March 25, 2026

Independent restaurant owners and chefs are encouraging lawmakers to pass a farm bill that addresses environmental and economic risks facing producers. Anne McBride of the James Beard Foundation tells Brownfield the restaurant industry depends on strong supply chains and the farmers behind them. “When there are droughts, floods, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes in the Midwest that […] The post Chefs call for farm bill priorities to tackle rising food prices and farmer viability appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The program director for Rural Minds says a new initiative is helping address mental health challenges producers face in rural communities. Carol Anderson says farmers are nearly 50 percent more likely to be impacted by depression and suicide compared to those living in urban areas. “They have these business pressures and emotional pressures with a desire […] The post Rural Minds offering free mental health resources for farmers and rural communities appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The director of the Gardner Agriculture Policy Program at the University of Illinois says the U.S. Senate needs to address many of the challenges facing agriculture in its version of a new farm bill. Jonathan Coppess tells Brownfield, “The House bill did not touch on the issues we’ve got facing agriculture, and that was before […] The post Coppess:  Senate farm bill needs to address acreage and over-production appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A farmer in South Texas says the economically challenging conditions of rice production make retirement look attractive. “Losing money isn’t sustainable.” LG Raun, a past chairman of USA Rice, says crop prices aren’t high enough to cover production costs, while input costs, like fertilizer, are rising fast. “My expenses in fertilizer, diesel, gasoline and natural […] The post Texas rice farmer faces tough year as costs outpace prices appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A trade specialist from the Ohio State University says he’s not expecting China to return as the top U.S. ag export market, due to shifting trade patterns and increased competition. In the latest episode of Inside D.C., Ian Sheldon tells Brownfield “from around about 2012 or 2013, Brazil started to move ahead of us in […] The post China’s role in U.S. ag exports is changing long-term appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

In this Porkcast, we are joined by Minnesota Pork Executive Board Member and crop and livestock farmer, Brad Kluver. He tells us about the inaugural Activate Program, and says they visited the state capitol to learn about communication, leadership training, federal and state policies, and how they can better advocate on behalf of Minnesota Pork. […] The post Advocacy in Action with The Activate Program appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Ethanol stocks swelled to the largest levels in a year last week. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says inventories of 27.2 million barrels were the result of growth across all regions except the West Coast. Production expanded more than two percent on the week, averaging 1.2 million barrels per day. U.S. ethanol exports plummeted more […] The post Ethanol inventories hit one year high as exports slide sharply appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A market analyst anticipates U.S. and South American producers experiencing similar effects from the Middle East conflict. Don Roose, president of U.S. Commodities, says fertilizer prices are rising. “It’s more typical (in South America) to like we are in the spring, they’re planting as we’re going to be planting now. So they’ve locked a lot […] The post U.S. and South American farmers face similar pressures as input costs rise appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story