What's the reasoning for pushing corn and soybeans? This seems like an area that letting the free market determine the products grown would be ideal. But there has to be some incentive to want to overproduce tons and tons of corn and soybeans though. (Not trying to be argumentative, I have wondered this for a long time)
It is about the Corn Association, Soybean Association, and Farm Bureau (the latter of which is showing signs of fracturing (See Illinois)) and political action. I would guess Grassley has a lot of influence as well. (Corn and Soybeans). The fight between small/local foods and commercial (commodities) ag is fierce. Commercial Ag doesn't really grow food except for livestock feeding.
The oil industry also lobbied hard for ethanol as an additive to meet environmental objectives. I also don't think that the public realizes the political clout of the Pharma/Farma industry. These companies also control seed genetics that will tolerate their chemical products.
There you have it pretty much. So much more is spent on making farmer profits good to buy expensive inputs than on environmentally friendly farming. Cover crops would be a good thing, but they don't work as efficiently on good Iowa and Illinois soil.
The Federal and State Estate taxes are also a problem. A couple can exempt up to 27 million dollars Federally. Iowa (not IL) has eliminated the State Estate Tax. As a direct result, big farms can get bigger by being able to spread loans for land purchase across a lot of acres. The little guy has little chance.
Politicians pay close attention to the big farmers. The big farmers are beholding to Pharma. Cheap corn is great for oil.
So, in a way, the free market doesn't fit the system well.
Federal Crop Insurance really is loaded toward corn and soybeans on subsidies. EVEN Trump 1 was a very farm socialist president. The trade war led to record profits, with a lot coming directly from USDA.
Pharma + Oil + Farm Lobby
What is interesting to me is that even with higher cash rents, we have been historically low on cash rent as a percent of farmland value. Almost all land is family owned, not China, not Mormons, not anyone else as a percentage. In Iowa about 45-50 percent of the land is owned by farmers. In IL it's only 25%. The rest is owned mostly by families of former farmers.
2023 and 2024 weren't fantastic years for corn/bean farmers following quite a big run of fantastic.
