Trade
The December Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor shows the farm economy will likely stay strained into 2026. As crops face tight margins, biofuels policy — especially E15 and biomass-based diesel — could influence recovery.
Rice at $132.89 and cotton at $117.35 will receive the highest per-acre rates, but some have called payments a bandage in the midst of current farm economic crisis.
As farmers look ahead to 2026, grain markets are sending mixed signals based on record corn exports, large supplies, federal payments and ongoing China trade uncertainty.
Record corn exports are tightening stocks and lifting prices, but long-term strength depends on expanding domestic demand. Could year-round E15 overcome legislative hurdles in Washington and change the market trajectory?
China’s pledge to buy 12 MMT of U.S. soybeans is facing questions over timing, storage capacity and price competitiveness, leaving markets uncertain whether the full promise can be met before year-end.
Susan Olson, of Action Intel, analyzes barge movement and logistics and says the past few weeks show a divergence in how grain is getting to export markets.
Farmers who suffered losses from natural disasters that occurred in calendar years 2023 and 2024 can sign up for the aid. It is also available to farmers participating in the On-Farm Storage Loss Program and the Milk Loss Program.
Oklahoma State’s Derrell Peel says the beef industry needs time — not politics or policy — to solve beef supply and demand realities.
Strong production numbers and government policies support the thesis of higher costs for longer.
The senior senator from Iowa says the president ‘has to’ get an agreement made that will enable trade between China and the U.S. to resume.