Farm life can be demanding and stressful. It has reached a critical stage with pandemic impacts on top of natural disasters, extreme weather events, financial pressures due to fluctuating commodity prices, labor shortages, trade disruptions and other factors over the past several years. Given these ongoing challenges, it’s no surprise that more farmers and farm families are experiencing stress and mental health concerns.

The USDA ERS has reported that, as of Jan. 17, 59% of the US winter wheat production remains under drought condition.

World wheat production is highly vulnerable to climate-change fueled disease, insects, and plant stress. A new study led by University of Minnesota’s GEMS Informatics Center estimated annual losses from the top 5 wheat diseases of $4.2B to $10.8B every year.

Grocery buyers seeking an affordable way to feed their families are looking toward pasta as an “inflation-proof” meal idea, says a durum wheat merchandiser with pasta maker Barilla. The high inflation rate is actually causing greater demand for pasta. With pasta, you can still feed a family of four for probably US$6 or $7 — including the cost of sauce, maybe $7 or $8 at the very most.

Scarred by high and volatile prices, global wheat buyers are reducing their purchases of future supplies but that raises their exposure to potential price spikes that would end up passed on to consumers already struggling with food inflation. Buyers in key importers across Asia, the Middle East and Africa are making so-called forward purchases of supplies for only about two to three months of their future demand versus typical buying of up to six months, according to millers, analysts and traders.

Competitive supplies from Ukraine to Southern regions of Europe, combined with the impact of dry conditions at the end of last season (2021/22) have meant EU wheat import demand has been strong so far this season. However, Stratégie Grains said in their February grain report that they are expecting the pace of EU imports to slow down throughout the rest of the season. This comes as Black Sea exports coming through the secure shipping corridor seem to be losing momentum, and EU feed demand remains subdued.

The USDA announced the agricultural sector had the best export year in 2022, with international sales of U.S. farm and food products reaching $196 billion. The value of sales increased in all of the United States’ top 10 agricultural export markets – China, Mexico, Canada, Japan, the European Union, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Colombia and Vietnam, with sales in seven of the 10 markets (China, Mexico, Canada, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and Colombia) setting new records.