Ag Industry Trends & Outlooks

For producers across the Northeast, preparing for 2026 means more than setting goals and updating budgets; it means evaluating your farm’s entire risk management approach to make sure you’re positioned for stability and success. Taking a proactive approach to risk today can help you avoid surprises tomorrow.

Across the country, dairy producers are seeing an unexpected bright spot in their bottom lines — record-high calf prices. In the past month, feeder cattle prices have reached record highs, with beef calf prices surpassing $1,600 per head. The growing beef-on-dairy trend has transformed calf sales into a meaningful revenue stream, adding $3.00 or more per hundredweight to many producers’ bottom lines.

This month’s Knowledge Exchange Partner features a collection of Industry Snapshots curated by Chris Laughton, Director of Knowledge Exchange at Farm Credit East. Alongside an overview of the national economy, the report covers key sectors of the Northeast farm economy, including dairy, timber and forest products, cash field crops, livestock, fruit, vegetables, greenhouse production, and fishing.

Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) is a federally subsidized risk management program designed to protect against a decline in livestock prices, allowing producers to set a price floor and mitigate risk from marketplace volatility.