commodity prices

December brought some tough news for much of farm country, with producers facing falling prices and rising costs.

The U.S. farm economy is showing widening signs of distress as farmers confront a toxic mix of rising production costs, weak crop prices and shrinking credit access, threatening rural communities nationwide.

"Commodity prices are down, input prices are up, labor costs are high, and movement is pretty slow with foreign markets.”

The prices received by farmers in August increased slightly month over month and year-over-year. The Prices Received Index increased 1% from July to August, and jumped 7.2 % from August 2024 to August this year.

The farm economy is in poor shape across many commodities right now. One of the Northwest commodities struggling the most is wheat.

According to the latest numbers from NASS, the July Prices Received Index decreased 1.4% from June but increased 11% from July 2024.

Andrew Eddie, President of the Washington Hay Growers Association, says the 2025 cop is looking pretty good across much of the Columbia Basin.

The USDA’s latest Agricultural Prices Report shows growers, overall, are receiving more for their commodities from a price perspective.

America’s farmers and ranchers await an overdue, updated Farm Bill.  What are some of the key things farmers want include in that new bill?   “I think there has been a lot of push to increase reference prices in Title I, and making some modifications to crop insurance," said Andrew Harker, principal of the Russell Group.  "You know, as we think a...

According to the USDA’s latest agricultural prices report, producers nationwide received less for their commodities, on the whole in March.  The price index was lowered just over 3% from the prior month, a reflection of reductions in both production indexes month over month.   The L...