U.S. row crop farmers are staring down a season of uncertainty as record sorghum supplies pile up with few buyers and corn growers warn of mounting financial pressure. With China cutting back on sorghum imports, domestic demand waning, and corn prices sliding under the weight of rising costs, producers say trade access, policy action, and global market stability will be critical to keeping operations afloat.
A Stockpile of Unsold Sorghum
Nearly 10 million metric tons are expected to hit the bins this year, but domestic demand is down, and our largest buyer, China, has slashed imports. Farmers are facing a harsh reality, questioning where all this grain will go.
Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) said he’s pushing for renewed trade access to help U.S. growers move the record crop abroad.
“Sure, it would be great to get China to open up its markets and buy some sorghum as well,” Sen. Marshall said in an interview with RFD-TV News on Friday. “That’s my message to the White House. This week is a buy. About $2 billion of sorghum. It would be a huge help as we have, it looks like, a record crop out there for sorghum this year.”
Meanwhile, National Sorghum Producers Council (NSPC) CEO Tim Lust said the industry is actively working with lawmakers and the administration to navigate these uncertain markets.
“Sorghum’s always had a very positive story -- we’ve always been a part of our trade deficit solution, normally exporting $1 to $2 billion worth of sorghum around the world,” Lust said in an interview with RFD-TV. “And so when we look at not only what does that mean to sorghum, but what’s it mean to elevators and elevator infrastructure? And as we’ve seen the loss of a number of elevators between Lubbock and Amarillo, we know how critical that infrastructure is. And when we look at what it does to trucking and what it does to shipping, and so we know that it has an impact throughout and just trying to continue to point out the challenges that we have as a sorghum industry and at the farm level, and continue to work with the administration and congress to find those opportunities and those answers to get us back on a trade plane that we’re more used to.”
The USDA projects a season-average farm price near $3.70 per bushel, with sorghum trading at a discount to corn.
Growing Concern For Corn Producers
U.S. corn growers are also sounding the alarm. New polling from the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) shows most farmers expect an economic crisis on the horizon. With rising input costs, tight margins, and global market pressures, growers are being forced to make tough decisions in fields and farmhouses nationwide.
Farm and Trade CEO Jeremy Zwinger said this is not just an American problem, warning that farmers around the globe are all having similar conversations.
“It’s not just in the U.S., it’s worldwide. I mean, you’re hearing it in Thailand, you’re hearing it in the Philippines, you’re hearing it throughout the world,” Zwinger explained. “As these prices go down, there really is some suffering on those levels, and they have much less of a safety net worldwide than we do. I know this week, Secretary Rollins was around looking at and talking about how we are going to augment the income. We see the suffering, Trump sees the suffering. And people want to try to point to Trump with the tariffs. While all he’s done with the tariffs for haircuts was increased markets. It really is the down market. And so, because growers are so, so critical to our overall system, we do have to protect them and open up markets.”
AFBF: Farm Income? More Like Disaster Aid
Even here at home, the numbers only tell part of the story. Net farm income is projected to rise this year, but American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Zippy Duvall said the gains mask deeper challenges for many producers.
“Recent farm income numbers look good at first glance, but when you look closer, there is real concern in farm country,” Duvall said. “Net farm income this year is expected to be almost $180 billion—an increase from 2024 that looks like a win. In reality, assistance for losses in 2023 and 2024 accounts for a significant portion of this year’s numbers.”
Duvall added that row crop farmers are facing billions in losses as costs rise. This underscores the need for progress in trade, renewable fuel expansion, labor reform, and a new Farm Bill.
