March 12, 2026

An ag economist with University of Missouri Extension says farmers have been using the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program payments to help with cash flow. Ben Brown tells Brownfield “whether that’s to pay down debts or to keep it in liquid cash to pay for inputs throughout the growing season until we get to harvest. It’s […] The post Brown: farmers receiving bridge payments use it for cash flow appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A U.S. Senator from Minnesota says the Senate Ag Committee is expected to mark up on a skinny farm bill later this spring. Tina Smith says committee leaders are working on the details. “Senator Boozman is still trying to assess whether it makes sense to bring the House bill over or whether we would mark […] The post Senate Ag Committee poised to mark up skinny farm bill this spring appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live cattle were up, feeders were mostly higher on oversold signals, waiting for the rest of the week’s direct business to develop. April live cattle closed $1.10 higher at $231.25 and June live cattle closed $1.30 higher $229.37.  April feeder cattle closed $.30 lower at $343 and May feeder cattle […] The post Cattle futures mostly higher on oversold signals appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Corn farmers are feeling the pressure from higher fertilizer prices ahead of the growing season. Wes Beck, a farmer in southern Minnesota, says he’s been proactive securing fertilizer. “We locked in our spring anhydrous back in December and when things started warming up or got more interesting, we priced in our UAN needs about 30 […] The post Corn farmers face rising fertilizer costs ahead of spring planting appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The President and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation is not surprised by the increased demand for cottage cheese.  Gregg Doud tells Brownfield the combination of new dietary guidelines, the use of GLP-1 medications, and social media popularity is building demand for cottage cheese. “Is this a flash-in-the-pan kind of social media thing, or […] The post Demand for protein is driving more cottage cheese production appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Missouri’s Senate Ag Committee advanced a failure to warn bill out of committee ahead of spring break. Committee chairman Jason Bean, a farmer from southeast Missouri, tells Brownfield one of the reasons he’s supportive of the bill is it provides certainty for farmers who use glyphosate. “This herbicide is used in almost all crops, from […] The post ‘Failure to Warn’ Bill Clears Missouri Senate Ag Committee appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A fifth-generation Illinois farmer says no-till is not enough to build soil health and encourages growers to consider more regenerative practices. Monte Bottens tells Brownfield he turned to no-till in the 1990s as a way to save time and money, but wanted to push the system to do more. “We integrated cover crops, high diversity […] The post Bottens says no-till alone won’t build soil health, urges more regenerative strategies appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

An Illinois farmer says building his soil’s health and water extractable organic carbon, or WEOC, has reduced his input costs. Brad Zimmerman, who farms in Tazewell County, says incorporating cover crops into his corn/soybean rotation in 2013 changed the trajectory of his operation. “If you think of organic matter as the house, then the WEOC […] The post Illinois farmer building profitability through healthier soils appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story