Sorrow tastes the same on any tongue, but for farming families already prone to seclusion by the physical boundaries of rural life and the insular nature of turnrows and tree lines, turmoil often leads to pronounced isolation. Meet two farmers with two sets of mental struggles but one bond.
The House and Senate are in session this week. On the agenda is a briefing on the Russia/Ukraine war front, which will focus on whether the Russian missiles that hit the Odesa port over the weekend will abort the recent “paper agreement” to resume grain exports from Ukraine.
For the fourth straight month, the Rural Mainstreet Index (RMI) has declined, and for the second consecutive month the RMI is below growth neutral. For July 2022, the index sits at 46, which is down from June’s 49.8.
USDA initially predicted a 2% to 3% rise in the prices consumers pay for food this year, but the agency recently increased it to 8.5% to 9.5%. Eggs, fats and oils, and poultry prices are making the biggest gains.
