They Grew a Record Crop and Lost Money on Every Bushel: Why Farmers Keep Selling Below Cost of Production (and the Way Out)
In the fall of 2025, Ryan Frieders, a soybean farmer in Waterman, Illinois, had already sold part of his expected harvest below the cost of production, Reuters reported. Much of the rest was going into bins, as farmers across the state hoped prices would eventually rise.
So how can a record crop lose money? Because a big harvest pushes the price down for everyone, while your costs per acre stay the same. When you sell only one kind of crop, to one kind of buyer, at a price you don't set, there is no yield high enough to save you. The way out is a second income where you set the price: agritourism and direct sales.
The Short Answer: In 2024 Illinois farmers grew a record 688 million bushels of soybeans. Illinois farms in the state's farm-records system spent about $12.90 to grow each bushel. In October 2024 the average Illinois price was $10.10. That is a loss of about $2.80 on every bushel, or about $196 an acre, on these large, well-run farms, before any government payments. The crop was not the problem. The pricing system was. |
I'm Stephen Loke of AgritourismSuccess.com, whose farm is featured in Bloomberg News and Asahi Shimbun. I built this guide for farm owners who are tired of working harder every year for less. It is not about blaming anyone. It is about doing the per-bushel maths honestly, naming the trap, and showing you a door out of it that real grain farms have already walked through.
If you've read why crop prices are falling and how farms are filling the gap, this article goes one level deeper: the exact loss per bushel, and why it keeps coming back.
The Record That Paid Less
Records are supposed to be good news. In January 2025, the Illinois Soybean Association announced that the state's 2024 soybean harvest had hit 688 million bushels. That beat the old record of 666.75 million bushels set in 2018.
Illinois was once again the No. 1 soybean state in America. The association's chairman, Ron Kindred, said farmers got there "despite facing the challenges of low prices and unfavorable weather conditions."
Read that again. Low prices were mentioned in the same breath as the record.
Here is what the record did to the cheque. In 2023, Illinois farmers grew about 649 million bushels and were paid an average of $12.80 a bushel in October. In 2024, they grew 688 million bushels, about 6% more, and were paid $10.10 in October, about 21% less.
At those October prices, the 2023 crop was worth roughly $8.3 billion. The bigger 2024 crop was worth roughly $7.0 billion. Illinois farmers grew 39 million more bushels, and the whole pile was worth about $1.36 billion less.
That is the record crop paradox. And it is why you can do everything right in the field and still lose money at the elevator.
The Per-Bushel Maths: What a Bushel Cost vs What It Sold For
Every year, the Illinois Farm Business Farm Management Association (FBFM) and the University of Illinois add up what real Illinois grain farms spent to grow corn and soybeans. These are record-keeping farms of more than 500 acres on good, level ground, not a guess on a napkin.
Their "total economic cost" includes seed, fertiliser, chemicals, machinery, fuel, labour, overhead and a cost for the land itself. In 2024, land made up about 31% of the soybean total.
Here is how those costs stacked up against the October price Illinois farmers were paid.
Year | Cost per acre (FBFM) | Yield (bu/acre) | Cost per bushel | October Illinois price | Gap per bushel | Gap per acre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | $903 | 70 | $12.90 | $10.10 | −$2.80 | −$196 |
2025 | $878 | 70 | $12.54 | $9.96 | −$2.58 | −$181 |
Costs: farmdoc daily, Zwilling, May 2025 and April 2026 (Illinois FBFM state averages). Prices: USDA NASS Agricultural Prices, Illinois soybeans, October 2024 and October 2025. Gap = price minus cost; revenue per acre = 70 bushels × October price. Excludes government payments and crop insurance.
Look at the 2024 row. These farms grew 70 bushels an acre, well above the state average of 64. They were the good operators. And at the October price, each acre still came up about $196 short.
On 1,000 acres of soybeans, that is roughly $196,000 of cost the October market did not cover.
The regional numbers tell the same story. In 2024, the cost to grow a bushel ranged from $12.42 to $15.41 across Illinois regions. In 2025, it ranged from $12.07 to $16.09. Not one region's cost was under $12 a bushel in either year.
