02/06/2026 Big Gov’t Payments Won’t Stop Mounting Farm Stress

02/06/2026 Click Above to Watch the Morning Market Talk Video Big Gov’t Payments Won’t Stop Mounting Farm Stress On the Grains After trading lower initially overnight, soybeans have firmed this morning, pushing to new weekly highs. Corn is mildly lower, while wheat markets are narrowly mixed. For the week, soybeans are sharply higher, corn is slightly higher and wheat markets are lower. USDA’s first look at 2026 farm income shows U.S. net farm income dipping to $153.4 billion, down 0.7% from a sharply revised $154.5 billion for 2025 — and dramatically lower than the $179.8 billion USDA projected for 2025 just last September. That $25.3 billion downgrade to 2025 fundamentally resets the sector’s trajectory heading into 2026. Net cash farm income tells a slightly different story. It is forecast at $158.5 billion in 2026, up from $153.9 billion in 2025 — but that 2025 number itself reflects a nearly $27 billion cut from the September outlook. Cash receipts for crops are expected to rise modestly to $240.8 billion in 2026, while total animal receipts are projected to drop sharply to $273.9 billion, with lower prices for milk and eggs driving much of the decline. Direct government payments are forecast at $44.34 billion, up sharply from $30.54 billion in 2025. The main…