Agriculture Partnership on Illinois suggested that cover crops reduce nitrate leaching, but may increase the presence of nitrous oxide. 

Big news in agriculture to talk about lately, including the ramifications of the “Big, Beautiful Bill” on the upcoming farm bill, beef prices continuing to surge and the anticipated fallout from the Make America Healthy Again crusade on modern farming. Please plow ahead … 

Big, beautiful budget: Fleecing the farm bill?
URBANA — The budget reconciliation bill bearing the title “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” was signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4.

A new Gardner Policy Series article published on the University of Illinois’ farmdocDAILY website sounded an alarm that among the bill’s many provisions are revisions to the major mandatory programs of the farm bill, which deserve scrutiny.  

“Rushed through Congress under special budget procedures and a dearth of deliberation, much about this new federal law remains confusing and dismaying,” wrote the article’s author, agricultural policy and law expert Jonathan Coppess, who identified an expanded loophole for farm program payment limitations as a potential Rosetta Stone.  

“The crux of the text is an expanded loophole for multiplying payment limitations to include legal fictional entities that provide liability shields to the owners (e.g., S corporations and LLC’s). To be clear, there may well be legitimate business reasons for a farm to form as an LLC or S corporation, and many do, but that should not be conflated with this legislative loophole,” he said. “Nothing previously prevented farms from doing so; what the loophole allows is the multiplication of payment limitations when so organized, thereby allowing the farm operation to maximize its haul of federal payments. This is not about farming crops or land, but rather it is about farming the federal programs and the public till.” 

The paper goes on to raise the question of why federal policy would favor legal fictional entities over individual family farmers: “Is a qualified pass-through entity a better farmer, or does it simply receive competitive advantages that can be overwhelming, such as being able to harvest more federal payments? If such entities have fewer or lower losses, they don’t need the extra payments; if those entities suffer more or larger losses, they shouldn’t be encouraged with extra subsidies and other competitive advantages. Is this policy also a symptom of a much larger problem in society, with laws prioritizing fictional legal entities over people, providing the former with special gifts and benefits at the disadvantage of the latter” 

To read the article by Jonathan Coppess, “The Farm Bill in Reconciliation: Loophole as Rosetta Stone; Review and Comment,” published on July 17, 2025, go to farmdocdaily.illinois.edu.  

Expert: High beef prices to continue 

PEORIA — Last week we reported that ground beef had reached a national retail price average of $5.98 per pound. For beef producers being paid premium prices for their products, this is relatively good news (though the cost for calves, labor and feed has risen correspondingly). For consumers, it serves as further confirmation that food inflation is not going away. We had a chance last week to speak to an international cattle market expert, Andrew Coppin of Ranchbot.com, who predicted that high beef prices would continue for the foreseeable future due to a combination of factors.  

“The supply and demand equation is all in favor of prices going higher,” said Coppin, whose Fort Worth, Texas-based company specializes in water resource management for farmers and ranchers. “We’ve got a low herd, and it’s really challenging to rebuild the herd with 25-30 percent of the grazing land still in drought. It’s a high-risk bet right now for ranchers to buy more cows to rebuild the herd. At the same time, the U.S.’ love affair with beef is still strong. No one says to their girlfriend, ‘let’s go out and grab a chicken.’” 

Coppin predicts that two scenarios could play out: a “Goldilocks” scenario where stable weather settles into livestock producing areas, such as southwest Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, to provide regular, needed rainfall to restore pastures. Stable commodity pricing will also help settle the uncertain nerves of many livestock producers questioning whether to invest, leading to more stability at retail, the cattle expert noted. 

“Maybe just pricing moving sideways and not going up more would cause producers to reinvest and start building their herds to meet demand,” Coppin said. “Or there is a train-wreck scenario where some other unforeseen event, be it the New World screwworm or continued growth in inflation or tariffs, cause prices to skyrocket even more.  

“U.S. consumers would have to experience some sort of shock to cause them to stop buying beef. I’m not sure that the price of beef sliding up and up is going to be enough, but if the cost of living is at such a point where having a steak is unaffordable, demand could wane.” 

Denitrification in soils tracked 

SPRINGFIELD — A pair of short-duration studies conducted for the Illinois Sustainable Agriculture Partnership on Illinois fields suggested that cover crops reduce nitrate leaching (a win for water quality), but may increase nitrous oxide (N2O, a greenhouse gas) presence. ISAP’s studies dig deeper into potential trade-offs to offer a better understanding of the environmental costs and benefits of cover crops. 

A downloadable guide describes denitrification, a microbial process that is responsible for most N2O emissions from agricultural soils, and breaks down scientific literature to understand the larger picture of cover crops and N2O. Interested producers can access the documents at https://ilsustainableag.org/resource/digging-deeper-cover-crops-n2o-emissions/.  

MAHA action expected; IL Corn speaks out 

BLOOMINGTON — The Illinois Corn Growers Association joined 18 other state corn association presidents and the National Corn Growers Association in asking President Donald Trump to intervene before the Make America Healthy Again Commission releases policy recommendations next month. Illinois Corn, along with many other agricultural organizations, is concerned about the MAHA Commission’s questioning of pesticide safety in America in their initial May report. NCGA and ICGA asserts that repeated assessments and tests have proven the safety of pesticides, which, to be approved for use by the Environmental Protection Agency, must be rigorously tested and studied.  

“The EPA is thorough in its review process,” said ICGA President Garrett Hawkins. “I feel very confident using the available chemicals because of the testing and review. By law, the testing is even repeated at least every 15 years, or sooner if new information is available.”  

Illinois Farm Fact: 

If all the pesticides listed in the original MAHA report were to disappear completely, crop yields could decrease by more than 70 percent due to pests, weeds, and disease. (NCGA/ICGA letter to President Donald Trump)