U.S. farmers are paying significantly more for the seed, chemicals and other supplies needed to grow crops than their major global competitors in Brazil, a new report from the National Corn Growers Association shows.
The Wednesday, July 8, report said the difference in the costs to grow corn and soybeans is contributing to U.S. farmers’ financial struggle over the past four years ― a period they and others in the agriculture industry are comparing to the 1980s Farm Crisis.
“In recent years, rising input costs have put intense pressure on corn farmers,” Krista Swanson, NCGA chief economist, said in a statement. “It’s easy to focus on corn prices when talking about the farm economy, but that misses a big part of the story. The other side of the equation is what farmers are paying to put a crop in the ground, and those costs have kept climbing to levels that are becoming unsustainable.”
The cost differences are massive and have hit hard in Iowa, the nation’s largest corn grower and second-largest soybean producer after Illinois. Corn seed cost U.S. farmers 68% more on average than Brazilian growers paid from 2023 to 2025, according to a report compiled by Kynetec, an international data analytics company based in St. Louis.
American soybean growers paid 24% more than their South American competitors during that time, according to the group.
Brazil is the world’s top producer of soybeans, with the U.S. in second place, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agriculture Service. It’s No. 3 in corn behind the U.S., the top producer, and China.
The report didn’t look at fertilizer costs, which have spiked as the war in Iran cut shipments of urea, a petrochemical derivative that is the basis of most widely used nitrogen fertilizers. The group said the data for a comparison was less robust.
The report also showed:
Farmer says inflated input costs ‘cannot continue’
Matt Frostic, a Michigan farmer and the association board’s first vice president, said in a call with reporters Tuesday that high input costs are eating into growers’ hope for profits.
“There’s little to no margin in this ― in what the family farmer is making ― and it’s happened for four years, and it cannot continue,” Frostic said.
He said many farmers are trying to “just stay alive,” and the continued struggle is preventing the next generation from carrying on the business.
“We’re not able to reinvest in our farms, and probably more alarming is that the next generation doesn’t have a chance to come back.”
The report shows the need for greater competition within the ag industry and greater transparency surrounding the prices U.S. farmers pay, the NCGA said.
The report comes as Bayer, the parent of Monsanto, maker of Roundup, is petitioning U.S. trade officials to add countervailing duties on imported glyphosate, the active ingredient in the widely used weedkiller. It’s a move the association says will increase costs and potentially cut off imported generic products.
Last month, President Donald Trump indicated he would seek an additional $11 billion to help U.S. farmers, who have struggled with low crop prices and high expenses andalso face ongoing trade challenges as he engages in trade wars with the largest buyers of U.S. farm goods.
The administration previously announced it would send $12 billion to farmers, beginning this fall, to help provide a bridge to improved crop supports and offset trade losses.
Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Report says high costs for US farmers put them behind global competitor
Reporting by Donnelle Eller, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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By Donnelle Eller, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
