Arkansas Farm Crisis Persists
We still have a farm crisis - Talk Business & Politics
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We've been reporting for a few years about the problems facing the state’s farm families.
Closed markets due to tariffs, trade wars and competition were already shutting off opportunities to sell the crops that Arkansas grows. Weather conditions from floods to droughts kicked our farmers harder when they were down.
Low commodity prices due to oversupplies have also worsened the farmer’s plight.
For our poultry farmers, they’ve faced the plight of litigation that has threatened their livelihood and disease, which can destroy a flock. Our cattle farmers have faced many dangers listed above, including drought and trade challenges.
Then, throw in higher input costs. A spike in fertilizer prices, driven a lot by the Russian assault on Ukraine, has added insult to injury to all our farmers.
And finally, the Iran conflict spiked gas prices, especially diesel prices, and has driven a final nail in the coffin.
We can see that the results speak for themselves from a spate of recent data.
Crop cash receipts, which normally account for about $20 billion annually in the state’s economy, are down 17.4% when compared to last year, according to that Arkansas Agriculture profile. But drilling down into the numbers reveals more.
"That overall number masks very different conditions within agriculture," said Frank Seo, co-author of the profile and assistant professor of rural development for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
"Receipts from animals and animal products actually increased 1.2%, while crop receipts declined 17.4%... Soybean receipts declined 29.8%, cotton lint declined 40.6% and corn declined 17.3%. At the same time, rice cash receipts increased 6.5%, so even within the crops, there's a big disparity."