Oklahoma farmers might see an increased profit due to an increase in price for crops like wheat, corn, cotton, soybeans and grains.
Kim Anderson, an Oklahoma State University extension economist, says the price of crops like wheat and corn have increased by about a dollar, and soybeans have seen about a $4 increase compared to last year.
Last year, an increase in world production of wheat created a global surplus that pushed wheat prices down. That meant that U.S. farmers saw about a 20 cent decrease in price, which posed a challenge for some farmers to break even.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused an increase in demand for the crops around the world this year, driving up the price, Anderson said.
“Countries have decided that they need a higher supply our stocks, emergency supply,” Anderson said. “And as they try it as they attempted to build that, that drove up world prices, and drove up food prices in places like Russia.”
It’s uncertain how long the prices will stay higher. Anderson says prices could rise or fall because of the weather. Good weather conditions could increase crop supply and decrease the price. Poor growing conditions from extreme weather like drought could drive prices higher.
“So if you can predict the weather forecast, you can predict which way prices are going to go,” Anderson said. “I think we'll have relatively high prices at least one year, and maybe two. If the weather doesn't cooperate with production, then it could go out to three or four years.”
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