News, Insights & Interviews Archive

Juneau County, WI Major 804-Acre Portfolio Brings $6.64 Million at Auction A large multi-tract auction in Juneau County, Wisconsin sold in July, with 799.66 acres m/l selling for $6,639,601, or an average of $8,303 per acre. The offering was highlighted by several quality cropland tracts, including Tracts 1, 2, and 3, which each sold for $8,700 per acre, while the 123.14-acre Tract 4 brought $9,000 per acre. The highest per-acre result came from the 11.66-acre Tract 10 at $13

Changes to international trade policy carry a risk for businesses, especially farms dependent on exports. New rules are often challenged or delayed as economists and politicians debate policy. At the Iowa Farm Bureau 2026 Economic Forum in Des Moines, several speakers explained how that uncertainty has a cost. Agriculture seeks trade certainty Former U.S. Trade Representative Bob Lighthizer said, “For agriculture, what we need is consistent certainty of market access, right?

A downward economic trend has continued for another month for Creighton University’s “Rural Mainstreet Index (RMI),” according to its latest survey of rural bank CEOS in a 10-state region. RMI surveys leaders in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The index measures approximately 200 rural communities with an average population of 1,300. Input costs rise for farmers “The farmers out there and ranchers are

Farmers in a key agricultural state saw their incomes plummet over a three-year period, according to a newly released study. What Iowa farmers have faced is illustrative of what some of their counterparts in other states have experienced since the post-COVID boom earlier this decade. The headline number was 53%. That was the amount of net income that fell for farmers between 2022 and 2024, according to the study released by the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Iowa State Universi

The sequel can sometimes be much different than the original. That could be the case with the proposed update of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA).

The potential benefits keep emerging: autonomous equipment, precision spraying, crop monitoring, and livestock management. Artificial intelligence (AI) helps guide producers in their decision-making as they search for efficiencies in time, cost, and labor demands. AI can utilize data from myriad sources like satellites, drones, field sensors, and weather forecasts. Additional information can help farmers know when crops are stressed, disease begins to form, irrigation needs t

Image Courtesy: Whitetail Properties Real Estate A nearly $1.5 million recreational property in northeast Missouri sold in just a few weeks this spring, offering another sign that demand for quality hunting and recreational land remains strong across the state. The 122.6-acre property in Pike County, near Bowling Green, checked many of the boxes today's recreational buyers are looking for: excellent hunting ground, tillable acreage, and a trail system that makes it easy to ge

Commodity prices, interest rates, weather, tariffs, artificial intelligence, ethanol, or the next “must have” piece of machinery.

This week’s renewed military strikes between the United States and Iran further underscore concerns about what a prolonged war will do to agriculture and the overall global economy. The International Monetary Fund lowered one forecast and raised another, providing two new indicators about increased concerns about the war harming economic stability. The IMF reduced its 2026 global growth forecast to 3% on Wednesday, while it increased its inflation projection to 4.7%. The new

The National Corn Growers Association has released a new report saying U.S. farmers are paying significantly more for crop inputs than Brazilian farmers, one of their biggest competitors in the global marketplace. In some cases, the report showed that U.S. farmers are paying nearly twice as much as their Brazilian counterparts. NCGA posted the report and reactions from its leaders on Wednesday. "I think there has long been a belief among U.S. farmers that we pay more for the

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released updated information on farmland ownership in the United States and how much of that land is rented to others. The 2024 Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land (TOTAL) Survey is part of the Census of Agriculture program and is designed to provide a clearer picture of farmland ownership and management across the country. One of the report's key findings is that farmland ownership remains concentrated among older, no

New analysis from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) raises questions about whether the USDA’s staffing changes will be able to meet the needs of local farmers.

More American farmers may have had shrinking profit margins on their minds as they planted their 2026 crops. Lower crop prices and higher production costs could have come into play as some producers chose to shift acres away from crops like corn and wheat and focus more on commodities that could be more cost-effective in the near-term like soybeans and cotton. According to the new Acreage report from the National Agricultural Statistics Services released on June 30, the pla

Some of the largest egg producers have agreed to pay $3.3 million and donate 53 million eggs to food banks and nonprofits after reaching a tentative settlement agreement with the U.S. Justice Department and 17 states. The settlement could resolve allegations that the companies -- using their massive egg producing capacity – colluded to illegally raise egg prices at a time when the United States dealt with the spread of avian influenza. The three companies, according to the co

Most farmers don't dream about testifying before Congress. They are usually thinking about weather forecasts, equipment repairs, markets, or whether they will get the crop in before the next rain. But sometimes, representing agriculture means trading muddy boots for a microphone in Washington, D.C.

It’s not often that a 34,000-acre farm hits the market. Even rarer is finding one that consists of a single, massive, contiguous landholding. That’s exactly what’s happening in central South Dakota, just outside the state capital of Pierre. Gunsmoke Ranch contiguous acres Gunsmoke Ranch, a sprawling dryland organic farming operation, is being offered through a sealed-bid process that runs through July 30th. According to Peoples Company President Steve Bruere, who is managing

Two U.S. Supreme Court rulings last week could affect farmland owners in two different ways: fertilizers and workforce. One involves a top priority for the Trump administration, and the other could prevent numerous lawsuits across the country. The Court ruled 7-2 in Monsanto v. Durnell that federal law overrides state-level claims that require pesticide makers to include cancer warnings on their products. The decision could protect pesticide manufacturers like Bayer (the comp

Every now and then, something comes along that sounds like it belongs in a science fiction movie. It goes something like this: Hydrogen is trapped 8,000 feet beneath Iowa farmland. Private developers extract it. Landowners have a new source of income. Their neighbors have new protections. Eventually – maybe, just maybe – residents across the state could see lower income taxes. They might not pay income taxes at all.