Farm Economy Suffering
Farmers are in a tough spot. Fertilizer prices are spiking and crop prices are not high enough to cover the costs. The bright spots are on the livestock and dairy side with much higher prices and profits. For grain farmers; with a late drought, yields and prices are not high enough to make much money. Usually, farmers benefit from free markets. The USA usually exports about 1 out of every 3 bushel of soybeans produced. A lot of corn is used to make ethanol for fuel but energy prices are moderating and coming down. Farmers need to export excess grain to stay in business. When grain exports decline, grain farm income tends to decline. USA grain farmers are losing market share to other countries or for political purposes (countries like China) are not buying our grain commodities. Even worse, many countries (especially European markets) have agricultural subsidies that prevent our grain from being sold and exported overseas. The average subsidy overseas is about 1.3% of Gross Nati...