Reality Check: Not every farmer lost that exact amount. Some sold earlier at better prices. Some own their land outright and carry no rent. Crop insurance, ARC/PLC and aid payments helped. University of Illinois budgets that count those payments projected 2025 soybean returns of $17 to $61 an acre on cash-rented ground, but the same economists said 2025 returns "would be negative" without the government money. When a business only breaks even because of a government cheque, it is not a healthy business. It is a business on a drip. |
What about 2026?
Here is the honest twist. USDA's October 2026 report forecasts Illinois soybeans at 68 bushels an acre and 709 million bushels. If that holds, it would beat 2024's record.
This time, prices rallied. On 2 November 2026, central Illinois elevators were bidding an average of $11.83 a bushel, and USDA forecasts a 2026/27 season-average farm price of $12.00. University of Illinois economists now project 2026 soybean returns of $90 to $116 an acre in northern and central Illinois, and about $30 in southern Illinois.
So 2026 looks like a better year on soybeans. Good. Enjoy it. But notice what made the biggest difference. It wasn't the farmer's skill. The price changed, and the farmer had no say in it.
The same economists put the 2027 soybean breakeven at about $11.10 to $11.28 a bushel in northern and central Illinois, and nearly $12 in the south. University of Illinois economist Nick Paulson told Brownfield that costs are growing at a pace "matching, if not exceeding, some of the yield increases." Your margin lives or dies on a number someone else sets. That is the trap.
Why a Record Harvest Lowers the Price
Soybeans are a commodity. One bushel of soybeans is treated much like any other. Buyers don't pay more because your beans came from a family that has farmed the same ground for four generations.
That makes every soybean farmer a price-taker. You don't name your price. You take what the market offers on the day you sell.
When the whole Midwest has a good year at the same time, supply jumps. Buyers know bins are full. They know farmers need cash to pay rent, operating loans and input bills. So the price falls. Every farmer's good year adds to every other farmer's low price.
It is the cruel maths of a commodity: you are rewarded for being average in a bad year, and punished for being excellent in a good one.
Basis: the hidden haircut
The price on the news is the futures price in Chicago. The price you get at your local elevator is the futures price plus or minus "basis", which reflects local supply, transport and storage.
At harvest, when everyone is selling at once and storage is full, basis often widens. On 2 November 2026, the central Illinois elevator average was 33 cents under the January futures contract, according to USDA. That is 33 cents a bushel the farmer never sees, set by conditions the farmer can't control.
One giant buyer
For years, China was the biggest buyer of American soybeans. Reuters reported that China bought about 45% of all US soybean exports in 2024, nearly 27 million metric tons. Axios reported that Illinois alone sold $1.4 billion of soybeans to China in a year.
Then, in 2025, tariffs hit. Chinese buyers stopped ordering US soybeans from May through October, and turned to South America. By early October 2025, Reuters reported, Chinese importers had not yet bought from the autumn US harvest, the first time in more than 20 years.
Ryan Frieders had travelled to Turkey and Saudi Arabia that February, on a US Soybean Export Council trip to meet buyers. He named India, Southeast Asia and North Africa as markets of the future, but said there is no lost market that "could just suddenly explode and be a new China."
Trade talks later produced a pledge. According to the administration, China would buy 12 million tonnes in late 2025, then 25 million tonnes a year from 2026 to 2028. In June 2026, The Western Producer quoted analyst Fred Gale noting there was no written agreement, and that no Chinese officials had acknowledged it.
When one buyer can switch off your income with a phone call between two governments, you don't have a market. You have a dependency.
Costs that stay stubbornly high
On the cost side, relief has been slow and small. The FBFM cost to grow an acre of Illinois soybeans eased from $929 in 2023 to $878 in 2025, still far above what the October market paid. Nationally, USDA's September 2026 forecast puts US farm production expenses at $492.8 billion in 2026, up 4.5% in a year. Fertiliser alone is forecast at $39.6 billion, up 15.3%.
Land is the other giant. Illinois cash rent averaged $261 an acre in 2026, barely below 2024's $269, according to USDA. Purdue economist Joana Colussi told Capitol News Illinois that about 80% of Midwest farmers rent land. Rent is due whether beans fetch $10 or $14.
Interest on operating loans adds another layer. And with drought and higher fertiliser and fuel costs, American Farm Bureau economist Faith Parum told Capital Press in May 2026 that "actual breakeven levels are likely to be higher in many areas."
The Single-Commodity Trap, in Plain Words
The trap has three walls.
