September 9, 2025

An eastern Iowa farmer says he’s concerned about the direction of the U.S. ag economy. “I think if you’re not concerned then you’re not paying attention,” said Dave Walton. “It’s not pretty.” Walton raises corn and soybeans near Wilton along the Mississippi River. He tells Brownfield that 2025 has been difficult for many farming families. […] The post 2025 a difficult year for many farming families appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A farmer in southeastern Iowa says there hasn’t been much harvesting going on in his area. Tim Meyer tells Brownfield, “No harvest has started on my farm. Not a lot of harvest has started in southeast Iowa. I think we’ll start seeing a lot more combines moving toward the end of the week.” He says […] The post Little harvest activity in southeastern Iowa appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Field activity is picking up steam for eastern Iowa farmer Lance Lillibridge. “We chopped corn (Sunday). That was about all the harvesting we’ve done so far. It looked pretty good.” He tells Brownfield he plans to start harvesting some early-planted corn next week. “It’s doing pretty well and turning. With this warm weather coming up […] The post Chopping underway for eastern Iowa farmer, harvest starting soon appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to reauthorize the U.S. Grain Standards Act. Caleb Ragland, president of the American Soybean Association, says the integrity of the grain inspection systems helps keep U.S. agriculture competitive on the global market. “We need to have standards by which the commodities that we grow are measured and graded,” […] The post House passes US Grain Standards Authorization Act appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A grain and oil seed analyst says there could be some improvement for commodity prices in 2026.   Bree Baatz with Terrain says the bottom price for corn was set in mid-August when the supply and demand report was released. “I’m optimistic that corn prices will rally to the $4.75, potentially even $5 range, because […] The post Commodity prices could begin to rebound in 2026 appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Time is running out for most farmers to take steps to minimize the spread of weeds before harvest. University of Minnesota Extension crops educator Liz Stahl says combines are notorious for spreading weed seed. “Especially if you’re dealing with like an introduced weed, or if you’re dealing with herbicide resistance.” She encourages growers to hand-pull […] The post Pre-harvest weed management considerations appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A national non-profit with more than 500,000 members is urging the USDA to withdraw its proposed reorganization plan. Karen Perry Stillman with the Union of Concerned Scientists says details so far are vague and poorly defined. “But as far as we understand it, it looks like what this really is is an effort to drive […] The post Union of Concerned Scientists urges USDA to withdraw reorganization plan appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Marion Calmer, CEO of Calmer, says the companies corn heads offer producers more efficiency and throughput for all available equipment on the market. Marion Calmer: The post Calmer corn heads provide more efficiency for farmers appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

An ag economist says flexible land leases could be an option for producers looking for alternative rental arrangements for the 2026 crop year. Purdue University’s Michael Langemeier says adjusting terms can help farmers better manage financial stress. “It’s attractive because the base rent is lower than the fixed market cash rent,” he says. “If revenue […] The post Consider alternative leasing arrangements for 2026 appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story