CropLife Retail Week: 2026 Planting Update, Fertilizer Stress, and the Paraquat Sunset

As the 2026 planting season kicks off, we’re seeing major shifts in acreage and economic strategy. Join CropLife Editor Eric Sfiligoj and Amy Asmus, Co-Owner of Asmus Farm Supply as they break down the USDA’s latest planting intentions. We also dive into the “economic crunch” hitting retailers and the news of Syngenta ending paraquat production.

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*Below is a partial and edited transcript:

Eric Sfiligoj:
Hello, welcome to another edition of CropLife Retail Week. I’m Eric Sfiligoj, Editor of CropLife and CropLife Iron, here again with Amy Asmus of Asmus Farm Supply. Amy, welcome back to the program.

Amy Asmus:
Well, thank you. Thanks for having me.

Eric Sfiligoj:
Yeah. So, hey, just to kind of hearken back, when you and I were last together on Retail Week, we were anxiously awaiting the USDA planting intention numbers. And of course, those did drop in the interim between the time you and I last talked and now. And lo and behold, there is going to be more soybean in 2026 than was anticipated.

Based on the numbers, just to remind everybody, soybean growers intend to plant 84.7 million acres of soybean in 2026. That’s up 4%. Acreage increases are about 300,000 more than they were in 2025, with big increases expected in the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and your home state of Iowa.

And again, I did also find something that came out earlier this week from USDA, the Oil Crops Outlook report, that reported that in 2025–2026 they’re expecting soybean crush numbers to also reach a record high. They’re expecting 2.61 billion bushels of soybean crush this year, up 35 million bushels from the March 2026 projection. And again, that is reflecting strong demand for soybean meal and oil.

So, Miss Amy, what do you have to share regarding some of these increased soybean numbers? And more importantly, are you also noting it as you are now in the planting season?

Amy Asmus:
So I just surveyed my agronomists to see—so it wasn’t just my perception, it was theirs as well. And it seems like in our area, for the most part, people are respecting the rotation. So they’re not seeing a whole lot of jumps for the reasons that USDA was stating they might be, which is some fertilizer price anxiety out there.

They thought maybe growers were jumping some acres because of fertilizer availability and pricing for corn. In our area, fertilizer decisions are made in the fall, so it’s not very easy to switch away from that because of a fertilizer decision. There’s some anxiety around funding and everything in general for the crop coming up.

But as far as seeing people jump acres, we’re not really seeing that in our area for the reasons that USDA may be projecting.

Now, you say we’re in the middle of planting season, which is great. To the west of us, in our store in Estherville, they have been going like hotcakes to get seed in the ground. Now here at Rake, we’ve actually had a lot of moisture, and so we have not really put a whole lot of seed in the ground here.

That is one reason I think may come up—weather disruptions. If we look at past USDA reports and compare intention versus actual planting acres, the years where there’s a big discrepancy—like 2019 with a lot of prevent plant, or 2022–2023 when planting was disrupted—those are the years when acres shift.

And when planting is disrupted, that change tends to favor soybeans. So even though the intention may not be there in our area, with the spring season setting up the way it is, I think we could see some switching to soybean acres from corn—not for the reasons we think, but due to potential weather disruption.

Eric Sfiligoj:
Yeah, and that’s interesting because I do remember the 2019 season in particular. I think there were about 5 million acres of prevent plant. In some areas like the Dakotas, that was really pronounced—how much acreage did not get planted.

So maybe a quick question on that then: if there is more soybean than corn here in 2026, from a retailer perspective, what crop inputs and services might benefit from that? What might be more in demand than normal?

Amy Asmus:
I don’t know, you know, as far as crop inputs, of course fertilizer is a big one. So there may be some savings. But like I said, our fertilizer decisions are made in the fall, and a lot of that is already applied before the decision to switch.

Our fertilizer bookings and what we’re delivering now are pretty in line with keeping the rotation right. So fertilizer inputs really won’t go down if they’ve already been applied with the intention of planting corn.

We’ve seen a lot of programs—well, actually a big discrepancy. There are growers sticking to premium programs that we like to promote, and then there are growers starting to feel the economic crunch.

