HURRICANE MILLS, Tenn. (WKRN) — On a bright October afternoon, it looks like another steady harvest season in rural Humphreys County. Up close, it tells a different story.

Eric Mayberry farms more than 1,000 acres on the land his family has worked for generations. He's also president of the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation, which is the largest in the nation.

You can say he knows the risks of farming better than most.

“It’s a gamble," Mayberry said. "You put a seed in the ground and hope Mother Nature cooperates and that there’ll be a price high enough to make it worth it. You’ve got to have a leap of faith.”

This year, that leap feels longer.

Mayberry said he’s seeing record corn yields — more than 200 bushels an acre — but even that’s not enough to break even.

"Any other time that would be a somewhat joyous situation," he said. "But it's not really this year for us because we have so much money invested in this crop-per-acre that we're going to break even or maybe even lose money on this farm."

Across Tennessee, farmers are confronting the same reality: input costs that remain far above pre-pandemic levels and grain prices that continue to slide. Global demand for American crops has softened, and exports have slowed, leaving many with less income heading into winter.

"That's just hard to absorb," Mayberry said. "We pay full retail for our inputs and then we're price-takers at the end of the day."

He said this is his third year in this exact situation. Only this time, it's worse.

It’s not just a Tennessee problem. Inflation, trade tensions and now a government shutdown have squeezed producers across the country.

"Generally speaking, if you say tariff to a farmer, he'll start shaking his head," Mayberry said. "It is not good in the short term. It may be good in the long term."

According to the Tennessee Farm Bureau, the state’s agriculture industry has lost an estimated $430 million this year alone and nearly $730 million over the last two years. Many farmers, Mayberry said, are holding off on buying new equipment or delaying repairs.

Still, despite the numbers and the worry, Mayberry isn’t giving up.

"I get frustrated with the political systems sometimes, but if you look around the world at some countries and the things they have to deal with, we're still very fortunate to be Americans," he said. "And I sure love being an American farmer."

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/were-price-takers-at-the-end-of-the-day-tennessee-farmers-grapple-with-rising-costs-falling-prices-amid-tough-harvest-season/