second or third time.’”

Meanwhile, livestock farmers are more likely to be positioned to see opportunities with expenditures such as herd expansion, investing in genetics, low-inclusion feed additives and animal health products.

Click here for the latest report from the Federal Reserve of Kansas City.

Top Producer of the Year Finalist: Dalton Farms

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 14:38:13 GMT

Dalton Farms of Wakeman, Ohio is a century farm that encompasses 2,000 acres of cropland where Edward and Rebecca Dalton grow corn, wheat, soybeans and spelt. The 2026 Top Producer of the Year award finalists also have a feeder to finish operation consisting of 400 head of Holstein steers they fatten out from about 300 lb. until finish.

For its success in the business of agriculture, Dalton Farms is a finalist for Top Producer of the Year, which is sponsored by BASF and Fendt. The awards banquet will take place, Feb. 9 as part of the 2026 Top Producer Summit.

From Tragedy to Triumph

Edward is the seventh-generation on this farm that split in 1990. He says it was a hard recovery requiring big sacrifices to keep the farm operating, but it allowed him to farm with his father until 2012.

“We farmed together for about seven years after college, so unfortunately my dad passed away of a heart attack,” Edward says. “And so at 27, Rebecca and I kind of took full responsibility of the farm.”

For eight years Rebecca juggled the farm, her career in nursing and family before pivoting.

“When we had our twin boys, I realized I wanted to be home more and be more involved in the farm,” she explains.

Family Centered Beef Business Emerges

That’s when the Daltons started selling their beef direct to consumers through their on-the-farm store called the Meat Barn.

“We started selling more freezer beef in halves and quarters, and that transitioned into smaller bundles for customers because they didn’t all want to buy in bulk,” Rebecca says. “That then turned into, can we get pork from you this way? Can we get chicken from you this way? And we started stocking more of those items.”

The Meat Barn sells products at 15 local gas stations and grocery stores. Plus, Rebecca is partnering with 30 other local farmers to provide the community with a variety of products sold at the Meat Barn and through farmers markets.

“We started just working with more local vendors to sell honey and maple syrup and popcorn and sauces and all of those things as well,” she says.

This has made the Meat Barn, and their farm, an agritourism outlet that focuses on direct-to-consumer goods, and they currently have a four month waitlist for halves and quarters.

“And we’ve added on multiple times already to help with that production, but the demand is there,” she says.

Rebecca says their customers like to know the farmer that produces their food, and Edward agrees that since COVID-19 the pendulum has swung back to consumers wanting to know more about their food supply.

“I think through this movement, people do care where their food comes from again,” he says. “They want to know the farmer and wanna know the story.”

Cattle Production Focused on Health and Efficiency

While the Daltons’ family-centered beef business focuses on consumers, Edward says they’re still pushing to reach their production goals in their cattle operation.

“We’re always trying to be as efficient as we can with feed rate of gain,” he says. “We’re not trying to always reinvent the wheel but making sure we’re not missing something. To just make sure our cattle are as healthy and as efficient as they can be because I truly believe the healthier they are from Day 1 until ending, the better product you end up with.”

The Daltons’ Laser Focus on Finances

From their beef and cattle business to grain farming, the Daltons track every aspect of their finances.

“We pay attention to everything is what we really try to do and try to be efficient with our money,” Edward says. “We don’t always have the latest and greatest of everything, but we try to be productive with everything we have.”

Transition From Organic to Commercial Grain Production

For the past several years, the Daltons grew organic grain, which helped them grow financially. However, Edward says last spring they made the difficult decision to switch those acres back to commercial grain production.

“We just couldn’t dedicate the time,” he says. “We were losing too much with our kids and with life experience and time we just could get back, and we chose the time with our family over being in the field.”

According to Edward, when it comes to grain production, efficiency is still their goal.

“Well, I’d always like to be more profitable per acre in our grain side, no matter what,” he says. “I think that’s probably a typical grain farmer, never satisfied no matter what.”

Building for the Future

The Daltons are proud of the financial progress they’ve made the past several years, such as adding employees to the team. Edward says he’s excited Rebecca can now be full time on the farm.

“Certainly, a milestone was being able to have my wife leave the hospital and come join us at the farm full time and have no off-the-farm income,” he says.

Rebecca says it’s a way to help preserve the legacy of Edward’s father and have it carry on through their sons.

“I definitely see our kids on this farm,” she says. “Whether it’s working the meat barn, I can’t tell you that, but I know that they will be a part of this farm, whether it’s row crop farming or raising cattle. I think that they would definitely have a part of the farm.”

Click here to register for the 2026 Top Producer Summit.

How the $15 Million Estate Tax Exemption Changes Your Farm Succession Strategy

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 20:01:11 GMT

The world of estate planning for farmers has changed dramatically after the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. This permanently increased the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption to $15 million indexed starting Jan. 1. With the federal estate tax exemption at historically high levels, most family farms are no longer at risk of paying federal estate tax. However, this shift has brought a new focus to income tax planning and the importance of preserving the step-up in basis at death.

Understand the Step-Up in Basis

When a person passes away, the value of their property is generally reset to its fair market value at the date of death. This is known as a “step-up in basis.” For farm families, this is a crucial benefit. Farmland and other agricultural assets often appreciate significantly over time. If heirs inherit these assets, they receive them at the new, higher value. This means that if they later sell the property, they will owe little or no income tax on the appreciation that occurred during the original owner’s lifetime.

Why Estate Tax Is Less of a Concern

With the current high exemption, only the largest farm estates face federal estate tax. For most families, the bigger risk is not estate tax; it’s the potential for large income taxes if the step-up in basis is lost. This can happen if assets are given away during the owner’s lifetime, rather than being passed on at death.

The Pitfalls of Lifetime Gifting

Many farmers consider making large gifts during their lifetime, worried that the estate tax exemption will drop in the future. While this can be a good strategy for very large estates, it can be costly for smaller farm operations. When assets are gifted during life, the recipient takes over the original owner’s basis, which is often much lower than today’s value.

If the recipient later sells the property, they could face a significant income tax bill. In contrast, if the property is inherited, the basis is stepped up to current value, minimizing or eliminating income tax.

Likely the best asset to gift during lifetime is farmland that will be retained in the family for multiple generations. The step-up in this case is not as valuable because we can’t depreciate farmland, and if it is not going to be sold, the heirs are not worse off. Plus, appreciation in farmland can be very volatile and could cause the farm couple to owe estate tax.

Hidden Cost of Gifting Negative Capital

Many farm operations are structured as a partnership for income tax purposes and farms with debt will typically create what is called a negative capital account and, in many cases, this can easily exceed $5 to $10 million for larger farm operations. Gifting any interest in these partnerships during a lifetime will create ordinary income to the farmer because the “debt” eliminated exceeds the basis in the partnership’s assets, which is typically zero. Whereas holding until death eliminates the tax for their heirs. However, a drawback is that the older generation might still be on the hook for the debt until they pass.

For the vast majority of farmers, estate tax planning is now about smart income tax planning. Preserving the step-up in basis at death can save heirs substantial taxes and help keep the family farm in the family. Careful planning today can help protect your family’s legacy for generations to come.

Paul Neiffer has been tracking the latest in tax policy and government programs. Learn more about what you should factor into your farm business and potential tax implications at Top Producer Summit, Feb. 9-11 in Nashville. View the agenda and register today !

From Wall Street to the Texas Ranch: 2025 Women in Ag Winner Kimberly Ratcliff Transforms Beef Production

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 20:11:20 GMT

There are 1,500 miles between Brooklyn, N.Y., and Oakwood, Texas, but for Kimberly Ratcliff, where she grew up and where she’s building her business are connected by community, family and giving of oneself. Today, she works as ranch manager at Caney Creek Ranch and CEO of Ratcliff Premium Meats.

“I’m a businesswoman trying to keep agriculture alive,” she says.

As a shining example of an advocate and agricultural innovator, Ratcliff was named the 2025 Top Producer Women in Ag Award, sponsored by NewLeaf Symbiotics.

“Day to day, I work on the ranch, raising the cattle or expanding the profit lines on the ranch,” she says.

The 2,500 acre ranch was first started with a smaller acreage purchase by her father, Wesley, in 1973 that expanded in 2002.

Business Builder

Five years later, Ratcliff left her career in New York City to join the ranch and work with her father and build their business bigger. Her brainchild, Ratcliff Premium Meats was born.

“My biggest role today is to make Ratcliff Premium Meats flourish, and I want to be more than a meat company,” she says.

Her goal was a social impact company; Ratcliff had the vision for the meat business to bring economic stability and growth while connecting consumers to their meat supply. The bridge she is engineering builds concrete connections with customers, educates them on what it takes to produce nutritious beef while simultaneously creating economic value for the community.