Wall No. 1: One crop. When most of your income comes from one or two commodities, one bad price year hits your whole farm at once.
Wall No. 2: One type of buyer. Elevators, processors and exporters all price off the same futures market. Shopping around may win you a few cents of basis. It won't change the market.
Wall No. 3: One price you don't set. You decide what to plant, how to farm it and when to sell. You never decide what a bushel is worth.
Inside those three walls, the only levers left are volume and cost. Grow more. Spend less. Both have limits, and every neighbour is pulling the same levers.
Chris Otten, a fourth-generation farmer in St. Libory, Illinois, summed it up to Fox Business in October 2025: "We can't harvest a crop that puts us in the black at all." His family was shifting some ground to alfalfa and wheat, which carry their own costs.
Where the food dollar goes
Here is the bigger picture. USDA's Economic Research Service tracks where each dollar Americans spend on food ends up. In 2024, farmers received 11.8 cents of every food dollar. The other 88.2 cents went to processing, packaging, transport, wholesale, retail and restaurants.
Narrow it to the value created by crop farming itself, and crop producers earned about 2.5 cents of each food dollar in 2024. For bakery products, the farm share was 4.8 cents.
The money in food is not in growing it. It is in what happens after it leaves your farm. That is the part a commodity farmer never touches.
Why the Usual Fixes Don't Break the Trap
Most farmers already know the standard advice. Some of it helps. None of it changes the fact that you're a price-taker.
"Farm more acres"
More acres spread machinery and labour over more ground, which can lower cost per bushel. But if you lose $2.80 on every bushel, more bushels means a bigger loss, not a smaller one. Scale helps when the margin is positive. When it's negative, scale just makes the hole deeper. For the debt side of this story, see why US farm debt just hit a record.
"Push for higher yields"
Higher yields help you against your neighbours. They don't help you against the market, because when everyone's yields rise, the price falls. That is exactly what 2024 showed: record bushels, lower cheque.
"Store it and wait"
Storage can be smart. It can capture a better price after harvest. But storage costs money, ties up cash, and is a bet. Mike Langseth, a North Dakota grower interviewed by MPR News in 2025, said of the 2018 trade war, "It was hard to pencil in a profit." Another North Dakota farmer in the same report, Caylor Rosenau, pointed out that beans held until spring compete with Brazil's fresh crop, which arrives from February.
Storing is a timing tool. It isn't an income source.
"Wait for the government"
Aid helps in a crisis. The $12 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance programme paid $30.88 an acre on soybeans for 2025. Against a 2025 gap of about $181 an acre at October prices, that covers about one-sixth.
USDA forecasts about $47.4 billion in total government payments to farms in 2026, up nearly 70%. That is a lot of money. It is also a sign of how much of farm income now depends on Washington. A policy can change after any election.
"Market better and insure"
Forward contracts, futures, options and crop insurance are serious tools. Every grain farm should use them. They can lock in a price or protect revenue. But they lock in a price the market offers. They don't let you set one.
Gary Asay, who has farmed in Illinois since 1976 and sold crop insurance for over 20 years, warned Capitol News Illinois that coverage only helps so much when it sits below your cost of production. His summary: "There's just not enough room for error right now."
Reality Check: The farm economy is real pain, not a talking point. Nationwide, family-farm bankruptcies rose 46% in 2025 to 315 filings, and Illinois filings rose 55%. In April 2026 alone, there were 62 Chapter 12 filings nationwide, up 130%. If you are struggling, talk to your lender and a farm financial adviser early, not late. Read what the farms that survived bankruptcy year did differently. |
The Way Out: A Second Income Where You Set the Price
Here is the shift that changes everything. You stop selling only bushels, and you start selling experiences and products to people.
When a family drives to your farm for a corn maze, a pumpkin patch or a sunflower field, there is no futures price for that afternoon. You set the ticket price. You set what's included. You set the season. And you get paid on the day, often months before the elevator cheque arrives.
This is not a fringe idea. The 2022 Census of Agriculture found 28,617 US farms earned $1.26 billion from agritourism and recreation, an average of $44,004 each. That total was up 33% from $949.3 million in 2017. For the full numbers, see our agritourism statistics guide.
Direct sales add more. In 2022, 116,617 US farms sold $3.3 billion of products straight to consumers, up 16% in value from 2017. In Illinois, 2,674 farms sold $53 million direct, up 19.6% from 2017.
