Ukraine War Creates Risks, Benefits for US Farmers – By Kane Farabaugh (VOA News) / Oct 20, 2022
PHILO, ILLINOIS — The good news for Benjamin Rice is that the price for the corn and soybeans he grows on his Philo, Illinois, farm are up this year – a bright spot at a time of uncertainty and upheaval made worse for agricultural producers around the world by the war in Ukraine.
“This year compared to two years [ago], we’re up in that 50 percent range [of higher prices],” he told VOA during a break in his work in the fields during the harvest.
But market forces working in Rice’s favor will only benefit him if he can sell the yield from his crops in time. “We’re seeing swings every single day of easily 10, maybe 15 cents of corn and 30 to 70 cents in beans. So, if you can sell one day for 70 cents higher for what tomorrow is going to be, they aren’t small swings anymore,” he said.
Contributing to price fluctuations are some factors farmers can’t control, like the weather and drought conditions lowering water levels on the Mississippi River, which prevents crop-carrying barges from easily navigating the important waterway leading to international shipping ports.
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