Agriculture Shorts

The USDA plans to direct $37 million toward construction of an Agricultural Research Service facility on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Nebraska Innovation Campus. Construction on the facility began in 2024 . . . The Farm Journal Crop Tour pegged average corn yield in Nebraska this year at 163.6 bushels per acre. Last year’s tour estimated a yield of 179.5 bushels while actual yield came in at 194 bushels per acre . . . The Daily Livestock Report said the Livestock Marketing Information Center (LMIC) is projecting estimated returns for a cow-calf operation in the Southern Plains region at $1,030 per cow, an increase of $78 over 2025 . . . The Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Survey and Report by the Center for Agricultural Profitability at the University of Nebraska shows the methods used to sell agricultural real estate continues to evolve, 39% of survey respondents reported the increased use of hybrid auctions and 27% said the use of online auctions had increased over the prior five years . . . Stephen Koontz, livestock economist at Colorado State University, wrote beef packers have been losing between $200-$400 per head on every head slaughtered and fabricated since 2023.