This is Bob Bragg with the Farm News & Views Report for the first week of June.
So far in 2026, farmers and ranchers are facing several challenges caused by high input costs for fertilizer, fuel, and crop inputs, low commodity prices, extreme weather from drought to flooding, labor and trade uncertainties, and dysfunction in congress with passing a new Farm Bill and other policies related to agriculture.
Cattle producers are also having their share of challenges. According to a recent Drovers Journal magazine article, sales of cattle at livestock markets in the U. S. are about nine times higher than historical averages this year, because of emergency herd liquidations. There are several reasons for these liquidations, which are not because producers have been poor managers. For example, over 60% of herds are in severe drought conditions, while 56% of U.S. hay production is limited by extremely dry growing conditions that have drastically driven up the cost of feed. Also, records are being set by only 29% of pastures carrying a good to excellent rating this year, which is restricting grazing opportunities for many cattle herds. Unfortunately, for many producers, their cattle herds are their sole source of income, and many of them have spent generations improving the genetics of their cattle, leading their operation to become more profitable enterprises. While these drought conditions are causing the first year-over-year increase in feedlot supplies in 18 months, increased feedlot placements aren’t expected to last very long, and consumers are likely to see rising cost of beef at meat counters for a couple of years or more, because a smaller U.S beef herd means that fewer feeder cattle available for placements in feedlots, causing a shortage of cattle available for slaughter.
The recently released Drought Monitor Map indicates that about 75% of the U.S. is in some level of drought, and in the Four Corners Region drought ranges from severe to extreme, which has been exacerbated by high winds that blows irrigation water from where it was intended to where it isn’t needed. The National Weather Service long range forecast indicates that drought conditions will prevail during June but improve slightly by mid-summer. In other words, it doesn’t look like we are expected to be free of drought anytime soon.
It’s been reported that monthly farm-related Chapter 12 filings increased in April to more than a six-year high, and that it is likely that more filings will be made soon, because of increased fuel and fertilizer prices due to the war with Iran. Robert E. Moore, attorney and research specialist at Ohio State University Extension’s Agricultural and Resource Law Program points out that the problems for farmers started several years ago, but the recent higher fuel and fertilizer prices as part of the reason farmers are struggling with finances now, since those increased expenses have pushed many farmers to a breaking point. The last time farm bankruptcies were this high was in February of 2020, during President Trump’s first term as president, when he initiated a trade war with China, that caused U.S. farmers to lose billions of dollars when China retaliated with heavy tariffs on U.S. agricultural products. The result was a dramatic drop in demand for American soybeans, pork, and dairy when China refused to purchase agricultural goods from the U.S., which left farmers grain in storage and lost marketing opportunities.
Will Rogers wrote, "The farmer has to be an optimist, or he wouldn't still be a farmer."
