Dive Brief:
- Corn and soybean farmers remain on track to harvest record yields, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said last week, reaffirming financial difficulties for producers as an oversupply depresses global prices.
- Corn production is forecast at 15.2 billion bushels, according to USDA’s latest estimates, up 17 million from last month. Soybean production is forecast at 4.6 billion bushels, down 4 million on lower yields.
- If realized, the numbers would represent the largest soybean crop and the second-biggest corn crop in history, according to USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer.
Dive Insight:
Expectations for massive corn and soybean harvests have sent prices plummeting and remained one of the main drivers in a projected drop in farm income.
The season-average price remained unchanged for corn and soybeans at $4.10 per bushel and $10.80 per bushel, respectively. Corn prices remained the same even as U.S. exports increased.
Lower commodity prices, higher input costs and reduced trade prospects have dampened farmers' financial expectations. Farmer sentiment fell to its lowest point since 2016, when the U.S. was in the early stages of an economic downturn, according to the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.
A third of farmers said their primary concern was lower prices, according to the barometer. Only 26% of respondents expected exports to rise over the next five years, the most pessimistic response since the question was first introduced in 2019.
“The continued drop in the barometer reflects deepening concerns among farmers regarding expectations for farm income in 2024 and 2025,” said James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture.
