US corn and soybean yields reached record levels in 2025 while the US winter wheat yield was second only to the yield in 2016. Following the typical pattern, corn and soybean yields were highest in the main Corn Belt region with lower yields estimated in counties in surrounding areas. Wheat yields are also high in the Midwest but yields in the primary production regions ranged from above average in the Pacific Northwest and eastern Kansas to below average in most of Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado.

The analysis presented in this article frames the central question facing the biomass-based diesel sector and obligated parties under the EPA’s final Set 2 rule: How will the market deliver an unprecedented increase in D4 RIN generation in 2026 and 2027? The required monthly pace of D4 RIN net generation must rise from 592 million gallons in 2025 to 916 million gallons in 2026 and 991 million gallons in 2027—levels that exceed any sustained monthly pace in the historical record.

Despite persistent honey bee colony health issues and widespread attention on colony losses in the U.S., colony inventories have remained relatively stable. Using USDA data, this article shows U.S. beekeepers…

It is possible that the conceptualization of agricultural conservation, as reflected in federal policy, is insufficient, incomplete, or too narrow, and that helps explain issues such as funding challenges, backlogs in approved applications, farmer frustration, low adoption, discontinuation of critical practices, and more. A topic of this scale and scope needs a place to start. We began with cover crops and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).

The Margin Coverage Option (MCO) is an endorsement product introduced last fall and offered to producers for their 2026 crop year (see farmdoc daily September 16, 2025). MCO covers operating…

Fertilizer costs in central Illinois have risen significantly following the onset of conflict involving Iran. Based on April pricing compared to the six months prior to the conflict, costs have increased by more than $20 per acre. While many producers may see smaller impacts in 2026 due to pre-purchased inputs, the full effect of these price increases will be felt in 2027. These developments highlight the importance of actively managing fertilizer costs.