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‘Astronomically expensive’: Illinois Valley farmers navigate rising input costs during planting season · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Astronomically expenses of Illinois Valley farmers navigate rising input costs
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  during planting season. Written by Bill Frescos, This article is
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  being read by an automated voice brought to you by Everlett.
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  After getting a slow start this spring, Illinois Valley farmers
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  say this year's growing season is beginning to catch up
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  as the summer months near. With that, rising fertilizer and
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  fuel costs are changing the way farmers are handling their
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  busy season. This year, in LaSalle County, corn planting is
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  mostly complete and soybean planting is closing in on the
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  finish line. Recent weather has helped crops emerge, said LaSalle
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  County Farm Bureau President David Isserman. It was kind of
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  variable this year. Isserman said. There were some places in
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  the county that were wet at times and we were
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  delayed a little bit. Isserman said conditions have improved significantly
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  over the past couple of weeks. We were struggling with
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  the cool weather. He said, things just weren't growing, and
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  now everything is just really popping. The latest county crop
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  report reflected similar conditions throughout the county. According to the
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  many farmers who contributed. David Hallis Arena reported that corn
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  planting is complete in his area, while soybean planting is
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  roughly ninety percent complete. Ken Becka Mendota said once it
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  warmed up, everybody got going, while Ken Bernard of Grand
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  Ridge said the first planted corn and beans were a
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  little slow coming up, but now they are looking pretty good.
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  In Bureau County, Travis Cook of Agview FS in Princeton
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  echoed Issermund's sentiment, noting that crops are beginning to catch
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  up after a slightly delayed planting season. Specifically, Cook said
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  corn is right on schedule, and earlier planted soybeans are
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  progressing well, though some later planted fields are beginning to
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  need rain. We're starting to get a little dry. Cook said,
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  we could definitely use some rain later this week, but overall,
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  it seems that we're on schedule. As planting season wraps up,
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  Cook said farmers are now shifting their focus towards spraying
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  and crop management heading into June. These next few weeks
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  are really important. Cook said, we're going to be very
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  busy despite solid crop conditions. Both Instuman and Cook both
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  pointed out that rising input costs continue to create financial
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  pressure for farmers. Inserman pointed to fertilizer, fuel, and equipment
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  prices as among the biggest concerns for producers across Northern Illinois.
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  Fertilizer prices are just ridiculous right now, Isserman said, Diesel
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  fuel prices are horrendous. It just makes your eyes water
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  whenever you have to order diesel fuel. He said low
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  commodity prices have only added to that pressure, noting recent
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  projections showed northern Illinois farmers could lose anywhere from thirty
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  dollars to forty dollars an acre on corn, while potentially
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  only breaking even on soybeans. Cook said AGDUFS has also
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  felt the impact of rising prices of fertilizer and fuel.
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  Nitrogen and fertilizer prices have been high and going higher,
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  cook said. Cook said many farmers were able to purchase
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  fertilizer earlier in the year before prices climbed further, but
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  those forced to buy products during the growing season are
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  facing much steeper costs. If someone didn't have anything bought
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  as far as fertility and nitrogen and stuff in season
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  here is astronomically expensive for Cook said. National data mirrors
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  these local concerns with fertilizer prices rising this year due
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  to global supply disruptions and higher energy costs tied to
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  natural gas. According to the World Bank, fertilizer costs have
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  risen by more than twelve percent in early twenty twenty six,
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  with projections showing potential increases up to over thirty percent
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  over the year. Isserman said the higher costs are forcing
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  some farmers to reconsider how aggressively they apply inputs throughout
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  the growing season. We're being very careful with what we
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  put on, Isserman said, We're making sure that what we
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  put on is absolutely needed. Cook said some growers are
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  reducing phosphate applications in fields where soil tests already show
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  high nutrient levels, while focusing their fertilizer only where it
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  is most needed. You can really only cut back on
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  so many things, Cook said, You still need all these
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  inputs to raise a good crop, so it's hard sometimes
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  to make the right economic and agronomical decision.