Farmers Plow Under Cabbage Fields Amid Price Crash: "It's a Loss Either Way"

"Whether I sell them at the market or plow them under, the loss is the same."

At 2 p.m. on July 2, a tractor entered a 5,000-square-meter cabbage field in Miwon-myeon, Sangdang-gu, Cheongju, just ten days before the scheduled harvest.

The farmer, identified by his surname Lee, sat in the driver's seat, looked at the field for a moment, let out a deep sigh, and began to drive across the crops.

Where the tractor passed, only crushed cabbage leaves remained, and within just a few dozen minutes, the field that had been covered in green turned into a desolate landscape of dirt and shredded leaves.

About a dozen other farmers watching the scene hung their heads with somber expressions.

"It is never easy to destroy crops that I worked so hard to grow, but I have no other choice because even if I pay for labor and transportation to ship them, I still end up in the red," Lee said. "I decided to plow the field to make the reality and sorrow of farmers pushed to the edge known."

Lee and the other farmers decided to plow under their fields ten days before harvest because the price of cabbage has plummeted to the point where they cannot even recover their production costs.

According to the farmers, the price of cabbage, which traded at 800 to 900 won per head until last year, has fallen to around 500 won this year.

On the other hand, the farmers explained that labor costs and the prices of agricultural materials are soaring day by day.

Members of the Cheongju Farmers Association, who gathered on this day, held a rally before the protest of plowing under their fields. "The survival rights of farmers are being pushed to the brink due to the collapse in prices of agricultural products, including cabbage, and the skyrocketing costs of farming materials," they lamented. "Yet, the government only explains the causes of the decline, such as increased production and international conditions, without offering fundamental policies to solve the problem."

They continued, "The collapse of agricultural prices is a greater disaster for farmers than natural disasters," and urged, "The government must recognize agricultural products as national strategic assets and prepare fundamental countermeasures."

The farmers plan to carry out a nationwide struggle starting this coming September to demand measures against the collapse of agricultural prices.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.