American Soybean Association

House Ag Committee Starts Farm Bill Mark Up

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:24:40 GMT

The push to get a five-year farm bill has been renewed in the House Ag Committee as Chairman G.T. Thompson released language and mark up began on Tuesday.

One Big Beautiful Bill Omits Farm Bill Titles

While some question why a new long term farm bill is needed, a cross section of the nation’s farm groups explain the bill did not cover all the titles normal included in a long-term farm bill.

“We had a lot of the provisions of the farm bill that were included in the One Big Beautiful Bill — the increase in reference prices, some changes and improvements to crop insurance, etc. But there’s still some really important aspects of the farm bill that need to be passed,” says Steve Censky, chief executive officer of the American Soybean Association.

Sam Kieffer, chief executive officer of the National Association of Wheat Growers, points out the One Big Beautiful Bill did not touch the conservation title or reauthorize programs like the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Nor did the legislation deal with credit or expand farm loan limits.

“It is time to give our folks some certainty when it comes to conservation programs, when it comes to credit. The cost of doing business is drastically different than it was in 2018. And the 2018 Farm Bill was based off of data from three, four years prior. So, we want to make sure that we improve the credit section of of the farm bill, get that finished,” Kieffer says.

Farm Safety Net Needed

Kieffer adds a farm bill is also needed to provide certainty to farmers and offer a farm safety net in times of negative margins.

“There’s three years of market loss that our growers are struggling with at the moment, and they’re making hard decisions. Some of them are reducing acres, some of them are letting land go and there’s a price to be paid for that as well,” Kieffer says.

House Ag Committee Language Includes Prop 12 Ag Labeling Uniformity Act

Chairman Thompson’s farm bill language includes a Ag Labeling Uniformity Act, which covers pesticide registrations, according to Censky.

“Which means that the EPA is going to have preeminence when they make a health and safety determination of a pesticide, a crop protection product. You can’t have a state adopt different rules,” Censky says.

The House language also includes a national fix to California’s strict Prop 12 sow production standards and the possible patchwork of rules in other states.

However, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) would lose around $1 billion in budget authority over the next four fiscal years under the House Agriculture Committee’s GOP farm bill draft, according to calculations by the Congressional Budget Office. EQIP was essentially used as a funding source for other priorities in the legislation.

Include Food for Peace Program

Kieffer says NAWG also wants Congress to move the Food for Peace Program to USDA in the language of the Farm Bill.

“USDA knows how to deal with farm commodities. USDA is already in the business of engaging in food aid programs globally. They have the infrastructure. They have the personnel and they understand agriculture. So, the farm bill that is ready to be moved in the house here soon has a provision that would include that,” Kieffer adds.

Senate Preparing for Farm Bill Mark Up

While the Senate Agriculture Committee has not released farm bill language or scheduled a mark-up, chairman John Boozman told Agri-Pulse his committee will take up a farm bill of its own in the coming months. Timing will be dependent in part on how debate over a House version proceeds.

Will Congress Pass a Farm Bill?

Still there’s uncertainty about the appetite for passage of a farm bill in Congress according to Tim Lust, chief executive officer of National Sorghum Producers.

“A lot of these details honestly have been negotiated for a year or two, and it’s maybe little tweaks to them, but a lot of the main things haven’t really changed. It’s a matter of how do we get that across the finish line and find a way to get it signed into law?” he says.

USDA Delivers Thousands of Bridge Payments In a Matter of Days

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 06:04:22 GMT

In an afternoon general session, adjusted to fit USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins’ schedule, the agency leader welcomed a record crowd of 12,000 to her home state of Texas as she stares down one of the most challenging moments in farming history. Farmers are facing high input costs, trade uncertainty and surging grain production.

“Between 2020 and last year when I spoke at this incredible event, fuel costs had increased 33%, seed costs had increased 19%, fertilizer prices had gone up 48%, labor up 44% and interest expenses up 71%,” said Rollins.

The frustration in the room was palpable following a year in 2025 where strong production was again unable to overcome swelling costs and expenses. Farmers here are now looking harder to Washington for answers as another season of negative margins stares them in the face.

“We’re seven years out from this last farm bill and all of this information that we’re trying to work with is so outdated, our costs are so different, we have to get something done,” said Jed Bower, the current president of the National Corn Growers Association and an Ohio farmer. “They have forgotten about rural America.”

Help is on the way

USDA did roll out an $11 billion rescue program called the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program as a way to help tide farmers over until safety net pricing adjustments kick in this fall. Those weren’t passed in a new Farm Bill but instead included in the One Big Beautiful Bill signed last year. Sign-ups for Bridge payments are currently underway with FSA even allowing Commodity Classic attendees to finalize their applications on the tradeshow floor. Some of those payments are already in farmers’ hands as Rollins told farmers help is on the way.

“I will not declare victory, we still have so much work to do, but I will declare that we have made great progress on the promises that were made,” said Rollins. “Since [the last time I was here] we have had 15 new trade deals and/or frameworks for US agriculture in key markets like the European Union, UK, Japan, Mexico and Southeast Asia.”

The secretary also pointing China’s return to the market and pending presidential meeting scheduled for later this month. Economists are forecasting the agricultural trade deficit to fall from $41.5 billion in 2025 to $35 billion this year. That shift is happening around a strong export year in 2025 for things like ethanol where exports were up 11%, dairy exports were up 15% and corn exports ending the year 29% higher.

Separately from trade, Rollins noting a litany of deregulation happening across agencies. In a post on X.com, the secretary listed a number of changes already underway. Rollins writing that to date the administration has cut 129 regulations for every new one, resulting in $211.8 billion in net cost savings. She says accomplishments in USDA deregulation agenda include:

Reversing the EPA endangerment finding impacting vehicle emissions standards
Raising poultry line speeds → ~16% lower chicken prices
Rescinding the Roadless Rule → opens 59M acres for timber
Cutting USDA NEPA regs by 66% (streamlining 7 rules into 1)
Reforming H-2A AEWR → saves farmers >$2B/year in labor costs
Clarifying WOTUS per recent Supreme Court ruling
Modernizing Forest Service oil/gas & minerals leasing rules

I’m in Floresville, TX today launching @USDA’s new Deregulatory Agenda for American Agriculture & Consumers! Thank you to the amazing Boening Family for welcoming us to your beautiful farm!!! The Trump Admin is cutting red tape to unleash innovation on farms & ranches while… pic.twitter.com/5NOdTT2dpX
— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) February 26, 2026

USDA systems get an upgrade

While the world focuses on precision agriculture and technology adoption, the systems helping support American farmers has been embarrassingly slow to evolve.

“A GAO audit found that barely 15% of previous upgrades were delivered,” said Rollins. “We have been left with ancient technical architecture with 500 different custom-built systems and databases managed by over 1,000 different contractors that cost the taxpayer over $1 billion.”

The secretary announcing the ‘One Farmer, One File’ initiative as a way to streamline the data collection and services from USDA.

“This creates a single, streamlined record that follows you, the farmer, no matter where you go in USDA system,” explained Rollins. “When this initiative concludes, producers will be able to access their USDA data in a single, modern, secure system built to today’s cybersecurity standards.”

USDA Secretary Rollins watches as a producers enrolls at Commodity Classic

(USDA (X.com))

Rollins says it’s part of the administration’s broader vision of revamping how Americans interact with the government’s digital front door. She also made it clear that these new tools are optional.

“What does this mean? Do I have to do everything on a computer? No, these FSA offices will stay open. You will always have someone to walk into and sit down with to help with paper applications and traditional acreage reporting,” said Rollins. “This is not a mandate to digitize. We are not telling you we’re moving everything to your phone or your computer at home, but instead it is an expansion of options for our farmers.”

This is the first phase of a multi-year initiative. The Farmer Bridge Assistance Program is the very first program running fully on this new platform.

“After 72 hours we had over 30,000 applications go through the application process at login.gov” said Richard Fordyce, USDA undersecretary for farm production and conservation. “When the producer sees the form on their virtual device and hit sign here, that immediately goes to the county office. It’s then signed and certified and sent for payment, immediately.”

