Reflecting on a Strong 2025 Growing Season
Dec 11, 2025
By Shane Johnson, Vice President - Agronomy Operations
As 2025 comes to an end, we can all be very grateful for the yields we achieved this year. The areas we serve were blessed with near-record to record yields this growing season. Planting across the state was timely, and everything got off to a great start. Excessive rainfall mostly stayed away, and timely rains occurred throughout. We did have some disease spread into certain areas late in the season, but it didn’t significantly hurt yields, except in some southern counties that experienced Southern rust for one of the first times ever. Harvest was very fast-paced like in 2024. The rains mostly stayed away during harvest, and unlike last year, the grain moisture levels did not drop to unsatisfactory levels except in some early soybeans.
I think we can all agree that one of the biggest challenges we faced in the 2025 growing season was the tariffs. The tariffs caused difficulties for our patrons, with commodity prices taking a hit as export channels shifted. They also created many issues on the fertilizer side. Similar to grain exports, we depend on fertilizer imports from around the world to keep prices down. Trade flows have been changing on both the grain and fertilizer sides, making what we all do very challenging. My hope, like yours, is that we can find some stability in these markets again, sooner rather than later.
Our entire Agronomy staff at United Cooperative came together to make this another very successful year for you. Our team delivered 340,000 tons of fertilizer, 220,000 units of seed, hundreds of thousands of gallons of pesticides, and over 2 million acres of custom application. We continue to invest in our facilities, equipment, and technology. These investments enable us to keep helping you push yields. We have also dedicated a lot of time to testing and trialing new technologies in the biological space. Through our three years of on-farm testing and trialing in Wisconsin, we have found products that are truly performing and adding significant bushels. Very exciting times with AI and biological technologies.
Thank you for your continued patronage in 2025. Together, we are helping feed the world, one bushel at a time. Please know that you can continue to Rely on Us for the solutions you need to keep your operations successful.
May God bless you and your families during this holiday season.
Merry Christmas!
As 2025 comes to an end, we can all be very grateful for the yields we achieved this year. The areas we serve were blessed with near-record to record yields this growing season. Planting across the state was timely, and everything got off to a great start. Excessive rainfall mostly stayed away, and timely rains occurred throughout. We did have some disease spread into certain areas late in the season, but it didn’t significantly hurt yields, except in some southern counties that experienced Southern rust for one of the first times ever. Harvest was very fast-paced like in 2024. The rains mostly stayed away during harvest, and unlike last year, the grain moisture levels did not drop to unsatisfactory levels except in some early soybeans.
I think we can all agree that one of the biggest challenges we faced in the 2025 growing season was the tariffs. The tariffs caused difficulties for our patrons, with commodity prices taking a hit as export channels shifted. They also created many issues on the fertilizer side. Similar to grain exports, we depend on fertilizer imports from around the world to keep prices down. Trade flows have been changing on both the grain and fertilizer sides, making what we all do very challenging. My hope, like yours, is that we can find some stability in these markets again, sooner rather than later.
Our entire Agronomy staff at United Cooperative came together to make this another very successful year for you. Our team delivered 340,000 tons of fertilizer, 220,000 units of seed, hundreds of thousands of gallons of pesticides, and over 2 million acres of custom application. We continue to invest in our facilities, equipment, and technology. These investments enable us to keep helping you push yields. We have also dedicated a lot of time to testing and trialing new technologies in the biological space. Through our three years of on-farm testing and trialing in Wisconsin, we have found products that are truly performing and adding significant bushels. Very exciting times with AI and biological technologies.
Thank you for your continued patronage in 2025. Together, we are helping feed the world, one bushel at a time. Please know that you can continue to Rely on Us for the solutions you need to keep your operations successful.
May God bless you and your families during this holiday season.
Merry Christmas!