“One of the ways I can help my community grow and sustain their businesses is by buying their animals and selling them through Ratcliff Premium Meats,” she explains. “It’s about telling the true meaning behind where meat comes from and telling the story of the people in the community. I’m not all natural; I’m not organic; I’m not grass fed. I have the economic value of the producers in my community. I want my meat company to be known for that.”

On the supply side, she’s built a network of about 30 cattle producers, of which about 80% are Black or minorities. She monitors incoming orders, surveys producers for animal condition and coordinates with the slaughterhouse schedule.

She’s gone to work to build out markets for the meat, quickly growing beyond farmers markets. Today, the business accepts online orders, has a growing distribution direct to restaurants, contracts with school districts and regularly supplies the local food banks. Ratcliff is now a vendor for Buckhead Meats as well, and in 2025, Ratcliff Premium Meats brought 20,000 lb. of its beef into Texas.

“Ground beef production makes efficient use of cattle selected specifically for grinding, ensuring consistency and quality,” Ratcliff explains. “It’s one of the most stable and dependable categories to source. If I process 20 head one week, I can take a certain volume of the ground beef into the schools, and then have the availability for the other cuts on the website.”

Admittedly, her biggest challenges have been on the distribution side of the business.

She’s successfully forged relationships with the school districts serving Austin and Houston, which includes not just hamburger patties but also giving students presentations on beef production and ranch management.

“That’s the kind of connection I want,” Ratcliff says.

Working with the Feeding Texas’ Local Food Purchasing Assistance program, she’s supplying 8,000 lb. of ground beef about every other week to the Houston Food Bank.

Ratcliff has also dedicated time to doing pop-ups and restaurant events in metro areas including Harlem, Baltimore and Atlanta.

“I’m not concerned about being in grocery stores, and I’m not concerned about being global,” she says. “But if I am in grocery stores and I am global, I want you to know I’m impacting this community. That’s more important to me than worrying about being on the grocery store shelf.”

At this time and juncture in the business, she says she’s not quite the scale that larger distributors seek out, but she’ll continue to be proactive with brand awareness, building relationships and in carving out a spot for her product in the market.

“Our story is about how a business can survive in a community that has a population of 700 people, how it’s thriving and how it’s feeding the world,” she says. “In 10 years, I do believe we will be this company people will look at of saying how rural America looks.”

Finding Her Way

Ratcliff’s journey took a bit of a U-turn in 2007. After seven years at Bloomberg in New York City working in the company’s public relations division, her heart and imagination called her to Texas.

“I saw a need to bridge the gap from the source of our food to the consumer,” she says. “I couldn’t build that bridge in New York, but I could from the ranch.”

Ratcliff says she was welcomed home, but her approach to bringing change to her father wasn’t always received well.

“It took me six months to realize I was doing it wrong,” she says. “I was pushing so hard against the ways he’s done things, but I wouldn’t have the opportunity to build something without what he did and the way he does it. I was bringing change the wrong way.”

Instead, she took a new approach.

“I asked dad to give me a piece of something — let me show him myself. What I’ve learned is the next generation will have to do a lot of show and tell,” she says. “My dad said, ‘As long as you can show me it’ll work, I’ll be your biggest fan.’”

Now more than 15 years later, Ratcliff not only has her father’s full support, but she has also brought in both her brothers part time.

“I’m all about this being a family affair. If we didn’t have family involved in what I do every day, it wouldn’t feel purposeful. That’s something, dad always made me involved in his business every day — no matter what it was. Then your life is personal, and you know you have a purpose.”

Ratcliff acknowledges her mother’s influence and lasting impact on her since her passing in 2019.

“Really from mom I got my outgoingness, socialization, strength and frugalness,” Ratcliff says.

Ratcliff explains while she first saw the opportunity being a non-for-profit, she’s incredibly proud of what she’s built with the business and the social impact it has had.

“What began as a personal venture has grown through shared experience, beyond its original scope,” she says. “Over time, the business has become something built on experience and collaboration, supporting the people and families in this community.”

What It Means To Advocate

Representation and reputation are the foundation of Ratcliff Premium Meats. CEO Kimberly Ratcliff says it’s the story behind her product that has led to its success.

“Agriculture is often undervalued, especially the unique challenges of small family farms and minority farmers,” she says. “This is particularly true for underrepresented communities like Black farmers and ranchers.”

That is what has led her to serve in roles on USDA advisory councils, steering committees with Texas A&M AgriLife, Capital Farm Credit advisory committee, the Independent Cattlemen Association officer role as the treasurer, and more.

“Advocacy is essential because it directly impacts the livelihoods of families, the food system and sustainability of communities,” she says.

This fall, her perspective and voice were shared in a documentary film produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions. She is featured in, “High Horse: The Black Cowboy,” which is currently available on Peacock.

“The producers found me and my story on social media,” she says. “It was important to me to share what I’m building, and the story is deep and rich. I understand the history, and I’m coming home — I want to be the uplifting part of the story.”

Marketing Maven

With her education and professional background in marketing, Ratcliff brought a distinct set of instincts and skills to her entrepreneurism. Her vision was to build an inter-related, community-built business as being stronger than stand alone or isolate entities.

“In the ag community, I need your cattle,” she says. “I need you to keep your land. I need you to have healthy cattle, I need you to have great grass, great soil, I need you to have all those things that will make me successful. So how can I help you with your success so as the end result we can produce great meat?”

Ratcliff sees her role as the storyteller, and she knows she has a unique story to tell. When she first arrived at the ranch, she says neighbors would stop by just to see that in fact she had ‘come home.’ She turned that curiosity into a way to engage the community.

“We threw a lot of parties on the ranch to bring people together, and then we’d do small projects like catch calves, fix fence, fix waterers,” she says.

Ratcliff says how to network was ingrained in her early on.

“My parents never hid what it takes to be a successful business owner,” she says. “And it was about being fair to your employees, investing in your community and giving back.”

To strengthen her knowledge of the industry, Ratcliff enrolled at Texas Christian University’s ranch management program and became its first Black graduate.

“I wasn’t raised here; I don’t know it all,” she says “I’m a bridge builder. I thought of a great idea in running a business, and I have an ability to bring people together.”

And she has found leaning on others’ strengths while letting go of some previous responsibilities has been a balancing act in her leadership.

Roles she’s released includes fulfillment, HR, and even her legacy strength: marketing.

“I hired a marketing firm, and every Tuesday morning do meetings,” she says. “Anyone from my team can be on the call, ranch hands, anyone. That’s my opportunity to connect everyone because they can ultimately help with marketing.”

Ratcliff has also built her social media presence to share the story of beef, its nutrition and preparation ideas. Once a quarter, marketing contractors visit the ranch to film social media content.

“I’d never been on TikTok, but my marketing partners convinced me to try it,” she says. “Our video about the Women in Ag award got more than 100,000 views, 1,000 comments and we got 30 orders for meat.”

(Brayden Crook Photography)

Authentic Self

Ratcliff describes herself as a woman trying to change the way farming looks.

“All I can do is be my authenticate self,” Ratcliff explains. “There’s an importance of putting a woman like me in front of the story of these producers.”

She adds: “Agriculture is going to look different, and we need to accept the changes. Just like life evolves, agriculture will evolve.”

Join a network of leading edge farmers and producers at Top Producer Summit, Feb. 9-11 in Nashville. To kickoff the conference, the 2026 award finalists and winners will be honored. Click here to view the agenda and register.

USDA Trade Team Returns from Malaysia with a Focus on These Key Ag Products

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 13:39:25 GMT

As a follow up to the Oct. 26, 2025, trade deal announced by President Donald Trump, the USDA trade team just returned from a recent Trade Reciprocity for U.S. Manufacturers and Producers (TRUMP) mission.

Luke Lindberg, USDA undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, says there were good, productive meetings toward elevating the relationship between the U.S. and Malaysia, which ranks as the 26^th largest ag trade market.

“These TRUMP missions were one of the aspects of [Agriculture] Secretary [Brooke] Rollins’ and my three-point plan to really ramp up U.S. agricultural exports. So, the president’s done a tremendous job of negotiating these new agreements around the world, and our job is to get on the ground with farmers, with U.S. agribusinesses, and start to make deals happen,” Lindberg says. “The analogy I’ve been using is the president is opening the door, and it’s our job to drive a bus through it.”

The trip to Malaysia had a delegation of 16 agribusinesses and trade associations. In recent years, the biggest U.S. agricultural exports to Malaysia have been soybeans, dairy products, cotton, vegetables and nuts.

“The whole barnyard kind of came with us this time around, because one of the things that the U.S. trade representative’s team and we did with USDA and the White House was we actually got Malaysia to agree that the U.S. food system is safe, and that’s in the language of the agreement,” he says.

