June 30, 2026

Farmers planted even fewer wheat acres than expected in 2026. Wheat acres are the lowest on record at 42.74 million acres, with farmers planting fewer acres to both the spring and winter crops that what was projected in March, now pegged at 31.52 million and 9.39 million acres, respectively. The total is 6% lower than […] The post Wheat planted area 6% below 2025 appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Farmers did make some changes to their corn and soybean intentions during the 2026 planting season. The USDA now has soybean planted area at 85.365 million acres, up 700,000 from the March prospective plantings report and 5% higher than 2025. Corn came out at 95.343 million acres, 5 million more than the last guess and […] The post USDA adjusts corn, soybean planted area numbers appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson from Pennsylvania has introduced a new ag labor bill that’s meant to build upon previous efforts to reform the H-2A guest worker program. The Securing Agriculture Workforce Labor Act focuses on faster, more flexible H-2A processing for farms, requiring labor certifications to be issued within 30 days of […] The post Thompson introduces H-2A reform bill to speed labor access and expand farm workforce eligibility appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

An extension forage specialist says weather conditions in her state have benefited alfalfa. Shelby Gruss with Iowa State University tells Brownfield June was unseasonably cool. “Which a lot of our cool season grasses and our alfalfa, that’s like their prime growing conditions. And we’ve had good rains, so it’s been a good balance. Especially in […] The post Cool June, timely rains boost Iowa alfalfa production appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The American Farm Bureau Federation says there’s broad support for legislation addressing the ag labor crisis.   John Walt Boatright says the Securing Agriculture Workforce Act is expected to be released today. He tells Brownfield, “Now that we’re in our 40th year of no legislative passage of reform efforts, the situation continues to get more […] The post Farm Bureau says Securing Agriculture Workforce Act is critical in addressing labor shortages appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The chairman of the National Milk Producers Federation says increased global demand continues to drive record U.S. dairy exports. Brian Rexing tells Brownfield, “Some other countries have had some issues with production,” he says. “Luckily, we have the technology in our plants to make products that are attractive. When you have the demand for something and […] The post Record U.S. dairy exports fueled by global demand, consumer awareness appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

For decades, the Illinois corn checkoff has partnered with the U.S. Grains and Bioproducts Council to promote corn and its products across the world. In this Managing for Profit, Jon Rosenstiel, a director with the Illinois Corn Marketing Board, discusses some of their recent efforts. The post Global Corn Promotion appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Across the Corn Belt, thunderstorms are limited to the upper Great Lakes region. Elsewhere in the Midwest, rising temperatures are helping to ease pockets of excessive wetness and are promoting a rapid pace of corn and soybean development. However, heat has begun to reach stressful levels for some summer crops in the western Corn Belt, […] The post Heat wave pattern, high humidity dominates the Heartland; scattered severe t-storms parts of the Plains, upper Midwest appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story