Farm Economy Faces Difficult Start to 2026

Terrain Ag Interim Executive Director Matt Clark is worried about the state of the grain sector. “Not only was 2025 a struggle, we also started off 2026 with an update from the USDA that was probably a little more hard than what nearly all of us thought,” said Clark. “You had a scenario where corn production went higher when most everybody was thinking it would go a little bit lower.” Clark added that financial stress is showing up through historically low tractor and combine sales, while producers look ahead to government payments to help manage cash flow this year.