Of the specific categories he shared, there was progress on many fronts including:

Soybeans — In 2024, Malaysia imported almost 452 metric tons of U.S. soybeans. Lindberg says U.S. leaders met with the largest soy crush facility, and he sees opportunities for growth.
Dairy — In total for 2024, Malaysia imported $118 million in dairy products. “We’ve seen a tremendous increase in dairy access and opportunities there, 23% growth this past year for dairy,” Lindberg says.
Ethanol — “We had a great conversation around ethanol opportunities,” Lindberg says. “Malaysia is a regional distributor of fuels, and so working ethanol into the fuel supply chain that can really spread throughout the ASEAN region, a lot of good opportunities out there.”
Beef — “We visited a very successful restaurant group in Malaysia that’s been begging for U.S. beef for a long time,” Lindberg says. “They’ve actually invested in a beef processing plant in the United States to get their beef halal certified so that they’re ready to go for when the actual duties shift and the regulations come into full force.”

Lindberg says a key tenant of the trade deal is to reduce or eliminate all tariffs.

“A lot of our producer groups haven’t been able to compete on a level playing field in Malaysia in the past, and now they have that access and that opportunity,” he explains. “When our groups can compete on a level playing field, I think we win more often than we lose.”

Next steps include a Malaysian delegation visiting Washington, D.C., next week.

“We’re marching forward here with a great opportunity on the horizon. I think it’s progressing nicely,” Lindberg says. “These rapid-response missions are largely driven by building these kind of new opportunities that really didn’t exist yesterday and exist today. In the next couple months, we’ll see full implementation of the deal, and that’ll really be the access-opening opportunity for our producers.”

Looking ahead this year, Lindberg says the USDA trade team is “hyperfocused” on fixing the agricultural trade deficit. With 2026 agribusiness trade missions announced for Indonesia, Philippines, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam, he highlights time spent in Southeast Asia is a strategy to build trade in a region with growing GDP and positive consumption trends for U.S. agricultural goods.

“It’s going to be a dynamic year for U.S. trade,” Lindberg says. “I keep saying to folks: Trade agreements are great, but sales are the goal.”

How to Handle Tension Before it Becomes Conflict

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 22:37:46 GMT

Conflict on farms isn’t always obvious. It doesn’t have to show up as a dramatic argument or a big blow-up moment. Most of the time, it starts as frustration over a task, strain between coworkers or even just someone quietly checking out.

While conflict can feel messy, it’s not a sign something is broken. According to Hernando Duarte, farm labor outreach specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, it’s a reality of farm work.

“In labor-intensive environments like farms and other agricultural operations, conflict between employees [and family] can happen,” Duarte explains. And on farms, that friction is hard to avoid.

Conflict Can Feel Personal

Duarte notes conflict feels uncomfortable for a reason. On a farm, long hours, physical work and constant pressure can make disagreements feel personal, even when they’re not. Sometimes, just a simple disagreement can feel like a personal attack.

“Our brains often perceive conflict as a threat, which makes it uncomfortable and leads many people to avoid it,” he says.

That instinct to avoid tough conversations is understandable, but avoiding conflict doesn’t make it disappear. According to Duarte, the difference between a farm that struggles and one that moves forward often comes down to how leaders respond when tension shows up.

Most Conflict Starts Below the Surface

Sometimes a disagreement looks like just part of the daily grind, but Duarte emphasizes that understanding what’s underneath the issue is the first step toward solving and preventing conflict in the future.

On farms, those underlying causes often include:

Misunderstandings about expectations or tasks
Different work styles and decision-making speeds
Unclear roles or responsibilities
Cultural or language barriers within diverse teams
Stress and fatigue during peak seasons
Generational differences in values and priorities

None of these are unusual in agriculture, they’re often just a natural part of running a farm. More hands and different perspectives can sometimes cause small misunderstandings, but that’s just a normal part of working together as a team.

Turning Conflict Into Progress

It can be tempting to hope tension works itself out. But Duarte warns that avoiding conflict usually makes the situation worse.

When conflict is ignored, Duarte says farms often see:

Lower morale and growing frustration
Reduced productivity and focus
Higher employee turnover
Declines in performance, quality and safety

Unresolved conflict doesn’t just go away. Left unaddressed, small tensions can grow and start affecting how the team works together.

“Conflict doesn’t have to be a negative thing,” Duarte says. “When handled properly, it can lead to stronger communication, better teamwork and long-term improvements and innovation.”

Handled well, conflict can actually move a team forward. Duarte encourages leaders to:

Create space for private, respectful conversations
Listen to all sides without interruption
Look beyond surface issues to understand the real concern
Refocus discussions on shared goals, including a safe, productive, respectful workplace
Agree on clear next steps, responsibilities and follow-up
Bring in additional support if issues repeat or escalate

Addressing conflict early helps keep small issues from turning into long-term setbacks and gives teams a chance to work better together.

Leadership Sets the Tone

At the end of the day, Duarte says resolving on-farm conflict starts with leadership. If managers ignore tension, people notice. If they step in and handle issues calmly and fairly, the whole team feels more confident.

Leading by example, communicating clearly and checking in regularly all help reduce future conflict. Training supervisors to handle small issues early can keep them from becoming bigger disruptions later.

Conflict isn’t fun, but it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. When it’s handled the right way, it can actually make the team stronger. It’s a chance to build trust, clear up expectations and keep everyone moving in the same direction.

Economists Forecast Farm Economy to Stabilize, But High Costs and Policy Uncertainty Block a 2026 Rebound

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 18:26:40 GMT

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. Meanwhile, livestock markets continue to provide strength. Crop producers face another year of tight margins driven by high input costs, weak prices and unresolved trade and policy uncertainty.

“There’s cautious optimism,” the economists say, “but very little belief that 2026 will bring a meaningful rebound without cost relief or stronger demand.”

Those themes mirror the perspective of Seth Meyer, former USDA chief economist and now director of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri. In a recent interview, Meyer connected the dots between narrow margins, policy responses and what might actually move the dial for U.S. agriculture heading into 2026.

Stabilizing, Not Recovering

December Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor

(Lori Hayes )

Economists see the ag economy holding its ground — but not gaining strength.

54% say the ag economy is somewhat better than one month ago.
Compared with a year ago:
- 42% say conditions are worse
- 33% say they are better
Looking ahead 12 months:
- 46% expect conditions unchanged
- 38% expect improvement
- 15% expect conditions to worsen

“Momentum has improved since mid-2025,” Meyer notes, “but tight margins have been with us for a long time. Turning that around requires demand growth, not just price stabilization.

Farm Journal’s December Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor

(Lori Hayes )

Grant Gardner, assistant Extension professor at the University of Kentucky, tells AgriTalk’s Chip Flory: “I think as we move into kind of this next marketing year, you’re looking at what looks like a breakeven and not a loss, but breakeven still doesn’t look great after three years of breakeven or losses.”

He says even with the $11 billion in Farmer Bridge Program payments , it won’t drastically change the outlook for the farm economy.

“Purdue had a good survey about a month ago, where they looked at what were these payments going to go to, and research would show that a lot of these payments go into long-term assets, and so land tractors, but I think over 60% of producers right now are in such a tight cash crunch that you’re going to see a lot of these payments go into that short-term debt,” Gardner says.

Consolidation a Growing Threat

Economists are nearly unanimous that the crop sector remains under extreme financial stress. 83 percent say row crops are currently in a recession. That isn’t about production declines — acres and yields haven’t collapsed — but about persistently weak profitability.

“Negative returns for at least the third consecutive year across nearly all row crops,” one economist wrote in the survey.

Another said: “Margins remain below full costs of production for many producers.”

Farm Journal’s December Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor

(Lori Hayes)

Meyer traces that back to how abruptly agriculture moved from the high prices of 2021 and 2022 into today’s tighter margins.

“We moved very quickly from a very high price environment and good profitability in 2022 to very tight margins,” he says. “That usually happens coming off price peaks, but this time it happened really rapidly.”

A minority of survey respondents argued farms are “treading water,” supported by strong land values and government aid rather than eroding further, which Meyer acknowledged aligns with how risk and safety nets have interacted this year.

But when you look at how the current stress in the farm economy could impact consolidation, the ag economists say it’s the economic pressure combined with demographic trends causing the acceleration. In fact, 92% of them say consolidation is underway and unavoidable.

“Markets go to the lowest-cost producers,” one economist wrote. “That sorting is consolidation on the production side.”

Aging producers exiting and rent-heavy operations under pressure only add fuel to that trend, with one economist saying: “Consolidation happens because producers have to exit, not because they want to.

What’s Driving the Farm Economy Right Now

When economists were asked to identify the two most important factors shaping agriculture’s economic health today, their responses clustered around a familiar, but increasingly sharp, divide: strong demand in livestock and the protein sector versus persistent oversupply and cost pressure in crops, all layered with trade and policy uncertainty.

Several economists pointed to continued strength in beef demand, both domestically and through export channels, as a key stabilizing force. While the dairy sector is an area that shows signs of weakness for 2026.

“Livestock revenues are a bright spot,” one respondent noted, underscoring why the livestock sector continues to outperform crops financially.

