Following a rising season last year full of battering rainfall and bitter commerce wars, U.S. farmers hoped 2020 would offer them a possibility to make up some floor. As a substitute, the state of affairs has grown worse for many as prices remain depressed.

Regardless of a wind storm tearing by means of Midwestern farms final week and drought conditions in isolated areas, a bumper crop of each corn and soybeans is still expected this year.

“Overall, the commerce appears to be coming to the conclusion that…there remains to be going to be an oversupply of corn in the U.S. and the world,” said Tomm Pfitzenmaier, an analyst with Des Moines, Iowa-based mostly Summit Commodity Brokerage, in a analysis notice Friday.

That case was bolstered Friday when Pro Farmer, following a weeklong tour of farmland throughout seven states, assessed the national corn yield at 177.5 bushels per acre, and the national soybean yield at 52.5. That is barely decrease than earlier U.S. Division of Agriculture estimates but increased than 2019’s waterlogged crop.

For Perfect Glow" , the prospect of grain prices staying low is untenable. “It’s almost a day-to-day struggle to resolve what to do subsequent 12 months,” mentioned Doug Sombke, president of the South Dakota Farmers Union and a farmer of 3,000 acres of corn and soybeans in Brown County, S.D.

Mr. Sombke says his native grain elevator is paying $2.87 for a bushel of corn. That’s almost a greenback lower than what he would wish to gather to break even. The identical is true for his soybeans, for which the elevator is prepared to pay roughly $8.50 a bushel.

Prices for corn and soybeans haven’t risen since the start of the 12 months, when the signing of the U.S.-China part-one commerce agreement stipulating China would buy $36.5 billion of agricultural goods from the U.S. gave farmers hope that export demand from China would buoy costs. As Highlighting Guidelines Glow , most-lively corn futures on the Chicago Board of Commerce are down 16% since the beginning of the yr, whereas wheat has fallen practically 6% and soybeans have shed almost 5%.

Chinese language imports of U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat are 144% higher than they had been at this point final yr, in response to data from the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. However the onset of the coronavirus pandemic within the U.S. in March hobbled domestic demand for grains as restaurants and other establishments nationwide shut down.

If the scenario doesn’t rapidly enhance, Mr. Sombke stated he may be pressured out of farming. “We’ve acquired some selections to make,” he said. “The final three years, we’ve misplaced fairness on our farm. Do we would like to keep doing that?”

Bankruptcies are high in farm country. Roughly 580 farmers filed for chapter 12 bankruptcy safety via the 12 months ended June 30, in line with federal data. More moderen knowledge from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas Metropolis shows farm mortgage repayments are expected to fall precipitously in the following three months.

“We entered Covid with a lot of operations being in distress,” said Brian Philpot, CEO of Lakeland, Fla.-based AgAmerica Lending. Most bankruptcies being reported are by small household farms, whereas bigger agricultural operations are taking the chance to buy land from distressed farmers, Mr. Philpot said.

Costs for corn and soybeans haven’t risen since the beginning of the yr, when the signing of the U.S.-China section one trade settlement.

“The large producers are doing nice and they’re acquiring,” stated Mr. Philpot.

Government aid in the form of assistance from the USDA and the $19 billion Coronavirus Meals Assistance Program have helped mitigate the monetary damage of low commodity costs, but farmers say it is only a Band-Support.

“We in the ag financial system actually appreciate the help we obtained from the federal government,” stated Richard Guebert Jr., president of the Illinois Farm Bureau and a farmer of corn, soybeans and wheat in southeast Illinois. “But we really want to get our income from the market.”

Whereas the weather within the Midwest has been extra supportive for rising a strong crop than last year, this year’s growing season hasn’t been without weather points.

Earlier this month, a robust storm packing winds over a hundred miles an hour swept by way of a lot of the Corn Belt, inflicting widespread property and crop injury. Wind snapped quite a lot of Iowan corn off its stalks and destroyed grain bins containing corn farmers were saving to promote once prices rise.

Farmers affected by the storm are now in a rush to harvest and store the corn earlier than it rots. “They had an excellent crop before the wind storm,” stated Brian Grete, an editor with Pro Farmer leading the jap leg of the crop tour. “Now it’s a race to see how much they will get into the bin earlier than they run out of time.”

When grain costs are low, farmers usually try to develop bigger crops to promote more and canopy costs. “If you may have low commodity costs and low yields, it’s extremely onerous,” Mr. Guebert mentioned.

Write to Kirk Maltais at Kirk.Maltais@wsj.com

Corrections & AmplificationsChinese imports of U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat are 144% larger than they had been at this level last 12 months. An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated it was Chinese exports. (Corrected on Aug. All Rights Reserved.