Why rising food prices leave farmers uncertain

The Guardian --  Wheat prices are at their highest level in three years, which means farmer Merrill Nielsen should be getting more for his crops out of his 2,500-acre Kansas farm. Yet even as future prices for bread-type wheat are up 39%, Nielsen is unsure whether increased prices will raise his bottom line. The price of diesel fuel, which he needs to run his tractor, has hit record highs. Then there’s the erratic weather that made him lose his entire wheat crop in the spring, and drought has overtaken the southern Great Plains.

“We’re not looking to plant any more wheat than we probably normally would, or maybe we won’t even plant that much. I don’t know. Really, we’ll have to see what the weather does for us,” Nielsen said.

The combination of high costs, poor weather and geopolitics leave US farmers such as Nielsen with an uncertain growing season despite higher prices for their yields. It also leaves consumers, from millers and bakers to restaurants and grocery shoppers, at risk of feeling the pinch.