Precision agriculture adoption: what USDA's numbers actually show
Guidance and mapping tools cover most large corn acres; variable-rate technology sits far behind, per USDA Economic Research Service survey data.
Priya Vaithilingam
How to read USDA crop reports without overreacting
NASS surveys, WASDE balance sheets and quarterly stocks each answer a different question — knowing which one you're reading prevents most marketing mistakes.
Lena Fischer
What 100% bonus depreciation means for your next equipment purchase
Congress restored full first-year bonus depreciation and raised Section 179 limits for 2026 — here is what the IRS's own publications say about how the two provisions actually work on a farm return.
Isabel DuarteAnalysis & Opinion
What grain basis measures, and why it swings by region
Basis is the cash price minus the futures price, and it moved sharply in 2024-2025 — here is what sets it and how to read it.
What the FDA's pushed-back food traceability deadline means now
The Food Traceability Rule's compliance date moved to July 20, 2028. Here's what that changes — and doesn't — for farms on the Food Traceability List.
What a Farm Storage Facility Loan costs, and who qualifies
USDA caps the facility loan at $500,000 with 15 percent down and terms of three to 12 years. Here is what the rules require, what August 2026 rates were, and how the storage cost compares.
What the FAA requires before a drone can spray your fields
Spray drones at or above 55 pounds need an FAA exemption and an Agricultural Aircraft Operator Certificate under Part 137 before they can legally fly over a crop — and a 2025 University of Missouri cost study puts real per-acre numbers behind the ownership-versus-custom-hire decision.
Strategy
More in Strategy →How prevented planting payments are calculated under crop insurance
The federal program pays a share of a crop's guarantee when planting deadlines pass unmet. The percentage, the dates, and the acreage minimum are set in the policy well before a wet spring makes them relevant.
Tanya BrooksMarkets
More in Markets →What basis means for the price your elevator actually pays
The futures board sets a benchmark, but basis is the number that turns it into a real delivery ticket — and it swung harder than usual through the 2024-2025 marketing year.
Lena FischerIndustry News
More in Industry News →USDA's August 2025 WASDE sized a big corn crop
The first survey-based forecast of the 2025/26 season landed near record territory for corn — the operator consequence runs through basis and storage math.
Isabel Duarte