Crop Production
2026 Weather Outlook: La Niña’s Quick Exit, El Niño’s Potential and the Signals Farmers Should Watch
Meteorologists predict a quick La Niña exit, with a 75% chance of transitioning to ENSO-neutral by Jan-March. Expect neutral conditions to persist through at least late spring with a growing chance of El Niño in 2026.
Confirmed populations of glufosinate-resistant waterhemp are in Illinois with suspected resistance reported in at least six other states. Weed scientists say how farmers respond now will determine how long the chemistry remains a reliable tool.
A detailed “farming playbook” can help guide essential input investments and maximize ROI.
Planning for next season? Review the expert insights and recommendations from farmers and field agronomists on how to reduce costs and strategically reallocate resources.
With the outlook for high input costs and low commodity prices, the impulse for farmers is to cut their spend on products across the board for 2026. There is a more effective approach that will deliver better results and ROI, say Extension field agronomists.
A new report details the need for more ag funding to address existing weeds, insects and diseases as well as agronomic problems that have yet to reach U.S. shores.
Syngenta’s latest innovation knocks out corn rootworm and addresses a host of other yield-robbing pests in a variety of crops.
Wheat acres are expected to decline, and little change is anticipated for cotton acres after a drop in 2025.
Ken Ferrie addresses how farmers can determine what tillage depth to establish, where to run the tool, and when to use the cutters and shanks. But before he can offer those specific details, farmers need to be able to answer one important question.
Both products have been registered for use by the EPA, with one of them featuring a novel active ingredient.
Farmers wanting to hang onto the soil moisture in their fields are struggling to address compaction and ruts where there has been little to no recent rainfall. Anhydrous ammonia applications are also difficult to get sealed in fields where moisture is minimal.
Agronomists answer farmer questions about the role of nitrogen and other nutrients in lessening the potential impact of yield robbers such as southern rust and tar spot in corn.
A team of researchers at Iowa State recently planted a two-year-old research orchard using a modified super spindle trellising system — a design common in Washington state and the Northeast but rare in Iowa.
Some row-crop growers are converting acres, banking on long-term opportunities with beef. Others are staying the course with crops but embracing ways to add some dollars to their bottom line in the short-term.
The Climate Prediction Center says there’s a 71% chance of La Niña conditions developing from October through December, while also issuing a La Niña Watch. However, one meteorologist expects La Niña to make a quick exit.
Planting more cover crops this fall is one way corn and soybean growers are addressing their 2026 nutrient needs and looking to trim expenses in the process.
Company leaders say the separation will unleash two distinct market leaders that are both farmer-centric, with technology and innovation at their core.
In the heart of California’s Central Valley, generations of farm families are facing a new kind of crisis: what farmers argue is a man-made drought. It’s mounting water regulations that could determine whether the most fertile farmland in the nation survives.
Survey results from University of Illinois ag economists show how farmers are making corn and soybean nutrient plans for 2026 and what current price trends are for N, P and K.
There are no easy answers to address the cost of fertilizer and other inputs, but having conversations with suppliers and financial providers now can help you leverage your buying power and minimize potential impacts from marketplace uncertainties.
While application season is still weeks away, retailers and other suppliers are encouraging farmers to reserve product now.
Use one or more of these tips to reduce expenses, reallocate resources and build a fertility program that works well for your farm and gives you some peace of mind in the process.
Yes, phosphorus is expensive. But before you decide to not use it or arbitrarily pull back, try to weigh the decision based on facts and not emotion.
The amount of damage that can occur in crops depends largely upon these factors — how cold it gets and for how many hours, and the plants’ stage of development.
The recent “Currents of Change” analysis reported high nutrient levels in central Iowa’s watersheds. Iowa ag has worked on the issue for decades, but nutrient movement often comes down to weather.
Will this be the summer of drought that never fully materialized for these two crops? While there are areas of dryness, both continue to flourish. Here’s a look at how August weather is expected to finish out this week across the country, as September comes into view.
On the heels of Crop Tour, Pro Farmer projects corn yields at 6.1 bu. below USDA’s August estimate, while soybean yield numbers are nearly aligned.
“I’d hate to be the farmer who, because of a later-season application, meant an entire bin of soybeans was going to be condemned.”
The Minnesota corn crop is going for gold. Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts expect the crop will reach a record 202.86 bu. average, if it can outpace southern rust and tar spot. Scouts peg the Iowa corn crop at a 198.43 bu. average, but it also faces disease challenges.
The Minnesota corn crop may break records while Iowa crops face disease challenges.