“The results have been stunning,” said Rollins. “In just the past few days, we have seen 50 times more producers sign up online than ECAP did over its entire five-month sign-up period last year. Adoption is up over 5,000% and several billion dollars have already been obligated. Many of you told me you’ve already had the check hit your bank account faster than any program ever before in the history of USDA.”

Rollins called it a new standard for the delivery of services. She says the IT and system upgrades are scheduled to be completed within the next 2 years.

Focus on 2026

Rollins laid out her priorities for the new year as farmers at Commodity Classic look for answers to the difficult balance sheet decisions awaiting their return to the farm. The top 5 boiled down to this:

Continue to deregulate
Strike new trade deals
Lower the cost of inputs
Expand markets at home with biofuels
Strengthen the farm safety net by passing a new Farm Bill

That will be easier said than done as each step comes with its own set of challenges. Rollins will be navigating closing Washington D.C. offices and moving staff to new regional hubs which she hopes to have done by the start of school next fall. Throw in global political uncertainty, stubborn inflation and stiff competition from Brazil, and the challenges are big.

“I want every American to understand that if we are not able to reverse the trend, the farm economy, the increase in inputs, the fewer markets around the world, protection from lawfare, if we’re not able to reverse that trend, then we not only will lose the greatest industry in American history, but we will also lose our country,” said Rollins. “There is no freedom unless we are able to feed and fuel ourselves.”

2026 ASA Conservation Legacy Awards

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 00:03:33 GMT

To some, legacy is simply a tradition. To others, it represents a heritage passed from one generation to the next. Firmly rooted in land stewardship, this year the American Soybean Association is proud to honor four outstanding soybean growers whose conservation legacies are bound by their steadfast commitment to improving the natural resources under their care. While conquering a unique set of challenges, each has pledged to carry out a conservation legacy with true passion for their agricultural heritage.

The overall winner will be announced at Commodity Classic on February 24, 2026.

Congratulations to these regional winners of the ASA 2026 Conservation Legacy Award:

Lewis Unruh
Peabody, Kansas
Regional Winner: Midwest

Conservation practices help Lewis Unruh control erosion, manage water in the rolling Kansas Flint Hills.

Read Now

Jon & Cathy Nelson
Lake Preston, South Dakota
Regional Winner: Upper Midwest

No-till and cover crops help Jon and Cathy Nelson leave traditional farming methods behind to focus on soil health for future generations.

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James "Jay" Baxter
Georgetown, Delaware
Regional Winner: Northeast

Conservation practices help Jay Baxter practice advocacy in bustling Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Read Now

Alex Forsbach
Savannah, Tennessee
Regional Winner: South

Land stewardship practices help Alex Forsbach navigate farming along flood-prone Tennessee River.

Read Now

Making Good Neighbors

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 23:48:25 GMT

Jay Baxter simply gave up.

The Georgetown, Delaware, crop and poultry farmer parked his tillage equipment while learning to never say never.

“We have practically given up on all tillage practices,” Baxter says. “When we ran the numbers, we found that it’s more economical for us to grow everything no-till.”

Baxter Farms, Inc., a partnership run by Jay and his sister, Kristy Malin, grows soybeans, corn, milo, sweetcorn and lima beans. The operation also includes a contract poultry operation.

Blessed with the opportunity to farm the land under their care, Baxter says he and his sister believe it is their duty to give the next generation the opportunity to do the same.

“Our grandparents and parents provided a legacy of hard work, dedication and conservation to the best of their ability, making changes when needed to better the next generation,” Baxter says. “We believe it is our God given duty to be good stewards to all He has trusted us with. We pass these characteristics on to our children.”

As Baxter Farms continues to expand for the next generation to bring their own innovations into the business, Jay and his wife, Jessica, diversified their small, partnering farming operation into production greenhouses and cover crops, selling cover crop seed and blends. They also have a cover crop interseeder and hope to add application drones as they look to build the business with their own children.

With a rich conservation heritage, Baxter Farms and its entire team shares in the philosophy that the land itself is the farm’s legacy. That said, soil health is at the forefront of the operation’s management decisions, driven largely from use of no-till, cover crops and water management.

Legacy in the making

Credited as four generations, Baxter Farms, Inc., traces land grants from colonial times. James Baxter, Sr., began the farming operation in 1903 to support his tomato canning business. At 16, James Jr. “Jim” purchased his first farm with the proceeds from his poultry operation. Returning from World War II on Christmas Eve, 1945, Jim continued to grow his farm and soon started a machinery business with his wife, Ruth. Jim’s two sons, James III (Jimmy) and Bill, both passed away in their early 50s.

From the time he could walk, James IV (Jay) followed the shadows of his father, uncle and grandfather. Even at a young age, the lad had his mind set on farming.

After losing his father only months earlier, Jay graduated college in 2002 and went right to work on the farm. Two years later, he convinced his grandfather and uncle to convert a 90-acre farm to no-till, planting a cover crop on the ground the following fall.

Fast forward to 2025. Jay and sister, Kristy, have grown the operation to its current scope of 100% no-till and cover crop — even on the farm’s vegetable acres. About 85% of the farm’s acreage is irrigated by center pivot, which is crucial in the arid, sandy soil of the coastal plain region where the family farms. While the soil is conducive for growing vegetables, irrigation is a must for efficient crop production. Water conservation and irrigation efficiency are chief reasons no-till and cover crop practices are commonplace for the operation.

Creating intentional stewardship

Twenty years ago, when Baxter convinced his uncle to let him experiment with cover crops on an unproductive, irrigated parcel of land, he made a vow to figure out no-till. From that point forward, no-tilling and the use of cover crops were key in building the soil.

“The effects were drastic,” Baxter says. “We started seeing almost immediate improvements in yield, and then we started asking why. That’s when we started to realize the productivity and the benefits of the different soil health practices.”

Today, Jay Baxter is a self-professed cover crop geek! In fact, he intends for every acre of Baxter Farms to be seeded in a cover crop every year.

A vital role in how the farm operates, legumes such as vetch and clovers help provide necessary nitrogen to grow corn, sweetcorn, sorghum and lima beans. Other grass species like rye and oats help repair and bond the farm’s sandy soils. Baxter has also found benefit from sunflowers, lablab and phacelia, all of which assist in pollinating lima beans.

“We are learning that other cover crops like buckwheat, radish and oats sequester potassium and phosphorus, which is extremely helpful in high phosphorus soils,” Baxter explains. “We never stop exploring or experimenting with cover crops here.”

Making good neighbors

Today, Baxter Farms is nestled in a growing population, just 30 minutes from the Atlantic Ocean, creating a unique set of challenges for the generational agribusiness.

Traversing large-scale farm equipment from farm to farm as well as nuisance complaints such as smell, noise and dust propel Jay to lead the way in advocating for his family’s and communities’ agricultural heritage.

“We are surrounded here by a growing population of what we call transplants,” Baxter explains. “People that move here to be in the proximity of the beach, for our low taxes, for the ‘country lifestyle, urban lifestyle.’ Our biggest hurdle is educating our neighbors about what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.”

The farm itself is split in two watersheds, one of which is the Chesapeake Bay. Scrutinized for nutrient management, every decision Baxter Farms makes weighs heavily on how it affects future generations.

“We enjoy the same resources as our recent and incoming neighbors,” Baxter says. “Our mantra is to preserve them, too.”

Located in Sussex County, Delaware, Baxter Farms is home to virtually flat topography. The farm operates on land ranging from eight feet to 30 feet above sea level, which Baxter says results in some conservation challenges.

Because of the operation’s proximity to water, nutrient conservation is a must for area farmers.

“In some cases, our nutrient management plan recommends the farm use buffer strips along waterways, ditches and boundaries,” Baxter explains. “We use water control structures in ditches to control water flow and the flow of nutrients off the farm.”

Because vacationers frequent the region and new building projects, farmers are encouraged to conserve water. Baxter says Variable Rate Irrigation is a tool of the future, once the technology is perfected and becomes more economically feasible. The farm relies on water meters and irrigation efficiency test training provided by the University of Delaware to help track its water usage and minimize waste.