Illinois agritourism is still small. Only 693 Illinois farms reported agritourism income in 2022, an average of $33,054 each. In a state with about 10 million acres of soybeans, that is not a crowded market. It is an open one.
The median US farm household tells you why this matters. USDA forecasts the median farm household's farm income at negative $467 in 2026, and its off-farm income at $93,975. Most farm families already have a second income. The question is whether it comes from a town job, or from the farm itself.
Real Illinois farms that did it
Richardson Adventure Farm, Spring Grove, Illinois. Robert Richardson homesteaded this farm in 1836. Today the fifth and sixth generations farm 544 acres and still grow their traditional crops of corn and soybeans.
In 1982 they planted their first Christmas trees, and families now come each winter to cut their own. In 2001 they added a corn maze so they could host more visitors in September and October. In 2026 the maze covered 28 acres with 9.7 miles of trail, themed for America's 250th birthday.
Their 2026 admission: $22 for children aged 3 to 12 and $26 for ages 13 and up in September, rising to $26 and $32 on October weekends. Pumpkins and food are extra. Parking is free.
They didn't stop growing corn and soybeans. They added a business on top where they set the price.
Danndee Flowers, Aledo, Illinois. Kate Danner farms corn and soybeans in northwest Illinois. She planted sunflowers for pollinators and took some to a farmers market. "I went to one farmers market and I sold out," she told Brownfield Ag News in 2021.
She planted about two-tenths of an acre of sunflowers. By early 2021 she was planning a u-pick flower business and a craft barn for her woodworking, with row crops on weekdays and visitors on summer weekends.
Kuipers Family Farm, Maple Park, Illinois. Wade and Kim Kuipers bought a 71-acre farm in the mid-1990s and opened a small pumpkin patch in fall 1998, with a tractor ride, a strawbale maze, a few goats and a tent. They grew to 230 acres.
In April 2026, their fifth Midwest Tulip Fest opened with more than 1 million tulips, at $19.99 a ticket on weekdays and $24.99 on weekends. Same Illinois soil. A price they set. Read the full Kuipers Family Farm case study.
For ten more real farms, see how farms are turning to agritourism as crop prices fall.
One acre as soybeans vs one acre of visitors
Let's make this concrete with simple, sourced numbers.
In 2024, an FBFM Illinois acre grew 70 bushels. At the October price of $10.10, that acre grossed about $707, against a cost of about $903.
Now count tickets. At Richardson's peak October weekend price of $32 for ages 13 and up, it takes 23 tickets to gross $707. At Kuipers' weekend Tulip Fest price of $24.99, it takes 29 tickets.
A single busy afternoon can sell that many. And a maze or flower field uses only a few acres.
There is also evidence from outside the US. On the Mostyn Estate in Wales, a 2021 Farming Connect project grew pick-your-own pumpkins on half an acre. Sales reached £7,500, against £500 of seed and materials (labour not counted). Planned as a 13-day October event, it sold out of pumpkins within six days. That is about £15,000 per acre in pumpkin sales alone, with no admission charged.
What a grain farm can sell (that the futures market can't price)
You already have the most important assets: open land, a field edge near a road, machinery, and a real farm story. Here are proven fits for corn and soybean farms.
Corn maze. You already know how to grow corn. A maze turns a few acres into a ticketed attraction. Start with our guide to how to start a corn maze.
Pumpkin patch on a field edge. Two to five acres near the road, a wagon ride and a weigh station. See how to start a pumpkin patch.
Sunflower field. A summer u-pick and photo field, as Kate Danner showed on a fraction of an acre.
Farm tours and school field trips. Kids and parents want to see a combine, a grain bin and a real harvest. See our guide to farm field trips.
Farm stays and camping. A tent site at the edge of a field earns on nights when the farm is quiet. See how much Hipcamp hosts earn on a farm.
Events. Harvest dinners, photographer days, company team days and birthday parties.
On-farm market and value-added. Sweet corn, honey, popcorn, baked goods and local products from neighbours.
The pricing principle behind all of these is simple: you're not selling a bushel, you're selling an afternoon. Learn how to set that price in The Experience Premium.
Your First-Season Plan: 90 Days to a Second Income
You don't need to build a theme park. You need one small, safe, paid test. Here's a simple plan.
