Price spikes stressing Indiana corn, soybean farmers
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Falling crop prices and stubbornly high costs are squeezing Hoosier farmers.
Why it matters: The downturn is hitting a cornerstone of the U.S. food supply — with ripple effects for rural communities and consumers.
The big picture: The Iran conflict has driven up fuel and fertilizer costs, adding pressure after "several consecutive years of losses," American Farm Bureau Federation economist Faith Parum said on a recent media call.
- Fertilizers — often the single highest cost for farmers — are near peak levels.
- Diesel, used across nearly every part of farming, has surged since the start of the Iran War, with prices in Indiana around $5.25, up from about $3.60 a year ago.
At the same time, crop commodity prices have fallen from pandemic-era highs, with corn dropping from near $6–$7 per bushel to the mid-$4 range and soybeans from $13–$15 to under $12 per bushel.
- That's near or even below the break-even point, Michael Langemeier, the director of the Center for Commercial Agriculture and a professor in Purdue University's department of agricultural economics, tells Axios.
What they're saying: Langemeier says the outlook among farmers is down sharply from where it was last year, particularly for crop farmers.
- In a decade of monthly surveys of farmer sentiment, Langemeier said the gap between the positive feelings of livestock (where markets are stronger) and crop farmers is the widest he's seen.
- "It's a continuation of high costs and low crop prices," he says. "The Iran conflict didn't help the cost structure any."
Between the lines: While many farmers purchased their fertilizer before the Iran War, continued high costs could create more stress later in the year as they make decisions for the 2027 planting season.
- We could see fewer acres of corn planted next year in Indiana, the fifth-largest corn-producing state.
What we're watching: If the hard choices for farmers, who overwhelmingly supported President Trump in 2024, show up at the ballot box in November.