Cotton
A new multi-state monitoring network using unique diagnostic tools is hard at work, identifying herbicide-resistant weed populations faster so farmers can get a leg up on control before the problem gets totally out of hand.
After years of losses, debt is piling up and new government payments won’t fill the hole. At a breaking point, more farmers are expected to leave the business this year, some by choice, others forced out by lenders.
Darren Frye with Water Street Solutions says the trade guesses are fairly conservative with not many changes expected. However, that is not the history of the January reports. So could there be a surprise?
Arkansas farmer Nathan Reed says irrigation, insurance limits and global competition are deepening the downturn as Southern producers are now deciding what to plant based on what will lose the least amount of money.
Another set of estimates have been released to divvy up the $11 million earmarked for eligible row crop producers. Payments range from $21 per acre for barley to a high of $134 per acre for rice.
Shawn Hackett with Hackett Financial Advisors says part of the pressure in soybeans was technical selling but the market is also starting to trade the big crop potential in South America.
USDA will deliver $11 billion in one-time bridge payments to help farmers offset 2025 trade disruptions and rising costs. Eligible producers must verify 2025 acreage reports by Dec. 19, with payments expected by Feb. 28, 2026.
Syngenta’s latest innovation knocks out corn rootworm and addresses a host of other yield-robbing pests in a variety of crops.
Darren Frye with Water Street Solutions says the market was adding some geopolitical risk premium with tensions rising in the Black Sea region.
Both products have been registered for use by the EPA, with one of them featuring a novel active ingredient.