A U.S.-Iran agreement aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and extending a ceasefire has offered some relief to American farmers facing higher fuel and fertilizer costs. However, growers say it will do little to address the drought, weak crop prices, and trade disputes that have already damaged their finances.
North Carolina farmer Jeff Tyson, 55, grows soybeans, cotton, corn, tobacco, sweet potatoes and sunflowers. Like many producers, he has watched expenses rise faster than revenue as dry weather reduced crop yields and government policies increased costs.
Diesel prices have fallen to their lowest level since mid-March, while urea fertilizer recently sold below its pre-conflict price. Still, Tyson said the improvement came too late to reverse the financial damage.
“There’s no joy left in this farm. When you work 16-hour days and get to the end of the year, and you have to borrow money to pay your taxes, there’s no fun in it. It’s just not worth it anymore,” said Tyson, a fourth-generation farmer.
The agricultural downturn is also affecting political attitudes ahead of November’s congressional elections. A Reuters-Ipsos poll released this month showed rural voters now disapprove of President Donald Trump’s economic policies by 61 percent to 31 percent. Early last year, they supported those policies by a narrow margin.
A Purdue University-CME Group survey also found growing pessimism among agricultural producers. The share of respondents who believed the country was moving in the right direction fell from 75 percent in December to 52 percent in May.
Farmers have faced several years of pressure from tariffs, high borrowing costs, and lower commodity prices. China sharply reduced purchases of American soybeans after the United States increased tariffs, while South American producers expanded their harvests. Annual U.S. soybean sales to China reportedly fell from nearly $18 billion in 2022 to about $3 billion last year.
“The returns for farmers have been really tough on the soybean side the past few years. They just generally haven’t been making much money,” said Scott Gerlt, chief economist for the American Soybean Association.
Interest rates have added to the strain. Farmers borrowing more than $100,000 face rates of nearly 7 percent, more than double the level recorded four years earlier, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
Other growers described similar difficulties. Michael McPherson said diesel prices rose sharply before the planting season, forcing him to absorb additional expenses despite drought conditions.
“It’s been a tough year, a tough season so far. Among everything else that’s going on, we’re in the worst drought we’ve ever had this time of year. That’s really putting us in a bind right now. None of our crops are where they’re supposed to be this time of year,” McPherson said.
Farmer Gary Hendrix, who operates 7,000 acres with his family, said production costs had increased by about 20 percent compared with last year. He also expressed concern that consolidation among fertilizer and agricultural equipment suppliers limits farmers’ choices.
“It doesn’t really matter whether I’m buying or selling. If I’m trying to buy a tractor or if I’m trying to sell a load of soybeans. You know, I don’t have many places to go,” Hendrix said.
Although Hendrix voted for Trump in 2024, he remains undecided ahead of the congressional elections. “He’s done some things that have really been a benefit to ag,” Hendrix said. “And he’s tried some other things that haven’t quite worked.”