47% of Farmers Say This Is Their No. 1 Problem, and Bigger Yields Won't Fix It
Andrew Donnell is a seventh-generation farmer in Jackson, Tennessee. His family's land goes back to 1826.
Until 2019, the Donnells grew corn, soybeans and cotton. Andrew explained why in a line every farmer reading this has felt in the gut: "None of the commodities are working well when I put a pencil to it."
So the crop ground is now leased to another farmer, and the family runs Donnell Century Farm Adventure: 30 attractions, a corn maze, zip lines and a farm market with a butcher shop.
Here is the answer up front. In 2026, high input costs are the No. 1 problem on American farms. In June, 47% of farmers surveyed by Purdue University named them their biggest concern. Bigger yields won't fix it, because a margin problem is not a volume problem. The fix is a second income that you price yourself.
Short Answer: High input costs are US farmers' No. 1 problem in 2026. In June, 47% named them their biggest concern. Bigger yields won't fix it, because more bushels sold below cost only make a bigger loss. The real fix is a second income where you set the price. |
This article walks you through the problem first, because you can't fix what you can't see. Then it shows you the way out, the honest odds, and the paperwork questions to ask before the first visitor pulls in.
The 47% Number, and What Has Happened Since
Every month, Purdue University and CME Group survey about 400 US farmers for the Ag Economy Barometer. It is the closest thing farm country has to a pulse check.
In the June 2026 survey, taken June 15 to 19 and released July 7, the result was blunt. 47% of farmers said high input costs were their biggest concern. Low crop and livestock prices came a distant second at 23%.
Only 12% said their operation was better off than a year earlier. The overall index fell from 119 in May to 113 in June. The Current Conditions Index sank to 102, an 18-month low.
Michael Langemeier, who leads the barometer, put it plainly. He said "high input costs remain the primary constraint on farm financial performance."
And it didn't go away. Look at that chart again. From February to September, the share naming input costs as their top worry never dropped below 44%.
In May it hit 51%, a new high at the time. Then September broke that record at 52%. In the same September survey, 54% said input costs were the main thing holding back their farm finances, and 35% expected to be worse off a year from now. Only 22% expected to be better off.
The latest reading, released November 3, 2026, showed the barometer edging up from 123 in September to 126 in October. Current conditions jumped 16 points.
But read the fine print. Purdue noted the bounce coincided with the rollout of USDA ARC-CO and PLC payments in October. Government checks arrived. The cost problem did not leave. Only 20% of farmers said it was a good time to buy machinery or buildings, and the share who agreed they had a strong balance sheet slipped to about 62%, down from 76% in January.
When Purdue asked what was limiting farm finances in June, high input costs won by a mile at 42%. Low output prices came next at 17%. Weather risk, a worry on every farm, was only 14%.
Think about that. The weather can't be helped. But this year, farmers fear the invoice more than they fear the sky.
If you've been feeling squeezed and wondering if it's just you, it's not. It's almost everyone. And it's measurable.
Prices Paid vs Prices Received: The Squeeze in One Picture
USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service tracks two numbers every month. One is the index of prices farmers pay for everything they use: fuel, fertilizer, feed, seed, labor, interest, taxes. The other is the index of prices farmers receive for what they sell.
Both start at 100 in 2011. When the "paid" line runs above the "received" line, the gap between them is your squeeze.
In February 2025, the two lines met. Then they split. In USDA's latest report, released October 30, 2026, the prices paid index for September 2026 stood at 160.5. That's 5.2% higher than a year earlier.
The prices received index? 133.2. That's up just 0.5% from a year earlier. In August, it was about 2% lower than a year earlier.
Costs up 5%. Prices flat. Same year. That is the cost-price squeeze in two numbers.
USDA also publishes the ratio between the two. In 2011 it was 100. In January 2026 it fell to about 73, and in September 2026 it was 83, down from 87 a year earlier. Put simply, at the January low, a load of crops or livestock bought roughly a quarter less in fuel, fertilizer, feed and labor than it did in 2011.