Looking to 2026, economists overwhelmingly point to input costs, not interest rates, as the biggest barrier to profitability. Nearly 70% cited input prices as the largest challenge as well, far ahead of trade concerns or capital availability.

Farm Journal’s December Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor

(Lori Hayes )

“We have too much supply and not enough demand for row crops,” one economist wrote.

Another said: “Input costs are still too high.”

Trade remains a central wild card, especially relationships with China and uncertainty around global supply. Several respondents cited trade disputes and agreements as critical factors, along with questions about the size of South American crops and how that could shape global competition in the months ahead.

Policy uncertainty was also featured prominently, with economists pointing to domestic biofuels policy, government payments and broader market signals as factors influencing both short-term cash flow and longer-term demand growth.

Overall, economists say the ag economy is being pulled in opposite directions: strong livestock demand providing support, while crops struggle under high costs, oversupply and unresolved trade and policy questions — a dynamic that helps explain why the broader farm economy feels stable, but far from healthy, as 2026 approaches.

Livestock: A Continued Bright Spot

Livestock continues to stand out as the most financially healthy segment of the ag economy. Every economist surveyed rated beef as above average or excellent, supported by strong domestic demand and tight supplies. Dairy and pork were viewed as stable to moderately strong.

That success creates a stark contrast with row crops, where corn and cotton were cited by 38% each as the commodities most at risk financially in 2026.

What Could Move Crop Prices in the Next Six Months

Looking ahead to the first half of 2026, economists say crop prices will hinge less on domestic fundamentals and more on global supply, trade flows and policy clarity.

Across responses, South America emerged as the dominant influence, with economists repeatedly citing Brazilian weather, the size of the South American harvest and how those supplies compete with U.S. exports. Several noted that clarity around South American production will be critical in setting price direction for corn, soybeans and wheat.

Trade, particularly with China, remains another key swing factor. Economists emphasized not just the announcement of trade agreements, but whether purchases translate into actual shipments.

“China purchases of U.S. crops, but also if and when actual shipments occur,” one respondent noted, adding that details within any trade deal, including purchase commitments, will matter just as much as headlines.

Domestic factors still play a role, but economists see them as secondary in the near term. Input prices, early U.S. planting conditions and assumptions about 2026 acreage were all cited as important — especially as markets begin to trade expectations for next year’s crop mix.

Policy uncertainty also hangs over the outlook. Economists pointed to ongoing questions around trade policy, biofuels policy and broader economic conditions as variables that could amplify or mute price moves.

Economists say crop prices over the next six months are likely to be driven by how global supply unfolds, whether export demand materializes and how quickly policy uncertainty is resolved, rather than by any single domestic production shock.

Biofuels Policy: A Potential Turning Point?

One of the clearest themes Meyer highlights as a possible game changer for demand, and ultimately prices, is biofuels policy.

For economists, policy levers like year-round E15, Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes, 45Z investment tax credits and how small refinery exemptions are handled could meaningfully influence demand for corn and soybeans in 2026 and beyond.

“It’s one of the places where policymakers actually have levers to help with tight margins in the row crop sector,” Meyer says.

He emphasizes that final rules on RFS volumes and how biobased credits are implemented could impact feedstock demand.

“For the next couple of crop seasons, RVO (Renewable Volume Obligations) and how EPA reallocates small refinery exemptions are big factors,” Meyer says. “Should we raise the RVO to soak up that pool like a sponge? Should imported feedstocks get full 45Z credit? Those decisions could move demand.”

On year-round E15, a long-sought policy priority for corn growers, Meyer is cautiously optimistic.

“I do think it matters,” he says. “Maybe it’s not a huge swing this year, but offering certainty and building demand over multiple seasons is supportive. Other countries like Brazil are ramping up their biofuels production too, so this isn’t happening in a vacuum.”

Policy Uncertainty Still Looms

Economists also flagged top priorities for 2026 policy action:

Year-round E15 (row crops)
Trade policy clarity (row crops & livestock)
Labor reform and regulatory issues (livestock)

They also highlighted under-covered risks, which include pressure on land rents and values, labor shortages, biofuels policy details (such as 45Z credits) and slower population growth affecting long-term demand.

What Could Move Livestock and Dairy Prices in the Next Six Months

When economists look ahead to livestock and dairy markets in early 2026, they see a mix of strong demand signals, supply-side risks and policy uncertainty shaping price direction.

Consumer demand remains the cornerstone of the outlook, particularly for beef. Several economists pointed to continued buying interest from U.S. consumers as the primary support for cattle prices, even as affordability pressures rise. At the same time, some warned that a more “K-shaped” economy could begin to shift demand, pulling some consumers away from beef and toward pork.

Supply dynamics and herd trends are another major focus. Economists cited herd size, potential herd expansion and the availability of feeder cattle as critical variables. The expected resumption of feeder cattle imports from Mexico was highlighted as a key factor that could influence cattle supplies and pricing, depending on timing and volume.

Animal health risks also remain on the radar. Issues such as avian influenza, screwworm and other disease threats were mentioned as potential disruptors that could quickly alter supply conditions in both livestock and dairy markets.

Policy and trade uncertainty continues to hover over the sector. Economists pointed to ongoing questions around tariffs, restrictions on live animal trade with Mexico and the next steps under the USMCA as factors that could impact both imports and exports. Political uncertainty more broadly was also cited as a potential source of market volatility.

For dairy, economists noted that beef-on-dairy dynamics are likely to continue weighing on milk prices by increasing beef supplies while complicating dairy herd decisions.

Taken together, economists say livestock and dairy prices over the next six months will be driven by a delicate balance between strong consumer demand, evolving supply conditions and unresolved trade and policy questions, with any shift in one of those areas capable of moving markets quickly.

Acreage Expectations: Stress, Not Shock

Despite margin pressure, economists do not expect dramatic acreage pullbacks in 2026. Most expect:

Corn: 93 to 95 million acres
Soybeans: 84 to 86 million acres
Wheat: 44 to 45 million acres
Cotton: 9 to 10 million acres

Corn acreage expectations have edged lower since November, as economists backed away from another year above 95 million acres. At the same time, soybean acreage expectations have firmed, with 75% now targeting 84 to 86 million acres, suggesting stronger relative economics for beans.

“Export demand has helped keep corn acres supported,” Meyer says. “The question is whether that demand holds and whether policy supports it.”

As for acreage, the major impact on prices would be a large acreage reduction, which is unlikely.

“That’s what it comes down to, too. What I’ve been thinking about is what else can you use land for? And you’ve got the pushback on urban sprawl, you’ve got pushback on other uses for ag land. But right now, the simple fact is we’ve got way too much production. Without that slowing, or a drastic increase in demand, I don’t see prices improving to very lucrative levels,” Gardner says.

Overall, The Ag Economy Is a Grind, Not a Rebound

When you look at all the results from the December Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor, economists paint a picture of an industry that has stopped getting worse, but has not yet found a path to durable profitability.

Crops remain mired in margin compression; livestock continues to outperform but remains sensitive to policy decisions. Government aid is buying time but not addressing structural challenges, but it’s policy outcomes, especially around biofuels, trade and E15, that could be decisive in shaping 2026 outcomes.

For now, the farm economy has found a floor. The tougher question, economists say, is whether policy can help lift it, or if it will continue to grind forward without a genuine rebound.

Related News: As Screwworm Inches Closer, When Could the U.S. Reopen the Southern Border to Cattle Imports?

These Half-Dozen U.S. Ag Trade Missions Aim To Diversify Global Demand

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 16:46:09 GMT

Trump’s USDA team has announced its agribusiness trade missions for the year ahead.

“Our team certainly plays an important role in generating demand overseas for the products,” says Luke Lindberg, USDA undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs.

Lindberg points to a three-point plan Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ team is deploying:

Get better trade agreements.
Build willing buyer and willing seller relationships.
Hold trading partners accountable.

According to Lindberg, the goal is it “helps to cultivate, it helps to diversify, so we’re not solely focused on one or two key buyers. I think if you go to many business owners and ask them, would you rather have one buyer that buys 80% of your products or would you rather have some diversification to lots of buyers who have ups and downs of their own, I think many of them would say they prefer the diversification model.”

So far, six agribusiness trade missions have been announced for 2026 with the goal of growing global markets, increasing exports and strengthening the agricultural economy.

The six mission destinations, and potential agricultural focus areas, include the following.

1. February 2026, Jakarta, Indonesia

Since 2020, annual U.S. ag exports to Indonesia have hovered between $2.75 billion and $3.25 billion. Overall, it’s the 11^th largest trade partner for U.S. ag goods.

Indonesia is the fourth-largest market for U.S. soybeans following China, the European Union and Mexico. According to U.S. Census Bureau trade data, in 2024 Indonesia imported from the U.S. $1.2 billion in soybeans, $198 million in wheat and $139 million in cotton. This past July, the Indonesia private sector and the U.S. wheat industry signed a memorandum committing to purchasing at least 1 million metric tons of U.S. wheat between 2026 and 2030 plus a minimum of 800,000 metric tons of wheat in 2025 (prorated).

