Bridge Payment Rates Are Here — But Are They Enough to Help Your Bottom Line?

(1/7/26) Writing for Farm Progress, Joshua Baethge describes concerns that the aid package being issued to farmers in February to help them deal with damage caused by the trade war will not make up for years of mounting losses in agriculture. In December, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced an $11 billion aid package to help farmers recover from economic challenges and plan for the next crop season. That money will be delivered as a direct aid package to farmers. An additional $1 billion will be set aside for specialty crop bridge payments, though details of that plan have yet to be released. Highlights:

• USDA calculated a flat per-acre payment for all 2025 planted acres of covered commodities. Those rates were based on production cost data from USDA’s Economic Research Service and the World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimate Report. Using this data, USDA established the following per-acre payment rates for each eligible commodity: barley = $20.51; canola = $23.57; chickpeas (large), $26.46 = chickpeas (small) = $33.36; corn = $44.36; cotton, $117.35 = flax, $8.05; lentils = $23.98; mustard = $23.21; oats = $81.75; peanuts = $55.65; peas = $19.60; rice = $132.89; safflower = $24.86; sesame = $13.68; sorghum = $48.11; soybeans = $30.88; sunflower = $17.32; wheat = $39.35.
• Faith Parum, an economist with the American Farm Bureau, said the $11 billion allocated to the bridge program does not come close to covering the losses U.S. farmers are facing. She said that row crop producers alone have endured losses exceeding $10 billion for multiple years.
• Scott Metzger, the American Soybean Association president, said the $30.88-per-acre bridge payment rate for soybean farmers will not cover the losses they sustained in 2025 due to high production costs and the trade war with China. 
• When USDA announced its bridge payment plans in December, $1 billion was set aside to support specialty crop producers. Nearly a month later, there is still no information regarding what kind of support those producers will receive, or when they will see checks.  

LSP board member and southwestern Minnesota farmer Laurie Driessen recently wrote a blog describing how current federal ag policy and the trade war are harming small and medium-sized farmers. Interested in diversifying your cropping system out of the corn-soybean duo-culture? LSP and University of Minnesota Extension will be holding a “Rotating into Resiliency” workshop series in February. Details are here. LSP’s “Beyond Exports” meeting is Jan. 27 in Rochester.

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The Government Says Eat Real Food. So Why Do We Subsidize Processed Food Instead?

(1/7/26) Writing in her Substack, Angela Huffman says the federal government’s latest version of the food pyramid promotes the eating of unprocessed food. However, the American food system is built to do the opposite, she argues. Highlights:

•  The government’s Dietary Guidelines want Americans to eat more fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. A 2023 Farm Action–commissioned analysis found that Americans were eating 50%–70% less produce, legumes, and whole grains than recommended at the time. That means the Guidelines are effectively calling for two-to-three times more of these foods than Americans currently consume.
• From 2018 to 2022 vegetable acreage fell about 20%, the U.S. became a net importer of all five top vegetables by 2021, and imports rose and exports fell for produce and key food grains like wheat and rice.
• At 2022 prices, it would take only 3.5 to 4.4 million acres of additional fruits, vegetables, and melons to generate enough sales to offset the entire food trade deficit. That is less than half-a-percent of U.S. farmland.
• Huffman writes that if the government’s Dietary Guidelines are going to matter, implementation must shift federal subsidies toward food crops aligned with the Guidelines, leverage federal procurement to build markets for farmers growing real food, expand risk management for diversified and regenerative farms, reform conservation programs so they support public health outcomes, and prioritize local and regional supply chains rather than corporate concentration.

For information on LSP’s work to build community-based food systems, click here.

