Spring has Sprung 

April 2026

Darcy Pralle, Crop Insurance Specialist

The Risk Management Team wants to extend a sincere thank you to all our existing and new producers who chose us for their Crop Insurance needs in 2026. We are blessed to serve so many operations and look forward to helping you be successful for many years to come. 

This year has had big changes to the Crop Insurance program due to the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill. We saw improved subsidies and more flexibility within Crop Insurance, which allowed most producers to increase coverage and better protect their operations. If your agent didn’t help educate you on all the 2026 changes, please reach out to Jim Ward or Darcy Pralle, and we would be happy to get you the information. In addition, the Spring Discovery Prices were decent again in 2026; Corn was set at $4.52, and Soybeans were set at $11.09 for Crop Insurance. 

With Crop Insurance now locked in, the next step is to make sure you are ready for Hail & Wind or a Livestock policy if you have cattle. We have several excellent insurance companies offering Hail and Wind policies, so we can find you a good fit before storms roll through this Spring. Also, the cattle markets are still doing great again this year, but that also means we have a long way to plummet if something goes wrong (screwworm comes to mind). If you want to protect these high prices, a Livestock Risk Protection policy is one of the best routes to lock in a floor. The Ag Partners team is happy to explain the details of this cattle program and see if it is a good fit for you. 

If you run into any issues this Spring planting season, don’t hesitate to give us a call. For example, we are seeing some spots of winter kill in wheat pop up, and everyone is talking about the fog days and how it could rain all of April. Which means you might need some Prevent Plant in that event. Hopefully, these predictions are wrong, and it ends up being just a nice, smooth planting season for everyone. 

Have a safe Spring, and thanks again to all our producers! 

Wisdom for Winter

January 2026

Darcy Pralle, Crop Insurance Specialist

We hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year. It’s crazy to think another year has flown by. To help start 2026 on the right foot, we wanted to share some news and updates for producers. If you have any questions regarding this information, please contact the Crop Insurance Team at Ag Partners. 

First on our to-do list is the SDRP Stage 2 program at FSA. This is a shallow loss program for disaster events in 2023 and 2024. These payments will be hit-and-miss in our area, plus the FSA offices may not mail out the applications. So, it wouldn’t hurt to stop by FSA and double-check if you qualify for an SDRP Stage 2 payment this Winter. While you are at the FSA office, it would be a good opportunity to update acres or maps if you have any fields that need to be changed. The UDSA “Bridge” payments are also supposed to roll out in February 2026, but at the time of this article, the exact payment rates aren’t known. Early estimates suggest around $40/ac for Corn and $20/ac for Soybeans, but these amounts are subject to change. 

Switching gears back to Crop Insurance, we should see some nice improvements to the program for 2026. The One Big Beautiful Bill, passed in 2025, gave more subsidy support to several Multi-Peril Insurance Policies. This will help producers save some money on their current coverage and provide an avenue to increase coverage going into 2026. The team at Ag Partners is ready to guide you through all the new Crop Insurance changes before the March 15th deadline. If you are searching for some fresh advice or a new Crop Insurance Agency, don’t hesitate to call Jim Ward at 785-741-1652 or Darcy Pralle at 785-268-0634. 

Best wishes in 2026! 

Ag Partners OnePay Update – Jim Ward, Director of Crop Insurance & Loans 

Now is the best time to fully take advantage of our OnePay loan program. There are several options available that utilize great interest rates for fertilizer, seed, and chemicals. Some seed and chemical brands have their own interest rates as well.  Here is a quick breakdown of options available. 

SEED

• Bayer and Brevant seed is 2.99% fixed interest to the end of June. On July 1st, it changes to 7.99% fixed. 

• Any other seed purchased through Ag Partners is 3.99% until the end of June. On July 1st, it changes to 7.99% fixed 

Chemical

• BASF purchased before 03/15/2026 will be 0% fixed; From 03/16/2026, it will be 4.99 fixed through 11/30/2026 

• Syngenta purchased before 03/15/2026 will be 0% fixed until 11/30/2026 

• Syngenta purchased after 03/16/2026 will be 3.99 fixed through 08/31/2026, then 7.49 variable 

• FMC is 0% through August 31 if 1 brand of at least $10,000 in value is purchased, then 7.49 variable 

• FMC is 0% through November 30 if 2 brands of at least $10,000 in value are purchased, then 7.49 variable 

Fertilizer

• 3.99% until the end of June. On July 1st, it changes to 7.99% fixed. 

For more information, please contact your Agronomy Account Manager or call Jim Ward at 785-741-1652.