“Everyone wants to move here,” Baxter explains. “We’re not growing chickens to pollute the groundwater. We’re not spreading manure as fertilizer to make stink in the air. We’re doing the best we can with the technology we have to be a good steward on our land so we can pass that legacy on.”

Truly rooted in conservation and land stewardship, Baxter Farms hopes to leave more than a name to the next generation.

“We’re not just leaving assets behind,” Baxter concludes. “We were given soil, something to grow. We were given something to love and to steward, and that’s what my legacy means.”

Committed to Conservation

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 23:45:21 GMT

Tennessee soybean grower Alex Forsbach knows land stewardship and conservation practices are making a positive difference in his operation. He’s witnessed firsthand a more than 1% increase in organic matter alone in the last 10 years and attributes that directly to his use of no-till and cover crops.

“No-till and cover crops are a big part of the farm,” Forsbach says. “We farm what I would call marginal ground that needs a lot of tender, loving care.”

Changing course

Forsbach grew up working on a family farm in Savannah, Tennessee, raising corn, soybeans, grain sorghum and wheat. He says that early experience helped shape his passion for agriculture and laid the foundation for his own farming journey.

While attending college at Mississippi State University, an opportunity arose in mid-2008 for Forsbach to come back to the family farm to assist with installing four center pivots. Then in 2009 after graduating college, Forsbach started his own operation by renting 163 acres and purchasing a self-propelled sprayer.

Today, Forsbach’s Growing Acres farm grows soybeans, grain sorghum, winter wheat and occasionally corn along the Tennessee River, just below the Pickwick Dam.

Since inception, Forsbach has been committed to continuous improvement and sustainable farming practices. In fact, the young farmer began integrating cereal ryegrass as a cover crop by 2010, which helped rebuild soil health and improve field conditions.

Farmers like Forsbach must constantly navigate weather challenges. From drought to floods, the extremes call for growers to be proactive.

“The drought of 2012 proved to be a turning point,” Forsbach explains. “I witnessed firsthand how the ryegrass created a protective mat that retained moisture and suppressed weed pressure. That experience solidified my commitment to soil conservation practices.”

The narrowness of the river in the region also makes it prone to flooding, especially when heavy rains occur in the eastern Tennessee Valley.

Forsbach says the location of his farm has greatly influenced his approach to conservation. He cites one major event as having shaped his farming philosophy: a July 2013 flood that caused the Tennessee River to rise more than 20 feet, destroying about 60% of the crop.

“At the time, soybeans had just been laid, and the floodwaters stayed for two weeks,” Forsbach recalls. “When the water finally receded, all that was left was bare soil — no standing crop and previous year’s crop residue — just the remnants of months of hard work washed away. That loss reinforced the importance of my conservation focus on retaining crop residue and improving water retention.”

As devastating as the flood was, it has armed Forsbach with an even greater belief in his conservation efforts. Today, the operation continues to evolve with a focus on resilient cropping systems, soil health and sustainable land stewardship.

Clearing hurdles

While facing flooded farmland is an on-going challenge for Forsbach, maintaining soil quality is a persistent obstacle for farmers in his region. Flooding during the winter months brings challenges to the full season crop, according to Forsbach, as soil biology, residue loss and soil structure all are affected. As a result, growers must constantly adapt and plan long-term.

“Many of the fields I work with need significant attention and care to become consistently productive,” Forsbach says. “Drainage is the number one limiting factor. To address this, I’ve invested in precision-controlled surface waterways to help manage water flow and reduce erosion.”

The move has proved to be an essential step toward improving soil health and overall field performance.

Forsbach is focused on improving soil fertility in his operation. According to him, the land is the identity of a farm as it cannot be traded in or retired. It needs to be cared for and maintained to ensure successful future years of use, he adds.

“Building a productive farm starts with balancing soil pH, followed by addressing the major macronutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium,” Forsbach says. “As I continue to manage the same fields over multiple years, I’ve been able to begin fine-tuning fertility by incorporating micronutrient management into my nutrient program, particularly on farms where I’ve seen long-term gains from earlier improvements.”

The Tennessee River provides beautiful scenery, yet Forsbach says the landscape comes with irregular field sizes and complex topography when compared to more open farmland in other areas. The result limits equipment efficiency and increases management complexity.

“One of the most unpredictable and impactful challenges is the flood risk, especially below Pickwick Dam,” Forsbach notes. “The river can rise rapidly when there is heavy rainfall in the eastern Tennessee Valley, often with little warning. These flood events can have a severe impact on crop yields, nutrient loss and soil structure.”

While all those factors are out of Forsbach’s control, each is critical to the success of his operation. Despite the challenges, the Tennessee grower remains committed to continuously improving his land through conservation, innovation and long-term soil health strategies.

Conservation practices like terracing help the soybean farmer manage water flow and minimize erosion on sloped ground.

“I’m also exploring the use of strip-till as a conservation tillage method,” Forsbach says. “While I haven’t fully implemented fall fertilizer placement with strip-till yet, I’m interested in the potential benefits it offers for nutrient efficiency and soil structure preservation.”

Looking ahead

Given the ups and downs of today’s agricultural economy, Alex Forsbach believes diversification is a key link for him to afford taking on the risks that come with unconventional farming methods. With that, Forsbach and wife, Katherine, opened a rural primary care medical clinic in 2019 and a seed dealership in 2014. The couple also invested in and helped found AgLaunch, which allows farmers to trial new technologies and gain an equity stake in the companies, offering a service for local farmers to bring grain sorghum into their crop rotation.

Forsbach’s stewardship goal is to continue expanding the use of cover crops across more acres and refine how those are managed. He conducted a trial during the 2022 and 2023 growing seasons, planting soybeans directly into a green annual rye blend without terminating the cover crop beforehand.

As part of the experiment, Forsbach skipped the pre-plant herbicide application on 40 acres and allowed the rye to mature and die down naturally in late May.

“The soybeans established a strong stand, and I only needed a single, post-emergence herbicide pass, which was sufficient for minimal weed pressure,” Forsbach explains. “The experience showed promising potential for planting green as a way to reduce inputs, suppress weeds and improve soil cover longer into the season.”

On the horizon, Forsbach hopes to expand the use of “planting green” into covers as a standard practice across more of his acreage. The stewardship proponent also wants to explore the possibility of cover crop self-reseeding, especially with annual rye, to lower seeding costs and create a more self-sustaining system.

Reduced tillage through no-till or minimum till are also top of mind for the Tennessee farmer as he realizes the direct impact those practices have on protecting soil structure and improving organic matter. Controlling erosion, especially in flood-prone areas, as well as maximizing soil cover further outline Forsbach’s management plans.

“Conservation has a significant role in creating and carrying out my farming legacy,” Forsbach says. “My children and farm visitors see conservation in action, setting a foundation for the future. I love talking to people who are not directly involved in agriculture because you get the best questions on why we do things a certain way. It is a way for me to challenge conventional thinking.”

While the future is filled with unknowns, Forsbach knows conservation helps him think long-term.

“Taking care of the ground, through conservation, ensures we are ready to face future challenges,” he says.

With sights on leaving what he has better for the next generation, Forsbach says his farming legacy is truly what he lives for.

With two daughters, Forsbach says he and his wife, Katie, are hopeful their children will have the same passion for agriculture and conservation they do. Yet, he shares the vision of his own parents in that farming will not be pushed on the next generation.

“You have to have a deep passion for growing crops to endure the challenges farming along the Tennessee River provides,” he says. “We have to take care of the ground while we are stewards of it and leave it healthy and productive for the next generation.”

Embracing Change

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 23:29:27 GMT

Jon Nelson knows as a farmer, he’s tasked with a huge responsibility.

The veteran South Dakota soybean grower realizes soil conservation and improving water quality must be top of mind for farmers like him.

But for Nelson, he first had to overcome challenges in his own mind to accept the role with which he’d been charged.

