Market Intelligence
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Livestock Is Carrying American Agriculture: The 50/50 Income Split That Broke
In Schrader's 2026 annual market presentation, RD Schrader highlighted American farm income has historically split roughly 50/50 between crops and livestock. That pattern has changed. Cattle are at nine-year-high placements, plant-based meat companies are collapsing, and Corn Belt crop margins are at fifteen-year lows. The implications reach well beyond the feedlot — they reach the land market.
April 28, 2026 • State of the Farmer's Economy 2026 • 3 min read
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The 45Z Breakthrough: A Dollar a Bushel for Practices You Already Use
The Treasury's 45Z guidance landed in early 2026 and three ethanol plants announced expansions within days. In Schrader's 2026 annual market presentation, RD Schrader breaks down how the math is straightforward: low-carbon-intensity corn may now carry a dollar-per-bushel premium — and the farmer may not have to change practices to collect it.
April 28, 2026 • State of the Farmer's Economy 2026 • 3 min read
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Gold at $5,000: The Farmland Ratio Has Never Been This Low
At current prices it takes roughly two ounces of gold to buy an acre of prime Midwest farmland — the lowest ratio in the forty-year history of the data. The last time the number was this low was the depths of the 1980s farm crisis. This time, farmland did not collapse. Gold simply ran that far, that fast. Read the details behind this as explained by RD Schrader in Schrader's 2026 annual market presentation.
April 28, 2026 • State of the Farmer's Economy 2026 • 3 min read
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One-Third of Landlords Are 75 or Older: The Farmland Succession Wave Is Here
In Schrader's 2026 annual market presentation, RD Schrader brought forth how one-third of American farmland landlords are 75 years of age or older. The next decade will move more acres through estates than any period since the 1980s. How those transfers are handled — deliberately or by default — will determine whether family wealth compounds or quietly erodes.
April 28, 2026 • State of the Farmer's Economy 2026 • 3 min read
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The End of ZERP: What a Generation of Farmers Never Experienced With Interest Rates
From late 2008 through late 2022, the federal funds rate sat near zero for roughly fifteen years. A generation of farm operators — many now between 30 and 45 — built their financial instincts in that environment. Those conditions are likely not returning, and the implications for how farmland is valued have only begun to be absorbed as RD Schrader explains in Schrader's 2026 annual market presentation.
April 28, 2026 • State of the Farmer's Economy 2026 • 3 min read
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Your Fertilizer Is a Geopolitical Product: The BRICS Input Dependency
American farmers live under the trade-policy spotlight as exporters. They live there equally as importers. RD Schrader concluded Schrader's 2026 annual market presentation with the the fact that more than half of global phosphate production and two-thirds of potash production originate in China, Russia, and Belarus. That concentration has real consequences for input costs, crop margins, and farmland values.
April 28, 2026 • State of the Farmer's Economy 2026 • 3 min read
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The January 12 Reset: A Record Crop, a Record Miss, and the Demand Engines That Could Rescue Corn
On January 12, 2026, the USDA annual crop report delivered the largest bearish surprise in the history of the series. U.S. corn production hit 17 billion bushels. Ending stocks jumped more than 20 percent above prior-year usage. That is the supply story. The demand story — three engines building simultaneously — is what makes 2026 different from every other surplus year. RD Schrader talked through these three engines in Schrader's 2026 annual market presentation.
April 28, 2026 • State of the Farmer's Economy 2026 • 3 min read
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Knowing Your Property Inside and Out
Schrader's auction managers invest hundreds of hours learning every detail of your property — becoming true advocates who can speak to its value with authority and credibility to potential buyers.
April 14, 2026 • Inside Schrader's Marketing Machine • 3 min read
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Due Diligence, Inspections, and Transparency
Schrader assembles comprehensive due diligence packages and holds publicized inspection dates — giving buyers the confidence to bid aggressively and providing sellers with full transparency on marketing results.
April 14, 2026 • Inside Schrader's Marketing Machine • 3 min read
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How We Market Your Property to the Right Buyers
Schrader's marketing campaigns combine custom brochures, professional aerial photography, targeted digital advertising, and direct buyer outreach to ensure your property reaches the widest possible audience.
April 14, 2026 • Inside Schrader's Marketing Machine • 3 min read