We’ve seen our financing programs—for manufacturers and our in-house financing programs, in addition to bank operating loans—increase 191% so far this year. So we know there’s economic pressure out there.

With that pressure, people try to save their way to prosperity. And what I’m fearful of is that people will take a premium pest management program and reduce it to the bare minimum. That might get them through this year, but we’re going to have more pest pressure and deal with that for the next 3 to 5 years.

So maybe they save this year, but end up spending twice as much later to clean up the problem. That’s one of the things we’re seeing—premium programs being cut back to the minimum needed to get by.

Eric Sfiligoj:
Interesting. Okay. Well, of course, we’ll be following this throughout the season. I’m sure as you and I continue these discussions through spring and into summer, we’ll talk about planting progress across the U.S.

Now let’s move on. One of the major segments of our viewership is ag retailers. You were chairperson of the Agricultural Retailers Association, and I guess ARA is getting ready to hold a meeting in July. Can you give everyone a preview of what that meeting will be and why they should attend?

Amy Asmus:
Absolutely. It’s July 7th through 9th in Dallas, Texas. ARA is holding a strategic planning meeting. Normally, we do this every 3 to 5 years—sharing ideas, collaborating on priorities, and strengthening the collective retail voice.

This year is different. In the past, it was only open to board members, but now it’s open to all members. Registration is open and free—attendees just cover travel and hotel.

I think it’s a great opportunity for members who don’t have a board seat to participate in shaping the priorities and strategies of the association. It’s a chance to think about the future of ag retail and how the association should represent the industry.

Eric Sfiligoj:
Great. And if you can’t attend, stay tuned—we’ll follow up later with key takeaways.

Amy Asmus:
Yes, great time to get involved.

Eric Sfiligoj:
Speaking of July, we also have Tech Hub Live in Des Moines, July 20th through the 22nd. Amy, you’ll be presenting—“The Farmer Knows Best.” Can you give us a preview?

Amy Asmus:
Yes! My session is in the sales enablement track: “The Farmer Knows Best: Using Customer Segmentation to Win.”

Not all farmer accounts are the same, so we need to recognize their decision-making priorities and serve them accordingly. While we can’t treat every grower as a completely separate entity, understanding their priorities helps build stronger relationships.

It also drives adoption of new technologies and builds loyalty. I won’t prescribe one segmentation model, since every retail operation is different, but I’ll discuss key considerations and challenges—like growers who behave differently across crop protection versus plant nutrition.

Segmentation also helps us communicate more effectively—targeting the right growers instead of using a broad, unfocused approach.

Eric Sfiligoj:
Excellent. Now, before we continue, here’s a quick message from CropLife magazine.

[Promotional segment]

Eric Sfiligoj:
Now back to Amy. Another topic—paraquat. Syngenta announced they’ll cease production in 2026 and have already canceled registration in California. It seems like paraquat may be on its way out. What’s your take?

Amy Asmus:
It’s another tool we’re losing. In my region, we don’t use it much—it’s more common in the Southeast, Southern Plains, and California, especially in permanent crops.

It’s very fast-acting—nothing really works quicker—and it’s used for burndown and desiccation. It’s especially important where glyphosate resistance is entrenched or mechanical control is difficult.

Alternatives are crop- and region-specific, but they’re generally more expensive, slower acting, and may already face resistance issues. So while we don’t use it much here, those who do rely on it heavily. Losing it is a setback for resistance management.

Eric Sfiligoj:
Agreed. Hopefully newer tools coming to market will help fill that gap by 2027.

Now, one last topic—USDA data on farmland share by state. Nebraska leads with 89.5% of land farmed, followed by the Dakotas and Kansas. Iowa is fifth at 83.9%.

Ohio, my home state, is just outside the top ten at 51.6%. Nevada, interestingly, has only 8.4% farmland—which explains why it often appears gray on maps.

Amy Asmus:
That makes sense given the topography. I love that the data is shown as a percentage—it gives better context than total acres.

In states with such high percentages, it really shows how many people are connected to agriculture—whether through farming, equipment, transportation, or inputs. Agriculture touches nearly everyone’s life in those areas.

Eric Sfiligoj:
Great point—and a great place to wrap up. Thanks for joining us for this edition of CropLife Retail Week. We’ll see you again soon.