Following a growing season final year full of battering rainfall and bitter trade wars, U.S. farmers hoped 2020 would offer them a chance to make up some ground. Instead, the scenario has grown worse for many as prices remain depressed.

Regardless of a wind storm tearing by Midwestern farms last week and drought conditions in isolated areas, a bumper crop of each corn and soybeans is still anticipated this yr.

“Overall, the trade appears to be coming to the conclusion that...there is still going to be an oversupply of corn within the U.S. and the world,” stated Tomm Pfitzenmaier, an analyst with Des Moines, Iowa-primarily based Summit Commodity Brokerage, in a analysis notice Friday.

That case was bolstered Friday when Pro Farmer, following a weeklong tour of farmland across seven states, assessed the nationwide corn yield at 177.5 bushels per acre, and the national soybean yield at 52.5. That is slightly lower than earlier U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates however greater than 2019’s waterlogged crop.

For a lot of U.S. farmers, the prospect of grain costs staying low is untenable. “It’s nearly a day-to-day struggle to resolve what to do subsequent year,” stated Doug Sombke, president of the South Dakota Farmers Union and a farmer of 3,000 acres of corn and soybeans in Brown County, S.D.

Mr. Sombke says his local grain elevator is paying $2.87 for a bushel of corn. That's almost a dollar decrease than what he would need to gather to break even. The identical is true for his soybeans, for which the elevator is prepared to pay roughly $8.50 a bushel.

Prices for corn and soybeans haven’t risen since the start of the year, when the signing of the U.S.-China part-one trade settlement stipulating China would purchase $36.5 billion of agricultural items from the U.S. gave farmers hope that export demand from China would buoy costs. As a substitute, most-lively corn futures on the Chicago Board of Commerce are down 16% since the beginning of the yr, while wheat has fallen almost 6% and soybeans have shed nearly 5%.

Chinese language imports of U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat are 144% greater than they were at this point final year, according to knowledge from the USDA’s Overseas Agricultural Service. But the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. in March hobbled domestic demand for grains as restaurants and other establishments nationwide shut down.

If the scenario doesn’t rapidly enhance, Mr. Sombke stated he could also be compelled out of farming. “We’ve bought some selections to make,” he said. “The last three years, we’ve lost fairness on our farm. Do we wish to maintain doing that?”

Bankruptcies are excessive in farm country. Roughly 580 farmers filed for chapter 12 bankruptcy protection by the year ended June 30, in response to federal information. Newer information from the Federal Reserve Financial institution of Kansas City exhibits farm mortgage repayments are expected to fall precipitously in the following three months.

“We entered Covid with a whole lot of operations being in distress,” said Brian Philpot, CEO of Lakeland, Fla.-based mostly AgAmerica Lending. Makeup Tutorials" being reported are by small family farms, while larger agricultural operations are taking the opportunity to buy land from distressed farmers, Mr. Philpot stated.

Prices for corn and soybeans haven’t risen since the beginning of the year, when the signing of the U.S.-China section one commerce agreement.

“The large producers are doing positive and they’re acquiring,” said Mr. Philpot.

Authorities aid within the form of help from the USDA and the $19 billion Coronavirus Food Assistance Program have helped mitigate the financial harm of low commodity prices, however farmers say it's only a Band-Assist.

“We within the ag economic system actually admire the assistance we bought from the federal authorities,” mentioned Richard Guebert Jr., president of the Illinois Farm Bureau and a farmer of corn, soybeans and wheat in southeast Illinois. “But we really wish to get our revenue from the market.”

While the weather within the Midwest has been extra supportive for rising a robust crop than last year, this year’s rising season hasn’t been without weather issues.

Earlier this month, a powerful storm packing winds over 100 miles an hour swept via a lot of the Corn Belt, inflicting widespread property and crop injury. Wind snapped a whole lot of Iowan corn off its stalks and destroyed grain bins containing corn farmers were saving to sell as soon as prices rise.

Farmers affected by the storm at the moment are in a rush to harvest and retailer the corn before it rots. “They had an excellent crop before the wind storm,” stated Brian Grete, an editor with Professional Farmer main the jap leg of the crop tour. “Now it’s a race to see how much they can get into the bin earlier than they run out of time.”

When grain prices are low, farmers typically attempt to grow bigger crops to promote more and cover prices. “If you may have low commodity costs and low yields, it’s extremely exhausting,” Mr. Guebert said.

Write to Kirk Maltais at Kirk.Maltais@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications
Chinese language imports of U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat are 144% greater than they had been at this level final yr. An earlier model of this article incorrectly said it was Chinese language exports. (Corrected on Aug. All Rights Reserved.