Rising input costs and trade tensions push U.S. farmers toward financial strain

Rick Telesz, who cultivates soybeans, corn and dairy on roughly 700 acres in western Pennsylvania, worries that even a decent soybean yield may only cover his spring and summer inputs. Fertilizer costs are 15% higher than last year, while diesel prices have surged about 80%, forcing farmers to absorb expenses they cannot pass on. The trade war with China, once a key market for U.S. farm exports, continues to suppress demand for soybeans, cotton, wheat, pork and beef.

Although the USDA expects overall farm revenue to rise as commodity prices rebound, economists say higher production costs will erase most gains, marking the fourth straight year of losses for major row crops. Since 2020, around 200,000 farms have folded, and farm bankruptcies in the year to June rose 19% from the previous year. Bankruptcy attorney Joe Peiffer notes many farmers are exhausted but remain in business as long as credit is available, often resorting to selling land as a last resort.