With wheat prices being exceptionally low, the already tight margins that farmers work with will be even tighter.
This time of year is the time to make decisions about the future for farmers here in Sampson County. This past growing season was full of surprises and very few of them seemed to be good ones. Droughts, storms, high input costs and low commodity prices made for a tough year that many farmers are glad to be nearly done with. Thankfully harvest is wrapping up for many. A few questions come up now; should I plant a crop over the winter? What should I do next year?
Looking at the upcoming winter, some farmers are trying to decide if planting a wheat crop will be worth it. Commodity prices are still very low, and they may or may not come up before wheat is harvested. Would it be worth trying to achieve high yields? Input costs are not as high as in the past (2021 or 2022) but they are not cheap by any means. With wheat prices being exceptionally low and input costs not coming down, the already tight margins that farmers work with will be even tighter. The decision is a tough one. Farmers may want to consider other crops for the winter months or cover crops that are less costly to plant and could have a higher return.
It is no secret that the corn crop this year was abysmal. This season could lead to fewer acres next year. A bad corn crop can lead to a multitude of other issues that need to be considered going into next year. Some of these issues have already occurred. Stink bugs are the main issue that I have seen this year. They moved into soybeans heavily as corn harvest wrapped up and have caused some pretty serious damage. With corn withering away farmers did not spray to control stink bugs. Why would anyone put more money into a dying crop? This has created a higher population though, and this population has reproduced and will be a problem next season. That is, unless we get a very cold winter. Weeds will also be an issue next year for the same reason, there was no financial benefit for the farmers to control weeds in a failing crop.
Input costs, commodity prices, imminent weed pressure, and the threat of insect pressure are all things that need to be considered when planning for the upcoming season. The decision ultimately falls on the farmer which adds to the stress of the job immensely. I would encourage farmers to be realistic especially since prices are so low for most row crops. Farmers are resilient and many have gone through hard years before and they have nearly made it through this one. Hopefully the upcoming growing season will have fewer surprises.