Reporters noticed too. In October 2025, the gap between the two indexes hit about 34 points, the widest spread in at least a decade, Investigate Midwest reported. By January 2026 it was wider still: 42 points.
This is the core of the problem. You don't control the price you get. And you don't control the price you pay. You only control what's in between, and in between is getting thinner.
If this is starting to sound like your bank statement, read why your farm can make money but leave you with nothing. It explains where the cash goes even in "good" years.
Where the Money Is Going in 2026
USDA's Economic Research Service released its latest farm income forecast on September 3, 2026. Remember, these are forecasts, not final numbers. But they show where the pressure is.
Total farm production expenses are forecast at $492.8 billion in 2026. That's up $21.2 billion, or 4.5%, from 2025.
The two biggest percentage jumps hit the two things you can't farm without:
Fuel and oil: up $4.8 billion, or 28.8%.
Fertilizer, lime and soil conditioners: up $5.3 billion, or 15.3%.
Meanwhile, net farm income is forecast to fall 2.6% to $158.4 billion. After inflation, the forecast drop is 5.5%.
And here is the part most headlines skip. Direct government payments are forecast at $47.4 billion in 2026, up almost 70%. Without that money, the picture would look far worse.
Now bring it down to the farm gate.
In the week of October 26, 2026, the US average on-highway diesel price was $6.352 a gallon. That's $2.634 more than a year earlier, according to the Energy Information Administration. If you've watched the fuel truck leave, you've felt it. (See how one maze owner handled it in Diesel Shortage 2026: why a corn maze raised tickets $3.)
In the third week of October, DTN's survey of retail fertilizer dealers put anhydrous ammonia at $987 a ton, 17% higher than a year ago. Urea was $674, up 13%.
Back in April, more than 5,700 farmers answered an American Farm Bureau Federation survey. Around 70% said they could not afford all the fertilizer they needed this season. In the South, 78% said they could not afford all the inputs they needed.
Read that again. Seven in ten farmers who answered couldn't afford all the fertilizer they needed. That isn't a management problem. That's a market problem landing on individual families.
Reality Check: Fuel and fertilizer swung hard in 2026 because of the conflict with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. Some prices may ease. But the American Farm Bureau warned in June that farmers "may not see meaningful relief" soon. USDA projects fuel and fertilizer to ease in 2027, but seed, chemicals, repairs, labor, machinery and rent are projected to keep climbing. Don't build your plan on costs falling back. |
Debt makes it worse. When margins are thin, the operating loan gets bigger to cover the gap. We covered that in US Farm Debt Just Hit a Record $605 Billion.
It's Not Just America: Canada and the UK Feel the Same Vice
If you farm in Canada or the UK, you already know this story. The accent changes. The squeeze doesn't.
In Canada, Farm Credit Canada's preliminary outlook, published in September 2025, forecast that farmers would spend C$22.5 billion on crop inputs in 2026, with fertilizer alone near C$10 billion. FCC said 2026 could potentially rival the record crop-input year of 2022.
Then the year got harder. In July 2026, FCC senior economist Leigh Anderson warned that without a lasting Iran-U.S. peace deal, Canadian agriculture faces "continued margin pressure from higher input costs." The same analysis noted margins were "already near breakeven."
In Ontario, the University of Guelph's Ridgetown Campus tracks input prices for farmers. On April 15, 2026, urea averaged C$1,002 a tonne, up 22.3% from a year earlier. Coloured farm diesel was C$1.77 a litre, up 52.5%.
In the UK, the numbers are just as stark. Defra's agricultural price indices, published October 29, 2026, show farm input prices up 8.6% in the year to August 2026. Over the same year, the prices farmers received fell 5.4%.
Plant protection products were up 47.6%. Energy was up 23.3%. Fertilisers were up 13%. Milk prices fell 17.3%, and potatoes dropped 31.9%.
Back in May, the consultancy Andersons described it as "tightening the vice on farm profitability." Defra's later figures show the vice hasn't loosened.
