WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND
By Scott Hennen
Host of “What’s On Your Mind?” Radio Show
heard on the Flag Family Network including KTGO 1090AM in Watford City, Williston and Tioga, North Dakota
There’s an old saying out here on the prairie: as agriculture goes, so goes Main Street. Right now, Main Street is hurting - because our farmers are in trouble.
We’ve come to take for granted America’s oldest industry. We just assume farmers will farm, and we’ll eat what they grow. Too many folks under 40 think food comes from the grocery store, not the land. But our growers literally feed the world. And today, that world is in danger of losing its primary food source.
The math tells the story. According to the latest analysis, corn is selling for $4.81 a bushel - when it costs $5.87 to grow. That’s a $1.06 loss on every bushel. Soybeans? Farmers lose $1.78 a bushel at today’s prices. Add it up, and America’s corn and soybean growers are staring at a staggering $24.3 billion loss this year alone.
That’s not sustainable. Between 2022 and 2024, net farm income fell by $55 billion - the steepest drop in history. Ask any banker: most farmers are going backwards year over year, piling debt on top of debt. And too few people outside rural America are paying attention.
Some elevators are even delisting soybeans. Imagine producing a crop with no buyer. Meanwhile, our ethanol producers are pushing hard to supply aviation fuel made from American corn, but Washington politics are putting up roadblocks while Brazil eats our lunch. Brazil now leads the world in corn and soybean exports, producing them 30 percent cheaper than we do. If we don’t level the playing field soon, we risk replaying the 1980s farm crisis.
But here’s the good news: there is a way out. New markets hold the key. Ethanol already created one of the greatest demand surges in history, and now aviation fuel could do the same. A 10 percent aviation blend alone would add 9 billion gallons of demand - 60 percent more than the entire U.S. ethanol industry produces today. That’s real opportunity.
The 45Z clean fuel production credit can be a lifeline if properly structured. It rewards farmers who adopt innovative new practices, boosts the value of corn and soybeans, and unleashes investment in ethanol, biodiesel, and jet fuel. Look - I hate the language games as much as you do. I know many of us roll our eyes at the “green” rhetoric. But here’s the deal: we can call out the hypocrisy while also seizing the opportunities that put real money in our farmers’ hands. Walking away would be ideological suicide when our rural economy is on the line.
Done right, 45Z could unlock a $350 billion investment in new fuel markets and even tap into $1.8 trillion worth of domestic oil recovery - lowering costs for all Americans while boosting our ag economy.
This isn’t just about farmers. It’s about small-town businesses, rural schools, and Main Streets that depend on agriculture. When farms go under, everything else goes with them.
Somebody, somewhere, had better wake up. Agriculture isn’t asking for a handout - it’s asking for a fair shot. Remove the roadblocks, let new markets develop, and our farmers will once again do what they’ve always done: feed the world, fuel the nation, and keep Main Street alive.
For the full story, visit www.watfordcitynd.com and subscribe to the McKenzie County Farmer today!