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Who’s buying 70% of Iowa farmland? Current Farmers

(1/20/26) Wallaces Farmer reports that in Iowa existing farmers buy about 7 out of every 10 farms offered to the market, and investors — local and non-local — buy most of the remaining 3 in 10 farms. Most of the buyers who continue to compete for land — despite the difficult market conditions — already own other land in their farming operations or investment portfolios. Highlights:

• Land values are not rising as fast as they have in the past. According to Iowa State University, Iowa farmland appreciated 0.7% for the 12 months ending in December.
• Iowa State data points out that 84% of Iowa farmland is owned with no mortgage. “That equals a whole lot of wealth and purchasing power,” writes Doug Hensley, a farmland real estate expert.
• Writes Hensley, “Can Iowa farmland go down in value? Yes, without question, land can go down in value, just as any asset can. But something fundamental in the supply of land, demand for land or both will need to change before the current market is likely to show much meaningful change in direction.”
• Nationally, farmland demand varies widely by location, according to a real estate expert with Farmers National Company. Areas with high crop yields, diversified farms, and dependable groundwater continue to attract buyers and maintain steady values. Regions facing commodity price pressure, lower yields, or limited alternative income sources are seeing lower demand.

LSP will be holding a “Are You Ready?” land access workshop in Minneapolis on March 7. For details, click here.

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Arizona Comes to Agreement With Major Dairy Farm to Cut Groundwater Pumping That Is Draining Wells

(1/10/26) Inside Climate News reports that a Minnesota-based dairy giant has agreed to reduce its groundwater usage in Arizona by fallowing 2,000 acres of land and maintaining “best practices” to conserve water. The company also agreed to deliver $11 million to residents affected by the company’s overpumping. Highlights:

• For generations, the Willcox groundwater basin in Arizona enabled small family farms to operate in the region. But in 2015, Riverview LLP moved to the area, irrigating tens of thousands of acres to raise crops to feed its cows. As a result, far more water is pumped from the basin than goes in, and the signs of the aquifer’s collapse have begun to show, with fissures splitting roads and homeowners’ wells going dry.
• The final details are still being ironed out, but the state Attorney General Office’s agreement with Riverview will pave the way for over 100,000 acre-feet of water to be saved from pumping by 2040. One acre foot is enough water to supply two to three households in Arizona for a year.
• State data shows more than 100,000 acre feet of water is pumped out of the aquifer than is replenished by rain or other sources and that the groundwater has been drawn down so low that it’s beneath the average well depth of the community. Riverview itself owns more than 30,000 acres in the Willcox basin and leases additional acreage, and other large farming operations are in the region.
• Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said she will continue to push for other large industrial agricultural operations to enter similar agreements, both in Willcox and elsewhere in the state.

Riverview, which is based out of Morris, Minn., has been building or proposing to build massive CAFO operations in Minnesota and the Dakotas in recent years, despite serious concerns raised by LSP members and other rural residents related to potential excessive water use, pollution, and economic impacts on small and medium-sized farms. Check out this story about how one group of citizens is fighting Riverview’s expansion in their community. Earlier this week, LSP organizers took part in a Dakota Rural Action town  hall meeting in that state’s Edmunds County, where residents discussed a Riverview proposal to build a 25,000-cow facility. For details on DRA’s work around this issue, click here.

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A Wisconsin Bill Wants to Give Money to Small Dairy Farms. Industry Groups Say Otherwise.

(1/21/26) A bill moving through the Wisconsin Legislature would offer low-interest loans to small dairy farmers to boost efficiency as the state’s dairy industry rapidly consolidates into larger industrial operations. But ahead of the state’s legislative session, which resumed in early January, major farm and dairy industry representatives pushed for changes that would allow large industrial farms to access the loans, according to lobbying communications and draft legislation obtained by Investigate Midwest through open records requests. Highlights:

• The state has lost nearly 18,000 dairy farms over the past two decades and, as of 2022, has roughly 6,000 operating dairy farms, with small-scale farms dwindling rapidly. Wisconsin dairy farms with fewer than 500 cattle have decreased 67% since 2002. Almost every county in the state has lost at least half of its small farms in that same time, according to an Investigate Midwest analysis of USDA data.
• The Wisconsin dairy industry is worth nearly $53 billion and its farms have become increasingly larger in recent years, while the overall number of farms continues to decrease. This trend has created legal clashes between rural towns and dairy farms across the state.
• Senate Bill 323, introduced in July 2025, would set aside $20 million to create an innovation program for dairy farmers in the state to fund the purchase of new equipment or expand animal health practices. The bill was passed by the Senate 18 to 15 on Jan. 21 and can now be heard by the State Assembly.
• The Wisconsin Farm Bureau and the Dairy Business Association both asked bill authors to remove the bill’s limit on the number of animal units a farm could have to apply for funding. The Dairy Business Association is operated by a board of executives with ties to CAFOs across the state.
• Darin Von Ruden, president of the Wisconsin Farmers Union, said that if the legislation caps farm size, the funding will help more farmers.

