May 4, 2026

A southwest Indiana farmer says he recently wrapped up the 2026 planting season. Ben Kron says it’s his earliest spring on record. “I don’t know of another year in the history of our farm where we’ve finished planting in April,” he says. “Everything seems to be coming up. We have just another field or two […] The post Southwest Indiana farmer wraps up planting in April, earliest on record appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The National Young Farmers Coalition says the farm bill recently passed out of the U.S. House fails to provide meaningful investments for new and beginning producers. Vanessa Garcia Planco, director of government relations, tells Brownfield, “We would love to see actual investments on land access to reduce consolidation and competition. We also need to see something done about nutrition programs. Our specialty crop farmers, […] The post National Young Farmers Coalition says more support needed for young producers in Senate Farm Bill proposal appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

U.S. corn and soybean planting and emergence made gains over the past week. Overall, weather looks favorable for activity and early development, but parts of the region have seen excessive rainfall as other areas have been dry, and some areas are seeing cooler than ideal temperatures to start this week. The USDA says 38% of […] The post 38% of U.S. corn, 33% of soybeans planted appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A central Kansas farmer says on-going drought is taking its toll on his corps.   Rick Schlender tells Brownfield his winter wheat crop is in rough shape. “Things look tough on the dryland. You can see a rabbit run in front of you 50 yards. We’re not in good condition at this stage. Wheat is […] The post Kansas farmer says winter wheat conditions declining rapidly appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

An agronomist based in central Nebraska says a recent stretch of cold weather has created some emergence issues. Phil Swantek with Hogemeyer Hybrids says corn and soybeans should rebound if there hasn’t been extensive damage. “There are a couple of fields that I’ve looked at that leave a little bit to be desired.” USDA says […] The post Cold temperatures hinder emergence in Nebraska appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A farmer in north Iowa says a lot of stored grain sold ahead of planting. Chris Edgington grows corn and soybeans near St. Ansgar. “We’ve got several soy processing plants in the area, so the soybeans have been moving pretty aggressively. From our area we don’t put as much on rail because of processors, and […] The post Trucks rolling as north Iowa grain sales stay strong ahead of planting appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The Trump administration is investigating the four major meat processors for potential antitrust violations. In a news conference on Monday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department is reviewing more than 3 million documents and interviewing industry participants.  Craig Uden is the president of Nebraska Cattlemen. “When we’re asked to submit information, we […] The post Federal investigation targets meatpacking industry practices appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The U.S. EPA is taking feedback on a draft fungicide strategy that it says strives to preserve farmers’ access to crop protection tools. The draft fungicide strategy, released on Friday, builds on the agency’s final herbicide and insecticide strategies. EPA says this strategy focuses more on structured mitigation for direct impacts to vertebrates like the […] The post EPA wants input on draft fungicide strategy appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says $25 million is being redirected to expand nitrate removal capacity in central Iowa. During a press conference on Friday, Reynolds said Central Iowa Water Works will use the money to double the capacity of its nitrate removal system over the next three years. “Des Moines is growing fast metro area […] The post Iowa redirects $25M to boost nitrate removal, water quality efforts appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The president of the Minnesota Farmers Union says farmers need every available resource to navigate the current farm crisis. “In crop farming it’s pretty hard to show a positive cash flow,” Gary Wertish told Brownfield at the NAFB’s 2026 Washington Watch. Wertish says Minnesota lawmakers are looking at updating the state’s Farmer-Lender Mediation Act that […] The post Minnesota farm leader urges use of all tools to support struggling producers appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story