I'm having a hard time trying to understand this.  I had always thought that when fossil fuels-based costs went up, farmers would always be able to pass them thru to their products, just because eating is the most basic human need.

Basically, if chemical costs go up, it affects both farmers and toy manufacturers, to choose just two examples.  Both sectors raise their prices.  When consumers have to choose, which product will they buy?

If US farmers cannot raise the price of their products to at least cover rising costs, and moreover they are receiving the lowest price in history, the only explanation I can find is that there is excess worldwide supply and much of the non-US part of that supply is not being affected by rising costs.  You should find out what other countries export the products in question and whether they subsidize their internal energy prices.

The good news is that, in the long run, that cannot be sustained, as all competing countries will feel the energy squeeze.  The bad news is that in the long run you will be bankrupt if you do not get a government subsidy now.

BTW, learning about peak oil made me see the wisdom behind governments subsidizing agriculture particularly in Europe.  Hadn't they done that, foreign competition would have driven farmers out of business and turned their land into golf courses.  And after peak oil, when that land  had to be put again into farming, the skills would not longer be there.  (Of course, I very much doubt that politicians did that out of that level of foresight.)

I think you've got it right in considering world-wide produce suppliers. I opened a juice box for my little cousin today. . . " contains concentrates from China, Poland, and Italy" mmmmm good old applejuice. meanwhile, my neighbor is trying desperately to keep his 72 yearold family apple orchard profitable.

I seem to recall that the US gives the lowest level of subsidies for agriculture compared to most other major agrricultural producers( Chile, European Union, etc. . .)

My only suggestion is to lobby your gov't reps. election years make for stronger voter leverage :)

In support of sneakpeak's comment: "I think you've got it right in considering world-wide produce suppliers. I opened a juice box for my little cousin today. . . " contains concentrates from China, Poland, and Italy" mmmmm good old applejuice. meanwhile, my neighbor is trying desperately to keep his 72 yearold family apple orchard profitable. "

Here in Lithuania, we finished the apple harvest a week ago. If I recall correctly, the going wage rate in the countryside was 14 Lithuanian cents (5 American cents) per kilogram of apples. How many Americans would even get out of bed for that wage?

And no subsidies are involved -- this is a branch of agriculture that hasn't (yet) been sucked into the EU bureaucracy's vortex.