The Trump administration has worked to address long-standing barriers to U.S. agricultural trade and expanding market access into Indonesia with a trade agreement eliminating tariffs on more than 99% of U.S. products.

2. April 2026, Manila, Philippines

U.S. ag exports to the Philippines have more than doubled since 2010. In 2024, the total value was $3.5 billion, making it the ninth-largest customer for U.S. ag trade.

With limited domestic production, the Philippines imports nearly all of its dairy products, and specifically $365 million comes from the U.S. Poultry exports to the Philippines totaled $187 million, with a majority of that in frozen chicken leg quarters.

The U.S. gained market share for ethanol imports into the Philippines, having doubled volumes in 2024 with a value of $138 million.

Beef and beef products are the sixth-largest group of ag products the Philippines imports from the U.S. This category has also experienced recent growth by increasing 58% from 2023 to 2024. The U.S. is second to Brazil in market share for beef imported into the Philippines.

In 2024, the Philippines imported $120 million of pork and pork products from the U.S. The country’s local supply has been declining because of African Swine Fever.

According to an announcement in July, the Trump administration said the Philippines will charge zero tariffs for U.S. exports into their market, while the Philippines will pay 19% tariffs to the U.S.

3. May 2026, Istanbul, Turkey

According to USDA analysis, Turkey has grown its strength as an importer of raw materials and then reexported finished products. This includes importing wheat for flour and cotton for apparel.

Because of its geographic location, Turkey has also grown as a strategic regional transshipment hub, connecting U.S. exporters with trade partners across the Caucasus region.

In September, Turkey lifted its retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. ag products: rice, tree nuts, distilled spirits and more. The Trump administration says a focus for the upcoming agribusiness trade mission will be to address nontariff barriers to trade, which includes import bans on U.S. animal protein.

4. August 2026, Australia and New Zealand

The Trump administration says its trade breakthroughs with Australia will give greater access to U.S. beef exporters. The U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement is structured to give comprehensive duty-free market access.

Other protein sectors have significant trade established with Australia. In 2024, $328 million worth of U.S. pork and pork products were imported. And $173 million of U.S. dairy products were brought into the country.

New Zealand imported $520 million worth of U.S. ag goods, including: soybean meal, dairy ingredients (lactose and whey), fresh fruit and distiller’s dried grains.

5. September 2026, Saudi Arabia

This agribusiness trade mission will focus on technical issues and nontariff barriers. Saudi Arabia is the 23^rd largest ag export market for the U.S., and it is a gateway to the $3 billion market for U.S. ag goods that is the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf.

Over the past 10 years, the country has increased its imports of U.S. hay by 540% to its recent total of $152 million in 2024.

Corn, tree nuts and rice are also key ag goods exported from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia, totaling $239 million, $169 million and $123 million, respectively.

6. November 2026, Vietnam

USDA says this trade mission will focus on preferential access for specialty cheese and meats as well as improved market access for U.S. peaches and nectarines.

U.S. ag exports to the country peaked in 2018 at $4 billion and in 2023 were around $3.1 billion. Ranked from highest value to smallest, the top five ag products exported from the U.S. into Vietnam in 2023 were: cotton, soybeans, distillers grains, soybean meal and tree nuts.

For meat and meat products, the key prospects include frozen/chilled beef (boneless and bone-in), frozen chicken (leg quarters, legs and paws), and turkey.

Dairy could be a growth market for U.S. exports into Vietnam as nonfat dried milk powder has led the segment to total $146 million of imports in 2023. Fresh cheese (for foodservice/restaurants) is in demand by younger generations despite not being part of a traditional diet in the country.

USDA also points to fresh fruit as a growth category for the country, namely apples, cherries and grapes.

Farm Journal Announces 2026 Top Producer Award Finalists

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 19:12:54 GMT

Farm Journal has announced three finalists for the prestigious 2026 Top Producer of the Year Award, honoring some of the most progressive and successful farm operations in the country. The winner and finalists will be formally recognized at the 2026 Top Producer Summit , agriculture’s premier executive-level conference for elite farmers and ranchers, which is set for Feb. 9-11 in Nashville, Tenn. Also presented at the event will be the Next Generation Award and Women in Agriculture Award.

“The Top Producer Awards celebrate operations that are building resilient, innovative and future-focused businesses,” said Margy Eckelkamp, brand leader of Top Producer. “These finalists and award winners represent the very best of modern agriculture: strong family leadership, diversification, technology adoption and an unwavering commitment to excellence.”

2026 Top Producer of the Year Award Finalists:

Alsum Farms, Friesland, Wis. – A multigenerational family operation producing potatoes, pumpkins, hay, alfalfa and other rotational crops across more than 3,600 acres. The business is fully vertically integrated, overseeing production, packing and marketing. Leadership spans generations with the founder serving as CEO since 1981 now working alongside his two daughters who hold leadership roles in the business.

Dalton Farms, Wakeman, Ohio – A seventh-generation family farm led by Rebecca and Edward Dalton. The operation includes 2,000 acres of corn and soybeans, a 400-head cattle herd with direct-to-consumer beef sales and a growing on-farm market offering locally-sourced chicken, pork and maple syrup. Their story reflects both diversification and successful generational transition following a family split in the 1990s.

Splitter Farms, Sterling, Kan. – Led by Matt and Janna Splitter, this Kansas row-crop operation spans 1,400 owned acres with nearly 18,500 acres farmed annually through cash rent and custom work. After the sudden passing of Matt’s father in 2010, the couple returned to the farm and scaled the business using data-driven decision-making, strong landowner relationships and disciplined business management. Notably, this marks the first time a previous Next Generation Award winner has advanced to a Top Producer of the Year finalist.

The 2026 Top Producer of the Year award is sponsored by BASF and Fendt.

2026 Next Generation Award Winner

Tim Nuss, El Dorado Hills/Lodi, Calif., is the 2026 Next Gen Award winner. Nuss farms garlic, tomatoes, peppers, melons, herbs, pumpkins, cucumbers and grains with his father and brother while also building a powerful off-farm ag influencing business. He serves as CFO of Nuss Farms. He’s also head of business development at Polaris Energy Services, an ag tech irrigation company, hosts the “Modern Acre” podcast, and recently co-launched AgList, an online biologicals review and ratings platform designed to bring transparency to the ag inputs marketplace.

The 2026 Next Generation Award is sponsored by Pioneer and Fendt.

2026 Women in Agriculture Award Winner

Helle Ruddenklau, Amity, Ore., is the 2026 Women in Ag Award winner. Ruddenklau Farms in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, growing grass seed, wheat, vegetables, peas and hazelnuts. Originally from Denmark, she immigrated to the U.S. at age 15, later meeting her husband, Bruce, while on an exchange program in New Zealand. In addition to serving as CFO of their farming operation, she is deeply involved in ag advocacy and economic development, working through organizations such as Oregon AgriWomen, AgLaunch and SEDCOR to strengthen regional agriculture through supplier and industry partnerships.

The 2026 Women in Agriculture Award is sponsored by Pro Farmer.

All finalists and award winners will be recognized on stage for their excellence in the business of farming at the 2026 Top Producer Summit, where the nation’s best producers gather to advance leadership, management, technology adoption and succession planning in agriculture. Learn more about Top Producer Summit and Top Producer of the Year awards at tpsummit.com.

Oikonomia on the Farm: Succession Planning is About More Than Wealth

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 14:57:19 GMT

Succession planning is often treated as a legal or financial exercise — a “simple” matter of wills, taxes and transfer dates. Yet for family-owned farms and agribusinesses, it’s something deeper: the deliberate handoff of a way of life.

The ancient Greeks had a word for this kind of management, oikonomia, from which we get the term economy. Understanding what they meant by it can reorient how families think about preparing the next generation.

In classical thought, oikonomia referred to the management of the oikos, the household or estate, but it was never only about efficiency or profit. The oikonomos, or household steward, was responsible for using resources wisely so the entire household could live well and endure long into the future.

Ancient philosophers viewed resources as abundant, not scarce, so economic action was judged not by the accumulation of wealth but by whether it enabled and served a praiseworthy end. Specifically, the flourishing of the family, the land and the community.

Perspective for the Present

That older vision aligns closely with what succession planning should be for agriculture. The task is not just to pass on land and assets, but to ensure the continuity of stewardship, the ethical responsibility to care for what has been entrusted.

From an oikonomia perspective, the senior generation’s goal is to prepare successors capable of managing abundance with restraint, gratitude and wisdom. This calls attention to the education of character. The next generation must learn more than production and finance; they must learn judgment, the ability to distinguish needs from wants and to act for the common good. Mentorship, gradual transfer of responsibility, and open discussion of values all form part of this ethical training.

