Retail Industry

For the past 10 years, Wayne Honeycutt has led the organization he founded, The Soil Health Institute, to elevate the concept of science bringing improved environmental stewardship and yield potential via a focus on the soil. At the beginning of 2026, he’ll retire and hand over the reigns of the organization. Here he shares reflections on a career focused on sustainability.

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.

The fungal disease has spread to fields in at least seven states since 2018, including three new ones just this year. Once established, the pathogen is nearly impossible to eradicate, Extension plant pathologists report.

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

Space weather is monitored for its effects on activities on Earth, including GPS reliability

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.

Growers say they remain cautiously optimistic and believe the U.S. is “headed in the right direction.” But they want the gridlock with China to end and for actual steps to be taken to get their crops sold and shipped.

Retail partner Nutrien Ag Solutions is trading on trust to bring more opportunities for growers

Corn yield champs say annual soil testing is the best way to make sure fields are up to the goal of delivering profitable high yields every season.

Some analysts believe a deal with Beijing will happen this week because of a potential gap in availability of the oilseed that’s likely to occur between the time the U.S. bean harvest ends and the Brazil harvest begins.