UK readers, we've covered your side in depth: Europe's Farmers Just Stopped Buying Fertiliser and Europe's Dairy Farmers Just Lost a Fifth of Their Milk Cheque.
Three countries. Three sets of data. One pattern. Costs rise faster than prices, and the farmer is caught in the middle.
Why Bigger Yields Won't Fix a Margin Problem
When money gets tight, most of us reach for the tool we know. Farm harder. Push the yield. Rent more ground. Spread the fixed costs over more acres.
It feels right. It's what our fathers did. And in a margin squeeze, it can make things worse.
Here's why.
A margin is what's left on each unit after costs. If each bushel costs you more to grow than you get for it, then each extra bushel adds to the loss. More volume at a loss is just a bigger loss.
In May 2026, University of Illinois farmdoc economists projected that corn on high-productivity central Illinois farmland would lose about $45 an acre in 2026, after costs and cash rent. Soybeans were projected to earn $67.
Do the simple math. At minus $45 an acre, 250 acres of corn loses $11,250. Double the acres to 500 and you lose $22,500. At 2,000 acres you lose $90,000.
Bigger did not save you. Bigger multiplied the damage.
Now the twist, and it proves the point even more. By September 2026, corn prices had improved, and farmdoc updated that same 2026 corn estimate to a gain of $59 an acre.
That is a swing of $104 an acre in less than four months. You didn't farm any differently. The market moved, and your whole year moved with it. That is what it means to have your income decided by someone else.
The treadmill nobody talks about
In his 1958 book Farm Prices: Myth and Reality, agricultural economist Willard Cochrane described what became known as the "technology treadmill." The short version goes like this.
Early adopters of a new seed or machine earn a profit for a while. Then everyone adopts it. Total output rises. Prices fall. The profit disappears. The farmers who can't keep up get squeezed out, and farms keep getting fewer and bigger.
Every farmer runs faster. Few get ahead.
Meanwhile, look at where the food dollar goes. USDA's Economic Research Service found that in 2024, farms received just 11.8 cents of every dollar spent on domestically produced food. The other 88.2 cents went to transporting, processing and selling it, from grocery stores to restaurants.
That's the real lesson. The money in food isn't in growing more of it. It's in being closer to the person who eats it.
And the costs keep rising underneath you. The American Farm Bureau reported that total production costs for corn have risen 146% since 2005. For soybeans it was 165%.
You can't out-yield that forever.
The Usual Fixes, and Why They Only Go So Far
To be fair, farmers aren't sitting still. Here are the standard moves, and where each one hits a wall.
The usual fix | What it does | Why it only goes so far |
Cut fertilizer and chemical rates | Saves cash this season | Can cut yield. About 70% of farmers in an AFBF survey couldn't afford all the fertilizer they needed in 2026 |
Prebook inputs early | Can lock in a lower price | Helps timing, not the long-term rise in costs |
Hedge and market better | Protects against price drops | Can't create a price above the market |
Farm more acres | Spreads machinery and labor costs | Multiplies a per-acre loss and adds more rent |
Wait for government payments | $47.4 billion forecast for 2026 | Politics decides the amount and timing, not you |
Add an income line you price yourself | Money that doesn't track commodity prices | Takes work, permits, insurance and a plan |
Every fix on this list is worth doing. Keep doing them.
But notice something. The first five all live inside the same game: commodity prices you don't set and input prices you don't set. Only the last one changes the game.
The Way Out: A Second Income That Doesn't Run on Fertilizer
Here is the shift Andrew Donnell's family made, and thousands of other farms have made too. Stop selling only bushels and pounds. Start selling something the market can't price for you.
When you sell a bushel of corn, the board in Chicago tells you what it's worth. When you sell a Saturday on the farm, you decide what it's worth.
A family walking a corn maze doesn't care what anhydrous costs. A child picking a pumpkin doesn't check the futures price. That's the point.
