BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Farmers who visited the Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA) tent during the late-August Farm Progress Show in Decatur may have received a questionnaire from an ICGA representative that sought to gauge their feelings around the farm economy. Recently, ICGA announced the results of their Farm Economy Temperature Survey, which showed that most Illinois farmers are concerned about the future of their farms and the need for changes in production costs.

Farmers are also worried about their export markets and the ramifications of the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement.

“We always want to engage with farmers when we are at the FPS, and this year with the current economic situation we thought we would ask a few questions as a way to engage people who approached our display in our shared tent with Illinois Soybean Association,” said Rod Weinzierl, ICGA executive director. “We had almost 400 overall responses, of which 259 were responses from Illinois farmers, landlords and retired farmers, which we thought was a good showing.”

The survey results, which can be viewed on the ICGA website (www.illinoiscorn.com), revealed that 68 percent of respondents feel that corn and meat product exports are inhibited by the current trade climate. “Obviously, trade and tariffs are big issues in the countryside. A little over two-thirds said they were concerned about the current trade climate, with the remainder equally saying they have no opinion or saying ‘no,’” Weinzierl said. 

In addition, 83 percent feel there is a long-term growth potential for domestic ethanol use. This comes at a time when ICGA and its parent, the National Corn Growers Association, are, along with renewable fuels groups, lobbying Congress to enact legislation enabling year-round E-15.

Top areas of concern around the MAHA movement include food regulation, pesticide regulation and human health. While many (around 15 percent) respondents were not aware of the MAHA recommendations and their potential effect on agriculture and food production, most thought the MAHA movement would have an impact on their farm.

“We need to continue to increase awareness about the MAHA movement,” Weinzierl said. “However, the majority of respondents thought the three areas of larger concern around MAHA – food regulation, pesticide regulation and human health, in that order, would be a problem for agriculture. I am assuming the human health aspect is around vaccines. There is definitely a lot of concern around the MAHA movement in those three particular areas.”

The ICGA executive director added that other states, such as Iowa, Texas and Louisiana, are already moving to shift their food production policies through legislation to align MAHA recommendations. “It’s becoming more active at the state level,” he said.

FPS visitors were also asked what should be done to address low corn prices. More exports, increased ethanol use and lower input costs topped the wish list. “You can somewhat expect more exports to be the most popular answer in the state of Illinois, but with all of the tariffs out there, exports poll really high amongst our membership,” said Weinzierl. “Every farmer is feeling the effects of input costs, and we’re really not seeing much relief on that, if any. If we’re really going to get ourselves out of this oversupply situation, we have to have more demand for the volumes of corn we’re producing. We need to focus on demand and also figure out why these input prices aren’t coming down like they have in past farm economic downturns.”

Weinzierl added that the least popular response from farmers on how to best address low corn prices was “government payments,” with most preferring free markets over ad-hoc rescues. “What we heard farmers saying about government payments is they help you get to the next year, but as input suppliers, as absentee landlords see government payments going out that probably makes input prices more sticky and less likely to go down. It doesn’t solve the problem,” he said.

The findings come as farmers face the largest three-year decline in net cash receipts in history because of declining crop farm profitability associated with lower prices and elevated input costs, Illinois Corn stated in a news release. “Policy action is becoming urgent to expand ethanol blends, improve market access, and address high input costs. On top of that, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is projecting record crops this year. Despite demand forecast at a record level, it still trails production, and any reduction could further drive down corn prices,” ICGA stated.

Illinois Corn used the poll findings to inform lawmakers how Illinois farmers are feeling about the farm economy.