Days 1 to 15: Know your real numbers
Pull your last three years of records. Work out your own cost per bushel and your average price received. Write down your loss or profit per acre.
Field-Tested Play: Write your cost per bushel on a card and stick it by the phone. Every time an elevator quotes a price, you'll know in one second whether you're making or losing money. |
Days 16 to 30: Pick one product and one field
Choose one activity you can run with the people and gear you already have. Pick the field closest to a paved road, with room for parking. Two to five acres is plenty for a first season.
Field-Tested Play: Start where your town already comes to you. Richardson Adventure Farm sold Christmas trees first, then added a fall maze to bring visitors in September and October too. Kate Danner tested sunflowers at one farmers market before she built anything. Find your crowd first, then build for it. |
Days 31 to 45: Ask the paperwork questions
Before you open a gate to the public, call your county zoning office, your insurance agent, your lender and your landlord (see the legal section below). Get answers in writing.
Days 46 to 60: Test small before you build
Run a "soft open" weekend for friends, church groups or a school class. Charge a real price. Watch where people park, where they get lost and what they buy. Our 60-minute agritourism test shows how.
Reality Check: Weather can wipe out a weekend, and fall weekends are few. A rainy Saturday in October is lost income you can't get back. Plan for it: sell timed tickets online, have a rain date, and keep your first-season spending small enough that one bad weekend won't hurt. |
Days 61 to 75: Set your price and start selling
Look at what nearby farms charge. Price on the value of the afternoon, not the cost of the seed. Open online ticket sales and build an email and text list from day one.
Field-Tested Play: Sell tickets for set time slots. The Mostyn pumpkin project in Wales had visitors pre-book online and capped arrivals at 10 vehicles every 30 minutes, to keep footfall and traffic manageable. |
Days 76 to 90: Open, measure and decide
Open the gate. Count visitors, sales per visitor and costs. At the end, compare your gross per acre with your soybean gross per acre. Then decide whether to grow it, change it or stop.
Legal, Insurance and Paperwork: Questions to Ask First
This is not legal advice. Laws differ by state, county and country, and they change. Use these questions to have better conversations with the professionals who know your area.
Zoning and permits. Ask your county: Is agritourism allowed on my land as an agricultural use, or do I need a permit? Are there rules on parking, signs, food sales, toilets or event sizes?
Agritourism liability laws. Many US states have agritourism liability laws that limit an operator's liability for "inherent risks" if warning signs are posted. Ask your attorney whether your state has one, and what it requires. In Illinois, we could not find one in force: a proposed Agritourism Liability Act (SB 349) died in the Senate in January 2025, and FarmWeek reported in 2022 that Illinois does not offer that limited liability protection. Always check current law. Our agritourism laws by state guide is a good starting point.
Warning signs. Where a statute exists, the exact wording, size and placement of signs often matter. Ask: What must my signs say, and where must they be posted?
Insurance. Your farm policy may not cover paying visitors. Ask your agent: Do I need a commercial or agritourism liability policy, or a rider? Are hayrides, animals, food and events covered? Is there a per-person limit? Illinois once offered a tax credit of up to $1,000 on agritourism liability insurance premiums, but only for tax years 2022 and 2023. Read our guide on what agritourism insurance coverage you need.
Lender. Ask: Does my loan agreement allow a public-facing business on mortgaged land? Will my lender see a second income as lower risk?
Landlord and lease. If you rent the field, ask: Does my lease allow paying visitors, buildings or parking? Who carries the liability? Put the answer in writing.
Taxes. Ask your accountant: How do I report ticket and product sales? Do I need to collect sales tax? Could some income affect my farm tax status? See agritourism and taxes: questions to ask your accountant.
What a Durian Farm in Malaysia Taught Me About Prices I Don't Control
I am the founder of Bloopy Durians in Bentong, Malaysia. Durians aren't soybeans, but the problem is the same.
Durian seasons are short, about four to five months a year: roughly December to February and June to August. The market sets the price, and the market doesn't care what your season cost you. If I relied only on selling fruit at whatever the market paid, I'd be a price-taker too.
So we built income we set ourselves. Bloopy Durians welcomes visitors from all over the world. Many companies send their staff and management to the farm. Visitors reach it on a four-wheel-drive adventure.
We keep a WhatsApp list of loyal customers who buy durians whenever they are available. That list is a reliable source of income, because we sell direct to people who already trust us.
