News, Insights & Interviews Archive

$18,100 per acre 146.27+/- acres in Poweshiek County, IA June 16, 2026 A high-quality Poweshiek County farm sold for $18,100 per acre at an online-only auction on June 16. Located three miles south of Grinnell, adjacent to Interstate 80, the 146.27+/- acre farm featured 139.98 FSA cropland acres with a CSR2 of 87.6. The farm consists primarily of Garwin, Tama, Killduff, and Muscatine soils and has a strong history of seed corn production. Its quality soils, productive history

Farmers and tech companies are working together to build a system that can sell carbon intensity (CI) scores. For over a decade, farmers like Mitchell Hora, founder and CEO of Continuum Ag, believed they would be able to make a profit from their conservation practices. Now, the market could open early next year, pending an update from the IRS on its Section 45Z federal tax credit proposal. Hora has been pushing to make 45Z happen and help farmers profit from it. He has worked

A change in leadership at the Federal Reserve did not lead to the immediate change that President Donald Trump has demanded for months: lower borrowing rates. In fact, the opposite could be happening later this year if the Fed decides to raise rates following implementation of policies since Trump returned to office which included launching a global trade war and military strikes against Iran. Those actions are among the forces that have pushed up inflation higher than when P

Global politics continue to impact the American economy overall. Gas prices initially declined – and fell below $4 per gallon for the first time since March – after President Donald Trump reached a Memo of Understanding (MOU) with Iran that could, in theory, end the war with Iran that has lasted since February 28. However, the framework agreement is only a temporary pause and not yet a final deal. Numerous members of Congress, including both Republicans and Democrats, have pu

If you want to make it rain, you should just pull the combine out of the shed. That’s the joke. The absence of rain…until it arrived much too late…has not been funny to farmers in the Southern Plains.

A new product may soon emerge for farmland owners across the United States: their data. At the 2026 TopSoil Summit June 10 in Riverside, Iowa, speakers emphasized the importance of watching updates on the Section 45Z federal tax credit. By using conservation practices and keeping good records, farmers and landowners can tap into an emerging asset. Mitchell Hora, who created the summit and is also founder and CEO of Continuum Ag, said there was a lot of uncertainty when he fir

The return of the New World screwworm (NWS) may have younger or newer ranchers and farmers searching for information since the past few generations haven’t had to worry much about the potentially fatal parasitic pest. The confirmation this month of seven cases of NWS (6 in Texas and 1 in New Mexico) put the greatest focus on livestock and possibly pets. The parasitic fly can cause severe – potentially fatal – infestations with its unique ability to target living issue rather

For almond growers, the last several years have been defined by difficult choices, tight margins, and a lot of uncertainty. But according to Carl Evers III, President of AgIS Capital Property Management and Director of Sustainability, the industry may finally be finding some balance.

Farmers could learn within the next month whether additional lawsuits may move forward about claims that agricultural pesticides cause cancer. The U.S. Supreme Court heard a case in April that could have broad implications in the search for answers about what is causing an increase in cancer diagnoses in certain parts of the country. It would also impact companies that make pesticides and herbicides, and agricultural producers who rely on weed and pest killers on their farms.

Newer generations of cattle ranchers may have never envisioned that they are now searching for whatever information they can about New World Screwworm, a highly infectious parasite that had largely been eradicated in the United States for more than 60 years. And it has triggered tension between local and state leaders in Texas and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. A calf near La Pryor in South Texas – about 50 miles from the border with Mexico – has ignited the na

A man in one country and a woman from another country who randomly met at a concert, dated long-distance, and started as farmers largely by persistence and the generosity of an older couple, hope that others can replicate their agricultural pathway to profitability. Although, they don’t expect others to follow their exact steps.

Figure 1. Average Cash Rental Rates in Iowa, $/acre, nominal. Source: Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Cash Rental Rates for Iowa Survey Iowa farmland resisted broader agricultural volatility with cash rental rates in 2026 according to a new report. This supports parts of the farm economy, but it presents challenges to others. According to the Cash Rental Rates for Iowa survey, trends stayed flat across the state at $270 per crop acre. The report focused on one st

American farmers and ranchers will hope something good comes out of the latest conversations between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping of China. U.S. agricultural exports to China cratered following President Trump’s higher tariffs. But U.S. producers want access to China’s 1.4 billion consumers, who represent approximately one in six people worldwide. That is a lot of potential mouths to feed and an enticing market for American goods at a time of surplus produc

U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman (R-Ark) must count numbers as he eyes a long-awaited agreement on a new Farm Bill. His magic number is 60, the number of votes that it will take to pass the legislation through the 100-member Senate. It is a reminder that even though Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of Congress and that President Donald Trump is also Republican, they can’t pass a new Farm Bill solely on their own under traditional rules. The fac

Water has always been life in agriculture. In Washington state, it’s also become a source of tension for some family farmers.

Recent Midwest land sales highlight a wide range of values, from $4,300 to $26,600 per acre depending on land use, quality, and location. High-quality cropland in Iowa and Wisconsin continues to command premium prices, while recreational land values vary based on improvements, water access, and habitat features.

Taxpayers have stepped in with billions of dollars in aid after Del Monte’s bankruptcy that led to the closure of the company’s California canneries in Modesto and Hughson that left cling peach growers without a processor for their 75,000 tons of product. California lawmakers lobbied the USDA for emergency aid for peach farmers, which led to a $9 million assistance package. “Following our urging to the Trump administration to deliver relief to peach farmers, I am pleased that

Following his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Donald Trump is now expressing support for Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland. “You want to see farm prices drop? You want to see farmers lose a lot of money?” Trump said during an interview with Fox’s Sean Hannity, “Just take that (Chinese ownership) out of the market.” Trump had previously been critical of Chinese owners buying American farms. “We’re going to protect it by saying, ‘You can’t come. You can’t

Stoughton, Wisconsin farm. Picture courtesy: Adam Crist, Peoples Company A 208-acre farm in south-central Wisconsin went up for auction at the end of April. And if you blinked, you might have missed what happened. The farm, located about 15 miles south of Madison in Stoughton, was offered in five tracts. It sold for a combined total of $4,554,884 or $21,946 per acre. Adam Crist, one of the Peoples Company agents handling the sale, said the pace and price left some of the atte