Selling a commodity | Selling a farm experience or direct product | |
Who sets the price | The market | You |
Tied to fertilizer and fuel prices | Heavily | Lightly |
Who you sell to | A buyer, elevator or processor | Families, schools, companies, loyal customers |
When you're paid | Often months after the work | Usually on the day |
Can you add on sales | Rarely | Yes: food, drinks, photos, take-home produce |
Real farms that already made the move
Dull's Tree Farm, Indiana. Lucas and Dana Dull's family farm was "predominately a corn and soybean operation." They harvested their first pumpkins in 2014. By 2019, the fall agritourism and Christmas tree business had grown large enough that they left row-crop farming. Today they welcome about 80,000 visitors a year. Food makes up 20% to 25% of revenue. They sell about one donut for every visitor who comes through the gate.
Glen Ray Corn Maze, Utah. Rex Larsen's family has farmed in Utah County since 1869. When the family started a corn maze, around 2017, he had doubts. "I don't know that I'd pay anybody to walk through a corn maze," he admitted. Today agritourism brings in about 10% of the farm's income, and in April 2026 the family opened a tulip festival. His verdict: "It's financially better than just growing corn."
Derthick's Farm and Corn Maze, Ohio. Founded in 1806, the farm still grows about 40 acres of hay. That hay earns no income. Virtually all the profit comes from agritourism, led by a 17-acre corn maze. Manager MaryEllen Hamlin told Marketplace in September 2026: "Now, more families are needing that extra income to survive."
Dumble Farm, England. This farm in Arram, in northeast England, had been a dairy since the 1970s. Then floods washed out crops and milk prices fell below the cost of production. In 2022 they sold all but a few of their dairy cows. By 2025, visitors were paying £95 for a cow-cuddling session that includes a safari to see Highland cattle. Co-owner Fiona Wilson said flooding and the pressures on their land were "making it unsustainable for us to carry on."
Loch Wood Farms, Manitoba. Scott and Janine Duguid run about 120 head of cattle near Arnes. They planted cut-flower sunflowers into a cover crop on five or six acres. They sell bouquets at the farmers market and open the field for U-pick. U-pick days grew from one date to four. "With the cost of land, we're not getting any more," Scott said. So they got more from the land they had.
Notice what these farms have in common. None of them won by cutting fertilizer 10%. They won by adding a second way to get paid.
Field-Tested Play: Look for the "dead" acres or seasons on your farm, like Derthick's hay ground or the Duguids' cover crop. Ask one question: could people pay to walk, pick, learn or photograph here? Your first idea doesn't have to be big. It has to be priced by you. |
The UK proof is in the farm accounts
England's official farm accounts make the point better than any story can.
In 2024/25, the average farm business in England earned £71,200. Of that, the farming itself, the agricultural core, earned just £14,200. Diversification earned £22,400, about 31% of the total.
On the average English farm, farming itself earned less than diversification and less than environmental schemes. And 72% of English farm businesses had some kind of diversified activity.
That doesn't mean farming doesn't matter. It means the farms that are holding on have stopped relying on it alone.
Direct sales count too
You don't need a corn maze. Selling direct is often the first, cheapest step.
USDA's 2022 Census found 116,617 farms selling food and farm products directly to consumers, worth $3.26 billion. And a USDA study that followed farms from 2007 to 2012 found that farms selling direct to consumers stayed in business at higher rates than farms that didn't, by 6 to 10 percentage points depending on farm size.
That's not a magic bullet. But it's a real edge, measured over years. If you want the pricing side of this, read The Experience Premium: how to price your farm for profit.
Reality Check: Agritourism Isn't Free Money
I promised you the honest odds. Here they are.
USDA's 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 28,617 US farms with agritourism income, about 1.5% of all farms. Together they earned $1.26 billion, up 12.4% from 2017 after inflation. The average was about $44,000 per farm.
But averages hide the truth. In the previous Census, in 2017, half of US agritourism operations reported less than $5,000 in agritourism receipts, University of Missouri Extension found. A small group of farms earns most of the money. We broke the numbers down in Agritourism Statistics 2026.
