American farmers are facing intense business pressures from all sides. Crop prices have been plunging, while tariffs have pushed up the cost of fertilizer, machinery, and other farming equipment. And then there’s the issue of labor. The U.S. agricultural workforce tumbled by 7% from March through July of this year.
“How can we help farmers be more profitable?” It was a critical question that Leah Anderson, president of Land O’Lakes’ crops insights division WinField United, and the dairy cooperative’s Chief Technology Officer Teddy Bekele, asked each other about a year ago, before economics on the farm became even more dire throughout 2025.
