Headline Stack
🏦 Crop insurance sales closing date arrives Thursday — spring planted crops deadline is April 15
📊 April WASDE raises corn price outlook 5¢, bumps soy crush to 2.61 billion bushels
🌧️ Cool, wet soils stalling field prep across northern Corn Belt
📋 House Ag Committee releases draft Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026
🌍 U.S. farm exports up 8% year-over-year as new trade agreements take hold
Top Story
🏦 Thursday is the deadline. If you haven't called your crop insurance agent, do it today.
USDA's Risk Management Agency has set April 15 as the sales closing date for spring planted crops, Whole-Farm Revenue Protection, and Micro Farm policies. Producers who miss the deadline cannot make changes to their coverage for the 2026 crop year. This year's decision carries more weight than usual: the government raised subsidies for the Supplemental Coverage Option, Enhanced Coverage Option, and Margin Coverage Option to 80%, up from 65% in 2024. "Starting in 2026, farmers can take the Supplemental Coverage Option while also taking Agriculture Risk Coverage" — a previously unavailable combination. With corn and soybean projected prices sitting below break-even for most operations, the elevated subsidy levels make higher-coverage options more accessible than they've been in years.
More This Week
📊 April WASDE: soy crush up, exports trimmed, corn steady — LINK
USDA raised the 2025/26 season-average corn price 5 cents to $4.15 per bushel and lifted the soybean price forecast 10 cents to $10.30 per bushel.
For soybeans, USDA increased its crush estimate by 35 million bushels to 2.61 billion bushels while trimming the export forecast by the same amount to 1.54 billion bushels.
Ending stocks were left unchanged at 350 million bushels; corn supply and use figures were largely unchanged from March.
🌧️ Wet soils, cool temps putting northern Corn Belt on hold — LINK
A large precipitation system moved through the Midwest over the weekend, with cool temperatures forecast to linger through mid-April across the North Central States.
"Wet soils are limiting field access" in Iowa; Illinois reports corn planting underway only in southern counties.
Over 90% of historical data shows the optimal planting window runs April 16 to May 15 — the clock starts this week.
📋 House Ag releases draft Farm Bill — LINK
House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson released draft text of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026.
The release marks the first time Congress has moved toward full reauthorization of the farm bill since 2023.
The draft is a starting point for negotiations; no timeline for floor votes has been announced.
🌍 Farm exports rise 8% as trade deals add market access — LINK
U.S. agricultural exports totaled $14.7 billion in early April, up 8% year-over-year, as eight reciprocal trade agreements begin opening markets for grain, beef, and dairy.
Deals with Argentina, Malaysia, and Cambodia are among those cited by USDA.
Trade uncertainty from ongoing tariff policy continues to affect short-term purchasing behavior, but USDA said agreements are "leveling the playing field for U.S. food and agricultural exports."