Investing in Wheat Stocks

The world is still grappling with high inflation, and prices of basic food commodities, such as wheat, have fluctuated significantly in recent years. Russia’s war with Ukraine -- one of the world’s top wheat producers -- has compounded the problem.

Some countries are also facing low crop yields because of droughts, floods, and other weather events. When the delivery of grains and other essentials is disrupted, wheat prices can soar.

What does it mean for investors? Owning businesses that produce wheat or service the food commodity industry could be a hedge against inflation, that insidious force that can lower the value of investment returns over time. Here’s what you need to know about wheat stocks.

Best wheat stocks

Best wheat stocks in 2025

There have been a lot of ultra-wealthy people interested in farmland. Billionaires such as Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos have reportedly been acquiring farmland in the past few years. Of course, for most investors, acquiring your own land for growing wheat or other agricultural products isn't so easy. Here are seven stocks that yield exposure to wheat and other food staples and help with the production of one of humankind's most basic commodities:

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1. Deere and Co.

Deere and Co., better known as John Deere, is one of the most iconic U.S. farming companies. It manufactures tractors and other equipment, including combine harvesters.

In recent years, John Deere has been investing in technology to help with the automation of farming. Early in 2022, it unveiled a fully autonomous tractor that can go about its activity based on predefined functions while a farmer monitors its progress from a mobile device.

Given the cyclical costs of wheat and other agricultural goods, as well as a steadily growing global population that needs to be fed, adding automation to increase crop efficiency may be a big need in the coming decades.

2. Archer-Daniels-Midland

Archer-Daniels-Midland may not have the brand recognition John Deere does, but it is no less a giant in the agricultural industry. ADM helps manage the supply chain of food ingredients. It acquires basic commodities (including wheat), refines agricultural products into cooking ingredients, and resells and transports goods.

The company has faced significant disruption in the global food supply in the last few years, with the war in Ukraine putting further strain on supply chains. More recently, it's dealt with issues from global price declines for certain crops due to oversupply.

This follows a period of record-high pricing and undersupply that peaked in 2022, with trends that competitors are also contending with and can fluctuate year to year.

The company has also been struggling to regain investor confidence since January 2024, when management announced that ADM had discovered multiple accounting errors, including improper recording of sales between different business segments within the company.

Recent earnings have missed analyst expectations, and management had to issue restated financial statements and lower its profit outlook. The stock was down about 26% from the year-ago period in January 2025. While the impact of these accounting issues should be resolved with time, investors should watch closely as the company works to regain its growth trajectory in the coming quarters.

On a more positive note, ADM is a solid dividend stock for investors looking for investment income. Given the stock's less-than-favorable performance of late, the yield has been pushed up to just shy of 4%.

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3. Bunge

Bunge is another agribusiness that serves to link farmers and producers of basic consumer staples. Wheat milling is among Bunge's many food businesses, which it then sells and transports as food ingredient products.

As with other midmarket supply chain businesses, Bunge is also a developer of food technology and ingredients. This is a lucrative part of the food industry. Since its 2001 U.S. initial public offering (IPO), Bunge's sales and profitability have been cyclical, but it's been able to dole out a faithfully rising dividend through the years. It yielded 3.4% based on share prices in January 2025.

4. Seaboard

Seaboard is another food supply chain business that deals with the trading and overseas transportation of agricultural commodities. Among the commodities it deals with are wheat and other grains.

This multinational agricultural stock has been around for a long time and has a notoriously high stock price (currently nearly $2,500 per share) because the company has never approved a stock split.

Regardless, Seaboard has managed to generate significant sales for decades, even as profits have fluctuated. Its dividend yield is on the lower end at less than 1%, but the company pays an annual dividend of about $9 per share.

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5. MGP Ingredients

MGP Ingredients is best known for its wheat, barley, and rye distillery products used in the production of alcohol, such as bourbon and other spirits. Additionally, MGP produces grain products for use in food, such as wheat starches.

Historically, MGP has been a cyclical business. Its sales are dependent not just on demand from its food and spirits customers but also on the market price of basic agricultural commodities.

6. The Andersons

The Andersons is another supply chain agribusiness. It buys and sells basic commodities and produces renewable fuel, such as corn-based ethanol. Since it deals in commodities, The Andersons has also been a highly cyclical stock.

This means that the company's top and bottom lines can fluctuate heavily based on the operating landscape. However, the company has grown its profits through the years. It reported a net income of $119 million in 2022 and $101 million in 2023. Net income totaled $69 million in the first nine months of 2024.

The company has also steadily paid a regular dividend for many years. In late 2024, it reported its 113th consecutive dividend increase since the company went public in 1996. The stock currently yields about 1.8%.

7. Adecoagro

Adecoagro is the only actual farming company on this list. A South American operation that produces wheat and other basic staples, it completed its U.S. IPO in 2011. The low-cost producer of grains and other agricultural products has been reporting strong revenue growth lately. It is also profitable, although its bottom line has struggled in recent quarters as weather issues and lower prices have adversely affected its Sugar, Ethanol & Energy business.

As a basic commodity company, investors should know that Adecoagro's stock can be volatile. However, it does have a policy of distributing a significant amount of its prior year adjusted free cash flow to shareholders in the form of a dividend.

At the time of its financial report in late 2024, management announced that the company had already committed 55% of its 2023 adjusted free cash flow to pay shareholder dividends. The stock yielded approximately 3.5% in January 2025.

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Investing in wheat stocks can be volatile

When wheat and other food prices are sharply on the rise, it's tempting to chase down growing companies in this space. Be wary, though. Investing in commodity businesses can be highly volatile, and revenue and profitability can change quickly due to market prices of basic goods. Nevertheless, with inflation a major concern among investors in certain economic periods, adding small portfolio exposure to wheat might make sense.