Month: September 2026

USDA is launching a pilot project that could reshape how the market’s most closely watched crop estimates are produced. Operating within a broader “Data Modernization Plan,” the initiative will test satellite imagery, geospatial analysis, crop models, and potentially artificial intelligence alongside traditional farmer surveys. Announced September 1 at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, …

What You Need to Know… USDA to Test Satellites and AI to Modernize Crop Estimates Read More »

NEW FARMCON PODCAST – This week Kevin and I cover a lot of ground, starting with why the rise of AI may actually make the human edge more valuable, not less. Kevin explains why street smarts, intuition, experience, hospitality, and the ability to “see around corners” could become increasingly important as everyone gains access to …

FARMCON CONVERSATIONS — NEW EPISODE Read More »

I think we are getting dangerously close to having the wrong argument about data centers. Across rural America, communities are beginning to push back against massive AI data-center developments over concerns about farmland, water use, electric rates, traffic, and the possibility that these projects could permanently change local communities. Those are legitimate concerns… I had …

If America Wants to Win, America Has to Build Read More »

NEW FARMCON PODCAST – Kevin and Todd cover a lot of ground this week—from why Kevin is getting more aggressive pricing corn and wheat, to what could push soybeans toward $14, why higher wheat insurance guarantees could change 2027 planting decisions, and where dangerous “air pockets” could develop if bullish fund money starts heading for …

FARMCON CONVERSATIONS — NEW EPISODE Read More »

For generations, the economics of a feedlot were relatively straightforward. Buy cattle, buy feed, add weight efficiently, manage risk, and sell finished animals. That basic business is not disappearing, but a project recently broke ground in Broken Bow, Nebraska that suggests the modern feedlot may eventually be worth more than the cattle flowing through it. …

The Energy Asset Hiding inside the Feedlot Read More »