Top Agriculture Stocks for 2026 and How to Invest

Agriculture is a life-sustaining operation, and there are numerous ways for investors to own a piece of the action.

Like much of the global economy, the agricultural industry is sensitive to a wide range of global events, including wars, natural disasters, and political turmoil. Given that, the industry has been volatile as the war in Ukraine has occasionally squeezed the supply of products such as wheat and fertilizers.

Agribusiness is big business and touches on a wide array of industries. The scale required for operations has led to market power being concentrated in a handful of titans after a number of mergers and acquisitions. These companies -- many with healthy profits, cash flows, and dividends -- offer excellent opportunities for investors.

Top eight agriculture stocks to invest in 2026

Investors can choose among companies providing agricultural products and services such as fertilizers, pesticides, seeds, processing, and livestock. There are also a handful of emerging markets. As producers of basic foods, many agricultural stocks are considered consumer staples, meaning that demand for their products is not affected by the broader economy.

Here's a list of eight top dividend-paying agriculture stocks spanning a variety of investment opportunities. They're great for investors with a long-term mindset.

1. Archer-Daniels-Midland

Scotts Miracle-Gro is a leader in lawn care products, but unlike most of the companies on this list, it sells to individual consumers rather than to large companies in the food supply chain.

Because of its leading position in lawn care, the company was a big winner in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has struggled in the aftermath of the pandemic. Its Hawthorne unit, focused on cannabis, has been a sore spot amid a broader downturn in the cannabis sector.

A restructuring strategy has helped streamline the business, and it returned to growth in 2024 with strong margin gains as it shed lower-margin product lines. Its U.S. consumer business finished the year with sales up 6%. Profits have continued to grow in 2025, though sales have been flat.

While the company is still reinventing itself, it remains the top brand in at-home lawn care, which should drive long-term growth and outperformance.

5. Corteva Agriscience

Tyson Foods is one of the world's largest producers of poultry, pork, and beef, and also produces animal feed for its own livestock and other farmers. It's vertically integrated into prepared foods as well, selling pizza, toppings, deli meats, and snacks through brands like Ball Park, Aidells, Jimmy Dean, and Hillshire Farm.

After a weak 2023, the company's results improved in 2024 thanks to a cost-cutting program and a $448 goodwill impairment charge that rolled off its income statement. Meanwhile, volume sales and average prices have been mostly flat, with revenue up 1% in fiscal 2024 to $53.3 billion.

The company was also able to achieve more than $1 billion in productivity savings in 2024, setting it up for improved profitability in the future.

Although quarter-to-quarter performance in the agriculture industry is volatile, Tyson should benefit from economies of scale and its strong position in higher-margin prepared foods over the long term.

How to invest in agriculture stocks

Here's a step-by-step guide for how to invest in agriculture stocks.

1. Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
2. Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
3. Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
4. Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
5. Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
6. Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.

The basics of agribusiness: Seven opportunities to consider

Here's an overview of seven major opportunities, listed in no particular order:

1. Fertilizers (cash flow and dividends)

Fertilizers are a major subsector in agriculture. Here's what you need to know about it:

1. The world's major crop nutrients are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Nitrogen is manufactured through synthetic chemistry, while potash and phosphate are primarily mined. Major crops such as corn, soybeans, and wheat rely on all three nutrients.

• Fertilizer prices soared in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine; both countries are major fertilizer producers. However, they came down rapidly in 2023 as the market stabilized.
• Nutrien, one of the world's largest fertilizer producers and the largest potash producer, is on track to generate 26 million metric tons annually. The company also benefits from some of the lowest nitrogen production costs in the industry.

2. Pesticides (cash flow and dividends)

Pesticides have also seen a spike in prices due to supply chain constraints and material shortages. A wave of consolidations in recent years is also reshaping the industry.

• Bayer acquired Monsanto in 2018 to become the dominant player in the industry.
• In a series of transactions from 2018-19, FMC completed the spinoff of its lithium segment, sold its nutrition business, and purchased assets from DuPont to become one of the largest global agrochemical companies.
• DuPont and Dow Chemical merged and then split into three separate companies in 2019, with one being Corteva Agriscience.
• Litigation and regulation remain risks in the sector, however. In February 2021, Bayer set aside $2 billion to cover any further claims against its Roundup weed killer, which has been tied to various cancers. Corteva could also face litigation from its toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned in 2021, and Corteva pledged to stop using it in 2020.