The 2026 edition of the Minnesota Legislature convenes Feb. 17. For details on what issues LSP will be focusing on during the session, check out our blog.

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Managing Land with Livestock, Ecological Restoration in Mind

(January 2026) A farm family in Minnesota’s Kandiyohi County has been using various state and federal conservation funds to reclaim land and create an operation that balances natural habitat health and productive livestock production, according to a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) feature. Highlights:

• The Gustafson family has used such NRCS initiatives as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program to reclaim land from invasive plants and set up a managed rotational grazing operation for livestock. The family has also worked with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Pheasants Forever to restore the farm.
• They are maintaining the restored habitat with rotational grazing of beef cattle and goats, which has resulted in more grassland songbirds and better forage quality. Frank Gustafson has documented 145 species of plants and grasses on the property.
• “You can have really sound management practices and increase biodiversity, water infiltration and wildlife habitat while also improving the quality and amount of forage for livestock,” Gustafson said.

LSP’s Ear to the Ground podcast has featured numerous interviews with farmers who are using managed rotational grazing to restore and maintain natural habitat. Check out episodes 303, 390, and 391. The federal government is considering changing the rules for local decision-making related to spending decisions for farm conservation programs. This rule change would undercut the voice of farmers and weaken local control across the country by removing state conservationists’ authority to determine how public dollars are allocated for conservation practices in their respective states. For details on how to make your voice heard on this issue, check out LSP’s action alert.

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ICE Crackdown Is Impacting Minnesota’s Farms and Food System, Officials Say

(1/15/26) The Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation that has roiled Minneapolis and led to the shooting death of Renee Good is also impacting farms and food businesses across Minnesota, according to legislators, government officials, and farmers interviewed by Civil Eats. Highlights:

• Minnesota Farmers Union president Gary Wertish, a grain and livestock farmer, said that the Union’s members “are increasingly concerned about ICE’s operations in greater Minnesota.” Restaurant closures due to safety concerns are impacting the farms that supply them, he said.
• At a press conference, Andrea Vaubel, Minnesota’s Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture, said that the issue could have serious ripple effects. “We’re talking grocery stores, we’re talking food processing facilities, we’re talking meat processors, we’re talking about dairy farms,” she said. “The food supply will be significantly affected if this continues like this.”
• Nick Olson, a farmer and organizer with LSP, told Civil Eats he has heard reports of farmers impacted but all were afraid to speak out due to safety concerns.

In a recent blog, LSP executive director Scott Elkins described why the organization is standing with our immigrant neighbors during these tumultuous times.

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Central Iowa Water Works Running Nitrate Removal Facility, Rare in January

(1/9/26) KCCI-TV reports that the Central Iowa Water Works, which services the City of Des Moines, was forced to turn on its nitrate removal facility in January, a rare situation given that nitrate levels in water normally spike during the growing season. Highlights:

• Nitrate levels in the region’s water commonly rise above safe drinking water standards in the spring or early summer, when nitrogen fertilizer is being applied to crop fields. This is the fourth time the Water Works’ nitrate removal system has had to be activated during the winter.
• In spring and summer 2025, the nitrate removal facility ran in part or fully for 112 days. A wet July drove nitrates out of farm field drainage tiles and into lakes and rivers. That led to an unprecedented lawn watering ban in central Iowa last summer.
• Former University of Iowa water researcher Chris Jones says the high numbers aren’t just hitting central Iowa. He noted samples taken from the Cedar River in early January also showed elevates nitrate levels. The Cedar flows out of Minnesota into northeastern Iowa and eventually to the Mississippi.

Check out LSP’s latest Myth Buster on nitrogen fertilizer’s long-term pollution legacy. For more on how farmers are diversifying out of nitrogen-intensive row crops like corn, see LSP’s Ear to the Ground podcast episodes 392, 393, and 394.

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