USDA Economist Says Grain Markets Need Altering Event

By Harold Walker

The political football known as the Farm Bill has not been acted upon by Congress, and that’s severely impacting farmers around the country.

This inaction significantly affects policy, markets, risk management, and the many other factors necessary for farmers and ranchers to develop plans for the future.

The hardship on grain farms is magnified by low prices. USDA projects 2024 will be the second straight year of falling crop prices and razor thin profits.

USDA Chief economist Seth Meyer says that to break out of this negative pattern, U.S. ag markets typically need a boost from external factors.

“Whether it’s a series of combined supply shocks from severe weather around the world, or it’s a war or some other event that comes along and knocks us off this path of narrow margins,” said Meyer. Then, the December WASDE report indicated much higher change in corn demand for the year.

Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., the ranking member on the Senate Agriculture Committee, is urging Congress to provide emergency economic assistance to agricultural producers facing market losses.

Boozman noted that Rep. Trent Kelly, (R) Miss., has introduced the bipartisan Farmer Assistance and Revenue Mitigation Act of 2024 (FARM Act), which would provide assistance to farmers when their revenue falls below the cost of production due to circumstances beyond their control.

The lack of a Farm Bill is why we’re urging producers to contact their elected officials and request their immediate attention to this most critical issue.