An article by Terri Moore of Farm Bureau points to the dichotomy that as grocery prices rise, prices received by farmers are going down.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, farm prices for fresh vegetables were 7.3% lower in August 2026 than a year earlier, while the prices consumers paid at grocery stores rose 3.2%. In addition, the costs of getting food from field to shelf, such as diesel, labor and packaging, haven’t gone away and continue to get costlier.
Moore writes, “that’s why the farm economy can be in trouble — like it is now — even when grocery prices are normal or elevated. The turbulent winds swirling around farmers have left many underwater … again. For some, it’s their fifth year in the red. Bottom line: farmers have many obstacles to overcome.
If there is any good news from this report, it’s that consumers do not fault producers for the pain felt at the grocery store. In a June survey by Global Strategy Group, most consumers blame tariffs or big corporations for raising retail food prices, but not farmers.