We also supply durians for corporate events, including a Mayor of Kuala Lumpur tourism event. After it, Kuala Lumpur City Hall gave our team a plaque of appreciation.
The lesson for a soybean farm is the same one I learned with durians: the crop is your raw material. The relationship, the experience and the story are what you can price.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are farmers losing money on soybeans?
Because costs per bushel have stayed higher than the price. Illinois FBFM farms spent about $12.90 a bushel in 2024 and $12.54 in 2025 to grow soybeans, including land costs, while the October Illinois price was $10.10 and $9.96. Lost export sales to China in 2025, large harvests, rising fertiliser costs and high land rents all played a part.
What is the cost of production for soybeans per bushel?
In Illinois, the FBFM state average total economic cost was $12.90 a bushel in 2024 and $12.54 in 2025, on 70-bushel yields. Across regions it ranged from about $12 to $16. University of Illinois crop budgets put the 2027 breakeven price on cash-rented ground at about $11.10 to $11.28 in northern and central Illinois, and nearly $12 in southern Illinois. Your own farm's number may differ, so work it out from your records.
Why does a record harvest lower prices?
Soybeans are a commodity, and all farmers sell into the same market. When the whole region has a big crop at once, supply jumps, storage fills and buyers can pay less. In 2024, Illinois grew about 6% more soybeans than in 2023, yet the October price was about 21% lower.
What is the single-commodity trap?
It's when a farm depends on one or two commodities, sold to one type of buyer, at a price it doesn't set. The only levers left are more volume and lower costs, and neither helps when the market price is below your cost. One bad price year hits the whole farm at once.
Is selling below cost of production ever a smart decision?
Sometimes, in the short run. A farmer may sell below full cost to raise cash for rent or loan payments, or because the price still covers variable costs. But a farm can't sell below its total cost year after year without eating its equity. That is why a second income you set the price for matters.
Can a grain farm make money from agritourism?
Yes. Richardson Adventure Farm in Spring Grove, Illinois, still grows corn and soybeans, and also runs a 28-acre corn maze with weekend adult tickets of $32 in October 2026. Nationally, 28,617 farms earned $1.26 billion from agritourism in 2022. It takes planning, insurance and good marketing, and profit is never guaranteed.
Do farm bailouts and bridge payments fix low soybean prices?
They help in a crisis, but they don't change the price you're paid. The Farmer Bridge Assistance programme paid $30.88 an acre on soybeans for 2025, about one-sixth of the 2025 gap of roughly $181 an acre at October prices. Aid depends on politics and can change at any time.
How much does a farm earn from direct sales?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture found 116,617 US farms sold $3.3 billion of products directly to consumers. In Illinois, 2,674 farms sold $53 million direct, up 19.6% from 2017. Earnings vary widely by product, location and how well a farm markets itself.
Your Next Step
You've seen the maths. The record crop didn't fail Illinois farmers. A price they couldn't control did. The fix isn't to work harder inside the trap. It's to build a second door.
Our free ebook, 150 Ways to Unlock Hidden Wealth From Your Farm, gives you 150 practical ideas to earn from the land, buildings and skills you already have. You'll find low-cost ideas you can test this season, ideas that fit a working grain farm, and ways to earn a price you set instead of one you take. It's written for farmers who want a better income, not a bigger loan.
Not sure where to start? Take our free Farm Readiness Quiz first. It shows you which agritourism ideas fit your farm, your time and your budget.
P.S. Ryan Frieders did everything a good farmer is supposed to do. He grew the crop, travelled to Turkey and Saudi Arabia to meet new buyers, and stored much of his crop in bins. He still couldn't set the price. You can. Even a few acres of visitors, priced by you, can change what your farm earns. Start with the quiz above, then grab the free ebook.
By Stephen Loke of AgritourismSuccess.com, whose farm is featured in Bloomberg News and Asahi Shimbun. This article is general information, not legal, tax, insurance or financial advice. Figures are from the sources listed below and were checked on 4 November 2026; 2026 numbers are forecasts or single-day prices and may change. Talk to qualified local professionals before making decisions for your farm.
