January 29, 2026

An ag economist says he’s cautiously optimistic that China will keep pace with soybean purchases this year.   Dan O’Brien with Kansas State University says it’s not unusual that they’ve turned to Brazil right now. “Given the skill of Chinese buyers, they’ll go with the cheapest soybeans to start with harvest coming on in South […] The post China’s buying strategy may still favor U.S. soybeans later this year appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A grain analyst says she’s concerned the U.S. won’t see demand from China return now that soybean export commitments have been met. Susan Stroud with No Bull Ag tells Brownfield China has been absent from the market since it met it’s 12 million metric ton limit, and no timeline has been given for the next […] The post Analyst expects China to remain absent from U.S. soybean market appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The chief economist for The Fertilizer Institute says she expects to see more product innovation as geopolitics continues to interrupt supply chains. Veronica Nigh tells Brownfield that it could mean turning to different nutrients like ammonium sulfate and Triple Superphosphate (TSP). “We’re seeing that experimentation in other parts of the world, and that might be a […] The post TFI economist says geopolitics could drive new fertilizer innovation amid supply chain disruptions appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has confirmed the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza of the year. The state says the backyard flock in Ottawa County comes after a three-month break, with the last case reported in November. State Veterinarian Dr. Nora Wineland says even with the cold temperatures, the virus […] The post Michigan reports first HPAI case of 2026 in backyard flock appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The president of Missouri Farm Bureau says he’s disappointed there have been some delays from Congress on more farmer assistance, but “I’m not giving up hope by any means.” Garrett Hawkins tells Brownfield it’s been challenging for issues to move through Congress. “We’re going to continue to work on that additional funding and as an […] The post Hawkins: farmer bridge is a band-aid, Congress must act appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The local food system in Illinois is getting a boost.  Raghela Scavuzzo, executive director of the Illinois Specialty Growers Association, says farmers and community members across the state stand to benefit from the announcement of two new grant programs. “The Illinois Department of Agriculture was able to announce the Local Food Infrastructure grants, and Feeding […] The post New grants aim to boost Illinois food system appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A livestock economist says heavier cattle weights continue to offset tighter cattle supplies. Kenny Burdine with the University of Kentucky says live cattle weights for 2025 were up 33 pounds from the previous year.  “Looking at 2025 versus 2024, a 2.4% increase is very significant,” he says. “Holding everything else constant, that means we could harvest […] The post Rising cattle weights in 2025 help maintain beef production appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Global buyers showed strong demand for U.S. pork last week. The USDA says Mexico bought more than half of the weekly total for pork export sales during the week ending January 22nd, followed by China. Mexico also led the way on physical shipments of pork. Beef and soybean product sales were up on the week, […] The post Pork export sales soar, as corn, soybeans back off from recent highs appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A weed management specialist is concerned about winter annuals being a problem come spring. Corteva Agriscience market development specialist Jason Gibson says a mild start to winter in some regions could’ve provided extra growing time for certain weeds. “Winter annual weeds are very consumptive users of subsoil moisture, and as all farmers know soil moisture […] The post Winter annuals threaten soil moisture and spring crop stands appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story