Farming

Axios - Farmers across the Midwest are entering planting season under mounting financial pressure, as the Iran conflict drives up diesel and fertilizer prices — deepening the worst agricultural downturn in decades.

• Rising fuel and fertilizer costs threaten to kill more family farms, drive up food prices and further strain rural economies already battered by trade disruptions, inflation and extreme weather.

• Bankruptcies are rising. Lenders are becoming more reluctant to loan to farmers..

Farmers are grappling with a confluence of forces:

• 🔌 Skyrocketing energy prices triggered by the Iran war. Diesel is up 60% from last year.
• 🌾 Spiking fertilizer prices and shortages after Iran blocked shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. 70% of farmers say they can't afford the fertilizer they need.
• Disrupted export markets tied to President Trump's tariffs and Chinese import restrictions.
• Global drought and other weather pressures.

🌽 The crisis is hitting farmers hard across the country:

• In Arkansas, energy and fertilizer costs are way up even as farmers are selling their crops for less.
• In Ohio, first-generation farmer Michael Kilpatrick said his fuel bills are up from $400 to $700, and container costs have risen 30%.
• In Iowa, farmers are dealing with a decline in soybean prices from $13-$15 to around $10 per bushel, as exports to China have fallen due to trade tensions.
• In Minnesota, calls to the state's farm and rural issues mental health helpline are climbing.

For consumers, the crisis is especially noticeable with beef.

• The U.S. cattle herd is at its lowest level in decades, largely due to global drought.  

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