Will The Persistent Heat Wave Cause Further Inflationary Pressures? What This Could Mean For Agriculture Prices

There has been a persistent heat wave this summer, with farmers across the U.S. having faced difficult decisions whether to abandon crop fields or cull less productive herds due to pricing increases in fertilizers and feed.

What's Happening: On Sunday, more than 85 million Americans were under excessive heat warnings or heat advisories as temperatures reached record highs, as reported by Forbes.

Many states faced record-breaking temperatures and heat indexes in the triple-digit range as the heat wave scorched the U.S., including New York, Massachusetts, Texas, Maryland, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and Missouri.

In Boston, Massachusetts the heat emergency was extended through Monday, July 25, the second time it has been extended, as stated by 10 Boston.

How This Impacts Agriculture Prices: According to the Wall Street Journal, the scorching temperatures are causing many farmers to experience drought-like conditions, exacerbating the cost to produce.

Although the price of cattle had increased 15% year-over-year, producers are still struggling to break even as the drought has caused grazing fields to burn up, less access to water and more health conditions for the cattle, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

The New York Post reported that more ranchers are selling their cattle to feedlots and beef packers at a faster pace not seen in a decade, due to the increase in costs.

The Wall Street Journal mentioned that many Midwestern farmers got a late start to planting crops due to the wet spring, adding that 30% of U.S. corn production and 26% of soybean production are now experiencing drought conditions.

Go To: The Salvation Army Activates Response to Dangerous Heat Wave

Geopolitical Issues: The Bangor Daily News reported that Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements to export million tons of Ukraine and Russian grain and other agricultural products to the world.

Since Russia and Ukraine are the world's most important producers of agricultural commodities, many parts of the world have faced some sort of food supply issues since the Russia-Ukraine war began, as mentioned by CNBC.

Futures: With oil prices decreasing to $95.86 per barrel, there have also been many other commodity futures falling since June, such as corn and soybean futures.

However, if geopolitical tensions worsen and heat waves continue to blanket the U.S. as well as Europe, the winter months could spell higher food prices for the consumer.

Photo: jdross75 via Shutterstock