A national survey for a USDA-funded agritourism project, published in August 2026, found 27% of responding operators made less than $1,000 in agritourism profit in 2024, including those who lost money. That survey wasn't designed to represent all farms, but it's a fair warning.
Startup costs range from $50,000 to more than $500,000, DTN reported in October 2026. Restrooms, kitchens, activities, insurance, staff and marketing all cost money.
And insurance keeps climbing. Derthick's told Marketplace their agritourism insurance costs rise every year.
Reality Check: Agritourism is a business, not a side hobby. It takes a plan, the right location, real marketing and good customer service. Farms that treat it like a real business tend to be the ones in the top group. Farms that open a gate and hope usually stay in the "under $5,000" group. |
So why bother? Because the alternative is betting your whole family's living on two prices you'll never control. A second income, even a modest one, changes that. And you can start small, test it cheaply and grow only what works.
How to Test a Second Income This Winter
You don't need to bet the farm to find out. Start small and learn fast.
Step No. 1: List what you already have. Barns, a pond, an orchard row, a view, animals, a family story, a skill. Start with what's already paid for. Here's how in How to Launch Agritourism Using Only the Infrastructure You Already Own.
Step No. 2: Pick one offer with a clear price. A U-pick day. A farm photo session. A pumpkin patch. A farm breakfast. Autumn Ridge Farm in Pennsylvania charges families $42 for a photo sitting and photographers $75 an hour to host their own sessions.
Step No. 3: Test it with one weekend. Don't build first. Sell first. We show you how in Test Agritourism With a 60-Minute MVP.
Step No. 4: Build a list of loyal buyers. Collect phone numbers or emails from every visitor. A list of people who already love your farm is worth more than any single season.
Step No. 5: Add one on-farm sale. Food, drinks or take-home produce. At Dull's, food is 20% to 25% of revenue. At Donnell Century Farm, food is about a third of gross sales.
Step No. 6: Track it like a crop. Write down every cost and every dollar in. Keep what makes money. Drop what doesn't.
Field-Tested Play: If you grow corn or pumpkins already, your cheapest test is selling the same crop to a visitor instead of a buyer. Read How to Start a Pumpkin Patch and How to Start a Corn Maze before you plant next season. |
Paperwork Questions to Ask Before the First Visitor Arrives
This is not legal, tax or insurance advice. It's the list of questions I'd want answered before opening my gate. Take it to your insurance agent, your county office and your accountant.
Insurance
Does my current farm policy cover paying visitors at all? (The typical farm policy does not cover agritourism, Suzi Spahr, executive director of NAFDMA International Agritourism Association, told DTN.)
What would a separate agritourism or commercial liability policy cost, and what does it exclude?
Are hayrides, animals, zip lines or food sales covered, or do they need extra cover?
Liability and state law
Does my state have an agritourism liability law? Utah, for example, passed HB31 in 2024 to give farmers who host the public some liability protection.
Do I need to post warning signs, or have visitors sign a waiver?
See Agritourism Laws by State for where to start.
Zoning and permits
Does my zoning allow visitors, parking, events or food sales?
Do I need a health permit for food or drinks?
In the UK, do I need planning permission for a change of use? In Canada, what does my municipality require?
Tax and money
Will this income change how my farm is taxed?
Should the visitor business be a separate entity?
Ask your accountant the questions in Agritourism and Taxes.
Get the answers in writing where you can. A few hours of questions now can save a season of trouble later. For cover options and typical costs, read Agritourism Insurance: What It Covers, What It Costs.
What We Learned at Bloopy Durians
I'm Stephen Loke, the founder of Bloopy Durians in Bentong, Malaysia. Durians are not corn. But the lesson is the same.
Our durian seasons last only about four to five months a year, roughly December to February and June to August. A farm that only sells fruit at market prices lives and dies by those few months and whatever buyers will pay.
So we built more than one way to get paid.
