The pressure to perform can be daunting. But there are signs that 2026 may turn out better than first hoped, despite uncertainty and myriad concerns. Many farmers remain optimistic that the 2026 harvest will mark the end of a better year than first anticipated.

According to an earlier USDA Prospective Planting Report from May, Tennessee farmers were expected to plant 1 million acres of corn and 1.54 million acres of soybeans.

As this issue of The Cooperator was being prepared, the USDA Crop Progress Report for the week of June 29, 2026, was released, and all signs were pointing toward a decent year despite the challenges. Highlights from the report included:

• The corn crop is off to a good start with 74% of the crop rated good to excellent. Corn silking stood at 66%, considerably higher than the five-year average.

• Soybeans were 95% emerged, with 72% of the crop rated good to excellent.

• With 99% of the cotton crop planted, 61% of the crop rated good to excellent. Cotton squaring stood at 50%.

The crop is still evolving at this point, but growers are cautiously breathing a sigh of relief, though many are still reluctant to share their hopes for harvest in fear of jinxing the results.

Two farm families on opposite ends of the state, one focused on row crops and the other on growing tomatoes and other truck crops — have similar takes on the state of the harvest and the pressures on farmers in 2026.

The Cooperator staff shared an interview with Drew Bailey and his dad, Steve, in the May issue, and we revisited with Drew for this issue. Drew, a fourth-generation Co-op director of United Co-op and a fifth-generation farmer, farms more than 8,000 acres across Crockett and Madison counties, where he and his dad, Steve, grow cotton, corn, soybeans, wheat, and recently added canola.

While the season was still early in late June when Drew shared his thoughts, he was optimistic for the year, barring weather challenges or other unforeseen circumstances.

“The Lord has blessed us with outstanding weather for this growing season,” says Drew. “We got the crop in earlier than we ever have. We've had enough rain to keep our crops growing, but not so much as to be a problem.

“Our yield potential is probably as high as we've had in several years. We didn't have many flooding rains, so we utilized all our fertilizer. We had dry planting conditions, so our stands were fantastic. As we head into harvest, I think we have the potential for an exceptional year.”

Still, the steep rise in input costs, he says, has really impacted the bottom line. He feels most of those increases can be attributed to the near industry-wide consolidations occurring among seed suppliers and crop protection manufacturers.

In response, he has aggressively implemented precision agriculture and advanced fertilizer management — variable-rate nitrogen based on yield, closer-timed DAP applications, liquid fertilizer on planters, and swath control on spreaders — to cut nitrogen use and reduce overlap, in close collaboration with his local Co-op in Alamo.

“When you look back on history, we didn't have great [commodity] prices, but we didn't have terrible prices either,” he says. “But the rate at which big ag is consolidating makes me worry about the future of farming. We purchase most of our products from only four or five major companies. I think that's putting added pressure on farmers.”

That’s one reason, he says, that his relationship with the local Co-op is so important to his family and their operation. He is a fourth-generation board member of what is now a part of United Co-op.

“This farm has been a Co-op farm as long as I can remember,” he explains. “Co-op personnel are farmer-focused; they don’t just see the bottom line as being important. They want to see farmers succeed, and they provide for our needs to help us as best they can. They are truly driven to serve farmers, and that’s what sets Co-op apart.”

Despite concerns, he is pressing forward.

“What else can you do?” he asks. “My dad says he's never seen times like these. He has put in 50 or 51 crops, and he says he’s never seen the struggles like we're facing right now. We have never had a year where we couldn’t outyield the prices in the inputs. In the past, we put the products on there that made the most yield, and we knew we would be all right. Now you must be strategic.”

The Morgan family in East Tennessee shares similar concerns as the Baileys, though their operation is focused on specialty crops at their farm in Rutledge. A member of Grainger Farmers Co-op, Danny Morgan farms with his dad, Howard, and his son, Connor, raising crops on 90 cultivated acres. Howard’s brother, Donnie, grew up raising the crops as well, but has transitioned to focus on hauling the produce to markets in 10 to 12 states. Donnie’s grandson, Cole, is also active in the business and the hauling portion of the operation.

The farm was started by Danny’s great-grandparents in 1917 when they began raising field corn, strawberries, and wheat. The Morgans’ focus is on the Grainger County tomato brand that is coveted for the tomatoes’ flavor and quality and whose arrival in markets in early spring is eagerly awaited by consumers. The crop is shipped to 10 to 12 states, including as far west as Nebraska. Those early tomatoes are grown in more than 28 greenhouses before the operation transitions to the field tomatoes for the remainder of the year.

Those early tomatoes bring a premium, while the later field tomatoes are more expensive to grow, says Danny.

In addition to 25 acres of tomatoes, the family also grows 15-20 acres of peppers, cucumbers, cantaloupes, watermelons, sweet corn, green beans, jalapeños, and emerging red and yellow peppers.

This season, the farm has faced its share of challenges due to the weather. “The greenhouse [crop] did pretty well,” says Danny. “It was a mild spring.” But then the weather turned as the focus transitioned to the field tomatoes. “It was cold, windy, and rainy, and then we went from winter to summer, just like that,” he says. “We didn’t get the warmer nights that we needed to get the size [of the field tomatoes] going. It needs to be around 60 degrees at night to help them get to a good size. We got good fruit sets on our fruit sets, but the clusters were small. We had to pick the smallest off to get them to produce larger, higher quality fruit.”

Danny is cautiously hopeful that the year may improve, but he stresses that later crops bring lower prices as the “fogs and fall weather come in” and create the potential for more problems like diseases that require additional crop protection measures.

Though rising prices of fruits and vegetables at the consumer level have made headlines in recent months, increasing input costs and elevated freight costs have created thin margins for specialty farmers like the Morgans.

Labor continues to be a concern for them as well. The farm remains highly labor intensive, with tomatoes and other crops planted and harvested by hand, supported predominantly by H-2A seasonal laborers.

The family faces intense competition from larger commercial growers and imported produce from other countries like Mexico that can sell tomatoes at much lower prices, often with government support, says Danny.

Despite thin margins and uncertainty, the Morgans are determined to see the farm continue for their children and grandchildren. They recognize the up and down nature of the business.

“We’re proud to work alongside Connor and Cole and we believe they’re set up to continue what our family has built,” says Danny. “Profits were better in the 1970s and ’80s, even though prices were lower. [The business] gets tougher every year. But there’s nowhere to give up. This farm has been good to our family.”