An over-cultivation that mistreated American farmers is waning, fueling an unexpected recovery in the U.S. agricultural belt after a multi-year agricultural recession.
Prices for corn, soybeans and wheat have risen to their highest levels in more than six years as China’s dry climate and strong export demand deplete U.S. reserves.
Rising commodity prices are spreading across the food chain, helping to drive a sharp rise in U.S. agricultural incomes and raising the prospects of a large number of rural businesses, from retailers to cereals to equipment manufacturers and fertilizer suppliers.
At the same time, the revival of the grain sector is increasing costs and pushing profit margins for food and fuel producers who absorb large amounts of U.S. corn and soybeans each year, and are likely to lead to increases in food prices. for consumers, executives say.
This is a dramatic investment in recent years in which heavy harvests increased U.S. grain supplies, driving down prices and reducing farmers ’incomes. A wave of bankruptcies ravaged the Midwest farms, followed by trade disputes and the coronavirus pandemic, which deepened farmers’ struggles.