We welcome visitors from all over the world. They reach the farm through a four-wheel-drive adventure. Many companies send their staff and management to visit.
We also built a WhatsApp list of loyal customers who buy whenever durians are available. That list has become a reliable source of income.
We supply durians for corporate events too. We supplied durians for a Mayor of Kuala Lumpur tourism event, and Kuala Lumpur City Hall gave our team a plaque of appreciation.
The farm has been featured in Bloomberg News and Asahi Shimbun. The lesson for any farmer is simple: the steadiest money comes from people who know you, not just from the crop.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are farm input costs so high in 2026?
Fuel and fertilizer jumped after the conflict with Iran disrupted energy and fertilizer shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. USDA forecasts 2026 fuel and oil costs up 28.8% and fertilizer up 15.3%. Seed, machinery, interest and land rent costs are also high.
What is the cost-price squeeze in farming?
It's when the prices farmers pay for inputs rise faster than the prices they receive for crops and livestock. In September 2026, USDA's prices paid index was up 5.2% from a year earlier, while the prices received index was up only 0.5%.
What percentage of farmers say input costs are their biggest problem?
In Purdue's June 2026 Ag Economy Barometer, 47% of US farmers named high input costs their biggest concern. In September 2026 it hit a record 52%.
Will higher yields fix low farm profit margins?
Not when you're losing money on each unit. If an acre loses $45, more acres means a bigger total loss. Yields help only when the price you receive is above your cost per unit.
What can farmers do about rising farm input costs?
Keep doing the basics: prebook inputs, review rates, market well and watch your cash. Then add an income line you price yourself, such as direct sales, U-pick, farm tours, events or farm stays.
Is agritourism profitable for most farms?
Some farms do very well, but many earn little. USDA's 2022 Census averaged about $44,000 per farm, yet in the 2017 Census half of US agritourism operations reported under $5,000. Planning, location and marketing make the difference.
Do Canadian and UK farmers face the same squeeze?
Yes. In the UK, farm input prices rose 8.6% while output prices fell 5.4% in the year to August 2026. In Canada, a July 2026 Farm Credit Canada analysis said margins were "already near breakeven."
How do I know if my farm is ready for paying visitors?
Start with a quick self-check of your location, facilities, time and interest. Read 21 Signs Your Farm Is Ready for Paying Visitors, then take the free quiz below.
Your Next Step
You can't control the price of diesel. You can't control what the elevator pays. But you can control whether your farm has a second way to get paid.
Find out where your farm stands today. The Farm Readiness Quiz takes a few minutes and shows you which agritourism ideas fit your land, your time and your budget.
Then grab the free ebook that goes with it: 150 Ways to Unlock Hidden Wealth From Your Farm.
Inside, you'll find:
150 ways to earn more from the land, buildings and equipment you already own
Ideas grouped by category, so you can quickly find ones that fit your farm
How hard each idea is, how you might price it, and what it could earn
Ideas that don't depend on commodity prices or the next fertilizer bill
It's free. It's built for farmers who are tired of relying only on unpredictable harvests.
P.S. Andrew Donnell didn't answer the squeeze by growing more corn. He put a pencil to it, admitted the commodities weren't working, and opened the gate. Your version doesn't have to be 30 attractions. It can start with one weekend and one price that you set.
Stephen Loke of AgritourismSuccess.com, whose farm is featured in Bloomberg News and Asahi Shimbun. This article is for general education only and is not legal, tax, insurance or financial advice. Figures are from the sources listed below and were checked in November 2026; forecasts can change.
