Next 6 months will tell the tale

These are tough words, but times are tough on the farm right now and the future looks even tougher.

The past several years have been difficult ones for South Carolina farmers, starting with the floods in 2015, which dealt a devastating blow to the financial stability of our farmers.

Then came the hurricanes, and this year the heat and drought.

The cycle of bad news seems to be endless.

Oh, and let’s not forget that the prices of the major commodities we produce here in South Carolina (corn, cotton, soybeans, peanuts) are in the tank as well, so not only are our yields down but our prices stink.

We have managed to get by thus far by delaying equipment purchases, refinancing loans and eating away at equity. Kicking the proverbial can down the road as they say, but we can only kick the can so far.

Ag lenders are on pins and needles dreading the positions they may be forced to take next spring. Most have bent over backwards to try and make things work to keep our farmers farming, to help the next generation get a foothold, and still it seems like the deck has been stacked against them.

It would be an easier pill to swallow if there was someone to blame, somewhere to point a finger, something we had done wrong, but the damages done are mostly beyond our control. We can’t control the floods, the hurricanes, the heat and drought.

Commodity prices are based on supply and demand and government policies. Depending on whether you wear a blue button or a red button will determine how you feel about those issues.

For the most part, farmers are price takers not price makers, meaning there are limited markets out there for what they produce so farmers usually don’t have much control over the price they get for their commodities.

Those of us in Clemson Extension, whose charge it is to help farmers make wise decisions with limited resources,, are doubling down looking for ways to help farmers become more efficient with better varieties, smarter irrigation, better pesticides, more efficient use of fertilizers, improved technologies and sharper marketing strategies.

Unfortunately, when the cost of production is greater than the price received, it doesn’t take a PhD to figure out where things are heading.

Many farmers are facing stresses they have not faced before. Some who have been around a while remember the '80s and what happened to agriculture in our area during that period. Some called it a depression, some a cleansing.

I just remember it as being a painful time when we lost most of our small and part-time farmers.

There are families to this very day still bearing the scars of those years. I strongly urge anyone who feels the pressure is becoming too great to bear to talk to someone, anyone, please. A good place to start is 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

So, what lies ahead for the South Carolina row-crop farmer? Might there be some light at the end of the tunnel? Possibly?

There is no doubt that the last year and a half of trade battles have left a scar on American agriculture.

Government payments have tried to calm the pain. Whether the pain will be worth the gain remains to be seen.

Announcements of a trade deal with the Chinese have brought a ray of hope that there may be some easing of tensions between the world’s two largest trading partners, and China did make a commitment for a major purchase in the soybean market. But we are not yet close to where we need to be to feel comfortable that the impasse is over.

How this deal translates to the other major commodities also remains to be seen, but it is a step in the right direction.

The next six months will tell the tale of whether a farmer will be able to walk into his lender’s office next spring and be able to convince them that making a loan to produce a crop is a financially sound thing to do.

If that happens, we live to farm another year.

If that doesn’t happen, then the landscape of agriculture in our area will see a drastic change.