“To change from what we know and have done for decades is not easy,” Nelson explains. “I continue to learn how to use and implement cover crops. Maintaining a living root in the soil for as long as you can is very important.”

Today, Nelson accepts the challenge by pledging to conserve farmland to help create a sustainable and resilient operation for future generations. In partnership with his wife, Cathy, son, Tyler, and daughter-in-law, Kaleigh, Nelson farms some 2,800 acres of owned and rented land near Lake Preston, South Dakota.

“I never knew my grandfather,” Nelson says. “I can only imagine his amazement that a poor farm boy from Norway has a great grandson and potentially great-great grandchildren running what he began. I know it meant a lot to my father and mother as it does to my wife, Cathy, and I.”

From tradition to expansion

Founded by Nelson’s grandfather who emigrated from Norway in the early 1900s, the operation has been a traditional farm for most of its years. Small grains, corn, milk cows and chickens formed the foundation of the original farm. Over the years, fed cattle and hogs also found their place in the operation. As the family took on more land, soybeans were added in 1980.

After Jon graduated from South Dakota State University and came back to the farm in 1985, he and Cathy were married. The couple grew the farm’s farrowing operation and worked alongside Jon’s dad, continuing to farm by traditional means. By 1990 Jon and Cathy took the reins of the operation, focusing on mostly a corn/soybean rotation and a small amount of wheat planted annually. More than a decade later, the farm couple had expanded its feedlot to its current 2,000 head capacity and hogs were phased out of the operation.

Focusing on tradition, the Nelson farm relied on conventional tillage until giving no-till a try in the latter 1980s.

“We really didn’t understand what we were doing,” Nelson says. “The equipment we had wasn’t right for no-till, and we were going through a wet weather cycle. “We became frustrated with it and stayed with conventional tillage.”

After son, Tyler, graduated from SDSU in 2012 and returned to the farm, Nelson says he began to talk about the need to reduce tillage in the operation.

“It took some time for me to change, but by 2018 we were working at being a reduced tiller; in 2019 a larger part of our farm was prevent planted because of very excessive moisture,” Nelson says

The next winter, Nelson sat in on a meeting that discussed adding diverse biology, like fungi, to the soil.

That meeting would be the beginning of the Nelson’s journey learning about soil health.

“Within the next two years we were no-till and have not added any dry NPK (fertilizer) to our soils in six years,” Nelson says. “The transformation of our land from dirt to soil in those few years has been simply amazing.

(@2026 American Soybean Association)

Beyond healthy soil

The gently rolling terrain of Nelson’s farm doesn’t require the use of contours or terraces, yet implementing no-till has resulted in a significant reduction in commercial fertility rates, altering soil structure and allowing it to aggregate and increase water holding capacity.

“By keeping residue covering the soil, we have also reduced erosion from runoff,” Nelson explains. “It is our belief that a diverse, healthy soil supports and influences the plant’s health and in turn provides a more nutrient dense food system.”

The veteran farmer doesn’t want to do away with fertilizers, but he does believe he’s beginning to understand how his management practices interact.

“When we begin to find that balance, we will produce the same or more with less inputs and be better off for it,” he says.

Nelson’s goal is to work toward having cover crops on 100% of his acreage. He says the covers along with the continued use of a diverse biological product in the spring help the soil biome get off to a great start while fall application helps breakdown and recycle nutrients left by the previous crop.

For example, Nelson has planted 30-inch strips of winter wheat after soybean harvest. In the spring, he plants corn in between the wheat strips and terminates the wheat before it reaches boot stage.

“This has worked well and as the wheat dies off and lays down, it provides nice ground cover that helps with weeds and keeps the soil cooler in the summer heat,” Nelson says. “I also like planting soybeans into a thin winter wheat stand. Keeping a growing root in the ground and cycling the nutrients and creating more soil carbon is going to have a positive effect on future crops.”

By means of stewardship

From no-till farming to reduced use of commercial fertilizers to planting cover crops, the Nelson Farm has built a conservation legacy by caring for the land in a way that ensures it will thrive for generations to come.

“We are committed to building healthy soils, conserving water and building biodiversity in our soils while maintaining a profitable and resilient business,” Nelson explains.

But the buck doesn’t stop there with the veteran farmer.

The ringneck pheasant is king in South Dakota, and Nelson is diligent in providing cover for the wildlife. The family works to delay haying and preserves grass areas to promote habitat from year to year.

Nelson works in other areas to promote farm aesthetics and conserve energy. He also values the farm’s role in supporting family, church and community while providing safe working conditions and passing on knowledge and opportunity to future generations all while contributing to create strong, local food systems.

“By embracing diversity and regenerative practices, we are building a farm that can adapt to change, remain productive and continue to serve both people and the environment well into the future,” Nelson says.

Rooted in a small community for more than 60 years has cultivated countless relationships with neighbors and landlords over time. The Nelsons continue to foster the network, often serving as a gathering hub anytime the need arises.

For Jon and Cathy Nelson, a conservation legacy means simply caring for the land in a way that ensures it will thrive for generations to come.

“It’s an incredible honor and very humbling to be this year’s regional winner,” Nelson says. “There are so many deserving farmers working to make their soils better and conserving resources. Thank you to ASA.”

Better than Before

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 23:12:45 GMT

His goal is simple: to leave the land better than when he purchased it.

Today, Kansas soybean grower Lewis Unruh strives to do just that through defined conservation efforts that have helped make his farm sustainable from generation to generation.

With sustainability practices implemented on 100% of his acreage, the veteran farmer continually works to lower input costs while decreasing soil erosion through no-till, cover crops and water management strategies.

Bound by stewardship

Lewis Unruh is no stranger to land stewardship. The now 70-year-old veteran farmer says his farm’s conservation story initially began with contour farming as his grandfather worked to slow the flow of water down the hills.

Unruh’s roots trace to 1874 when his Mennonite ancestors immigrated from the Ukraine area in Russia.

“The Mennonite immigrants brought hard red winter wheat to America, which transformed central Kansas into what is known as the breadbasket of the World,” Unruh says.

“As my dad started farming, he built one short terrace at his own expense to prove to my grandpa and the landowner that terraces work,” Unruh says.

The strategy was successful, and the landowner told Unruh’s dad that he could build more terraces under the same arrangement — that he would do it for free!

According to Unruh, his father spent the rest of his life building hundreds of miles of terraces, first on their farm – many without government cost share – then on neighboring farms throughout Marion and Harvey counties in Kansas while working as a farmer/contractor.

“Most of those terraces are still working as designed to this day,” Unruh says. “Some are more than 70 years old.”

Now, maintaining the terraces to ensure each works as designed is an important part of Unruh’s conservation plan.

As a youngster, Unruh grew up on the farm, following his dad around. He first drove a tractor at the age of four, a skill that would serve him well. By the time he was 10, his father was severely injured in a construction accident. With enough tractor driving experience under his belt, a young Unruh was left to do most of the field work that spring while his father recovered.

Later, 4-H and FFA projects helped Unruh further test his farming skills.

“My dad didn’t feel like he had to own everything which allowed me a chance to do my own farming,” Unruh says. “We traded my labor for using his machinery and fuel for many years.”

When Unruh joined the operation with his dad, the goal of slowing the water flow down the hills and reducing soil erosion is what led to the use of stubble mulch as an alternative to plowing and eventually to adopting no-till and cover crops.

Located about 30 miles northeast of Wichita, Unruh and his youngest son, Jason, organized the operation as County Line Farms LLC in 2019. In addition to growing soybeans, wheat and corn, the present operation includes about 25 acres of the perennial grain Kernza.

Wary of water

Reducing water runoff to cut back on soil erosion of fragile prairie soils is the focal point of Unruh’s conservation practices. The operation’s infrastructure includes gradient terraces, diversion terraces, grass waterways and concrete structures.

“A watershed dam and numerous small ponds help hold back water to reduce flooding and provide water for cattle, wildlife, fishing and recreation,” Unruh explains. “The main cultural practice is using no-till and other methods that make no-tillage successful.”