Sources
Crop Production (October 2026, reissued 23 October 2026) — USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 9 Oct 2026 — https://esmis.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/release-files/796123/crop1026.txt
Illinois Annual Crop Production — USDA NASS Illinois Field Office, 10 Jan 2025 — https://nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Illinois/Publications/Current_News_Release/2025/20250110-IL-Annual-Crop-Production.pdf
Illinois Annual Crop Production — USDA NASS Illinois Field Office, 12 Jan 2024 — https://data.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Illinois/Publications/Current_News_Release/2024/20240112-IL-Annual-Crop-Production.pdf
Illinois Soybean Farmers Achieve Record-Breaking Harvest in 2024 — Illinois Soybean Association, 22 Jan 2025 — https://www.ilsoy.org/illinois-soybean-farmers-achieve-record-breaking-harvest-in-2024/
Illinois Agricultural Prices — USDA NASS, 30 Nov 2023 — https://data.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Illinois/Publications/Current_News_Release/2023/20231130-IL-Agricultural-Prices.pdf
Illinois Agricultural Prices — USDA NASS, 29 Nov 2024 — https://data.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Illinois/Publications/Current_News_Release/2024/20241129-IL-Agricultural-Prices.pdf
Agricultural Prices — USDA NASS, 15 Dec 2025 — https://esmis.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/release-files/795685/agpr1125_0.pdf
Illinois Grain Bids (report 3192) — USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, 2 Nov 2026 — https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/ams_3192.pdf
Oil Crops Outlook: October 2026 (OCS-26j) — USDA Economic Research Service, 14 Oct 2026 — https://www.ers.usda.gov/media/29748/ocs-26j.pdf
Cost to Produce Corn and Soybeans in Illinois—2024 — farmdoc daily (B. Zwilling), 16 May 2025 — https://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/05/cost-to-produce-corn-and-soybeans-in-illinois-2024.html
Cost to Produce Corn and Soybeans in Illinois—2025 — farmdoc daily (B. Zwilling), 17 Apr 2026 — https://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2026/04/cost-to-produce-corn-and-soybeans-in-illinois-2025.html
Revised Illinois Crop Budgets for 2026 — farmdoc daily (Paulson, Schnitkey, Zwilling, Zulauf), 13 Jan 2026 — https://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2026/01/revised-illinois-crop-budgets-for-2026.html
Illinois Crop Budgets for 2027 — farmdoc daily (Paulson, Schnitkey, Zulauf, Zwilling), 1 Sep 2026 — https://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2026/09/illinois-crop-budgets-for-2027.html
Illinois Cash Rents in 2026 and Outlook for 2027 — farmdoc daily, 15 Sep 2026 — https://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2026/09/illinois-cash-rents-in-2026-and-outlook-for-2027.html
Farmer Bridge Assistance Program Payment Rates — farmdoc daily, 6 Jan 2026 — https://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2026/01/farmer-bridge-assistance-program-payment-rates.html
High inputs mean high break-evens for 2027 crop — Brownfield Ag News, 8 Sep 2026 — https://www.brownfieldagnews.com/news/high-inputs-mean-high-break-evens-for-2027-crop/
Wheat, corn, soybean prices are below breakeven, signaling fourth year of losses — Capital Press, 8 May 2026 — https://capitalpress.com/2026/05/08/wheat-corn-soybean-prices-are-below-breakeven-signaling-fourth-year-of-losses/
US soybean farmers, deserted by big buyer China amid trade war, scramble for other importers — Reuters (via Malay Mail), 5 Oct 2025 — https://www.malaymail.com/news/money/2025/10/05/us-soybean-farmers-deserted-by-big-buyer-china-amid-trade-war-scramble-for-other-importers/193355
China trade freeze squeezes US soybean farmers as costs climb, profits vanish — Fox Business, 14 Oct 2025 — https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/china-trade-freeze-squeezes-us-soybean-farmers-costs-climb-profits-vanish
'A real farm crisis': Illinois farm bankruptcies rise for 3rd straight year — Capitol News Illinois, 29 Jun 2026 — https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/a-real-farm-crisis-illinois-farm-bankruptcies-rise-for-3rd-straight-year/
