dropping commodity prices 

Talking with local farmers and seeing market overviews, it is impossible not to see the drastic change in commodity prices in agriculture. A report from the USDA states that commodity prices have dropped $21.2 billion from 2023 to 2024, the largest one-year difference drop ever. This report also includes that production expenses will go up 3.8%. Corn is selling for $4.07 a bushel, whereas last year it sold for $6.54. Soybeans are selling for $10.67 a bushel, last year it was $14.16. With the recent fuel prices and other expenses farmers have to deal with, they need the opposite of dropping commodity prices.

The recent dry weather yields in less production already. Less production + less money for the farmers = dying small farms and struggling farm families. The prices that farmers get paid for their crops is critical to how well they can produce in the years to come. It directly influences the growth enhancers and equipment needed to adequately keep high quality crops coming. Advocates like Zippy Duvall (president of the American Farm Bureau Association) are working to push Congress to pass a new farm bill, bringing utility costs down for farmers. He understands the impact inflation is having on all American families, but especially recognizes this impact on farmers and farming families. 

Not only are these commodity prices dropping in crops, but also in factors such as milk. Dairy farmer sources say that everything expense wise keeps going up, but all of the milk prices keep going down. A real question that popped into my head while writing that last sentence is as follows; If farmers are receiving less money for their goods, but consumers are paying more to buy them, then where is that money going? Although programs like crop insurance can assist farmers in these tough times, we need a definite solution. No money, no farmers. No farmers, no food. 

Fuller, S.L. “USDA Predicts Major Drop in Farm Income for 2024.” Agriculture Dive, 12 Feb. 2024, www.agriculturedive.com/news/farm-income-decline-usda-food-prices/707240/#:~:text=The%20report%20says%20commodity%20prices,to%20%24455%20billion%20in%202024. Accessed 12 July 2024.

“Why the USDA Expects Farm Income to Plummet in 2024.” Spectrumlocalnews.Com, spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2024/02/08/why-the-usda-expects-farm-income-to-plummet-in-2024. Accessed 12 July 2024.