March 19, 2026

The president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association says continuing to fund upgrades on America’s inland waterway system is vital for agriculture. Mark Bunselmeyer, who farms in Macon County, says new policy adopted by the National Corn Growers Association calls on Congress to provide a stable funding source for lock improvements. “The Water Resource Development […] The post Corn growers pushing for more support for lock improvements appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Crop Protection Network researchers estimate soybean diseases reduced yields by about five percent last year. Plant pathologist Marty Chilvers tells Brownfield, “It’s really critical to identify our plant disease issues.” “If we don’t identify them, then we can’t manage them appropriately,” he says. The Network reports disease losses were the third lowest in 30 years of data. […] The post Crop Protection Network: soybean disease losses among lowest in 30 years appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The president of U.S. Commodities expects U.S. corn acreage to be down 4 to 5 million acres in 2026. Don Roose tells Brownfield market signals favor soybeans more compared to a year ago. “Particularly since soybeans just had this tremendous rally up versus the corn, and we think the soybean acres will be up 4 […] The post Don Roose: soybean rally to pull acres away from corn in 2026 appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst is voicing frustration over prolonged delays in federal approval of year-round E15, calling the policy a win-win for both farmers and consumers. “Especially as we see prices of fuel going up, we know that E15 can be a very valuable part of that solution driving the consumer costs down at the […] The post Frustration builds as year-round E15 faces continued roadblocks, Ernst says appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The Nebraska Legislature’s Ag Committee is working to the state’s century-old brand law on Thursday. During a hearing on Thursday, Chairman Barry Dekay says lawmakers aren’t considering eliminating branding. “If we intend to maintain brand inspection, then we need to provide the brand committee with resources and authority it needs to carry out the task. […] The post Debate continues over Nebraska brand law revisions appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Commercial red meat production in the U.S. during February 2026 was 4.145 billion pounds. The USDA says that was 2% less than last year because a decline in cattle and hog slaughter rates, partially due to tight numbers and some weather issues during the month, which canceled out heavier average weights. Beef production was 1.933 […] The post USDA: February red meat production down 2% on year appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A western Wisconsin farmer says preparations for spring are going well, despite last weekend’s blizzard. Shane Goplin says, “With two feet of snow, that kind of puts a delay in the near future.” Goplin tells Brownfield there is one benefit from the blizzard. “We were not nearly as dry as Illinois. Illinois was welcoming this […] The post Spring prep slowed by snowstorm appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The director of the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) says the agency is working to strengthen the nation’s ability to quickly identify and respond to biological risks that could impact the security of the U.S. food supply. Dr. Jaye Hamby tells Brownfield, “You think about invasive emerging species, they can devastate crops, […] The post New NIFA grants address emerging pest and disease threats appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

An ag economist says tensions in the Middle East are causing global supply disruptions for nitrogen fertilizers.  David Widmar with Agricultural Economic Insights says prices have increased more than 30 percent since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. “We have this urea in these international markets on some of these ships and the inventories […] The post Fertilizer prices rising as global tensions disrupt nitrogen supply appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story