American Agriculture Under Pressure

Farmers are staring down what many describe as one of the toughest financial periods in recent memory. According to leaders at the National Corn Growers Association, growers are confronting a severe profitability crisis driven by high input costs, weak commodity prices, and global market disruptions.

As one NCGA economist explained, farmers are looking at the deepest losses seen yet in this trail of negative returns, including losses of up to $100 an acre for the average farmer. For many growers, the reality is becoming impossible to ignore.

“The emotion is pretty raw,” said NCGA First Vice President Matt Frostic. “Some of these farmers who haven’t really paid attention to inputs or were hoping that things went down, as those bills come in and the fertilizer prices are a reality, I think that’s gonna hit home even harder.”

Across the country, corn growers are feeling squeezed from both directions. Costs for fertilizer, diesel fuel, crop protection, and seed continue climbing, while corn prices remain too low to offset those expenses.

“There’s a lot of stress out there,” said NCGA staff economist Gretchen Kuck. “That’s gonna permeate and reverberate through all of the different entities that a farm as an individual supports and the farm economy supports.”

NCGA leaders say this is no longer ordinary farm-country frustration.

“When you talk about farmers being in the red, we’re talking about they’re losing money on the crop year in and year out,” Kuck said.

The organization has responded by forming a dedicated task force focused on reducing input costs and identifying long-term solutions. Frostic is leading the effort alongside NCGA Vice President of Sustainable Production & Value Chain Engagement Sean Arians.

“This effort is grower-led,” Arians explained. “We really feel this is important that the organization start some work in trying to better understand the input side of the equation and what’s going on.”

One major concern is fertilizer pricing, particularly phosphate tariffs and countervailing duties that NCGA says are increasing costs for American farmers.

“What happens is, as we tend to think of tariffs, that adds to the price of a product that’s going to potentially be used by U.S. farmers,” Arians said. “Every additional tariff that’s put on, where does that go? It goes to the farmer.”

Frostic emphasized that solving the problem will require a broad strategy.

“I think it’s a bit of an all-of-the-above approach,” he said. “We’ve tried to stay comprehensive and make sure that when we move in a direction, that we have good data to back what we’re doing.”

The financial strain is already changing how farmers operate. Some growers are reducing field passes to conserve diesel fuel, while others are making difficult choices about fertilizer applications.

“I’ve heard guys that are planting corn with no fertilizer this year because it just doesn’t pencil,” Frostic said.

For multi-generation farm families, the pressure is deeply personal.

“Whether you’re first, second, third, fourth, or fifth or beyond generation farm, you don’t want it to end on your dime,” Frostic said. “You feel like those decisions that you’ve made impact that.”

Despite the uncertainty, NCGA leaders say there is still reason for hope: Farmers are critical to infrastructure in their rural communities that keep jobs in rural America.

Frostic believes the industry’s importance to food and energy security gives agriculture a strong voice in Washington.

“In the moments of tragedy and issues is when you can fix problems and fix them for the next twenty to thirty, forty years,” he said.

NCGA is encouraging growers to become involved through their state corn grower associations and national advocacy efforts.

https://www.agdaily.com/crops/american-corn-farmers-brace-100-per-acre-losses/