Sources
Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer, "High Input-Cost Concerns Continue to Weigh on Farmer Sentiment" (June 2026 data), July 7, 2026. https://ag.purdue.edu/commercialag/ageconomybarometer/high-input-cost-concerns-continue-to-weigh-on-farmer-sentiment/
Purdue University News, "High input-cost concerns continue to weigh on farmer sentiment," July 2026. https://ag.purdue.edu/news/2026/07/high-input-cost-concerns-continue-to-weigh-on-farmer-sentiment.html
Purdue-CME Ag Economy Barometer, "Farmer Sentiment Drops as Concerns About Input Costs Increase" (September 2026 data), October 6, 2026. https://ag.purdue.edu/commercialag/ageconomybarometer/farmer-sentiment-drops-as-concerns-about-input-costs-increase/
Purdue-CME Ag Economy Barometer, "Optimism Grows in October as Current Conditions Improve," November 3, 2026. https://ag.purdue.edu/commercialag/ageconomybarometer/optimism-grows-in-october-as-current-conditions-improve/
Purdue-CME Ag Economy Barometer monthly reports released March 3 to September 1, 2026 (February, March, April, May, July and August data), and Survey History, June 2026 (Index of Current Conditions: May 107, June 102). https://ag.purdue.edu/commercialag/ageconomybarometer/
USDA NASS, Agricultural Prices, monthly reports January 30 to October 30, 2026 (latest: September 2026 data, released October 30, 2026). https://esmis.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/release-files/796128/agpr1026.txt
Investigate Midwest (Lauren Cross) via Farm and Dairy, on the widening gap between farm costs and prices received, January 5, 2026. https://www.farmanddairy.com/?p=900259
USDA Economic Research Service, Farm Sector Income Forecast, September 3, 2026. https://ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-sector-income-finances/farm-sector-income-forecast
American Farm Bureau Federation, "USDA Revises Farm Income Higher, but Costs Still Bite," September 3, 2026. https://www.fb.org/market-intel/usda-revises-farm-income-higher-but-costs-still-bite
American Farm Bureau Federation, "Production Costs Expected to Reach New Highs in 2027," June 18, 2026. https://www.fb.org/market-intel/production-costs-expected-to-reach-new-highs-in-2027
American Farm Bureau Federation, Faith Parum, "Farm Bureau Survey Reveals Real Impact of Fertilizer Availability and Price," April 14, 2026. https://www.fb.org/intel/markets/farm-bureau-survey-reveals-real-impact-of-fertilizer-availability-and-price ; also Farm Policy News (University of Illinois), April 15, 2026. https://farmpolicynews.illinois.edu/2026/04/70-of-farmers-cant-afford-all-needed-fertilizer-survey-shows/
US Energy Information Administration, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, week of October 26, 2026. https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/
DTN, "DTN Retail Fertilizer Trends," October 28, 2026. https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/crops/article/2026/10/28/fertilizer-prices-continue-climb-6
farmdoc daily, University of Illinois, "Spring Revision to 2026 Illinois Crop Budgets," May 19, 2026. https://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2026/05/spring-revision-to-2026-illinois-crop-budgets.html
farmdoc daily, University of Illinois, "Illinois Crop Budgets for 2027," September 1, 2026. https://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2026/09/illinois-crop-budgets-for-2027.html
USDA ERS, "Farms received 11.8 cents per dollar spent on domestically produced food in 2024," April 28, 2026. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/charts-of-note/114074
Willard W. Cochrane, Farm Prices: Myth and Reality, University of Minnesota Press, 1958; reviewed by J. P. Cavin in Agricultural Economics Research, Vol. 10, No. 4, October 1958 (AgEcon Search, University of Minnesota). https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/145047 ; see also B. Czyżewski, A. Czyżewski and Ł. Kryszak, "The Market Treadmill Against Sustainable Income of European Farmers: How the CAP Has Struggled with Cochrane's Curse," Sustainability 11(3):791, 2019. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030791
