Home - farmdoc daily

EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS:

Connect on Social Media

Area Add-Up Insurance Performance: Insights from Cotton STAX

December 17, 2025

Carl Zulauf

Starting with crops harvested in 2026, premium subsidy for ECO and SCO area add-up insurance will be 80%. Coverage options are 90% or 95% for ECO and 90% for SCO. STAX area add-up insurance has offered 90% coverage – 80% subsidy for cotton since 2015. Ratio of indemnities net of farmer paid premiums to farmer paid premiums has been notably higher for STAX than individual farm insurance, especially when insurance price declined double digits. Performance should be similar for ECO and SCO.

Read the Article

View Webinar

Farm Assets Conference

December 12th, 2025 @ 12:00 AM CST

This year’s Farm Assets Conference is scheduled for Friday, December 12 at the Agri-Center in Bloomington, Illinois. The doors open at 7:30 a.m. central. The program starts at 8:00 a.m. The Farm Assets Conference is a day long event in Bloomington. It is not the same as the IFES series of meetings held the following week across the state (DeKalb, Peoria, Mt. Vernon).

See all sponsors

Impact of Estimated Farmer Bridge Assistance on 2025 Farmer Return Projections

December 16, 2025

Nick Paulson, Gary Schnitkey, and Carl Zulauf

The $12 billion in Farmer Bridge Assistance is intended to provide more immediate support between now and when ARC/PLC payments for 2025 would be received in October 2026. While payment rates have not yet been released, info provided about FBA was used to compute estimates which suggest around $35-40 per acre in support, on average, could be received by grain farms in Illinois. These FBA payments improve farmer return prospects compared with previous budget estimates released in August.

Read the Article

U.S. Corn and Soybean Exports: Diversification Drives Growth in Corn and Cushions Decline in Soybeans

December 15, 2025

Lourival Monaco, Joana Colussi and Michael Langemeier

The U.S. agricultural export scenario has experienced a transformation in 2025, with diversification of export destinations emerging as an important factor for both the corn and soybean markets. While these two major commodities have followed different trajectories, with corn exports expanding and soybean exports contracting, both demonstrate the strategic value of diversified market portfolios rather than keeping a high dependence on a single market.

Read the Article

The Distribution of Debt Burdens and Servicing Costs for Illinois Grain Farms Across Interest Rate Cycles

December 12, 2025

Gerald Mashange

On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) cut the federal funds target range by another 25 basis points to 3.50–3.75 percent, marking the third reduction this year and extending…

Read the Article

Dietary Guidelines for Americans: What They Are and What Consumers Want Them to Be

December 11, 2025

Brenna Ellison, Maria Kalaitzandonakes, Mary Muth, and Jonathan Coppess

The next edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is scheduled to be released in 2025 but has been notably delayed and is now expected in early 2026. In this post, using the Gardner Food and Agricultural Policy Survey, we found that the vast majority of consumers (75% or greater) currently agree with recommendations from the 2020-2025 DGA. Over 50% strongly agreed with both the recommendation to eat all types of vegetables and to choose foods and beverages with less added sugars.

Read the Article

Circumventing the Federal Budget Process: Crop Insurance Premium Subsidies

December 10, 2025

Carl Zulauf

Over the last two years, Federal crop insurance premium subsidies have been raised far more by procedures outside the Farm Bill than inside the Farm Bill. Two USDA administrative actions raised the premium subsidy rate for ECO insurance to 80%. They conservatively are estimated to raise Federal premium subsidies by $13.2 billion over 10 FYs. This case study illustrates how the Federal budget process can be circumvented, calling into question its fiscal integrity and usefulness.

Read the Article

Use of Funds Remains Relatively High on Illinois Farms

December 9, 2025

Gary Schnitkey, Brad Zwilling, Nick Paulson, and Carl Zulauf

Incomes on Illinois grain farms in 2024 were lower than in any other year since the early 1990s. In this article, we compare three primary uses of funds to the sum of farm and non-farm income. Two major uses of income – machinery and building purchases and family living withdrawals – have exceeded historical levels relative to farm income. Non-farm income remains an important source of stability for many Illinois farms, buffering the large swings in farm income.

Read the Article

Ag Market Insights

View Series Archive

Weekly Farm Economics

View Series Archive

Gardner Policy Series

View Series Archive

Connect on Social Media

Area Add-Up Insurance Performance: Insights from Cotton STAX

Farm Assets Conference

Recent Articles - View All

Impact of Estimated Farmer Bridge Assistance on 2025 Farmer Return Projections

U.S. Corn and Soybean Exports: Diversification Drives Growth in Corn and Cushions Decline in Soybeans

The Distribution of Debt Burdens and Servicing Costs for Illinois Grain Farms Across Interest Rate Cycles

Dietary Guidelines for Americans: What They Are and What Consumers Want Them to Be

Circumventing the Federal Budget Process: Crop Insurance Premium Subsidies

Use of Funds Remains Relatively High on Illinois Farms

Recent Series

Ag Market Insights

The Soybean Industry Response to the Renewable Diesel Boom, Part 3: the Value of Soybean Oil in the Soybean Crush

Corn and Soybean Markets Shrug Off Bearish USDA Figures

The Soybean Industry Response to the Renewable Diesel Boom, Part 2: Squeezing More Oil from the Soybean Crush

The Soybean Industry Response to the Renewable Diesel Boom, Part 1: the Long-Run Evolution of Oilseed Crushing

Yes, There Are a Lot of Corn Acres: Evidence from FSA Acreage Data

Weekly Farm Economics

Impact of Estimated Farmer Bridge Assistance on 2025 Farmer Return Projections

Use of Funds Remains Relatively High on Illinois Farms

The Current Grain Farm Financial Position in a Longer-Term Perspective

Additional ARC/PLC Payments for 2025: Value of Receiving the Maximum Program Payment

Projected ARC and PLC Payments for 2025

Gardner Policy Series

Area Add-Up Insurance Performance: Insights from Cotton STAX

Dietary Guidelines for Americans: What They Are and What Consumers Want Them to Be

Circumventing the Federal Budget Process: Crop Insurance Premium Subsidies

Monetizing Crop Risk into Crop Payments

Setting the Holiday Tables: How Do Consumers Say Food Prices Will Affect Their 2025 Holiday Meals?

Connect with farmdoc on Social Media

farmdoc daily

Farm Policy News