Carbon credits are still around and farmers should pay attention because it can be a profitable revenue stream. A carbon credit is a tradeable certificate for 1 metric ton of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere or recycled through sustainable farming practices. Farmers can sell these credits to companies as carbon offsets in voluntary markets. Practices like no-till farming, cover crops, and even using some biologicals increase carbon in the soil. For the farmer, getting paid to increase carbon or soil organic matter (SOM is 54% carbon) is a win-win proposition. Higher SOM increases yields and retains fertilizer nutrients and water for better crops. For farmers, up to 60% higher profit is possible by cutting back on fertilizer and still maintaining or even increasing crop quality and crop yields. Environmental benefits are also better. Less fertilizer used means less nutrient runoff and higher water quality. Improving SOM leads to less soil and wind erosion. For the consumer, t...

Pesticides (Herbicides, Insecticides, Miticides, Fungicides etc.) may affect soil microbes in many ways, often leading to reduced diversity and even lower populations of various soil microbes. Soil microbes are bacteria, fungi, archaea, protists, and viruses and account for an estimated 3%–4% of the total biomass on earth. Pesticides often degrade soil health and can lead to lower agricultural productivity or lower crop yields. Some pesticides change the soil structure so that soils become dense and compacted. Minimizing pesticide use is beneficial for improving soil health and microbial diversity and increasing soil microbial populations. Broad-spectrum herbicides are those that kill or control a wide variety of pests including weeds, fungi, and insects. Since they are so non-selective, they can kill or control beneficial microbes as well as both targeted and non-targeted organisms. Often broad-spectrum pesticides may also harm pollinators and beneficial predators. When this happens, ...

  Fertilizer generally enhance plant growth but it also may change soil microbial communities, leading to positive or negative changes. Chemical fertilizers are higher in salts (positive or negative ion charges). High salt content attracts water, ties it up, leading to both soil and plants becoming desiccated. If a nutrient is lacking, then fertilizer lets both microbes and the plant thrive. However, excess fertilizer generally leads to the opposite result. Also, chemical fertilizers tend to acidify or lower soil pH, generally disturb or change microbe diversity, and may lead to degraded soils. Organic fertilizers add more carbon and are commonly found in nature. They enhance soil microbial communities and soil fertility. They improve soil structure so that plant roots, water, and air move freely in the soil. They provide nutrients in a sustainable but slower time frame which enhances both microbes and plants, leading to more diversity and growth. However, sometimes for higher yiel...

  Jim Wiesemeyer (wiesemeyer@gmail.com), Washington DC agricultural insider, Virginia, spoke recently about US agriculture. Email him for free daily insights. Jim offered insights on E-15, Aviation fuel, and projections for the US Farm Bill. Jim is optimistic that Congress will pass a US ag farm provision for year-round E-15 Ethanol. While some Congress members are opposed, the majority want this legislation passed. The effect on corn markets may be slow though because it takes time to build new facilities for increased ethanol production. The aviation fuel (45Z) seems to be stalled. It is set to expire soon (2029) but no rules have been made. This would be a boon for USA agriculture if 45Z was a reality. It will stay stalled until a new farm bill is enacted. The 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit provides a tax incentive for producing low-emission fuels including Sustainable Aviation fuel made from grain. Jim also reported on the USDA crop estimates. Currently the way USDA collects ...

  Tommy Grisafi, a Chicago Board of Trade stock broker discussed grain markets recently. Grisafi says farmers should watch seven things this year when pricing crops. First, watch China and the trade tariffs. A federal judge ruled that all tariff money collected had to be paid back but that could take years of litigation. Second, is the weather in South America. Watch for an indication or scare of a South American drought which could push crop prices up short term. Drought scares are an opportunity to sell. The same goes for USA drought which are more common and are still lingering throughout the country. Third, watch the corn export demand which has been higher. Grisafi says to market your crops when you can lock in a profit and do not wait too long. Fourth, get crop insurance. With todays high crop inputs for fertilizer (20-25% higher), machinery (25-40% higher), pesticides, and Labor; farmers are in a squeeze between lower crop prices and higher input costs.  Fourth, watch y...

Dave Stark, molecular biologist and CEO with Holganix says microbes boost plant nutrition four ways by making plant available nitrogen (N), by unlocking soil fertility, helping plants create robust roots, and by breaking down nutrients in plant residue. Soil biology is a real asset to farmers which should be enhanced.  Microbes have many soil functions. A healthy diverse microbial system improves soil structure, improves water drainage, stores more soil water, and consumes parasites and pathogens; releasing soil nutrients. Generally, about 50% of applied fertilizer gets into the plant, as it is first recycled through soil microbes. Microbes process nutrients to make them plant available.  Nutrient efficiency on N is only 40-65%, on phosphorus (P) 15-25%, and on potassium (K) around 30-50%. Farmers operating cost for fertilizer is around 36% for growing corn and only about half or less of applied fertilizer is efficiently used. Soil biology and soil microbes improve nutr...

Soil and plant nutrients are vital for optimizing crop yields. Some are free while others require extensive fertilization using the 4R's (Right Rate, Place, Form, and Time). Due to higher fertilizer and application costs, agronomists prioritize the 4R's. For conventional farmers, Nitrogen (N)-Phosphorus (P)-and Potassium (K) seem to be the big three nutrients. These three macronutrients consume most of the fertilizer budget, especially on corn and small grains. Nitrogen (N) is used to make protein, P is used for DNA, RNA, cell walls, and for energy transfer (ATP). Potassium (K) is used like money in the plant, involved in nutrient exchange and balancing electrical charges. Next, secondary nutrients are Calcium (Ca)-Sulfur (S), and Magnesium (Mg). Calcium (Ca) is a major regulator of plant hormones and growth. Calcium carbonate or lime is used to balance pH, just slightly acid. Sulfur (S) is needed with nitrogen to make essential amino acids for protein synthes...

