Postcard from the Midwest: Not quite Happy Days for US farmers

Agriculture in the US is far from easy but it is also big business and key to understanding the industry on a global basis, as the country is the world's largest producer, exporter, and consumer of corn.

My recent trip to visit farmers, agriculture equipment dealers, and lenders based in the Midwest was therefore a perfect opportunity to learn more about the farmers' prospects, challenges, and behaviour. Grain pain The three key row crops - corn, soybean and wheat - account for the bulk of non-livestock farm output. Together they are used for three purposes: human consumption, animal feed, and biofuels. US farms tend to be large, efficient, and high yielding, which led to overproduction during the boom years of 2005-14. About 2.5 billion bushels of prior harvested corn inventory ...