Louisiana Crops Newsletter: October 2026
Choice of varieties for planting is a crucial management decision that sets the stage for yield potential and input costs. While grain yield is the most important factor, test weight, disease resistance, and heading date are important considerations as they also impact economic return.
Test weight is important because low test weight results in dockage at the elevator. Heading day is a function of cold requirement (vernalization) and day length (photoperiod) response that determines when a variety heads out.
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USDA Secretary Builds On Great American Cotton Plan
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins visited Giesenschlag Farms in Caldwell, Texas, where she announced two new actions under the Great American Cotton Plan to strengthen support for American cotton producers.
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Crop Market Report for Corn, Soybeans, Rice, and Cotton: October 2026
Last week, USDA announced that Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) payments will be made available to eligible producers in October for the 2025 crop year. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) also increased the ARC/PLC payment limit from $125,000 to $155,000, starting with the 2025 crop year with annual adjustments based on inflation. The payment limit for the 2025 crop year is $160,000.
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Louisiana Crops Newsletter--September, 2026
There has been an abundance of ear rots reported in Louisiana throughout this growing season. As the harvest window is winding down, and with many growers already finished with harvest, I have heard of one reoccurring issue in particular: aflatoxin. There have been reports of heavy docking and even loads being rejected at the elevators. In addition to this, there are now many growers who are planning to store their grain who have been inquiring about storage guidelines for infected grain.
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Shurley: What Does This Price Slide Mean?
The run to 93 cents is over. That doesn’t mean it can’t return, but the market has adjusted. The bulls, for now, have lost the momentum. Prices (Dec futures) have dropped over 10 cents since the peak at 93 cents.
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Crop Market Report - September 2026
This month’s 2026/27 U.S. corn outlook is for smaller supplies, lower domestic use, unchanged exports, and reduced ending stocks. Projected beginning stocks for 2026/27 are 23 million bushels lower based primarily on a larger export forecast for 2025/26. Corn production for 2026/27 is forecast at 15.8 billion bushels, 213 million down from last month on a 2.2-bushel reduction in yield to 178.5 bushels per acre and a fractional decrease in harvested area to 88.5 million.
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Cotton Jassids Detected In Cotton In Rapides Parish
Cotton jassids, also known as two-spot cotton leafhoppers, have been detected in cotton in Alexandria. Two adult jassids were captured in approximately 200 sweeps using sweepnets. This detection follows last year’s finding of cotton jassids on cotton regrowth in Louisiana, confirming the need for continued monitoring in cotton fields this season.
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Cotton Growers Face ‘Perfect Storm’ Of Input Cost Spikes In 2026
For row crop producers across the nation, late winter and early spring is a key seasonal window for fertilizer sourcing. Just as producers are making their final cropping decisions for the coming planting season, they will also think about plant and soil nutrition.
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'Seeing is Believing': New tech, Methods Could Make NWLA Farmers More Money
It has been a challenging time for farmers. First tariffs, and more recently, restrictions on ships in the Strait of Hormuz carrying fertilizer or the elements and compounds in it, have increased the cost of bringing crops to harvest.
LSU Ag Center’s Dr. Peters Egbedi said farmers have dealt with the increases in different ways. Some, anticipating price hikes, purchased extra fertilizer early.
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One in Four U.S. Cotton Acres Provides Field-Level Data Through the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol
The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol today announced that 2.34 million planted acres now provide field-level data through the program for the 2026 crop year, representing nearly one in four of the 9.85 million total U.S. cotton acres planted this season.
This reflects the continued commitment of U.S. cotton growers to responsible production, even as they navigate a challenging economic landscape. Despite facing fluctuating input costs, unpredictable weather, and shifting market dynamics, growers are choosing to formalize and voluntarily provide data on their sustainability practices.
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Market Update for Corn, Soybeans, Rice, and Cotton: July 2026
This month’s 2026/27 U.S. corn outlook is for smaller supplies, greater exports, and reduced ending stocks. Corn beginning stocks are cut 125 million bushels to 2.0 billion, reflecting an increase in feed and residual use that is partly offset by a reduction in corn used for ethanol for 2025/26. Feed and residual use is raised 150 million bushels based on indicated disappearance in the June 30 Grain Stocks report.
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Producers Endure Costly Input Price Spikes In 2026
For row crop producers across the nation, late winter and early spring are key seasonal windows for fertilizer sourcing. Just as producers are making their final cropping decisions for the coming planting season, they will also think about plant and soil nutrition.
But in 2026, this final run-up to planting was packed with a confluence of circumstances that made fertilizer sourcing an especially painful undertaking.
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Agricultural Policy and Market Situation Newsletter: July 2026
USDA’s much-anticipated Acreage Report was released on June 30th. Corn acreage stayed large, but lower-than-expected corn and wheat stocks gave traders enough demand support to trigger relief buying and short-covering after a sharp June selloff.
Grain markets treated the Acreage and Grain Stocks reports as less bearish than the headline corn acreage number first suggested. USDA pegged corn planted area at 95.343 million acres, above the average pre-report trade estimate near 94.99 million acres, with harvested area for grain forecast at 87.434 million acres.
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USDA Reminds Louisiana Producers to File Crop Acreage Reports
After spring planting is complete, agricultural producers in Louisiana should make an appointment with their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) parish office to complete crop acreage reports before the applicable deadline.
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Cleveland Bids Farewell In Final Cotton Marketing Weekly Column
It is difficult to sit in the chair today, with December futures trading at 75-76 cents. I have procrastinated as long as I can in trying to get the market above 80 cents. I again suggest growers seek protection on any movement above the 79-80 cent level.
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