Dirt to Dollars.
Return's monthly digest of nutrient market dynamics, application economics, and operational decisions affecting Midwest growers. Sent the morning each issue publishes.
The next global food crisis has already started. And it starts with fertilizer.
The Strait of Hormuz closure has rerouted one-third of the world's seaborne fertilizer trade right as Northern Hemisphere planting season opens. Urea at New Orleans is up 32% in a week. Here's what it means.
One way to de-risk fertility in 2026: shorter supply chains.
Why the case for regional nutrient sourcing is the strongest it's been in a decade.
Farm Aid delivers a critical bridge for 2026.
What the latest farm aid package means for nutrient budgets and pre-buy timing heading into the new year.
Cover crops show profit power in upper Midwest.
The data behind cover crop ROI — and how the practice pairs with poultry litter applications.
Soil health is your edge as input costs are reviewed.
When input costs are under scrutiny, the operations with soil-health margin survive the cycle. Here's why.
$50M in on-farm support still on hold with USDA.
Where the held-up federal dollars sit, what they were earmarked for, and what the delay means for growers planning around them.
Regulations up. Margins down. What's next?
A look at the regulatory headwinds compressing operator margins — and what farmers can actually do about it.
Midwest land values holding strong.
Why farmland in the upper Midwest is bucking the broader real-estate cycle — and how growers should think about land in 2026 budgets.
45Z tax credit extended — time to prep for premium corn.
With 45Z extended, the low-CI corn opportunity is back on the table. What growers should be doing now to capture it.