It's just a common practice; you only need one year where Farmer A experiences a 20% loss due to rot or rain, while Farmer B uses sprays and makes a profit. It's really unfortunate, but most farmers I know who grow wheat are managing million-dollar expenditures with the hope of making only a few thousand dollars in profit, if any.

One farmer mentioned that his $80,000 pickup truck was considered a write-off and accounted for about 5% of their costs for the year. For me, the same truck would represent about 150% of my total expenditures.

If they have a good year, they can pocket over $100,000, but a bad year could leave them half a million dollars in the hole.