China won't buy American soybeans anymore, leaving farmers with limited options — MPR News / Harvest Public Media via NPR Illinois, 25 Sep 2025 — https://www.nprillinois.org/2025-09-25/china-trade-american-soybean-farmers-limited-options-sell-grain
Is China meeting its U.S. soybean commitment? — The Western Producer, 25 Jun 2026 — https://www.producer.com/markets/is-china-meeting-its-u-s-soybean-commitment/
Illinois soy farmers wait for sales and support — Axios Chicago, 17 Nov 2025 — https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/11/17/illinois-farmers-china-soybean-delay
USDA Revises Farm Income Higher, but Costs Still Bite — American Farm Bureau Federation Market Intel, 3 Sep 2026 — https://www.fb.org/market-intel/usda-revises-farm-income-higher-but-costs-still-bite
Farm Household Income Forecast — USDA Economic Research Service, updated 3 Sep 2026 — https://ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-household-well-being/farm-household-income-forecast
Food Dollar Series: Summary Findings — USDA Economic Research Service, updated 10 Mar 2026 — https://ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-dollar/summary-findings
Farmers Receive Less Than 6 Cents of the Food Dollar — American Farm Bureau Federation Market Intel, 23 Mar 2026 — https://www.fb.org/market-intel/farmers-receive-less-than-6-cents-of-the-food-dollar
U.S. Agritourism: 2022 Census of Agriculture (Data Brief 2024-1) — NERCRD / Penn State (Entsminger and Schmidt), 2024 — https://nercrd.psu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/AgritourismDataBrief.May2024.pdf
2022 Census of Agriculture, Illinois, Table 7 — USDA NASS, Feb 2024 — https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2022/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_State_Level/Illinois/st17_1_007_008.pdf
USDA Releases 2022 Census of Agriculture Data — USDA NASS, 13 Feb 2024 — https://www.nass.usda.gov/Newsroom/2024/02-13-2024.php
Census reflects Illinois ag strengths, changes — Farm Progress / Prairie Farmer, 21 Feb 2024 — https://farmprogress.com/farm-business/census-reflects-illinois-ag-strengths-changes
About The Richardsons — Richardson Adventure Farm, accessed 4 Nov 2026 — https://richardsonadventurefarm.com/AdventureFarm/OurStory
Adventure Farm Pricing — Richardson Adventure Farm, accessed 4 Nov 2026 — https://richardsonadventurefarm.com/AdventureFarm/Pricing
World's Largest Corn Maze Design Puts USA's Milestone Birthday Front & Center — Patch, 30 Jun 2026 — https://patch.com/illinois/crystallake/world-s-largest-corn-maze-design-puts-usa-s-milestone-birthday-front-center
Pandemic introduces ag tourism opportunity to row crop farmer — Brownfield Ag News, 9 Feb 2021 — https://brownfieldagnews.com/news/pandemic-introduces-ag-tourism-opportunity-to-row-crop-farmer/
Our Story — Kuipers Family Farm, accessed 4 Nov 2026 — https://www.kuipersfamilyfarm.com/our-story/
1 million blooms at Kuipers Midwest Tulip Fest opening on April 17 — AgriNews, 15 Apr 2026 — https://www.agrinews-pubs.com/features/2026/04/15/1-million-blooms-at-kuipers-midwest-tulip-fest-opening-on-april-17/
PYO pumpkins project shows major income potential for growers — FarmingUK, 18 May 2022 — https://www.farminguk.com/News/pyo-pumpkins-project-shows-major-income-potential-for-growers_60415.html
Evaluating the Financial Potential of an Entertainment Farming/Farm Tourism Business (CR-08-11) — University of Georgia CAED (K. Wolfe), May 2008 — https://openscholar.uga.edu/record/24819/files/CR-08-11.pdf
SB 349, Agritourism Liability Act, bill status (103rd General Assembly) — Illinois General Assembly, last action 7 Jan 2025 — https://lrb.ilga.gov/ftp/legislation/103/BillStatus/XML/10300SB0349.xml
IDOA launches agritourism liability insurance tax credit — FarmWeek, 27 Oct 2022 (updated 5 Dec 2023) — https://www.farmweeknow.com/policy/state/idoa-launches-agritourism-liability-insurance-tax-credit/article_696aee38-5615-11ed-ad0a-6f7f251883ad.html
35 ILCS 5/232, Agritourism liability insurance credit — Illinois Compiled Statutes — https://lrb.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/003500050K232.htm
Richardson Farm's 28-acre corn maze opens Sept. 12 with 'America 250' theme — Daily Herald, 5 Sep 2026 — https://www.dailyherald.com/?p=1356525
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