Tag Archives: corn production 2025

Georgia Farmers Face Tight Margins Despite Strong Yields in 2025

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Tifton, GA |

As 2025 came to a close, Georgia farmers found themselves reflecting on yet another year of economic uncertainty—one defined by rising input costs and commodity prices that continued to lag behind. Despite seeing high yields across many row crops, those numbers didn’t always translate to profit.

“The 2025 crop year was a really bountiful year in terms of production for a lot of the row crops—here in Georgia, as well as in the rest of the United States,” said Amanda Smith, Senior Public Service Associate with the University of Georgia. “We’re looking at a large production of corn, a large production of soybeans, large production of peanuts, particularly here in Georgia. We did see production down in terms of cotton because of fewer planted acres. But yields were great.”

While those yields may sound promising, Smith explained they had little impact on prices.

“Even though there were lower acres in some of the commodities, yields were really great. And so, we’re still looking at pretty good production. And that’s not really helping to change prices too much from where they are,” she added.

Still, there’s cautious optimism heading into the new year. Relief payments through programs like the Farm Bridge Assistance Program and the One Big Beautiful Bill are expected to go out in 2026. That, combined with more stable input costs, could give producers some breathing room.

“Some of the good things that I’m seeing from a cost standpoint is that interest rates should be a little bit lower next year,” Smith noted. “We’ve seen some relief from that standpoint. Also, from a crop insurance standpoint, there’s going to be higher subsidies on the premiums for growers. So, crop insurance should be more affordable for producers next year. And we’ve also seen fuel prices remain down.”

As farmers begin preparing for the upcoming planting season, Smith says the first step should be taking stock of where things stand—something that can be greatly aided by tools available through UGA Extension.

“Really, the biggest piece of advice for growers is that they have to know their cost of production,” she emphasized. “There are enterprise budgets available that the University of Georgia puts together on the different commodities. They can use that as a template and guide and put in their numbers based on what production practices they plan to use—whether it’s irrigation, conservation tillage or the specific inputs they plan to utilize. Go down to the penny and know what their cost of production is. Because once they know that, then they can figure out what their break-even price is and see if they can forward price some of the commodities that they’re growing and try to lock in a profit.”

By: Damon Jones

Georgia Corn Comeback? Farmers Prepare for 2025 Amid Rising Costs & Drought Challenges

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Tifton, GA |

After seeing a significant drop in acres of corn being planted in Georgia last year, those numbers look to be on the rebound in 2025, especially with the issues other crops around the state are experiencing.

“I think that given some of the constraints with some of the other commodities, that we’re probably going to see an increase in corn acreage this year. I have a prediction but we’ll see if it comes to fruition this year, but I think there’s going to be a significant increase with the crop,” says Nicholas Shay, Extension Grains Agronomist.

Despite seeing prices surge by more than thirty percent over the past six months, growers must still walk a fine line in order to turn a profit, especially with the ever-increasing cost of production.

“To navigate that, we have to try to really manage our input efficiency the best we can, and really go back to the drawing board and count our pennies to make sure that we’re being as efficient as possible with our agronomic management or crop management plan in that, for the season,” says Shay.

Another major issue for growers is the long periods of dry weather throughout the state each and every year. It’s a factor that should always be accounted for when planning crop management.

“I think we can bet that every single year, there has been some sort of level of intermittent drought that has occurred. And so, I think really staying on top of your nutrient management and understanding how a crop responds to drought or to a treatment or a fertilizer application that you’re going to apply in the growing season,” says Shay.

The biggest defense against drought conditions is to implement preventative strategies as soon as possible.

“We have to prepare that crop for those stressful environments instead of reacting to a common symptom entomology we may see in the field. If we’d be proactive and have a proactive mitigation strategy, then maybe we can alleviate some of that stress in the growing season, especially when it comes to drought,” says Shay.

With that in mind, it’s never too early to start preparing, especially with planting season right around the corner.

“Growers should obviously be focusing on making sure their equipment is ready, land preparation this time of year, making sure that they have a good plan in place to start the year as far as fertility, as far as weed management, preparing that ground. Then making sure that they have that plan A, plan B in place to be proactive in their approach to mitigate those midseason or early season stresses that we can almost expect are going to occur,” says Shay.

By: Damon Jones