Govt Shutdown Leaves Farmers Without Critical Market Data

The chief economist at Indiana Farm Bureau says the partial government shutdown is impacting key USDA data that farmers rely on.

Todd Davis says a lack of an October supply and demand report, which was scheduled to be released on Thursday, could create market volatility.

“Farmers look to these reports as an update on crop production and an updated forecast of global supply, global demand, and the price forecast for U.S. corn and soybeans,” he says. “The market notices when it does not have that information.”

He tells Brownfield nearly half of USDA’s employees have been furloughed, slowing data collection and could disrupt export sales.

“To really be competitive in the export market for China is from our harvest to about February or March,” he says. “That window is closing. Anything that can help American soybean farmers is going to have to happen quickly.”

Davis says the longer the shutdown continues, the more pressure farmers will feel trying to prepare for the 2026 crop year.

Source: BrownfieldAgNews.com