  Farm logic is hard to define and put into use. Before Albert Einstein died, a reporter interviewed him. He decided to ask: Define Logic? Albert Einstein answered with a question: What does Logic mean? Einstein shared this story. “Two men entered a chimney to clean it. One man comes out with a dirty face, the second comes out with a clean face. Using logic, which man will clean his face?” The reporter replied quickly, “The man with the dirty face!” Einstein answered, “NO. You are wrong! The man with the dirty face will look at the man with the clean face and assume his face is clean. He will d o nothing. The man with the clean face will look at the man with the dirty face and assume his face is dirty, and he will clean, wash and scrub his face, even though it is already clean.” The reporter thought for a moment, agreed, and said, “That sounds logical!” Einstein just shook his head and said, “NO! You are wrong again! First, there is nothing logical about two men entering a chimney ...

  A new innovation called metal organic frame works (MOF) may soon effect agriculture. MOF’s are very small organic (carbon) molecules with a metal bridge. They are quite small but have a tremendous amount of pore space. For example, a few grams (454 grams per pound) can have the surface area of an entire football field. The MOF’s have layers of single metal atoms that attach to the carbon to form porous sheets that fold upon themselves in a ball. This increased porosity can be used for a number of technological uses, some in agriculture, others in electronics, and even medicine.  For example, about 1.8 billion people are in need of water throughout the world. Dr. Omar Yaghi researched and made a MOF-5 compound that contains zinc. Zinc connects many folds of carbon together in a small ball with high porosity. Dr Yaghi got the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this discovery and technically invention. These synthetic crystal substances do not exist in nature and need to be manu...

  A new innovation called metal organic frame works (MOF) may soon effect agriculture. MOF’s are very small organic (carbon) molecules with a metal bridge. They are quite small but have a tremendous amount of pore space. For example, a few grams (454 grams per pound) can have the surface area of an entire football field. The MOF’s have layers of single metal atoms that attach to the carbon to form porous sheets that fold upon themselves in a ball. This increased porosity can be used for a number of technological uses, some in agriculture, others in electronics, and even medicine. For example, about 1.8 billion people are in need of water throughout the world. Dr. Omar Yaghi researched and made a MOF-5 compound that contains zinc. Zinc connects many folds of carbon together in a small ball with high porosity. Dr Yaghi got the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this discovery and technically invention. These synthetic crystal substances do not exist in nature and need to be manufactur...

Last week, Legacy Nutrient Tax Deductions (LNTD) were discussed and this is a follow up. This is a 1960’s tax deduction for oil, gas, mining, agriculture, and even timber production. It allows farmers to deduct the “excess value” of soil nutrients as a depreciating asset. For 60 years this deduction was ignored but now the IRS has finally come up with tax rules for this deduction. This article will explore how some farmers using this deduction. Consult with your attorney and CPA whether you want to pursue this deduction. Here are some common problems farmers have had with this tax deduction. First, many were taking deductions too quickly or excessively. Improper sampling (mixed depths, inconsistent grids) are an issue. It is easy to double count current owner tenant inputs. Bad baselines will inflate “excess” nutrient values. Thin documentation, i.e. can’t satisfy PLR MSSP guidance for tax purposes. The biggest problem most farmers who are looking into this deduction was how to documen...

Everyone is required to pay taxes but no more than the law requires. Farmers have many assets which may depreciated to lower taxes. Congress has given a few businesses including oil, mining, and even agriculture ways to depreciate assets that are consumed. For example, back in the 1960’s; Congress allowed oil and mining companies to depreciate the value of their investment in oil and minerals. Included in that legislation was the same deductions for agriculture and timber. For 60+ years, those federal tax deductions have been ignored but now tax rules have been written to allow farmers to deduction the nutrient or fertilizer value of their cropland and even timber, as a tax deduction. Barry Ward, OSU Farm Management Economist discussed this recently at a farm meeting. While CPA’s and lawyers have a right to be skeptical, they can sort it out by reading the tax laws (more on that coming). The federal tax deduction write off discovery occurred about 5 years ago. A Brazilian farmer/busine...

  Corn crop prices are low and fertilizer prices are high. Farmers are looking for ways to lower their nitrogen (N) fertilizer bill. University N recommendations have changed over the years. University N research in the 1950’s advocated heavy N fertilizer because yield increased as N application increased?? Extra N fertilizer was a cheap fertilizer insurance policy. About 10–15 years ago, universities re-examined that original data and found little direct relationship between higher corn yields and higher N rates. The relationship was quite variable! Five major factors like temperature, moisture (weather), soil pH, soil oxygen levels, and soil organic matter (SOM) affects plant N uptake. The N relationship to yield is so variable that universities went to a N application rate based on the price of N relative to crop prices. As N prices increase and crop prices decrease, economically it’s better to cut back while if N is cheap and corn prices high, the N rate is increased to increas...

Getting a new herbicide approved may take 12–15 years and cost over $300 million dollars. That’s just for the successful herbicides. The last new herbicide modes of action occurred about 40 years ago, but now several companies are finally releasing new herbicides effective against weed resistant weeds. Developing safe new herbicides is a multi facet project. First, large numbers of chemicals have to be manually screened. Now with AI, this process is much faster. Today most new herbicides are designed to be more site specific for either a targeted site or a weed group. After screening, it has to be tested multiple times to make sure it is biologically active but also does not harm the crop. Then environmental testing and toxicology tests are performed followed by field testing and formulations. A new herbicide has to cross several hurdles to get approved. Bayer invests about 1 billion dollars per year in agricultural research looking for new herbicides and or modes of action. The first ...