January 12, 2026

The USDA has increased its expectations for 2026 soybean production in Brazil. Brazil’s bean crop is now seen at 178 million tons, up 3 million from December on generally favorable weather and potentially 6.5 million tons larger than 2025. The USDA also raised its soybean export number for Brazil to 114 million tons, while imports […] The post USDA raises Brazil soybean crop, export guesses appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Turkey hatchery numbers are pointing to higher production in 2026. The USDA says 20.863 million turkey poults were hatched during December 2025, up 2% from December 2024, while 19.412 million poults were placed into meat production, an increase of 2% on the year. 25.114 million turkey eggs were in incubators at the start of 2026%, […] The post Turkey hatchery numbers back up higher production outlook appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

An ag prairie specialist says prairie strips can be used on lower-yielding acres. Tim Youngquist with Iowa State University says these acres are a great opportunity to integrate perennial vegetation, reducing the cost of inputs otherwise spent on low-yielding acres. “Problem spots year after year where the water is moving through,” he said. “Those can […] The post Lower-yielding acres offer opportunity for prairie strips appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A south-central Iowa cattle producer says 2025 was a strong year for his family’s business. Matt Russell has a cow-calf operation in Marion County and says it’s a good time to be in the cattle industry. “We did grass-finished beef and we were raising the beef, finishing them, local butchering, and selling the cuts of […] The post Strong cattle prices made 2025 a good year, Iowa producer says appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

High fertilizer prices have farmers looking for ways to cut back. “That question that we get is, where can I cut on my costs?” Dr. Andrew Margenot, professor of soil sciences at the University of Illinois, says improving management practices of phosphorus and potassium is the place to start.    “So, if you want to […] The post Grain sampling can lead to better management of input costs appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

U.S. cotton and rice production declined from 2024 to 2025. The USDA says upland cotton production of 13.53 million bales was down about 3% on the year because of lower yield to 847 pounds per acre, even with harvested area rising to 7.668 million acres. In 2024, upland cotton production was 13.942 million bales with […] The post Cotton, rice production see year-to-year decreases appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The president and CEO of POET says an expansion of its Shelbyville, Indiana bioprocessing plant could create additional market opportunities for the state’s farmers. Jeff Lautt says the facility is expected double its bioethanol production by 2027. “It will produce about 193 million gallons,” he says. “That will produce about 500,000 tons of dried distiller’s grains. […] The post POET set to expand its Shelbyville, IN plant to double bioethanol production by 2027 appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story