Weeds are always a problem for American farmers.

But a warm spring and recent burst of wet weather in many parts of the country has created ripe conditions for everything from waterhemp and Palmer amaranth to Kochia and newly arrived species like Asian copperleaf.

As farmers feel the pressure to use inputs sparingly due to cost while bringing in the biggest crop they can, keeping these weeds under control through good management will be even more critical this season. And with planting nearly completed and the crop widely emerged, options are changing rapidly.

To help keep farmers informed on what’s out there, and what control options they should be thinking about now, we’ll hear today from DTN Crops Editor Jason Jenkins.

Jason will start us off with an overview of conditions he’s seeing in the heart of the country right now, and what might be in the offing weed-, disease-, and insect-wise as a result. Then we’ll get into the strategies, discussing how farmers might want to think about their pest management strategies in terms of timing and modes of action to achieve peak effectiveness with the minimum amount of product applied.

We’ll also talk about his last cover story on electrical weeders in Missouri, and discuss the outlook for non-chemical weed control options going forward. He’ll also walk us through what he’s watching right now in terms of new products, and new concerns that farmers should be keeping an eye on this year.

While a hectic spring season brought with it welcome rainfall, it also brought an unruly mix of record heat and late local cold snaps that has set some farmers back in their planting efforts.

But as May makes way for June and a Super-El Niño summer, likely the most extreme on record, emerges, American farmers are looking to what’s in store for the heart of the season.

DTN’s Ag Meteorologist John Baranick joins us today with his very latest forecasts on what the 2026 season might have in store. We’ll start with reviewing how his spring forecast held up, and then dive into his expectations for June, July, and August as the El Niño pattern officially sets in. We’ll dig into what’s likely in terms of precipitation, heat, and severe weather across the corn belt, southeast, and the plains, especially in light of the evolving drought picture across these key regions.

Then we’ll take a look at the West Coast, which is likely to get the short end of the El Niño stick, before turning our attention to the harvest and winter weather outlook in Latin America.

Finally, we’ll get a birds-eye view of potential weather impacts around the globe, and hear what John expects for the harvest season.

The debate over year round E15 has become a perennial battle ground for biofuel interests, but farm state lawmakers are increasingly optimistic that 2026 will be the year.

With the extraordinary market pressures farmers are facing after 2025’s bin-busting crop, and the pain that voters are feeling every time they fill up their gas tank, policymakers are pushing forward once again.

To help us understand the current situation in the biofuels market, we’re joined today by DTN Environmental Editor Todd Neeley. Todd will start us off with an update on the latest year round E15 legislation that passed in the house just days ago, and offer insight on the measure’s prospects for making it to the President’s desk. Then we’ll talk about the latest 45z tax credit news, and what other steps advocates are taking to open up new biofuels markets for farm commodities.

We’ll also dig into the biodiesel story, with conversation on how these biofuel priorities are affecting crush margins and how recent updates coming out of the EU might influence soybean demand. Finally, we’ll check in on the courts, with a discussion on where ongoing lawsuits related to everything from EPA volume announcements to small refinery exemptions currently sit.