US farmers may withhold grain crops until they see price rise

Global food companies and livestock feeders hoping for an abundance of low-price US grain may be in for a disappointment as it looks like American farmers may opt to delay additional sales of corn and soybeans.

Several years of profitable crops have left US farmers with enough cash to hold back the year’s harvest and wait for a better price. While the US agriculture department has forecast huge corn and soybean crops this autumn, these rich farmers have enough on-farm grain storage to hold onto much of their crop until prices rise.

“The US farmer has never been in a stronger financial position in the history of farming,” said Tom Grisafi, president of agri-advisory service Trade The Farm. “They have a tonne of money and they have more onsite storage than ever.”