Perhaps most importantly, oikonomia reminds us that a farm is both a business and a household. Financial plans that ignore family dynamics or the moral vision of the enterprise risk undermining the very legacy they seek to protect.

Succession planning works best when it integrates three elements at once: the technical (who owns and manages what), the relational (how the family communicates and cooperates) and the moral (why the farm exists and whom it serves).

In that light, passing the farm to the next generation becomes not just a transaction but an act of stewardship — a modern form of oikonomia. The question is no longer only how do we divide the assets but how do we preserve the household, the land and the purpose they represent for future generations?

Don't Break, Build: A Farmer's Playbook for Taking Control of Your Mind

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 19:02:19 GMT

It was already shaping up to be one of those days.

An unexpected bill is due, and the money just isn’t there. The kids are fighting again. Understandably, your wife is over it, and now it’s your fault. One of your employees just called to say the new group of wean pigs is sick. It’s all a part of a life, but sometimes it just stacks up to be too much.

“In a world of unpredictability with so many factors at play on any given day, it’s easy to be mentally or emotionally hijacked by elements out of our control,” says Athena Diesch-Chham with Restorative Path Counseling and Wellbeing. “Stress and anxiety thrive in this environment. However, the long-term effects of that are real.”

Farming stress will never go away, so how can you get more grit or become more resilient to that stress?

One expert says it starts by paying attention to the present.

“Don’t think about what happened yesterday or worry about what is happening tomorrow,” says Cheri Burcham, with University of Illinois Extension. “Focus on what you are doing and feeling in the very moment.”

Diesch-Chham likes to think of it as “being where your feet are.”

“So often brains are hijacked by stress and launch us mentally to a different space either in the past or in the future,” Diesch-Chham adds. “Mindfulness is just asking for our whole selves to be here in this moment, wherever our feet are planted.”

Pay Attention

This concept of truly being “in the moment” not only reduces stress, but research shows it can also lower blood pressure, increase immunity and reduce anxiety and depression, Burcham says.

When you intentionally notice where you are, you can recognize potential challenges sooner, says Abigail Cudney with Michigan State University Extension . Instead of habitually reacting to stress with intense anger, emotional shutdown, negative thinking or overthinking, this intentional awareness helps rewire the brain through a process called neuroplasticity, or the brain’s ability to grow and adapt to new experiences.

Consider the attention you pay when walking through the barn. You use all your senses to make assessments and determine what’s going on all around you.

“Whether it’s walking the barn or enjoying the fall scenery, naming something you are currently experiencing for each of the five senses is another way to practice mindfulness,” Diesch-Chham says. “This doesn’t have to be complicated – the whole goal is to bring mind and body to the same place.”

5 Senses Technique

Just Breathe

The fight or flight response animals have when stress strikes is the same thing that happens in people. As a review, the vagus nerve, which runs from the base of the brain and branches out to the organs, serves as a conduit of chemicals/hormones that are activated automatically/reflexively by the sympathetic nervous system. This is an involuntary and adaptive process that increases respiration and blood flow to prepare the body for quick and protective action, such as fighting or fleeing. Once the perceived threat has passed or been managed successfully, the stress response also passes and respiration, blood pressure, and heart rate return to a normal steady state, according to the Yale School of Medicine .

Through deep breathing, the vagus nerve can be stimulated intentionally to help restore, mitigate and even prevent these physical and psychological reactions. Slow, even breaths that originate deep within the abdomen stimulate the vagus nerve in a way that signals safety and cues the body and mind to relax, restore, and release chronic and unhealthy patterns.

“Deep breathing can be practiced anywhere and in so many ways – so it is very accessible and easy for farmers to practice,” Burcham explains. “Practice in the field or even while operating machinery.”

Let Go of What You Can’t Control

Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of “being where your feet are” is realizing you can’t control it all.

“Working towards recognizing what truly is within our individual control and then choosing to focus our energy on managing what we can control to improve our overall mental health and stress, helps us remain resilient through the pieces that are outside of our control,” Diesch-Chham says.

Adversity happens. Markets will crash. Animals will get sick. Disease will strike. Families will argue. But you can recover faster from those stresses by staying grounded in the moment, aligning your thoughts and emotions with reality.

Resources to Help Build Resilience:
North Central Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Center

Mindfulness: University of Illinois Extension

Building Resilience with Mindfulness

3 Ways To Protect Your Ag Business from Cybersecurity Threats

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 14:59:14 GMT

Agriculture is in the bull’s-eye for threat actors trying to access business information. But as Chris Sherman says: “Our keys in the visor mentality” has many farmers trusting too much and putting too much at risk.

Sherman is the founder of Tech Support Farm, an IT and cybersecurity consulting business who works with farmers, co-ops, custom harvesters and more ag businesses to shore up their systems, lock down their sensitive information and stay attuned to emerging risks.

The FBI has listed agriculture as a critical infrastructure for cybersecurity.

So where do most farmers leave themselves vulnerable to hackers? Sherman shares these:

1. Email

Sherman points to email as the No. 1 priority for farmers on where to start in taking cybersecurity seriously.

“The amount of information and data we are sending via email leaves every farmer at risk — from our FSA staff, agronomists, banks and more,” he says. “Emails can be intercepted, all contents can be exposed, and no one is the wiser. It would be like a rural mail carrier, and when he drops the mail someone stands there opening it, reading it and closing the envelope and putting it back in the mailbox. Foolhardy to be using the free email services such as Gmail, Yahoo and others.”

Here are four steps to shore up your email:

Get a domain
Get a commercial email provider
Get a filtration software (which monitors what comes in)
Get a DMARC compliance service (which manages outbound emails, so no one spoofs you and encryption is done properly)

As an example of why this should be prioritized, Sherman tells the story of a farm business working on a land deal.

“A dad and son were just about ready to sign, and the dad got an email from the bank, at least it appeared to be from the bank, but it was a spoof encouraging them to e-sign,” he says. “And everyone signed, and it drained the bank accounts and blew up the deal.”

2. Be aware of your personal information shared, and embrace “herd immunity”

All to often, farmers don’t have passcodes on their phones.

“That’s like leaving your credit card at the bar,” Sherman says. “For some reason in agriculture we are running multimillion dollar businesses on residential-grade infrastructure.”

He says by the nature of the business, enrolling in government programs, immigration workforce programs (such as H-2A) and more, make your address, phone number and email readily accessible.

“It’s a wealth of opportunity for threat actors. We can’t leave our doors and windows open,” Sherman says. “So you have to protect yourself, and encourage your friends, neighbors and business partners to do the same. If we are all reducing our individual risk, we are reducing the overall risk.”

3. Use high-quality passwords

Sherman says good passwords are must-have on all your accounts, including your Wi-Fi.

“Too often, farmers have their password just be a duplicate of the network name. Or if a farmer’s favorite tractor is a John Deere 4450, 4450 is his pin for everything,” he says. “When we are on the internet, it’s like being in the big city, and you have to act accordingly.”

Plan for Now, Adjust Later: Create Your Estate Plan Before It's Too Late

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 13:55:52 GMT

Nobody wants to think about death, but it’s something Polly Dobbs, an estate planning and wealth transfer attorney with Dobbs Legal Group LLC, thinks about every day.

“When I was a new lawyer, I was so nervous to say dead or death,” Dobbs recalls. “I was in a meeting with a partner and his client once when I stumbled over something and said, ‘in the unfortunate event you should pass away.’ After that meeting, the partner yanked me out in the hallway and said, ‘Stop stuttering. Just say when you die. It’s not if, it’s when.’”

She’s been dealing in death ever since, but she says that perspective allows her to serve her clients better.

“What if you got hit by a bus tomorrow?” Dobbs asks. “You should have a plan in place that fits today’s circumstances. If your grandson is playing with John Deere toys in the sandbox, let’s not create a succession plan that hinges on that grandson coming back to farm. Let’s have a plan in place that fits right now, in case you die tomorrow. If you don’t die and you get to see how those grandkids turn out and which direction their lives take, you can adjust that plan.”

People often think they can figure out their estate plan later – when they are older, richer, sicker, free from debt and the list goes on.

“Too often, people don’t have a plan, and they end up dying before they’ve got it just how they want it,” Dobbs says. “Have something that fits for today and dust it off as needed.”

What Should Drive Decisions?

When it comes to estate planning, Dobbs says there is no cookie-cutter-approach.

“You can’t copy what your neighbor did,” she says. “It has to be customized for your family, your facts, your assets, your goals, your family members and your farm.”

She often challenges farmers with tough questions like should your off-farm kids get bought out?

“Should they get bought out of equipment, improvements, grain bins, shops, shed and all of the silver things that we build on top of gravel lots to use in production agriculture?” she asks. “Do you feel like your off-farm heirs are entitled to a share of these operating assets? If so, fine. If not, that’s OK, too.”

Part of what Dobbs does is give permission to people to treat their children differently and to define their children’s inheritance.

