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Thursday, Aug 6
Save US Farms
The Daily Dirt · 2026-07-21-morning

The Daily Dirt — Morning Edition

Deere's right-to-repair loss, winter wheat collapse, beginning farmers stuck in part-time survival mode, and the bankruptcy wave rolling on.

The bottom line
  • FTC's landmark settlement with John Deere ends 10 years of enforced repair monopoly—farmers can now access diagnostic codes, reprogram components, and bypass lockouts through 2036. [FTC press release](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/07/ftc-states-secure-settlement-deere-company-advancing-farmers-right-repair).
  • Winter wheat production collapsed to 990 million bushels, the lowest in 51 years, as heat and drought ravaged the Plains. The July USDA WASDE report signals tighter global grain supply and higher bread costs ahead. [USDA market data](https://helenaagri.com/fieldlink/market-report/usda-july-crop-report-overview/).
  • Most of America's beginning farmers work part-time—72% hold primary jobs off-farm, working 200+ days annually. The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 extends access to federal loans by doubling the 'beginning farmer' definition from 5 to 10 years, but structural barriers remain. [Investigate Midwest](https://investigatemidwest.org/2026/07/20/most-of-americas-beginning-farmers-dont-farm-full-time/).
  • U.S. farm Chapter 12 bankruptcies hit 315 in 2025—a 46% surge year-over-year—with April alone seeing 62 filings, the highest monthly total since early 2020. Rising debt, weak commodity prices, and record interest expenses ($33B projected for 2026) are crushing farm balance sheets. [Investigate Midwest](https://investigatemidwest.org/2026/02/25/farm-bankruptcies-jumped-46-in-2025-as-debt-loads-and-costs-rise/).
  • Foreign investment in U.S. agricultural land reached 46 million acres, up 1.3 million from the prior year. The USDA expanded AFIDA enforcement rules in June, and 29 states now restrict foreign farmland ownership—a doubling since 2022. [USDA Farm Security Action Plan](https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2025/12/30/usda-advances-farm-security-action-plan-protect-us-farmland-and-federal-programs-foreign-adversaries).
  • Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection is tightening biosolids rules to block PFAS contamination from reaching farm fields. Meanwhile, the EPA's July draft guidance for wastewater utilities aims to reduce PFOA and PFOS in sewage-sludge-applied soils. [PA DEP announcement](https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dep/newsroom/2026-07-02-dep-proposes-updated-safeguards-to-prevent-pfas-forever-chemicals-in-biosolids-from-polluting-groundwater).
  • The Farmworker Smoke and Excessive Heat Protection Act advanced in Congress, backed by successes in California, Washington, Oregon, and Colorado where heat-illness protections are now law. H-2A visa holders remain among the most vulnerable as extreme temperatures become routine. [Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4844/text).

Catch up: major moves on farm repair, environmental protection, labor, and foreign ownership overnight and early this morning.

What to watch: Deere’s compliance timeline (quarterly FTC reports begin September); Pennsylvania’s formal PFAS biosolids rule (comment period closes early August); and the Senate’s movement on heat-protection legislation as Western temperatures hit record highs this week.

—The Save US Farms Desk

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