UK agricultural economists offer new guidance in collaborative farmer resource

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 10, 2026) — As farmers across the South face tightening margins, elevated production costs and uncertain markets, agricultural economists from the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFE) are contributing practical guidance to help producers navigate the downturn.

Six of the 36 agricultural economists who contributed to the Southern Extension Risk Management Education Center (SRMEC) publication, titled “Surviving the Farm Economy Downturn: 2026 Update” are based at Martin-Gatton CAFE.

“Our specialists covered topics from cattle markets and row-crop profitability to lender communication, bankruptcy, alternative crops, value-added marketing and long-term farm resilience,” said Jennifer Hunter, associate dean for UK Extension and director of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. “Their contributions reflect the breadth of economic expertise available through the UK Extension.”

Jordan Shockley, Ph.D., a UK Extension professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, said the update builds on an earlier version that was developed 10 years ago, when Southern Extension economists saw a need for a coordinated regional resource. With another downturn emerging over the past two to three years, the group decided to update the publication for current conditions and add chapters reflecting new challenges facing producers.

“This is a great example of the working relationship we have in the Southern region,” Shockley said. “When issues arise for producers here, we get together and respond. The fact that we put this together in a couple of months shows the urgency of the issue and how close-knit and effective we are as economists in the Southeast.”

The SRMEC publication, also supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, includes 24 peer-reviewed articles with strategies to help producers weather the storm as commodity prices soften and production expenses remain high.

Across the update, several common themes emerge: producers need to know their costs, communicate early with lenders, preserve liquidity, evaluate risk carefully, avoid short-term decisions that weaken long-term viability and build resilience before the next downturn arrives.

Southern agriculture is uniquely diverse, Shockley said. Unlike parts of the Midwest, where corn and soybeans dominate, the South includes a broader mix of livestock operations and crops, including cotton, peanuts and rice. That diversity can provide some protection, but it also means producers face different levels of risk depending on their crop mix, input needs and market exposure.

“Farmers in some Southern states are facing extreme circumstances when it comes to profitability projections,” Shockley said. “Kentucky is fortunate because it has diverse agricultural production, and many of our farms are diverse as well. That helps. But some other states in the Southern region are not in that same position. When producers are choosing between rotations of corn, cotton and peanuts, and all of them are extremely negative from a profitability standpoint, it raises the question: what do you do?”

Those themes are reflected across the UK-authored and co-authored chapters, which address both immediate financial decisions and longer-term strategies for keeping farm businesses viable.

In addition to Shockley, UK contributors included Kenny Burdine, Grant Gardner, Jonathan Shepherd, Tyler Mark and Tim Woods. Together, their chapters address livestock markets, farm business strategies, row-crop profitability, lender relationships, bankruptcy, alternative crops, value-added marketing and long-term resilience.

Farmers and agricultural professionals can access the publication and related content through the Economic and Policy Update E-newsletter provided by the Martin-Gatton CAFE Department of Agricultural Economics.