Over the years, land Unruh’s family purchased came with no or very few terraces already installed. Hillsides were badly eroded as well. Unruh estimates restoring around 100 acres into production that had been abandoned when purchased. The result from installing structural infrastructure and using good farming practices has allowed those acres to be able to grow crops again, he says.

“I have experienced the before conservation and after conservation,” Unruh explains. “Conservation practices have been a tool that we use to improve our farmland.”

Eye on erosion

On the western edge of the Flint Hills, the region’s rolling topography brings with it creeks and small, irregular fields. The result is little topsoil along the slopes.

“It has eroded through the years before conservation efforts like terraces helped stop the erosion,” Unruh explains. “The farm has some creek bottom ground as well, which has benefited from those topsoil deposits.”

Still, low bottoms are prone to flooding and early frosts, which can bring damage to crop yield and quality. According to Unruh, many of the area’s soil types are clay with very slow infiltration rates.

“My biggest challenge is not local to me,” Unruh says. “It is the inconsistent rainfall that central Kansas receives. Often, it is not enough rain and not enough at the right time, or too much rain and not at the right time.”

Unruh has a plethora of reasons tucked in his memory bank of how erosion events can destroy precious soil: his grandfather’s 80 acres that incurred severe wind erosion, blowing topsoil to and fro; a June 1965 severe flood that washed away loose, tilled soil from fields along creeks and deposited silt in other areas.

“After the flood, neither area could be farmed for a year,” Unruh notes. “These events and their detrimental effects would not have happened with good soil stewardship practices.”

Because Unruh’s farm is on the very western side of the Flint Hills, about one-third of the family’s acreage is still in original native prairie. Yet, two-thirds of the land is cultivated ground that Unruh says should never have been plowed up from native prairie.

Undoubtedly, working with those soils has been a challenge for the veteran farmer.

“My dad taught me to never farm over a terrace for any reason so the spaces between the terraces were treated as a separate field,” Unruh says. “This was very inefficient as the width varied a lot and caused many turn-arounds to get the wider areas and double up the narrow areas. Since we no-till, we don’t strictly follow each terrace, which has helped become more efficient with our field operations.”

The soybean grower’s focus on cover crop use to increase water infiltration rate of the soil has helped in reducing nutrient movement. Unruh says as the cover crops grow, excess nutrients available in the soil are captured and stored in organic form.

Double crop soybeans are planted on the farm’s more productive wheat stubble fields. Marginal wheat stubble acres are seeded in a cover mix of sudan, pearl millet, mung beans, cowpeas, buckwheat and sunflowers.

“Our goal is to grow residue to protect the soil and increase organic matter for next years’ corn crop,” Unruh says.

Focused on profits

Lewis Unruh knows land stewardship is the key to profitability for his family farm. Without it, sustainability for the next generation could not be achieved.

The operation has been able to rent one farm that had no conservation practices applied on it. According to Unruh, the landlord chose him because he encouraged them to get a conservation plan in place so he could help them implement it to conserve and improve their farm.

“It gives me great satisfaction to see the changes and improvements to our farmland over the years,” Unruh says. “The conservation efforts have allowed our farm the chance to be profitable.”

Realizing many other farmers are doing great things with conservation and sustainability practices, Unruh is deeply humbled to be honored by the American Soybean Association for his stewardship efforts. “I hope that other farmers see what I am doing, and that will inspire and encourage them to try conservation practices on their farms.”

MFP 2.0? Ag Committees Consider Farm Aid Through Farm Bill 2.0

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 14:54:43 GMT

Chairs of both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees are looking at farm aid through a Farm Bill 2.0.

House Agriculture Committee Chair G.T. Thompson says a framework is already underway with the goal of committee action in September.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman is also considering aid, but through the Commodity Credit Corporation. He says the other solutions will take too long. This comes after hundreds of farmers in his home state of Arkansas met with lawmakers to ask for help.

Market Facilitation Program 2.0?
The trigger is historically low grain prices, combined with tariffs of up to 23% on U.S. soybeans, keeping China out of the export market.

Steve Censky, chief executive officer of the American Soybean Association, says unless China buys soybeans soon, they may be looking at aid similar to the Market Facilitation Program used back in 2018-19 during the last trade war.

“I think unless we can get things turned around with China, we’re going to be in that position again,” Censky says.

Farmers in the Dakotas and Minnesota are already seeing $8 soybeans with no China business.

But whether MFP is warranted is tied to the timing of a possible China deal, according to Frayne Olson, crop economist and marketing specialist with North Dakota State University.

“Even if harvest is already started — if we can get the wheels moving — it will be a lot better than what we saw in 2019. So, I think it’s a little bit early to be talking about MFP payments,” Olson says.

ASA Holding Out for China Deal
And the American Soybean Association echoes that position.

Censky says: “We have not been publicly calling for another MFP-type program. Our priority has been to get a deal with China on soybeans — because having that market is what soybean farmers want.”

In fact, Censky says MFP payments are just a Band-Aid to help farmers survive for another year.

“No farmer wants to be dependent on getting his or her income from the government or from the mailbox rather than from the marketplace.”

Farm Aid Has Unintended Consequences
Plus, the payments have had — and will have — unintended consequences. Censky says, longer term, any form of government assistance gets capitalized into land rents and land values. That has consequences for farmers as well.

The tariff on U.S. soybeans going into China also incentivizes Brazil to increase acreage more quickly, according to Censky.

“That expanded production will be here to haunt, basically, U.S. soybean farmers for years to come — not only in the China market, but in other markets around the world,” Censky says.

Need for Farm Aid Greater Than in 2018
Still, both House and Senate Ag Committee chairs agree farm aid is needed.

Boozman is looking at the CCC rather than tariff revenue, saying it’s more immediate. Censky agrees there’s more urgency than in 2018.

“I think it’s more serious today. That’s because prices were higher back in 2018 and 2019,” he says. “Farmers were starting out from a better position. Not only did you have prices higher, but your inputs were not as expensive.”

Farmers may not be able to withstand the pain of a trade war like they did back then.

Farming Builds A Bridge Between Kentucky Family’s Past, Present And Future

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 13:21:55 GMT

The fertile silt loam soils of LaRue County, Ky., serve as a bridge uniting the nine generations of Caleb Ragland’s farming family. This is a connection he hopes will extend in the years to include his three sons.

“My wife, Leanne, and I grow soybeans, corn, winter wheat and boys; they’re our most important crop,” Ragland says of his family and their 4,000-plus-acre grain operation that is based out of central Kentucky, near Magnolia.

If you have a conversation with the 38-year-old Ragland, you’ll find he doesn’t often stray far from the topics of farming and family, and the lines between the two blur as he looks out a farm office window and talks.

“I can look out across the field here, about a half mile, and see generations of my family buried over here on the hill,” Ragland says. “Our family settled here in 1808. Abraham Lincoln’s dad deeded land in this county the same month that our family did.”

Lincoln’s family left Kentucky for southern Indiana in 1816. Ragland’s family stayed put. “We’ve got deep roots here,” he says.

(American Soybean Association)

Natural Communicator
Ragland is hopeful his boys, ages 15, 13 and 10, will have the opportunity to be the 10th generation to farm the family’s ground. But he is concerned the mounting fallout from trade disruptions, high input costs and low commodity prices could deliver a death blow to that dream.

Those concerns are weighing on Ragland on an April morning as he sits planted in his farm office, juggling a variety of media interviews in his official capacity as president of the American Soybean Association (ASA). Though he would prefer to be on a tractor in the field or working around the farm, Ragland has done dozens of interviews in recent years with the media, most of whom are rooted in agriculture. But the general press has also come calling — from CNN and Fox News to National Public Radio — as they recognize the practical farming knowledge and savvy agricultural policy insights he can provide.

These days, Ragland has been addressing various topics ranging from trade dynamics to how rainfall is affecting the farmers who are located across parts of the Southeast. He reflects with dismay on a recent vote by the U.S. International Trade Commission that went in favor of imposing duties on imports of 2,4-D from China and India.

