USDA recently released an updated version of its Feedstock Intensity Calculator (FD-CIC) for the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit (USDA, FD-CIC v.1.2; User Manual, September 4, 2026). The updated calculator changes the Carbon Intensity (CI) scoring in significant ways. It also includes more information for the user about the scoring process. This article reviews the CI for corn in Illinois counties, with explanations about how the changes in the calculator result in modified scores.

The commodity program decision deadline for program crops harvested in 2026 is December 11, 2026.  Current projections and expectations for prices and yields suggest that ARC-CO would be expected to trigger larger payments than PLC on corn and soybean base acres in most counties.  The comparison for wheat base acres is currently much closer and will depend on county yield expectations and the individual farm’s PLC yields. 

Mexico exported feeder cattle to the US until New World Screwworm caused officials to stop this flow in 2025. In this farmdoc daily article, we estimate the impacts on the US and Mexico going from baseline projections where live trade returns to pre-entry levels to an alternative case with less live trade. As expected, the shortfall in US supplies leads to higher feeder cattle, fed cattle, and beef prices, although US producer response moderates these impacts over time. 

Consistent with “Crop Loss” headlines dating to 2023, combined loss at harvest totaled $28.1 billion for producing the US 2025 cost of production crops (barley, corn, oats, peanuts, rice, seed cotton, sorghum, soybeans, wheat). However, all but $3.7 billion of this loss was covered by the US crop safety net. Moreover, the nine crops collectively broke even over the 2023-2025 crop years as $62.5 billion in safety net payments offset similar market losses at harvest.

October marks the beginning of the federal fiscal year, which is payment season for farm policy (USDA, October 7, 2026; Farm Policy News, October 19, 2026). Payments are made in…

With an eye towards the rapidly approaching 2026 midterm elections, this article further reviews survey results from the Gardner Food and Agricultural Policy Survey, but through the lens of political affiliation. Specifically, we examine how perceptions of the benefits and challenges associated with AI and data center development vary among self-identified Democrats, Republicans, and Independents/Others. Doing so provides insight into the extent to which attitudes toward these emerging technologies and their supporting infrastructure differ across political groups.