“It’s not necessarily one quick check after an auction after your funeral,” she points out. “It is absolutely fine to treat your children differently. I preach over and over again that fair does not mean equal. There is no law that says the columns for your children must tally to the penny and be exactly equal with the assets they receive at your death. You’re aiming for a fair balance, and you define what is fair.”

Ultimately, she says, it comes down to peace of mind when you lay your head on the pillow. Do you have a fair plan in place?

Talk Now, Don’t Wait

Communicating the estate plan during your lifetime is very important, but it’s often the step that farmers fail to complete. She says transparency helps avoid entitlement.

“When someone thinks they’re going to get a certain amount of the value of your assets, they’re already calculating it and counting on it,” she says. “After your death, if the plan is different, that’s when the entitlement rears its head.”

She emphasizes the details must be defined by the farmer.

“A lot of my clients would rather put their head down and have the plan unveiled after death,” Dobbs says. “I understand that’s challenging. But it’s far better to have transparency and throw everything out on the conference room table so you can shine a light on it and talk about it.”

In addition to getting all the family in the room, Dobbs believes there should be more than one adviser at the table at a time.

“This is how you get the best plan, and you will always have a better plan if your advisers speak to each other,” she adds. “There is this falsehood out there that you need to stop your lawyer from talking to your accountant because that means they’re both charging you at the same time. I promise it will always be cheaper in the end, and a better plan, if your advisers talk to each other.”

Touchy Subjects

One of the sensitive subjects many farmers are dealing with today is the issue of sweat equity and treating it like deferred compensation, she says.

“When we have a successor coming in, depending on how long that successor has been working side by side with the senior generation, they’ve earned something,” Dobbs says. “We’re not talking about giving them a handout. If we give them a discounted price, or we give them assets off the top as a part of the succession plan or part of the estate plan, that’s not a handout.”

Deferred compensation says that if a young person had gone to work in a factory right out of school, they would be earning and investing in a 401K or perhaps stock compensation. They probably would have health insurance and HSA accounts that most family farms just don’t have, she explains.

“When the senior generation is putting together their succession and estate plan, consider the benefits the successor gave up by not working off farm,” she says. “Having some sort of benefit, discounts, family-friendly terms in the succession plan and in the estate plan should be considered deferred compensation.”

Read More:
Tax Acts and Estate Plans: What You Need to Know About the Changes for 2026

Tax Acts and Estate Plans: What You Need to Know About the Changes for 2026

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 16:46:28 GMT

Taxes don’t destroy family farms – people do, says Polly Dobbs, an estate planning and wealth transfer specialist.

“It’s not Uncle Sam – it’s your third wife and your kids from your first two wives, it’s your kids in the city versus your kids on the farm, and it’s ultimately your failure to plan for all that because you don’t want to hurt somebody’s feelings,” she explains. “It’s very lazy to say that taxes ruin the farm. That’s rarely the case.”

All the details matter, says Dobbs with Dobbs Legal Group LLC. She doesn’t believe in sugarcoating the hard truth. That’s why she’s devoted her career to helping farm families navigate estate planning and wealth transfer.

A “Permanent” Estate Tax

On July 4, President Donald Trump signed into effect the One Big Beautiful Bill, which has a significant effect on federal taxes, credits and deductions.

When it comes to gift and estate taxes, Dobbs points out a big change under the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) section.

“The new exemption as of Jan. 1, 2026, will be $15 million per person, or $30 million for a married couple,” she said at the Keystone Cooperatives Co-op Classic in Valparaiso, Ind. “It is one exemption. You either use it during your lifetime to make gifts, or you have it available at death to shield inheritances. You don’t get two.”

This is an increase from $13,990,000 per person in 2025, and a welcome relief from the anticipated “drop off the cliff to around $7 million per person that was looming,” Dobbs adds.

Unlike the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act from 2017, she says the exemption is considered permanent in that it doesn’t have a “self-destruct, sunset date.” However, she warns farmers not to get too excited about the “permanent tax act” because any future Congress and President can change any law on the books.

The new exemption will be indexed to inflation, she adds, and with adjustments made Jan. 1 every year beginning in 2027. IRS recently announced the tax year 2026 annual inflation adjustments for more than 60 tax provisions, including the income tax rate schedules and other tax changes. The annual gift tax exclusion will remain $19,000 in 2026, unchanged from 2025, which is the amount each donor can give to each recipient, without tapping into his or her big exemption.

“During the fourth quarter of every year, we’ll get inflation numbers, and we will know what the new exemption is going to be the following January,” Dobbs says. “It is nice to know there’s no ticking clock on this tax act. We can stop worrying about this dreaded sunset that was to happen at the end of 2025. The fact they got ahead of this and did it in July of 2025 is a gift.”

Dobbs has been working in gift and estate tax laws for 25 years and says there has never once been a permanent tax act.

“This is important information,” she says. “But that’s the caboose. It is not the engine that should be driving the decision making about the farm’s succession and estate planning. Family goals come first.”

Farmland Lease Renewals: What Will Cash Rents Be in 2026?

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 19:25:09 GMT

Right now, land values and cash rents are top of mind for farmers.

Take Iowa for example: Sept. 1 is the deadline for any current farm leases to be terminated unless they are to remain in place for the upcoming year. And about half of Iowa’s crop ground is farmed with a cash rent or crop share lease.

“We continue to be amazed by the resiliency of the ag land market. When we look at the farm economy and commodity markets, and the fact that we can sustain the high land values that we set over the past five years, it’s just pretty amazing,” says Paul Schadegg, president at Farmers National Company. He’s been in professional farm management for more than 25 years, and just a few weeks ago was promoted within FNC to his new role.

Specific for cash rents, the survey data provided by USDA and land grant universities looks back at the previous year. You can read the latest cash rent survey results from Iowa State here.

(Data: USDA)

However, as it’s renewal season, Schadegg says he thinks overall, cash rents will be flat on average.

“Probably, cash rents will be somewhat flat. There might be pockets where we might see some depression because of weather events or just the ag economy,” he says. “But if we continue to see an erosion of commodity markets, that’s a discussion that’s going to have to be made as we go through ‘26 and negotiating into ‘27.”

Schadegg adds a lot of cash rents FNC deals with have evolved to flex leases.

“With these flex leases, you’re protected on the upside and the downside a little bit, so there might not need to be big adjustments, but that does help account for the change in commodity markets,” he says.

Overall Farmland Trends
Schadegg starts with supply and demand. Current farmland real estate listings are down 25% compared to recent highs from 2021 to 2023.

“There are simply more motivated buyers right now than there are willing sellers. So, that has put a somewhat of a funnel on the amount of land being offered for sale,” he says. “When you have these motivated buyers — which are still primarily farm operators — they’re being pushed by investors.”

He says the combination of strong farmer-led demand plus the elevated interest from investors is what’s holding the floor on farmland values. Whereas five years ago, a strong farmland market was solidified by higher commodity prices.

“I think we’re going to reach somewhat of a tipping point where it doesn’t make a lot of sense for a farm operator to buy a piece of land if he can’t cash flow it,” Schadegg says. “If it’s better for him to step back and let an investor buy it, with a pretty good chance he might be able to farm it, they will concentrate their capital expenses on equipment and things they need to run their operation.”

If there’s one factor to watch in the farmland values equation today, it’s the ag economy.

“Profitability for the operator and for the landowner is what’s really going to decide what direction land values go,” he says. “Although we focus most of our attention [at FNC] on representing the landowner, we also have to take into account we’re working with these operators. They’re a very important part of this equation, and if it’s not profitable for them, they’re not going be farming the ground very long. And if it’s not profitable for the landowner, they’re not going to retain ownership.”

As for development pressure, Schadegg shares that has tampered a bit since COVID but is still a factor. Notably, renewable energy development has slowed since the Trump administration took over in 2025.

“Wind especially has experienced the drawback. A lot of projects have been canceled because of the cost to build wind and the infrastructure involved,” Schadegg says. “However, with solar, we continue to see some pretty good interest in building larger-scale solar projects. One of the big reasons for that is a simple statement: it’s the quickest way to the grid.”

He notes while coal-fired power plants or nuclear power plants could take decades for approval, a solar project can be up and going in 18 months.

The Labor Conundrum: Navigating Workforce Shortages in the U.S.

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 14:14:52 GMT

In recent years, discussions around the slowing growth rate of the U.S. labor force have intensified. Rob Fox from CoBank highlights a pressing issue in the company’s latest quarterly report: the potential drag on economic growth due to labor supply constraint.

While the urgency of the problem seemed to subside temporarily, recent developments have brought it back into focus.

Demographic Challenges
Eighteen years ago, the U.S. boasted a fertility rate of 2.12 children per woman, surpassing the level necessary for a stable population. However, the economic upheaval caused by the Great Financial Crisis led to a significant decline in births, a trend that continues to this day. The fertility rate as of 2023 has dropped to 1.62 children per woman. The impact of these “missing births” is now becoming evident as this age cohort begins entering adulthood, coinciding with the retirement of the baby boomer generation. This demographic shift presents a dual blow to the labor market.

