WASHINGTON (RFD-TV) — As a government shutdown looms at midnight, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is urging his colleagues to address the critical issues affecting farm country right now. He says prices are down and costs are up, warning that something has to give.
“To put it plainly, many farmers will be lucky if they break even this fall,” Sen. Grassley warns. “Those words, ‘break even,’ are not possible just because of price. If they break even, it’s only because of the expectant bumper crops that we’ll have at least throughout the Midwest that I know about.”
Grassley says he applauds the recent efforts by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to address input costs but notes that farmers require immediate action. Therefore, he introduced the “Fertilizer Research Act” to shed light on the industry.
He compared the current situation to the farm crisis of the 1980s, saying Congress had been too slow to act back then, and encouraged his colleagues not to repeat history.
“My message is, as I see it from my state of Iowa—it’s beginning to look like the 1980s agriculture depression all over,” Grassley continues. “Congress was too slow to respond in the 1980s. Thousands of farmers went out of business in the 1980s, and that should concern all of us. Because, with only 2% of the people producing all the food for the remaining 98%, we can’t let the destruction of the family farmer happen in 2025, as it did in the 1980s.”
Barring an 11th-hour breakthrough in the Senate, the government will shut down at midnight tonight—and with both sides at a stalemate, that breakthrough is unlikely.
The Senate failed to pass a continuing resolution that had been approved by the House the previous week. They could take it up again today, but it would take seven democrats to end the stalemate.
President Trump has pushed for the government to initiate mass layoffs in the event of a lapse in government funding, and it remains unclear if the proposed layoffs will fall under the USDA or other departments that support farmers and ranchers.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says she is evaluating how her department will move forward, promising farmers and ranchers will have access to mission-critical programs.
Here is a look at how a shutdown might impact the ag sector:
- The Farm Service Agency offices would likely close, resulting in a freeze on loan processing.
- A shutdown would delay disaster payments, market assistance, and sign-ups for conservation programs.
- National parks would also shut down.
- Under a partial shutdown, data like crop reports and market outlooks would come to a halt. For example, the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act will expire tonight unless Congress reauthorizes it.
Final Grain Stock Report Comes Out on Tuesday
A new read on grain stocks later today could be some of the last USDA data we get if there is a shutdown. The department will release its quarterly report in a matter of hours.
Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones expect corn carryover to be the lowest in four years, at 1.33 billion bushels. On the soybean side, they’re preparing for a 322-million-bushel carry. Prior USDA estimates came in at 330 million bushels. For wheat, the trade estimate for stocks is 2.04 billion bushels, which would be approximately 2 percent higher than last year if accurate.
Today’s Final Grain Stocks Estimate comes out at Noon ET. We will bring you the numbers as soon as we break them down, right here on the Market Day Report.
Soybean growers are working to bring in this year’s haul, but selling that crop will prove challenging. The American Soybean Association (ASA) states that the United States is losing its competitiveness, citing the recent sale by Argentina.
“If we can be competitive with beans, we can get them moved like they did with Argentina,” said ASA Vice President Scott Metzger. “Those could’ve easily been our beans going over there. It goes to show that if that opportunity is there, China would be willing to buy.”
The grain trade has not minced words since China left the buying table. NCGA calls it a “four-alarm fire,” and says Congress needs to act fast to remove market barriers.