3. Digital agriculture (growth and cash flow)

Advances in data crunching, satellite imagery, and mobile computing power have given rise to digital agriculture. Although this might appear to be a new opportunity, hundreds of millions of acres were covered as of early 2020.

For example, many farmers can now pay a monthly or annual subscription fee for historical and predictive farm-specific data. How many seeds should a farmer place in each row in the northwest corner of their land? When might be the optimal time to apply fertilizer this season? Are corn rootworms likely to be worse than usual?

Deere & Co. (DE +4.08%) has emerged as a leader in the category. The technology, paired with its industry-leading farm equipment, has led to a boom in the stock, which has delivered a total return of more than 10,000% since its debut in 1978.

4. Plant-based meats (growth)

Increased demand for animal-free proteins is driving interest in plant-based meat products. To succeed, consumer brands such as Beyond Meat (BYND -5.63%), Impossible Foods, and others need to deliver on nutrition, taste, texture, and price. Companies focused on plant-based products may benefit by creating partnerships and supply agreements with larger agriculture companies such as Archer-Daniels-Midland, Bunge, and Tyson Foods.

A handful of nontraditional stocks also merit consideration. Precision BioSciences (DTIL -1.29%) is developing a novel gene-editing technology platform focused on human health, but it also owns a subsidiary dedicated to agricultural applications. One focus is engineering high-protein, neutral-tasting chickpeas, which could become a next-generation, plant-based protein source. Beyond Meat relies on yellow pea protein for its products, but it might be tempted to switch at least some supply to chickpeas if the Precision product lives up to the hype.

5. Biologicals (growth)

Chemical-based pesticides and fertilizers are poised to dominate their respective markets for the foreseeable future, but investors should know that living technologies are also in production and may see significant growth in the years ahead. Biologicals are microbe-based treatments of soils or crops designed to boost yields, improve defenses against pests, and reduce dependence on chemical inputs.

Individual investors can gain exposure to the emerging opportunity in a few ways. Bayer, FMC, and Corteva are all leading developers of biologicals. From its acquisition of Monsanto, Bayer now has the leading biologicals brand on the market through a partnership with Novozymes (NVZM.Y +0.80%).

6. Vertical farming (growth)

Vertical farming is the latest agricultural technology to sweep the market. Investors are betting big on stocks such as Local Bounti (LOCL +1.91%), a hybrid featuring vertical farming and hydroponics. In vertical farming operations, companies use shelves and artificial light to grow produce, minimizing land and water consumption. By conserving space, vertical farming has the potential to create facilities that are located much closer to consumers than traditional farms.

Local Bounti has fallen short of earlier goals, but the company is still growing. The company counts Cargill as a major investor and partner; the privately owned agriculture giant loaned $200 million to Local Bounti in September 2021 and is considering financing all of its future facilities through 2025.

7. Future markets

There are a number of agribusiness applications on the horizon that investors should watch for in the years ahead.

Flavors and fragrances are high-margin products mostly manufactured through synthetic chemistry, but specialty agriculture has a place in the market as interest increases in items such as natural perfume. Vertical farming also seems to be a good fit here since the amounts of water and land needed are much less than for conventional food production.

Water is a crucial component in agriculture, but it is also a limited resource, and global water consumption is expected to grow significantly over the next generation. Consequently, investors should keep an eye on water treatment and desalination stocks such as Xylem (XYL +0.84%) and Consolidated Water (CWCO -2.94%), which offer exposure to water sustainability.

Benefits of investing in agriculture stocks

Agricultural stocks don't get as much attention as some corners of the stock market, but they have some advantages.

• Agricultural companies provide necessary goods. While commodity prices can fluctuate substantially, there will continue to be demand for seeds, fertilizers, and crop protection chemicals.
• Most of these companies pay a dividend, so investors can earn money without share price appreciation.
• Agriculture stocks can spike during economic or geopolitical shocks, such as the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Risks of investing in agriculture stocks

There are also risks to investing in agriculture stocks.

• Commodity prices are difficult to predict and can respond to a wide range of events, including geopolitical events, natural disasters, and economic turmoil. Commodity stocks in agriculture are volatile.
• Overall, agriculture is a mature, slow-growth industry. While there are some pockets of faster growth, investors may be missing out on higher-growth opportunities by investing in ag stocks.
• Regulations and lawsuits also add to the risk in agriculture stocks. Bayer's Monsanto, for example, has faced a slew of lawsuits, and there's potential for new regulations on chemicals, land use, and environmental preservation in agriculture.

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