“That didn’t go our way,” Ragland says. “It’s a disappointing decision. It’s one that will probably double the cost of 2,4-D for farmers, and I’m not just taking a guess at that. Prices here locally have been going up over the past 12 months.”

(Rhonda Brooks)

Signs Of The Times
USDA reports net cash farm income is projected to increase to $193.7 billion in 2025, which would be up 21.7% year-over-year, thanks to federal aid — not because of better prices or increased commodity sales.

“Right now, it’s painful out here, and things don’t look good. That’s just being honest,” Ragland says. “With high input prices, unpredictable weather events and mounting uncertainty in trade markets, our farm is likely dealing with a $150,000 net loss for the 2025 crop.”

Ragland describes his farm’s budgets for the 2025 crops as bloody.

“When I ran budgets, full-season soybeans on my farm are in the red,” he says. “We raise a lot of winter wheat and double-crop soybeans, and that acreage with APH (actual production history) yields to break even shows corn is only slightly profitable.

“Due to the high cost of inputs and land and everything else across the board, we’ve had more risk than we’ve ever had and probably the least amount of potential profit in my farming career,” Ragland continues, noting 2025 marked the 21st crop he has put out on his own.

(American Soybean Association)

Staying The Course
Ragland voted for President Donald Trump in the past three presidential elections. While he doesn’t regret the decision he made, he does hope the president will make some trade decisions soon that will help bring financial opportunity to U.S. farmers.

“We need to be as proactive as possible about getting some trade deals done. We need some wins. We’re still very hopeful and optimistic that we will be able to get a phase-two type deal done,” Ragland says, referring to the Trump administration’s trade negotiations with China that occurred during his first term.

He says the U.S. exports about 50% of its soybeans and that China purchased 52% of U.S. beans exported in 2024. “So if you see a soybean field, every fourth row of soybeans went to China last year,” he says.

Trump’s trade-negotiation efforts have broad support from U.S. farmers, according to results from the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer survey that was released in early May. The survey indicated farmers are willing to endure short-term pain for long-term gain, according to Jim Mintert, emeritus professor of economics at Purdue.

“Fifty-six percent of farmers surveyed said they believe the ongoing trade disputes will likely hurt them financially in 2025,” Mintert says. “At the same time, 70% said they believe the U.S. and agriculture specifically will benefit in the long term.”

A Farm Bill Would Help
Ragland shares the survey’s sentiment and adds that getting a farm bill approved by Congress in 2025 would be a win for farmers.

“We desperately need it for ag and our rural communities as a whole,” he explains. “We need a stable farm economy so there is an incentive for our brightest and best to want to come back to the farm and not seek to go elsewhere. I want my sons to have an opportunity to farm, and I want other people’s children to be able to have that choice as well, but there’s got to be an economic opportunity to make a living.”

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New Administration Resets Priorities for Nation's Leading Commodity Groups

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 12:48:44 GMT

A new administration has reset some of the priorities for the coming year for the nation’s leading commodity associations.

American Soybean Association CEO Steve Censky says they have concerns about the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) program under new Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and are playing offense to protect seed oils, which he has labeled as unhealthy.

“Because seed oils, of course, half of the soybean oil use is used for human consumption, the other half for biofuels, and we need to maintain that domestic market,” Censky says.

They also don’t want to lose the use of GMO’s or glyphosate which Kennedy has wanted to eliminate.

Censky says, “Our hope is is that Secretary Kennedy will be taking a look at the science and be guided by the science, but we also want to make sure that Secretary Rollins and Administrator Zeldin have all of the support and information they need so that to ensure that whatever decisions are coming out of the MAHA commission and recommendations that they are science -based.”

Trade is also high on their list as tariff uncertainty continues, especially focused on top customers Canada, Mexico and China.

He says, “We export half of the crop that we grow here in the United States. The soybeans that are grown are exported overseas. Number one market is China. Number two, individual country market is Mexico. And Canada is our fourth largest meal market, and so those are all important markets for us.”

The last trade war put soybeans at the tip of the spear.So they’re hoping tariffs are a tool for negotiating trade deals including with China.

“You know, U .S. agriculture lost, according to the ERS, about $27 billion from the last trade war 71% of that was born by soybean farmers in the soybean industry. And we don’t want to go through that again. And it would be far better to reach a phase two trade agreement.”

Biofuels policy is key for soybean and corn farmers as uncertainty with 45Z has many biodiesel plants shuttered and guidance is needed on Sustainable Aviation Fuel.

But Neil Caskey, CEO of the National Corn Growers Association says year round E15 is their top priority for 2025.

“We’re looking at year-round, nationwide, E -15 as a driver of that demand creation in the short term. And so, for every 1% increase in the blend rate, equates to almost 500 million bushels of demand. And so E15 is not a mandate, so that’s not going to happen.”

He thinks odds of passage an E15 bill are highs as they have support, even from the American Petroleum Institute.

“The stars are aligning once more to get that completed in the next CR that expires in a couple of weeks and we are grateful for a lot of strong bipartisan support out in Washington, D .C.”

Trade takes the second spot for NCGA, both striking new deals and avoiding a trade war with Mexico as their top corn customer and Canada a leading ethanol importer.

Caskey says their analysis documents the damage from tariffs.

“Not good for corn farmers, farmers in general. We did that in conjunction with the American Soybean Association and it concluded that a trade war is really only good for Brazil and we hope to avoid that.”

For the nation’s sorghum producers, their top ask, just like last year, is getting a new farm bill passed.

Tim Lust, CEO, National Sorghum Producers Association says, “There’s obviously challenges in the country. We need the certainty that farm policy provides and that underpinning for growers and their financing institutions and so certainly that continues to be a huge lift but something that is very important to our growers.”

Trade is also high on their list but instead of playing defense, they want to play offense, growing marketing in Southeast Asia, China and India.

Lust says, “Our industry has, you know, there’s many countries around the world we still don’t have access to. And so, just excited about the opportunity to talk about what we can do to get into other markets.”

And they too are awaiting details on 45Z biofuels policy.

Passing a modernized farm bill also tops the agenda for wheat growers says National Association of Wheat Growers CEO Chandler Goule.

“You know, making sure we adjust our PLC prices, make sure we maintain our voluntary conservation programs, but most importantly that we keep crop insurance, if not expand it so that it is more affordable and can cover more more growers across the country.”

He says they’ll know how much money Congress has to write a bill after budget reconciliation is completed.

“So far we’ve not heard of any cuts out of title one or title two or the crop insurance title so hopefully we can maintain that amount so that we can at least write a farm bill that will be reflective again of the current cost of production.”

And they’re also hopeful for tax policy extensions including the 1031 like kind land exchanges.

Goule says,"Making sure that we keep a lot of those tax cuts that President Trump put in that first time, making sure that we maintain stepped up bases, which is critical for our growers as land values continue to go up.”

Export expansion is also key for NAWG and they’re watching how DOGE impacts programs like USAID.

“All those programs where we send our U .S. wheat to developing countries is critical to help us maintain a good domestic market price,” he adds.

And its key because half of the U.S. wheat crop is sold internationally.

ASA CEO: Renewable Diesel Could Drive a New Era for Soybean Demand, But EPA Needs to Rethink the RFS

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 18:12:44 GMT

Farmers and industry leaders gather in Orlando, Fla. this week for the 2023 Commodity Classic , an annual event that not only boasts a large trade show floor, but serves as a meeting place for state and national commodity leaders to set policy priorities for the year. This year, the American Soybean Association (ASA) is focused on everything from the Farm Bill to EPA’s recent Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) proposal, while also pushing for increased market access through trade.

Steve Censky is ASA’s chief executive officer (CEO), landed back at ASA in November 2020. That’s after he served as USDA’s Deputy Secretary from October 2017 to November 2020. He’s no stranger to the CEO role at ASA. Just prior to his appointment to USDA, he served as ASA CEO for more than two decades.

The policy priorities for ASA differ year to year, but the excitement around biomass-based diesel and renewable diesel kicked into high gear during Commodity Classic last year. A year later, Censky says soybean farmers are concerned with what EPA’s recent RFS proposal could do to that potential demand.

