Farmer087 - 8/14/2024 15:59

Only in a round about way. We've got a few end users around us and they all base their price based on what they can import organic crops for. Import prices depend on global factors, like shipping and available supplies. For example, in recent years more "organic" soybeans have started to come from Africa. If the non-organic bean prices are higher Africa tends to ship their beans to Asia because shipping is less and they don't care about quality like the US buyers do. World bean prices go down and they try to offload their beans on the US organic market to make a bit more money. I think it's similar for "organic" beans coming from Argentina.

The local feed mill says he can import beans for $19-20 so no reason to bid higher for local beans.


Actually, the produce/veggie market has similar dynamics. Something like 40-60% of produce is imported because it can be grown cheaper in other places. Why would processors pay more for something grown in the US when they can get it for less from Mexico or Chile? Domestic price gets set, or at least heavily influenced, by import price.