Fox says adopting technology — most obviously AI and robotics — will likely be at the core of any strategy to address oncoming labor shortages.

Participation Rates
Another pressing issue is the downward trend in labor force participation rates since 2000. Currently at 62%, a stark decline from the peak of 67%, this translates to approximately 9.7 million potential workers lost.

“Worryingly, this trend may be accelerating: 2.4 million working-aged people have dropped out of the labor force in the past eight months alone,” Fox says, noting some reasons include increased caregiving responsibilities, job skill obsolescence, mental health challenges and rising disability rates.

Immigration as a Balancing Act
For a brief period, immigration helped offset the labor shortage. Humanitarian crises, less restrictive immigration policies, and strong labor demand attracted nearly 9 million immigrants to the U.S. between 2022 and 2024. However, since late 2024, immigration levels have sharply declined. Additionally, the Trump administration’s plan to deport 1 million undocumented immigrants further complicates the scenario. Without a reversal in participation rates or policy changes, the worker pool will continue to shrink.

Agricultural Implication
These labor issues are particularly acute in rural areas, affecting industries like agriculture. Richard Stup from Cornell Cooperative Extension underscores the diminishing labor pool available for farm work. Countries like Mexico — historically a source of agricultural labor — are experiencing similar demographic changes. Economic improvements in these countries reduce the impetus for migration, further tightening labor availability.

“[The population in] Mexico, going forward, will begin to actually shrink,” he says. “It’s not just Mexico. There are a lot of countries in this situation.”

In addition to a smaller pool of workers willing to fill on-farm vacancies, economic opportunities in these countries — such as an increase in Mexico’s inflation-adjusted dollars — are reducing the push factor for migration.

“It means there’s more economic activity, there’s more job opportunity and there’s less push to leave Mexico and go to the U.S. for dollars,” he says. “There’s still a lot of push to come up here, but it’s not what it used to be.”

When looking at the data, Stup notes fewer young people are looking for work.

“The average age of foreign-born employees is about 42 years,” he says. For comparison, the average age of U.S. born employees on farms is 36 years old.

Stup says technology will be used in places where the work is repetitive and heavy manual labor. He also underscores the need for retention programs and attracting a diverse pool of workers. Skills such as critical and systems thinking, data savviness and comfort with animals will be essential for future dairy workers. Education, whether formal or through on-the-job training, is equally important.

The decreasing labor supply poses significant challenges that could hinder U.S. economic growth if not addressed. Without strategic interventions in demographic policies, a shift in immigration approaches, or incentives to boost labor participation, the labor market’s stability remains at risk.

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Is the Ag Economy in a Recession? Why Economists and Farmers Don't Agree

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 16:58:38 GMT

Fewer agricultural economists think the row crop side of agriculture is currently in a recession, but when you consider most major row crops are seeing four consecutive years of poor profit margins, farmers argue an agricultural recession is currently underway.

Fifty-three percent of agricultural economists surveyed in Farm Journal’s July Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor say the row crops side of agriculture is currently in a recession, which is down from the 72% who responded that way in May .

For the 53% who think agriculture is in a recession, economists argue the poor profit margins and another year of projected negative returns mean any cash reserves are being drained.

In the July survey, economists said:

“While the BBB will raise reference prices for the ARC and PLC, current market prices remain low, and crops went in with expensive inputs, so most producers are going to have a hard time profiting under the current conditions. Losses may be lessening but it’s a tough situation for grain producers.”
“2025 is bringing negative returns for at least the third consecutive year across nearly all row crops, with 2026 setting up to be another negative returns year.”
“Farmers are seeing cash flow drain and lower revenues compared to the past two years.”

The negative returns projected for 2025 and 2026 aren’t just due to low commodity prices, but the fact input prices, like fertilizer, are trending higher.

The poor profitability picture is impacting nearly every major row crop in the U.S., with at least four consecutive years of negative margins when you look at just the price versus costs.

(Krista Swanson, National Corn Growers Association )

Krista Swanson, chief economist for National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), says poor profitability margins are projected for every major commodity in the U.S.

“I think the big concern, especially as we turn to looking at 2026, is that we’re talking about for almost every single crop, 2026 being at least the fourth consecutive year of negative returns, and we’re not just talking about small negative returns on average, but over $100 an acre losses, and again, that’s not accounting for crop insurance or any government payments that is specifically looking at costs and returns from those grain sales,” Swanson says.

Why Some Ag Economists Argue Agriculture Isn’t in a Recession

Additional farm program payments from Congress, along with the fact land prices aren’t declining, are two reasons 47% of ag economists argue the ag economy isn’t in a recession.

In the July survey, ag economists who say the row crop side of agriculture isn’t in a recession, gave the following reasons:

“Farm program payments and strong corn exports. Land prices also do not appear to have declined, according to the August land report from USDA.”
“Although prices are currently low, production prospects are very good, supporting expected crop revenue and lowering crop cost of production per unit.”
“Prices and income are down sharply from their 2022 peak. Defining a ‘recession’ for a sector is difficult. To me, it implies a temporary downturn, but something like current prices appears more likely to be ‘the new normal’ than a temporary blip.”
Although crop farms have been facing considerable financial challenges, so far, farm finance has been sustained by cutting down on some of their working capital. I would worry about the actual (bigger) recession possibly to come. In my opinion, tariff effects will be less likely to take place immediately in this harvest season, but the shock (without negotiation scenario) will likely hit the farm input cost first, threatening farm financial health of 2026.”
“Government payments and crop insurance guarantees are removing the downside risk that would typically allow input costs to reset.”

Ohio State’s Carl Zulauf agrees a price squeeze is impacting margins for farmers, but a big piece of why he doesn’t think U.S. agriculture is in a recession is land values.

“It’s a price squeeze on the input prices versus the cost of the output prices,” Zulauf says. “But I think for the farm economy to be in a recession, you have to see some softening land prices both on the rental side and on the ownership side. And USDA just released on the first of August their latest land estimates, and I think a fair characterization of it is that land values were up, cash rent was stable to slightly up. That does not corroborate in my mind with a sector that’s in recession.”

American Farm Bureau Federal looks at how land values have trended over time. This is based on the latest UDSA NASS data.

(American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF))

USDA’s annual land survey released earlier this month shows on average, land real estate values came in at $4,170 per acre in 2025, which is a 4.3% increase from 2024.

Zulauf says you can make an argument that land values are holding steady because of government payments.

“But the point is that government payments are at least apparently keeping the land price in check,” he says. “And that’s a really big thing because of borrowing capacity and all that that goes along with asset prices.”

Not Just the Midwest and South Feeling the Financial Pinch

July Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor

(Lindsey Pound )

The latest Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor also asked which region of the country is seeing the most severe financial pressures impact farmers.

38% responded the Midwest
15% said the Mid-South
8% responded the West
8% also said the Northwest

“The first thing I have to remind everybody is we are incredibly diverse,” says Dan Sumner, an agricultural economist with the University of California, Davis. “So the top ag commodity in California is milk. And milk isn’t doing that bad these days in terms of prices. Beef is also a huge part of our economy. So I picked the two that are doing OK. The rest of them are struggling.”

He says from tree nuts to fruit and grapes, growers in California are also struggling with lower prices and higher costs.

He says the grape industry, especially wine grapes, are struggling with a demand problem. Tariffs and the uncertainty surrounding trade is also impact tree nuts and other fruits.

“Since China used to be such a big market for them, and China, you’re dealing with the government there. So you could write down what the tariffs are, and then you write down what the government policy says to the importers, and of course they’ve got their centrally planned economy. So it’s been tough on tree nuts with the loss of that Chinese market,” he says.

What to Watch Over the Next 12 Months

Economists say trade will play a major factor in the health of the ag economy over the next 12 months. It’s not just how the tariff issues are resolved, but with which countries the U.S. is able to strike trade deals.

“What happens with trade/tariffs is likely the biggest factor now and over the next 12 months across all of agriculture. I’ve made this statement in the past, but it continues to be the biggest wild card that could boost or harm the ag sector. Another factor I’m watching in the short term is crop size,” said one economist.

When asked to outline the two most important factors that could impact the ag economy over the next 12 months, economists varied in their responses, but said:

Trade negotiations
Government payments and farm safety net programs
Crop prices versus production costs
Strength in livestock markets
Biofuel policies
Interest Rates

Economists say provisions within the One Big Beautiful Bill are also important to agriculture over the next 12 months.

“The two most significant drivers are the recently passed Big Beautiful Bill that will spend about $50 billion on commodity programs over the next 10 years, as well as recently announced trade deals,” said an economist in the anonymous survey. “Increased reference prices in the BBB will help support farm income, and it appears the administration is making a point of securing deals for ag as part of the trade pacts being negotiated. These both bode well for agriculture.”