Rodney Bushmeyer has been farming as long as he can remember. Bushmeyer’s father was a farmer, as was his grandfather.

The family-run Bushmeyer Farms in Illinois dates back more than 100 years, when his ancestors came to the US from Germany. They acquired the first 80 acres cost-free as homesteaders, cleared the land, and worked it.

Now Bushmeyer, 69, gets to see the sunrise on his way to work every day. Wheat is planted and will be followed by soy and corn in the next several weeks. In a month, the farm will “be greening up”, revealing a powerful palette.

“It’s a great life,” he said.

But Bushmeyer’s farm, which he runs with his son and cousin, has felt the impact of “dramatically” increased fertilizer prices over the past five or six years. And while some fertilizers have doubled in cost, commodity prices for grain have dwindled.

“There is really no profit right now,” Bushmeyer said, later adding: “It’s not sustainable in the long term. We can do that for a few years, but eventually it’ll put us out of business.”