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”
Yes, it is all about the money with these sons of b*****s … I remember when they dumped millions of gallons of milk rather than seeing it get to some place where it could have fed poor children …Like a lot of other people, I believe they would totally screw America …just for the sake of a dollar …. and as to, “.and several people have commented about the pampered lifestyle of farmers …. I have never seen one yet that doesn’t live in a half million dollar house and drive only the best available cars and trucks….I know one that was always broke to hear his ass tell it but he also bragged about having ten million dollars in the bank too ….good Christian hypocrite —paid his labor $5 an hour …out in the hot sun … no breaks …always telling them how they weren’t worth the money he was paying them …I worked for this one for a while …yes, the would betray America for the almighty dollar….and they live pretty high on their government subsidies too ….I am not against eating imported bread…. I will eat it any day.
Farms are a business…would you not do the same thing if you were a business? Why such hatred (again)? chuq
I’ve had it with your comments like this. This isn’t the first time you’ve expressed opinions about famers that are so outrageously wrong that as a former farmer myself I found them not only utterly and totally wrong. but personally offensive. Everything you said up there is complete and total garbage. All of it. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you that you have it in for farmers like this. but this is the last straw. I just unsubscribed from your blog and I’m kill-filtering your comments from now on. I’ve had enough of these lies. Chuq can delete this comment if he wishes. but I’m not putting up with this crap from you.
GF I do not delete comments and hopefully this does not taint your readership of IST. chuq
Before the Russian invasion, Ukraine was known as ‘The bread basket of Europe’ because of its huge wheat exports. There have been wheat shortages in some countries since 2022, but luckily Britain still grows a lot of wheat. Bread prices here have not increased that much in the past three years, only 10% or so.
Best wishes, Pete.
Prices here are fairly stable (for now)….but it is not looking good. chuq
Something must be done. No more PB and J sammich ? Oh , the end of the world. I am trembling just thinking about it.
Carl at least you are writing about prices….thank you for that chuq
I don’t know what your source is or where it got its information, but just about everything in that report is just flat out wrong across the board.
The price of wheat varies on a daily basis. As of right now, wheat is at 5.52/B, down about 15 cents from yesterday. High this past year was 6.65/B. Contracts for Sept. wheat are sitting at $5.69, and $5.90 for December wheat. That’s on the commodities markets. On the cash market prices bounce all over the place. To say farmers get a flat price,. like $5/bushel, is incorrect and misleading.
The claim that farmers are giving up on planting wheat is also wrong. Ridiculously,. hilariously wrong, to be honest. USDA is projecting about 47 million acres of wheat will be planted in 25/26 crop year (winter wheat is planted in the fall of the year and harvested the following summer), an increase of almost a million acres from this past year. And generally USDA’s numbers are pretty accurate.
The claim about corn prices VS wheat prices is also ridiculously wrong. Farmers don’t get twice as much for corn as for wheat. July wheat is sitting at $5/52/B as I said above. Corn at the moment is $4.18/B
As for crop losses. your source is also ridiculously wrong there as well. In the 2023 season the losses of the wheat crop amounted about 8.3%. Which is actually pretty good. The average loss due to disease. drought. weather, etc. over the last few years was about 11%. not even close to the 20% – 30% your source is claiming. We *always* lose some of our crop due to disease. weather, etc. That’s a given. It’s all part of the business. With wheat the losses have been averaging about 8 – 11 % for years now, with the occasional spike from extreme weather events.
Last year the US exported 24 *million* metric tons of wheat, and wheat planting is projected to *increase* by a million acres this coming planting season. We’re in absolutely no danger of running out of wheat.
Your source sounds like someone who has some kind of axe to grind and has been cherry picking data to try to support their claims.
Not being a farmer I appreciate your insights. I read stuff that might impact people’s lives and pass it on if it is erroneous then I like it when it is corrected….thanks again. chuq
Reuters and Western Producer according to the news I quoted. chuq