Farmers say they can’t profit off crops at current prices

BROOKLAND, Ark. (KAIT) - A major problem farmers face today is that they cannot make a profit when selling their products.

“As we look at farms across the state of Arkansas, most farms over the past few years have lost money, and this year, we have seen that grow even further,” said Lonoke County rice farmer Mark Isbell.

Data from the United States Department of Agriculture shows that since 2022, prices for crops like corn, soybeans, cotton, and others have drastically declined.

Brookland rice farmer Terry Grimes said the current price of rice is over a dollar less than what he needs to break even.

Grimes said one big factor is that other countries are no longer buying these goods.

“The agreement with China,” said Grimes. “If China would come back to the table, they could use all of our soybeans, and our corn, and even get them to take the rice. China’s consumption of rice would be awesome for us, and it would help.”

Low selling costs are only one facet of the current farmers’ crisis.

Another problem is the cost of equipment.

“A $100,000 stripper header on an $800,000 combine, and we run three of those,” said Grimes. “It takes quite a bit of revenue to just make the payments, and I just don’t see where the farming is right now, is in a good situation.”

In the meantime, farmers are looking for anything that can help them through this crisis.

“The only way to fix that in the short term is for the USDA to step up and to help farmers with that, while they continue to work in the background to try and fix some of these trade programs long term,” said Isbell.

“There is not one farmer wanting the general public to bail us out; we don’t want that,” said Grimes. “We just want to be able to sustain our industry by selling our commodities and paying our bills. Right now...that’s not...there is no way.”

Both farmers say the long-term solution to this problem will involve getting markets back to where they can sell for profit.

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