A new survey finds that nearly 59% of U.S. growers report lower incomes year-over-year in 2026, with around 60% saying they receive unfair prices for their labor. The findings point to both financial pressure and climate-related challenges as the two dominant forces weighing on grower returns.
These numbers reflect a structural problem that has been building across the produce industry — cost inflation, market oversupply in certain commodities, and increasingly unpredictable weather are all hitting simultaneously. When the majority of growers are losing ground financially, it signals real risk to the long-term supply pipeline.
This is the kind of macro context that buyers and salespeople should have in mind when negotiating programs with grower partners. Sustained low returns can lead to acreage decisions that reshape commodity supply a season or two out.