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Farm Bill What-If Tool
This program calculates Agricultural Risk Coverage for County Coverage (ARC-CO), Price Loss Coverage (PLC) payments, and ARC at the Individual Level (ARC-IC). County yields and market year average (MYA) prices…
Crop Insurance Decision Tool
This program calculates premiums, evaluates insurance payments, and provides historical data useful when making crop insurance decisions for multiple crops. Estimates are for crops in midwest and southeast states. Learn…
Planting Decision Model
With this program, the user can: 1) estimate the costs of planting corn and soybeans by planting date, 2) estimate the net returns from replanting, 3) prevented planting payments, and…
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Latest farmdoc Daily Articles
Sample Cost and Returns for a Migratory Commercial Beekeeping Operation 2025-2026
Honey bees play a critical role in agricultural production, particularly through pollination services that support crops such as California almonds (see farmdoc daily, February 17, 2025), while also producing honey…
Wind and Solar Leases in Foreign-Held U.S. Agricultural Land
Most long-term leases held by foreign persons are for wind and solar projects, covering 6.3 million acres, or about 0.7 percent of U.S. land in farms. In most counties the share is under 1 percent, and nearly all of these acres are associated with investors from Canada and Western Europe. Because the landowner retains title and AFIDA reports acreage as a whole parcel, lease acres are best viewed separately from ownership when assessing foreign holdings of U.S. agricultural land.
2025 Final ARC/PLC Payments
Final marketing year average (MYA) prices were recently released by the USDA for nearly all eligible commodities, and the Farm Service Agency (FSA) has finalized the payments for most commodities from the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss (PLC) programs for the 2025 crop year. Overall, payment rates were substantial and widespread across most of the US for corn, soybeans and wheat, averaging $62, $29 and $47 per base acre, respectively.
Rural Broadband Infrastructure and Its Implications for Households and Agriculture
Survey results in this article show that although many rural households now have access to broadband service, the existing infrastructure often falls short of meeting evolving household and business needs. Agriculture has distinct broadband needs that extend beyond residential service requirements, and both must be addressed as rural communities continue to develop. Reliable, high-quality broadband is increasingly important to the competitiveness of production agriculture.
Agricultural Lending by Commercial Banks: 2026 Second Quarter
Agricultural loan balances at U.S. commercial banks increased in the second quarter of 2026, with gains in both farm real estate and non-real estate loans. At agricultural banks, farm loan…
Conservation & Risk, Part 5: Examining a Risk-Payment Gap for Nitrogen Management
Agricultural conservation policies include assistance for nutrient management. To the extent that this assistance is intended to encourage farmers to reduce application rates for nutrients, such as nitrogen, the policy presents another variation on the conservation-risk challenges examined in this series. This article examines a case study to illustrate the potential costs and risks from reduced nitrogen application alongside the financial assistance available through EQIP.