For the last several weeks I have been watching and writing about the news coming out of the farming industry….and several people have commented about the pampered lifestyle of farmers (something I do not agree with in any way) but my posts were not a critique of farmers but rather how these news stories could impact our food supply….(that fact was duly missed as usual).
The people that are down on farmers are usually the first people to piss and moan about the price of a loaf of bread…..that is sad that they cannot see past their petty grievances.
The most recent report I read was the possibility of farmers giving up on the cultivation of wheat….
Once known for endless golden wheat fields, America’s heartland is watching its “amber waves of grain” fade as more farmers abandon wheat in search of crops that can actually turn a profit, reports Reuters. Wheat farmers across the Great Plains are facing a tough reality: low prices and persistent drought are making wheat less profitable, pushing many to switch crops or leave fields unharvested. In states like Nebraska, wheat acreage has dropped by more than half since 2005. Nationwide, farmers have abandoned between 20% and 33% of the winter wheat crop each year since 2020.
The combination of ongoing drought, abundant global wheat supplies, and stagnant prices—hovering around $5 per bushel—has squeezed profits. Even bumper crops have not improved the outlook: prices remain low due to competition from other major wheat-producing countries. While some farmers can recoup losses through crop insurance, most agree this isn’t a sustainable business model. The region now sees many producers turning to corn, soybeans, or livestock for better returns. Corn’s value in Kansas, for instance, is more than double that of wheat, despite wheat occupying more acreage.
Unlike corn and soybeans, wheat isn’t used by the biofuels industry, the Western Producer reports. “Unfortunately, our little wheat kernel doesn’t have enough sugar in it or enough of anything in it for us to be a viable commodity for renewable fuel program,” says Chandler Goule, chief executive of the National Association of Wheat Growers. But the decline is more than economic; it’s a cultural shift for a region whose identity is tied to wheat farming, per Reuters. Farmers have invested in irrigation and experimented with new wheat varieties, but they are still finding it hard to make money. As Lon Frahm, a large-scale Kansas farmer, put it: “It’s heritage, but there’s no profit.”
If this is reality then that means that the US may have to import wheat and that means if tariffs remain that any product made from wheat will be more expensive….like a loaf of bread for instance.
If you want to comment then please keep it on topic.
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”