Farm Credit Canada, "Preliminary outlook: Possible cost pressures in 2026 reinforce drive to find efficiencies," Leigh Anderson, September 10, 2025. https://www.fcc-fac.ca/en/knowledge/economics/cost-pressures-reinforce-efficiencies
The Western Producer, "Elevated shipping, fuel costs could stay into 2027 without Iran-U.S. peace deal: FCC," July 27, 2026. https://www.producer.com/daily/elevated-shipping-fuel-costs-could-stay-into-2027-without-iran-u-s-peace-deal-fcc/
University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus, Ontario Farm Input Monitoring Project, Survey 1, April 15, 2026. https://www.ridgetownc.com/documents/ontario-farm-input-monitoring-project-survey-1-apr-15-2026-pdf/
Defra, "Agricultural price indices – United Kingdom: August 2026," October 29, 2026 (provisional). https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/agricultural-price-indices/agricultural-price-indices-united-kingdom-august-2026 ; also FarmingUK, "Farm costs soar 8.6% as prices paid to farmers fall," November 1, 2026. https://www.farminguk.com/news/farm-costs-soar-8-6-as-prices-paid-to-farmers-fall_69395.html
Farmers Weekly, "'Cost of farming crisis' is emerging, farmers warned," May 7, 2026. https://www.fwi.co.uk/business/markets-and-trends/input-prices/cost-of-farming-crisis-is-emerging-farmers-warned
Defra, Farm Accounts in England, Chapter 2: Key results, updated May 12, 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/farm-accounts-in-england/chapter-2-key-results-and-overview-across-england
Defra, Farm Accounts in England, Chapter 5: Diversification, updated May 12, 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/farm-accounts-in-england/chapter-5-diversification--2
DTN Progressive Farmer, Dan Miller, "Agritourism Gives Farmers New Ways to Diversify Farm Income," October 23, 2026. https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/business-inputs/article/2026/10/23/agritourism-gives-farmers-new-ways
KUER 90.1, "Why some Utah farmers are turning fields into tourist attractions," April 7, 2026. https://www.kuer.org/business-economy/2026-04-07/why-some-utah-farmers-are-turning-fields-into-tourist-attractions
Marketplace, "Corn mazes, apple picking, and hayrides: More farms are leaning into 'agritourism'," September 30, 2026. https://www.marketplace.org/story/2026/09/30/farms-lean-into-agritourism-as-crop-prices-fall
Reuters via The Cattle Site, "Flooded UK dairy farm swaps milking for cow cuddling," June 20, 2025. https://www.thecattlesite.com/news/flooded-uk-dairy-farm-swaps-milking-for-cow-cuddling ; also Reuters via Cyprus Mail, June 24, 2025. https://cyprus-mail.com/2025/06/24/uk-farm-swaps-milk-for-cow-cuddles-as-floods-and-food-prices-take-their-toll
Canadian Cattlemen, "A Manitoba farm's cover crop doubles as a sunflower U-pick," October 13, 2026. https://www.canadiancattlemen.ca/features/regenerative-agriculture-agritourism-manitoba/
USDA ERS, "2022 Census of Agriculture: The majority of U.S. counties generate some agritourism income," December 5, 2024. https://ers.usda.gov/data-products/charts-of-note/110552
NERCRD (Penn State), Entsminger and Schmidt, U.S. Agritourism Data Brief, 2024. https://nercrd.psu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/AgritourismDataBrief.May2024.pdf
University of Missouri Extension, Rahe and Dietterle, Missouri Economy Indicators: Agritourism (2017 Census data), May 22, 2023. https://extension.missouri.edu/media/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/Pro/ExCEED/Docs/MissouriEconomy_Agritourism_v4i7_22May2023.pdf
USDA AMS-funded national agritourism survey (University of Vermont), Brief Two: Respondent Overview, August 2026 (2024 data; 1,065 respondents; not representative). https://www.uvm.edu/d10-files/documents/2026-08/Brief-Two-Respondent-Overview.pdf
NERCRD (Penn State), Entsminger and Schmidt, Census of Agriculture 2022 Direct-to-Consumer Sales Data Brief, 2024. https://nercrd.psu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Data-Brief_CoA2022_DTC-Sales_FINAL.pdf
USDA ERS Amber Waves, Nigel Key, "Local Foods and Farm Business Survival and Growth," March 7, 2016. https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2016/march/local-foods-and-farm-business-survival-and-growth
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