As soybean growers look at possible growing demand at home from the push for more biofuels and renewable diesel, Censky says EPA’s recent RFS proposal does the opposite, calling the renewable volume obligations (RVOs) within the proposal “extremely disappointing.”

“It basically flatlines our industry over the next several years. It doesn’t take into account the significant growth that’s happening in the soybean crush sector,” says Censky. EPA’s announcement in early December set the proposed RVO for biomass-based diesel at 2.82 billion gallons for 2023, with an increase to 2.95 billion gallons in 2025.

ASA says that would only cover a fraction of planned production in the U.S. Censky points out there are currently 20 major expansions or new plants underway for soybean processing in the U.S., which would increase U.S. soybean processing to 7 billion gallons of production. That’s an increase of nearly one-third from today, and short of the 2.95 billion gallons supported by EPA’s RFS proposal.

“That’s going to produce and that’s driven by the demand that that we had thought was out there for renewable diesel and biodiesel. And unfortunately, EPA proposing to pull the rug out from under that investment,” says Censky.

Last week, ASA met with EPA Administration Michael Regan, and Censky says they delivered a clear message to EPA: the current RFS proposal would be bad for farmers, rural jobs and rural development. Censky claims soybean crush facilities who are still in the early stages of plant expansions or creation, are now worried EPA’s recent announcement threatens their investments.

“There are some projects that have been more recently announced, and that’s about a two-year project. And those are the ones that we’re frankly concerned about that if we don’t get the EPA to have higher growth numbers in biomass-based diesel, then that could threaten those investments,” he says. “We’ve already heard that some of those players have put their investments on construction on quote, pause until they see the rule is finalized. And that will come in mid-June.”

When asked why EPA and the Biden administration aren’t looking at things like renewable diesel to meet their short-term climate goals, Censky says there’s still a thought that increased demand for oils will drive food prices higher. But Censky says a recent study from Purdue University found the opposite, that the increased soybean meal would actually help drive down the overall cost of food.

“It’s a way to decarbonize our fuel supply,” says Censky. “Right now, we don’t have to wait for a build out of the grid. We don’t have to wait for some revolutionary new battery technologies. It is here. It is a way to do that right now. And, you know, biodiesel and renewable diesel reduce greenhouse gas emissions by, on average, over 70%. And so that is a way to achieve the administration’s climate goals as well.”

Focused on the Farm Bill

Another big focus during Commodity Classic this week is the 2023 Farm Bill . There’s debate on whether Congress will pass a Farm Bill yet this year, but commodity groups are currently making their voices heard, outlining key priorities within the legislation.

“The first thing, that message that we have been delivering, is that we need Congress to have an adequately funded, on time Farm Bill, and we say adequately funded because we recognize that there’s the need out there that the current farm bill actually needs more resources,” says Censky.

Currently, most messages out of Washington point to less funding for the Farm Bill this year, but that’s not stopping ASA from outlining why agriculture needs more resources for the next Farm Bill, not less.

“We’re actually working very hard with other farm groups, and we’ve been leading an effort with other commodity and farm groups, with a budget message to the budget committees, letting them know that that the agriculture committees are going to need more resources,” says Censky. “We’re hopeful that they can get more resources. But we’re also realistic that it’s going to be tough to try to get those additional resources.”

Censky says the first priority is to fully protect crop insurance, as he says that’s soybean farmers most important risk management tool. The other priority is to improve the safety net for soybeans.

“Even when we had the China trade war and U.S. soybean exports plummeted, the safety net, the ARC or the PLC programs, did not kick in. Soybean farmers did not receive any payment. And they had to rely on ad hoc payment,” says Censky.

Within the Farm Bill, ASA also would like to see:

A doubling of the market access program (MAP) and foreign market development funds; funding for those programs has been stagnant for 20 years, Censky says.
Voluntary conservation measures that focus on working lands.

A Push to Increase Demand Through More Market Access and Trade

While the Farm Bill and renewable diesel are urgent issues for ASA, soybean growers see the continued need to grow demand around the globe. That’s why ASA wants to see a focus back on trade.

“Number one, we would love for the administration to begin talking about trade agreements that involve market access tariffs,” says Censky. “The administration, so far, has just said that they want to address the sanitary and phytosanitary, or some of the technical rules. We’re supportive of that, but really, what we need is market access.”

Censky says U.S. farmers export more than half of the crop grown, which is why expanding market access is a focus for ASA. It comes at a time when USDA projects U.S. agricultural exports to decline by $2.5 billion from 2022 to 2023. As a result, USDA forecasts the U.S. trade deficit to grow to $3.5 billion, the second largest since 1990.

“The overall trade numbers just came out, and the U.S. is running an agriculture trade deficit for the first time in many years,” says Censky. “And normally, in agriculture, we enjoy a huge surplus, a positive balance of trade and agriculture. And so I think that really underscores the need for the administration and Congress to get going on new trade agreements that involve market access.”

ASA says their grower members want to see the administration enter back into talks with the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). The original proposal was between 12 Pacific Rim countries and the U.S. While signed in February of 2016, it was not ratified. Strong opposition came from both Democrats and Republicans. In January 2017, new elected President Donald Trump then officially withdrew from TPP.

The remaining countries moved forward with a new trade pact, what’s now called the Comprehensive and Progress Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

“We’ve seen the European Union and China, they’re striking new trade agreements, and the U.S. has been left behind,” says Censky. “The last time we had a new trade agreement was over a decade ago, other than the USMCA that had been updated. And so we really need new market access.”

Censky says Southeast Asia is one ASA views as a high growth market. He also thinks soybeans could also see a surge in demand if a trade agreement was reached with that area, allowing market access to countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

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The Cost of a Farm Bill: 2023 Row Crop Priorities

Wed, 08 Feb 2023 15:35:54 GMT

The 2018 farm bill was stamped with a $428 billon price tag when the bill was passed. Nutrition, crop insurance, commodities, trade and conservation programs were among the programs to receive the most funds.

With the 2018 bill set to expire on Sept. 30, the Congressional Research Service last May released baseline spending for the same programs starting in the 2023 farm bill. The baseline shows a decrease in commodities and conservation, while nutrition, trade and crop insurance increased.

As the debate heats up, here’s a breakdown of what ag groups look to push on the 2023 farm bill negotiating table:

1. Crop Insurance

Industry leaders sounded the crop insurance alarm on the The Hill in Jan. when some 60 groups signed a letter to Senate and House Ag Committee members, pushing for protections from “harmful” insurance cuts.

“Farmers spend as much as $4 billion per year of their own money to purchase insurance from the private sector. On average, farmers also must incur losses of almost 30 percent before their insurance coverage pays an indemnity,” the groups wrote in the letter. “Given the challenges faced by rural America and the critical nature of crop insurance, cuts to the program should be avoided.”

Crop insurance is permanently authorized in a farm bill. However, amendments are often posed to the crop insurance title, adding an element of concern for producers.

Leaders at the American Soybean Association (ASA) are looking to play defense in the title, says Christy Seyfert, ASA executive director of government affairs.

“In the past, amendments have been proposed to use crop insurance as a funding resource for priorities outside of crop insurance,” Seyfert says. “We’re looking to protect against harmful amendments that make crop insurance more expensive for farmers.”

Read more: Stepped-Up Basis Leaning in Favor of Rural America on House Ways and Means Panel

National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) is aiming to take a different approach.

“We’re looking to maintain and enhance the crop insurance reach for producers by expanding current authority and programs,” says Chandler Goule, NAWG CEO. “To help with continued market fluctuations and erratic weather patterns, we’re leaning more into the revenue side.”

2. Farm Safety Net

Most farmers who grow row crops will soon be making their decision between Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) .

The 2014 Farm Bill first introduced ARC and PLC with a reference price, while the 2018 Farm Bill allowed the reference price to increase by up to 15%, which is why it is now called the effective reference price.

This reference price should be a focus in 2023, according to Wayne Stoskopf, director for public policy for risk management and tax at National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) .

