LUBBOCK, Texas (RFD NEWS) — Federal assistance has helped blunt recent farm losses, but it has not come close to making producers whole. Analysis by the Agriculture Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University found that several years of rising input costs followed by sharply lower commodity prices, many farmers remain deeply in the red despite multiple rounds of government aid.
From 2023 through 2025, average corn, soybean, and wheat producers accumulated roughly $300 per acre in losses, while cotton losses approached $1,000 per acre. Higher prices tied to global disruptions helped earlier in the decade, but that support faded as markets turned lower in 2023.
Traditional safety-net programs provided limited relief early in the downturn because reference prices were outdated. More meaningful support is coming for the 2025 crop year, but most of that aid will not arrive until late 2026. In the meantime, Congress and USDA added emergency and bridge assistance for 2024 and 2025 losses.
Even with those programs, estimates show federal aid covering only about 35 percent of losses for cotton and soybeans and about 45 percent for corn and wheat. Producers absorbed the remaining share themselves.
The outlook suggests losses could deepen in 2026, forcing producers to rely on shrinking equity, additional borrowing, or exit decisions.
As the corn and soybean price discovery period reaches its midpoint, producers are closely watching market trends and what they could mean for crop insurance decisions moving forward. Brooks York with AgriSompo joined us on Monday’s Market Day Report to provide an update on how prices are shaping up so far during the discovery period.
In his interview with RFD NEWS, York discussed current trends in both corn and soybean pricing and how those movements are factoring into early insurance considerations for the 2025 growing season.
Soybeans have seen a recent price boost, and York addressed some of the factors behind that increase, as well as whether higher soybean prices could influence planting decisions this spring.
York also shared general guidance for farmers navigating today’s market as they weigh price risk and crop insurance coverage.
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