Retail Business

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.

Preemptive control of heavy-hitting diseases like white mold, frogeye leaf spot, Cercospora leaf blight and others is now possible thanks to specially designed soybeans that act like an early warning system, enabling proactive fungicide treatments and yield protection.

USDA’s Brooke Rollins says the financial details will be unveiled next week. Some groups estimate payments could total in the neighborhood of $12 billion. “There’s people that can really use them. Everyone can use them…but we’re not getting real solutions,” says one Iowa farmer.

Because every growing season is unique, agronomists are encouraging corn growers to make a management plan for the “driver diseases” they’re most likely to encounter in fields next year.

Earlier this week, Omaha-Nebraska based Hansen-Mueller Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The project has two goals: support retail agronomists in their recommendations and support decisions with a focus on return on investment.

Number of bushels per acre is high on their list of priorities, but it’s not necessarily their No. 1 concern going into 2026.

Both products have been registered for use by the EPA, with one of them featuring a novel active ingredient.

The company also announced a transition in leadership for its retail division.

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.