Wheat Prices Soar
Thomas Murray’s family has worked this land in northwest Alabama for a century. He’s been farming since he dropped out of high school 30 years ago. Murray says cotton is in his blood, and corn too, but now he’s planting more than a third of his 800 acres with wheat.
“Because of the moisture. This wheat will grow this winter when we getting a little bit of rain.”
Like much of the Southeastern U.S., Alabama is gripped with a record drought. It crushed Murray’s cotton crop and a late freeze Easter weekend zapped the corn.
“Well we woke up, we had corn knee high. The next day it was flat. It just froze to death.”
Murray says he’s about $10,000 in the hole. To make ends meet he drives a school bus, harvests other people’s land, and hauls chicken litter. And he’s banking on the wheat that’s just poking up through the dried corn cobs that litter his fields.
Ironically, the bad weather that caused Murray’s troubles is also responsible for the record prices that might help save his farm. Joe Sowers is with the trade group US Wheat Associates. He says the high price is the result of growing demand and shrinking supply because of really bad weather around the world, including Australia.
“They’ve had two years of essentially biblical drought.”
Last year, Canada’s planting season was delayed because of rain, and Argentina had a late season freeze. This year, the weather is cooperating. Sowers says it’s been nearly ideal and farmers everywhere are planting wheat like crazy. In Alabama, the number of acres planted with wheat has doubled this year, leaving some like farmer Thomas Murray worried about the potential of falling prices.
“That’s what’s scared me, you know, everybody’s planted wheat. Everybody planted corn but the corn price didn’t fall. So maybe the wheat won’t fall. I hope it don’t. We all gonna be a mess if it does!”
Auburn University extension specialist Tim Reed says if farmers don’t make good money off this wheat crop some could go out of business.
“Farmers in this area are really facing a critical situation.”
And if wheat production goes down next year, consumers may pay even more for bread, cereal and cookies.
CDC advisers delay planned vote on hepatitis B vaccine for infants
After a contentious discussion, the vaccine advisory group pushed the vote to Friday to give members time to study the language of proposed changes longstanding policy on the shots.
DOJ orders prison inspectors to stop considering LGBTQ safety standards
A memo obtained by NPR shows the Justice Department is telling inspectors to stop evaluating prisons using standards designed to protect trans and other LGBTQ community members from sexual violence.
U.S. reconsiders Tanzania ties after deadly post-election crackdown
The U.S. is "comprehensively reviewing" its relationship with Tanzania after hundreds were killed in a violent post-election crackdown.
How old is your music taste? Spotify will tell you, though you may not like it
Spotify Wrapped is bluntly telling users their "listening age," which in many cases is several decades older or younger than their actual age. It's a calculated strategy.
Pentagon watchdog finds Hegseth broke policies by using Signal to discuss airstrikes
Inspector General Steven Stebbins says Hegseth's use of the commercially available messaging app to discuss strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen could have jeopardized the safety of U.S. servicemembers.
Putin says there are points he can’t agree to in the U.S. proposal to end Ukraine war
Russian President Vladimir Putin made the remarks to an Indian broadcaster before landing in India for a state visit, but refused to elaborate on what Russia could accept or reject.
