With margins expected to be tight, some in farm country are concerned about spikes in the price of farm inputs.
With margins expected to be tight, some in farm country are concerned about spikes in the price of farm inputs.
Transcript
With margins expected to be tight, some in farm country are concerned about spikes in the price of farm inputs.
The United States bombing campaign in Iran has caused crude oil prices to rise 10 percent this week. Retail gasoline prices in the U. S. have risen between 10 and 25 cents.
Energy and agricultural analysts believe that a short conflict in the Middle East will not have long term impacts on energy and fertilizer costs. But a long term war could drive farmers to reduce their corn acres due to high fertilizer costs.
While the USDA’s Grains Outlook for 2026 estimates 94 million acres of corn in the coming growing season, a drop of 4 million acres from 2025, a spike in fertilizer costs could push more acres away from corn.
Fertilizer represents about 25 percent of the input costs for soybeans and 30 percent of the input costs for corn. Any spike in the price of fertilizer would turn corn and soybean revenues negative for the year.
For Market to Market, I’m Peter Tubbs
Watch More
The Farm Bill clears the House with an unknown future. The Supreme Court takes up the issue of cancer warnings for RoundUp. Extremes in weather from tornadoes to rain to wildfires hit across the country. And, commodity market analysis with Arlan Suderman.
Cotton, Hormuz Straight, inflation, energies, the Mexican border closure, drought and the Fed's balance sheet are all topics covered in our Market Plus.
Arlan Suderman breaks down the impact of global weather on the wheat, corn and soybean markets in addition to inflation already showing up in commodities in our Market Analysis
Chicago Fed agricultural economist David Oppedahl discusses the state of the Midwest farm economy in 2026 as we look at farmland values, cash rents, lending conditions, and why today's challenges look very different from the 1980s farm crisis.
After three years of delays, the U.S. House passed a new version of the Farm Bill. The bill now goes to the U.S. Senate.
A week of fires, floods and severe weather covered much of the country.