Many factors contribute to some farms being more profitable than other farms. A few of these factors, such as weather, farm operators cannot control. Many factors, such as crop and machinery costs, operators can control. Not one single factor is the main contributor to the difference in profitability, but many factors are put together. Over the last twenty years we have had two periods of record high incomes, but overall, the main characteristic of a higher profit producer is lower costs.

The Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit matters to corn and soybean growers because the value of the tax credit depends on the carbon intensity of the final biofuel product. This article addresses three questions. First, what does it actually mean for a corn or soybean crop to have a carbon intensity score? Second, which farm practices may count toward lowering that score under the current 45Z policy? Third, how much can the recognized carbon intensity benefit from the same practice differ across Illinois counties?

Over the last 100 years, harvested crop acres have declined more in the US South than rest of the US. Cotton accounted for most the decline in the first 50 years. Over the last 50 years, however, harvested acres have declined much more for crops other than the commodity program crops associated with the US South (cotton, peanuts, rice). The change in acreage dynamics prompts a rarely asked question, “Has the high support for cotton, peanuts, and rice hurt Southern crop agriculture in total?”

The Risk Management Agency has released their final county yields estimates for 2025, providing information needed to calculate payments from area yield insurance plans. Yield losses were sufficient in many areas to trigger ECO or SCO payments on corn, soybean, and wheat acres. Since the harvest prices for all three crops was below the projected insurance price in 2025, an even larger number of counties experienced revenue losses sufficient to trigger ECO and SCO payments.

Despite headwinds such as low prices, costly fertilizer, tight credit, and a looming El Niño, USDA forecasts continued record Brazilian corn and soybean production in 2027, consistent with recent growth trends driven by area expansion and yield improvement. History shows Brazilian farmers rarely retreat; weather-driven yield shocks, still unobservable for some time, are the most likely cause of production losses.

Agricultural credit conditions in Illinois showed signs of strain in the first quarter of 2026. Although loan demand remained elevated, repayment rates deteriorated, and collateral requirements remained tight across the…