In November 2025, Alex Harrell, among the most highly reputed producers in the U.S., dropped an old-school grading scale, A to F, across his 6,000-acre operation and slashed almost half his ground, notifying 12 landlords in a three-week window. "I can't speak to the rest of the country, but around here, generational growers are either cutting back, quitting, falling into Chapter 12, or grasping at straws."

Spurred by crippling inputs, Harrell's acreage drop is an alarming indication of an agriculture economy in dire straits. "There will be significant acres in my area that won't be planted next year," he says. "I'm seeing it with my own eyes in real time."