Foreign ownership of U.S. land is a widely debated issue, driven by concerns about national security, agricultural productivity and long-term implications for U.S. agriculture. USDA released updated foreign ownership data for 2024, detailing what foreign investments exist on farmland, where those investments are concentrated and which countries account for the largest holdings.

If you bought beef recently, you probably experienced sticker shock over high prices; yet farmers are experiencing the opposite shock, as the price they’re paid for their cattle falls. How can that be? It’s the result of a complex food supply chain, and beef isn’t alone. It’s a scenario playing out across a variety of agricultural products: big disparities between retail prices and farm gate prices. Before we delve into shoppers’ perceptions about it, let’s compare.

Diesel is used throughout agricultural production, powering tractors, combines, irrigation equipment and the trucks that move crops, livestock and farm inputs. With diesel prices rising sharply in recent weeks, fuel costs have become an even larger concern during one of the most fuel-intensive periods of the year.

A recent Farm Bureau analysis detailed the global supply disruptions and tight fuel markets behind the increase in diesel prices. For farmers, the effects show up directly in the cost of operating equipment and indirectly through higher transportation costs.

As farmers and ranchers face record-high diesel costs, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall called on the president to take several steps to lower prices at the pump, including a temporary suspension of the federal highway diesel tax.

Farming requires significant capital. Producers pay for seed, fertilizer, feed, fuel and other inputs months and sometimes years before crops are harvested or livestock are sold. Buying farmland, machinery and other long-term assets often require even more financing.

Those needs are growing. USDA projects total production costs for major field crops to reach new highs in 2027.