A source of fertilizer may soon return to the American marketplace. As farmers struggle with input prices, they may get access once again to products from Morocco. This week President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending countervailing duties on foreign phosphate producers. “Currently, United States production of phosphate fertilizer is insufficient to support domestic agricultural food production after accounting for exports,” he said in the order. President Trump executive...

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 on independent...

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 first looked into...

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 state: Iowa. But...

It is the U.S. Senate’s turn to work on the Farm Bill. After months of negotiations and a vote of 224 to 200, the U.S. House of Representatives on April 30th passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026. Now, the Senate may have to reference that version. U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told a group of the nation’s agricultural reporters that the Agriculture Committee will have to deal with food assistance conflicts and efforts to undo some 2025 tax provisions that have been...

A U.S. program for international food aid is now directed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and some agriculture groups believe it has found its “rightful home.” The congressionally authorized Food for Peace program, established in 1954, was previously under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The Trump administration made significant changes to USAID last year. It shuttered Food for Peace alongside USAID then moved it to the State Department...

New loan opportunities are available for landowners and the food supply chain through a source that farmers don’t typically consider. And they include borrowing limits more than double USDA options. In Marc h, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the “Grocery Guarantee,” aimed at reducing grocery costs by expanding access for its SBA International Trade Loan (ITL) Program. On May 1st, the agency said at least 22 new categories of farm and agribusinesses in the North American...

Purdue study finds U.S. soybean farmers face higher costs, limited land, and competition from Brazil, highlighting need for yield gains and diversification.

American farmers are growing larger crops on fewer farms. While that long-term trend is clear nationwide, the factors driving farm losses vary widely by state. And there are still a couple years until the U.S. Department of Agriculture releases its next Census of Agriculture. Danny Munch, an American Farm Bureau economist, said this shows a couple trending factors. “The long-term decline in farm numbers alongside a decline in farmland shows consolidation, productivity gains, mechanization,...

Joel Salatin speaking at the 2026 Land Investment Expo Joel Salatin does not take a conventional approach. While discussing agriculture young people love, Salatin was an atypical figure on the stage at the lunch keynote session of the 2026 Land Investment Expo in Des Moines, Iowa. Salatin is a self-proclaimed “Christian, libertarian, environmentalist, capitalist, lunatic farmer.” He even sells “lunatic farmer’ t-shirts as part of his merchandising line. Lunatic Farmer t-shirt on display at...

Excitement rippled across the agriculture community this week after the IRS released long-awaited proposed rules for the 45Z tax credit . “Oh, it’s a good day,” said Mitchell Hora, founder and CEO of Continuum Ag, in a news conference to respond to the announcement. RELATED: Hora told American Farmland Owner last July that 45Z would lead to a surge in carbon awareness for landowners. The Biden administration created the 45Z credit under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to encourage domestic...

Following who buys farmland is an important indicator for how the market is performing across the country. New investors want the stability it provides. At the 2026 Iowa Land Investment Expo, the Hot Topics in Land and Agribusiness breakout session, panelists detailed the uncertain trend of mergers and acquisitions. New Entrants into Farmland Sector There is ongoing, structural change in agriculture according to Bruce Sherrick, a professor of farmland economics at the University of Illinois....