U.S. farmers are harvesting two of the largest corn and soybean crops in history – and struggling to keep up.
The significant surge in crop supply is challenging growers who are already contending with grain prices at a four-year low, intense competition for global export sales, and farm incomes that have decreased by 23% from a record high just two years ago.
“It has been fast and furious,” said Brent Johnson, a corn and soybean farmer in Ashland, Illinois.
Midwestern farmers still have grain in storage from 2023 because they chose not to sell their record corn crop at lower prices. The current dry weather is speeding up this year’s harvests and causing grain handlers in some areas to store corn outdoors instead of in storage bins.
Jeff O’Connor, who grows corn and soybeans near Kankakee, Illinois, said “My people and equipment would like a break.” As soy harvesting winds down, farmers move on to corn, which typically yields more than three times as much grain per acre as soybeans.
The most recent USDA Crop Progress report indicates that Wisconsin is more than three weeks ahead in its progress compared to the 2023 soybean harvest.
With consumer trends seeing an increase in demand for corn and soy products, America’s farming community hopes international competition will slow and prices will stabilize.
By CEO NA Editorial Staff