“The effective reference price is definitely something we want to maintain,” he says. “We’re looking at how much it would cost, as well as some of the potential benefits, if it or the statutory reference price we’re to be increased.”

Read more: ARC or PLC - Which Do I Choose for 2023

Goule echoed Stoskopf, saying with the increase in the cost of goods, services and inputs since 2018, a $5.50 reference price for wheat is “simply not a realistic backstop” of what it costs to produce a bushel of wheat in the U.S.

“We’re encouraging Congress to increase budget authority so we can raise the reference price to something that’s reflective of our current circumstances and potential costs in coming years,” Goule says.

3. Trade

U.S. ag exports reached a record high of $196.4 billion in fiscal year 2022, according to USDA. With $237 million in funding for the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development Program (FMD) for 2023, Seyfert foresees another export record. However, her team thinks more funding could be impactful.

“We’re looking to double funding for MAP and FMD in the next farm bill,” she says. “A jump to $400 million and $69 million, respectively, will help us continue to build relationships internationally.”

Read more: SHIP IT Act Could Save Truck Drivers Up to $10,000 and Cover CDL Costs

According to Seyfert, ASA and other associations feel increased investments will open new doors to untapped markets overseas.

Southwest Airlines Could Soon be Fueled by Soybeans

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 17:49:10 GMT

Southwest Airlines (SWA) is the latest airline to catch a ride with sustainable aviation fuel . Southwest joins Delta, JetBlue and United in giving sustainable aviation fuel a lift with both short-term and long-term commitments.

Just this week, Southwest Airlines announced by 2030, the airline plans to replace 10% of its total jet fuel consumption with the sustainable aviation fuel.

Within the commitment, the airline will establish a partnership with Nestle for up to 5 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel through December 2023. Southwest says it will also work with Marathon Petroleum Corporation and Philips 66 to ramp up production of standard aviation fuel.

“SWA’s list of partners, which includes Nestle, Marathon Petroleum, and Phillips 66, reads like a who’s who in the renewable fuel business and speaks to their commitment to sustainable aviation fuels,” says Peter Meyer, head of Grain and Oilseed Analytics, S&P Global Platts .

Longer-term, Southwest says the ultimate objective is to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and calls the move to sustainable aviation fuel “an important step.”

“Southwest is making sustainability a priority in order to continue connecting customers to what’s important in their lives while striving to achieve our carbon neutrality goals,” said Stacy Malphurs , vice president of supply chain management & environmental sustainability for Southwest. “Our goal to reduce, replace, offset, and partner are important next steps in the journey to build a holistic approach to improve our environmental sustainability.”

Airlines Fueled by Soybeans

Meyer and S&P Global Platts have been some of the leading groups exploring how sustainable aviation fuel could change the U.S. soybean industry. The latest announcement by Southwest continues to fuel the argument that renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel could be U.S soybean growers’ ticket to increased domestic demand.

“The light might be dimming in ethanol, but there’s a brighter light down the line as far as renewable fuel is concerned,” Meyer adds.

Meyer says the energy transition away from fossil fuels will require more renewable fuel production. Currently, S&P Global Platts says only half a dozen plants are currently online, with more than 20 still in the development stage, as announcements continue to take place.

“The fact of the matter is that, in our opinion, by the year 2025 we will need 40 billion pounds of feedstock to keep the renewable energy refineries running,” says Meyer.

S&P Global Platts thinks the potential is so large, renewable diesel and aviation fuels made from soybeans could be bigger than what ethanol was for corn in the first couple of decades of the 2000s. As a result, he says the U.S. will become less dependent on China for needed soybean demand, a country that is currently the largest buyer of U.S. soybeans.

“What’s going to happen is you’re going to see these renewable diesel plants, sustainable aviation fuel plants, and a domestication of U.S. soybean production, which means we will be impervious to all sorts of issues that are going on in China and elsewhere. We’re going to be able to use it if we can get the crush capacity,” Meyer says.

White House Commits to Sustainable Fuel

The race to reduce airplane emissions is gaining traction. While airlines have discussed ways to reduce air traffic’s carbon footprint, going electric isn’t an option today. Instead, the Biden administration says it’s setting a lofty goal: eliminate the airline industry’s fossil fuel usage by 2050.

“There are other ways in which biofuels can be used,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Farm Journal’s Clinton Griffiths during a town hall in September . “And I think you’re going to see in the very near future a commitment by this administration, as it relates to aviation and marine fuel. It opens up a whole new vista for the biofuel industry.”

An Ethanol Moment

Renewable diesel and standard aviation fuel could help U.S. soybean industry reduce its dependence on countries like China, while providing soybeans with its “ethanol moment.”

Dan Basse, president of AgResource Company, told Farm Journal editors that the dramatic development of the U.S. renewable diesel industry is similar to how ethanol changed the U.S. corn industry from 2007 to 2010, and he believes renewable diesel could be more disruptive.

“We are calling for 90.5 million soybean acres in 2022 versus this year’s 87 million, and that just gets us started in meeting renewable diesel demand,” he says. “Then we’d need to increase soybean acres by 5 million to 7 million each year. We have to top 120 million acres of soybeans to meet the growing demand for renewable diesel.”

As more oil companies invest in soybean crushing plants, some agricultural economists and analysts think the boon in demand could hit in the 2023 crop year.

Read, watch and listen to more insights about renewable diesel .

On Twitter, Farmers Are Begging Trump Not to Bail on NAFTA

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 05:19:32 GMT

President Donald J. Trump was largely supported by American farmers during the election, even as he made a campaign promise to exit the North American Free Trade Agreement. But now many of those farmers are worried President Trump will follow through on that promise. And they are taking to Twitter to plead with him not to.

Using the hashtag #Farmers4NAFTA, individual farmers and agricultural groups are tweeting about the benefits of NAFTA.

Field work is over for the fall,but this #Idaho #Farmers4NAFTA is taking a minute to urge the Administration to stay in NAFTA. Thanks @Idahograin
— Joseph Anderson (@beemerjoe) December 6, 2017

Take a moment to make your voice heard today - let @POTUS @realDonaldTrump know how NAFTA has impacted your operation by calling @WhiteHouse at 202-456-1111 between 12 and 1 p.m. or mentioning the President on social media. #FARMERS4NAFTA pic.twitter.com/Drc0kYdAaz
— Texas Wheat (@TexasWheat) December 6, 2017

Since 1993, fruit and vegetable exports from the U.S. to Mexico and Canada have more than tripled. #NAFTA works! @whitehouse #Farmers4NAFTA
— GROWMARK, Inc. (@GROWMARK) December 6, 2017

Beware of the Bacon Tax!! #NAFTA withdrawal would mean a 10% tax hike on pork exports to Mexico. #Farmers4NAFTA #Bacon @NPPC #TeamPork pic.twitter.com/qYI9Q7Xcm5
— Farmers for Free Trade (@FarmersForTrade) December 6, 2017

. @realDonaldTrump I’m a wheat farmer from Montana who relies on #NAFTA, let’s find a win-win in #NAFTA 2.0 to maintain key export markets. #farmers4NAFTA @USTradeRep @CommerceGov pic.twitter.com/shIIosl204
— Michelle Jones (@bigskyfarmher) December 6, 2017

Canada received $20.3 billion worth of American agricultural products in 2016, making it the top destination for such goods, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Mexico received $17.7 billion, coming in third place behind China.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The tweets add to the voices in Congress calling on the administration to remain in Nafta. Senator Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican, published an Op-Ed in The Hill on Wednesday highlighting the benefits of the agreement. Republican Senators Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Joni Ernst of Iowa also made a case for the agreement on Tuesday over lunch with the president and the U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, according to the Omaha World-Herald.

Many agricultural groups have been urging the administration to renegotiate—not exit—the trade agreement, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and the U.S. Food and Agriculture Dialogue for Trade, which represents a group of over 130 food and agriculture trade associations and companies.

The impacts of a NAFTA withdrawal would reverberate beyond farmers’ incomes. Consumers would likely see higher grocery prices as well, according to a November Congressional Research Service report reviewed by Bloomberg.