Posted on Feb 13, 2022
Midwest farmers are struggling with higher fertilizer prices
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Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 1
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
...""Our own belief is farmers like to farm, and they are not going to sacrifice yield by not fertilizing," said James "Joc" O'Rourke, CEO of Mosaic Co. on a recent call with industry analysts.
Agricultural economist Gary Schnitkey at the University of Illinois disagrees. In a market analysis report he wrote, “given the high fertilizer costs, reducing fertilizer applications should be a high priority at this point.”
Schnitkey’s analysis also predicts the higher fertilizer prices will lead to an increase in crop prices.
“Corn prices likely will adjust such that corn and soybeans have the same relative profitability,” he wrote.
If crop prices go up, that could mean higher food prices, especially for meat, as many of the affected commodities end up as livestock feed.
Farmers are going to have to make difficult decisions on how to cope with the increase.
Danny Young, vice president at FCS Financial in Sedalia, a rural bank that works with farmers, said he is extending lines of credit to farmers who haven't needed to borrow money in years.
He doesn’t envy their position."...
...""Our own belief is farmers like to farm, and they are not going to sacrifice yield by not fertilizing," said James "Joc" O'Rourke, CEO of Mosaic Co. on a recent call with industry analysts.
Agricultural economist Gary Schnitkey at the University of Illinois disagrees. In a market analysis report he wrote, “given the high fertilizer costs, reducing fertilizer applications should be a high priority at this point.”
Schnitkey’s analysis also predicts the higher fertilizer prices will lead to an increase in crop prices.
“Corn prices likely will adjust such that corn and soybeans have the same relative profitability,” he wrote.
If crop prices go up, that could mean higher food prices, especially for meat, as many of the affected commodities end up as livestock feed.
Farmers are going to have to make difficult decisions on how to cope with the increase.
Danny Young, vice president at FCS Financial in Sedalia, a rural bank that works with farmers, said he is extending lines of credit to farmers who haven't needed to borrow money in years.
He doesn’t envy their position."...
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