Farmers and ranchers love when they are acknowledged by major companies. One way that Anheuser-Busch is once again trying to recognize farmers is through its limited-edition Busch Light Corn Cans. They are back and hitting shelves across the nation.

For each case of Corn Cans sold through June 2024, Busch Light will donate $0.10 up to $200,000 to Farm Rescue, a nonprofit dedicated to providing critical material aid to family farms and ranches throughout the Midwest. That’s down from $0.25 per case that the brand donated last year.

Since assisting its very first farm family in 2006, Farm Rescue has helped 1,000 families stricken by unexpected crises. Since 2019, Busch Light has helped raise $1.2 million for the organization.

The entire campaign from parent company Anheuser-Busch is part of a long attempt to turn around the company’s image with farmers. Back in 2019, the company launched a much-derided campaign during the Super Bowl attacking corn syrup as an ingredient, sparking outrage from farmers and putting A-B on the losing end of a lawsuit from competitor MillerCoors. Following that came heavy media marketing that tried to reinforce A-B’s commitment to U.S. growers — through that first big “pro corn” campaign within Busch Light and, more recently, the U.S. Farmed certification, the company attempted to regain more ground.

In 2020, the release of Busch Light Corn Cans directly helped fund Farm Rescue’s expansion into Kansas, and to this day, Busch Light continues to raise funds for Farm Rescue through its Corn Cans and tailored campaigns to support the farming and ranching communities that are near and dear to the brand’s heart.

Through its work to spread awareness about Farm Rescue, Busch Light encourages any farm or ranch family that has experienced a major illness, injury, or natural disaster to apply for assistance at FarmRescue.org.

In April, farmer sentiment took a significant hit, as shown by the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer, which plummeted by 15 points from March to a score of 99.

Both components of the barometer saw declines: The Current Condition Index fell by 18 points to 83, and the Future Expectations Index dropped by 14 points to 106. This April marked the lowest sentiment reading since June 2022 and was just 3 points above the April 2020 score.

Additionally, the current condition rating for April hit its lowest point since May 2020. The downturn in sentiment stemmed from concerns about current financial conditions on farms and anticipated financial difficulties in the coming year.

The survey for the April Ag Economy Barometer was conducted from April 8 to 12, 2024.

Financial performance and farmland values are at the top of farmer concern

The decline in farmer sentiment in April mirrored broader worries about financial performance and farmland values. The Farm Financial Performance Index fell to 76 in April, down 7 points from the previous month and 21 points from its peak last fall at 97. This decline reflects growing concerns among farmers about the financial outlook for the upcoming year, with fewer expecting improved or similar financial performance compared to last year.

In April’s survey, farmers’ expectations regarding interest rates and farmland values underwent changes. Only 24 percent of respondents predicted interest rates to rise over the next year, down from 32 percent in March. Despite this slight improvement in their outlook on interest rates, fewer farmers anticipated an increase in farmland values, with more expecting values to remain steady.

In the April survey, only 29 percent of producers anticipated an increase in farmland values in the upcoming year, compared to 38 percent in March, while 17 percent anticipated a decrease, up from 14 percent in March. These shifts reflect farmers’ concerns about farm financial performance in 2024, overshadowing their more positive outlook on interest rates.

Solar energy shows growing interest

There is a growing interest in utilizing farmland for solar energy production, and it appears that solar lease rates are on the rise. This month’s survey indicated a 7-point increase in respondents reporting discussions with companies about solar energy leases, reaching 19 percent in April compared to 12 percent in March.

Specifically, discussions about solar leasing suggest an increasing demand for solar leases, with 58 percent of farmers reporting lease rate offers exceeding $1,000 per acre — up from 54 percent in March.

Over one-fourth of respondents (28 percent) said they were offered a farmland lease rate of $1,250 or more per acre. The increasing lease rates for energy production could potentially impact farmland values, particularly in certain areas. A

Among producers who anticipated an increase in farmland values in the next year, 8 percent highlighted energy production as a significant factor. Looking ahead, energy production activities could provide some support for farmland values and expectations in specific regions of the U.S.

The Colorado Farm Bureau, Colorado Department of Agriculture, and experts statewide came together to create a glimpse into the lives and struggles of producers in Colorado in a new film focusing on mental health in farmers and ranchers.

The new film, Legacy, hopes to destigmatize mental health in rural communities and promote the work of the Colorado Agricultural Addiction and Mental Health Program.

Throughout the 45-minute film, Colorado farmers and ranchers share their daily experiences and struggles, including facing the loss of a loved one to suicide and other mental health struggles. 

In April, UK-based manufacturer CNH Industrial laid off over 200 workers at its location in Racine, Wisconsin, and announced plans to further reduce its workforce, leaving as few as 150 to 170 workers there by 2026.

“Agricultural machinery has been made in Racine by your workers for over 175 years — they have made Case-New Holland into the international manufacturing powerhouse it is today,” wrote U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin in a letter to Scott Wine, chief executive officer of CNH Industrial. “Moving production to Mexico as you are considering would not only be a slap in the face to the workers who have given so much, it would destroy the institutional knowledge that your workforce has developed over decades of building agricultural equipment.”

The cuts amounted to about one-third of the factory’s workforce and came nearly a year after workers went on a lengthy strike from May 2022 to January 2023 asking for wage increases. 

“It’s really sad to see because Case used to be one of the premier employers in southeastern Wisconsin,” said Rich Glowacki, chair of the bargaining committee for UAW Local 180. “Most people, when they got hired at Case, pretty much said that their life was going to be on a better trajectory. Now, that’s all a fairy tale.”

It’s a hard hit for a county whose largest high school, J.I. Case High School, was named after CNH’s founder, Jerome I. Case. Even the high school’s mascot was created after the Case Eagle logo that J.I. Case adopted in 1865.

In her letter, Baldwin urged the company to abandon plans to move more of its production to Mexico.

“Despite delivering record profits for your company, your workers in Racine are being told their services are too expensive and are no longer welcome,” Baldwin wrote to Wine. “An average worker at your Racine plant earns $52,000 annually. Last year, you made nearly 350 times that, $18 million. In 2022, you made $22 million, and in 2021, you made $44 million.”

There are also questions on whether CNH Industrial properly notified the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development of its workforce reduction. When companies like CNH reduce their workforce by more than 25 percent, Wisconsin law requires employers to provide 60 days’ notice to their workers, the DWD, their collective bargaining representatives, and local officials.

“Forgoing the notice is not only illegal, but it denies your workers these benefits to which they are entitled,” Baldwin said. “To my knowledge, your notification to your workers and their representatives were well short of the 60 days required by law.”

Baldwin also noted that the company spent $652 million on stock buybacks in 2023. The amount is four times more than the $150 million that the company hopes to save in workforce reductions. 

“While I am disappointed by your recent leadership of CNH, there is still time to reverse course,” Baldwin wrote. “I encourage you to re-commit to your American workforce, particularly the workers in Racine who have delivered your company its record profits.”

One worker took to social media to post about her experiences with CNH Industrial in Wisconsin. In that post, she talks about the panic attacks she had and the defects she saw in Case IH machinery.

According to Reuters, CNH Industrial slashed its yearly profit outlook on Thursday and cautioned of sharper decreases in sales of farming equipment.

Decreasing farm revenues due to moderate crop prices and increased borrowing expenses are prompting a reassessment of significant purchases, creating an uncertain demand landscape for manufacturers of heavy machinery.  Because of this, CNH anticipates a sales decrease of 11 to 15 percent in its agriculture segment for the year, a more significant drop than its earlier projection of 8 to 12 percent decline.