Farmers have had to deal with a lot already this year. From delayed planting because of too much moisture and now begging for rain with recent dry conditions for many to rising input costs and limited product availability. And it’s only July. Now, farmers are already asking, “What’s next year going to bring?”
That’s the main question from Marshall County farmer Charlie Houin. And he has plenty of others.
“Are we going to need to go out there and seek out chemistries now to get better pricing on chemistries? Do we need to be a pricing fertilizer right now for next year? What does that pricing dictate? How are we going to do manage the fertilizer issues and fertilizer shortages that are out there coming this fall?”
Houin’s not the only one asking questions about next year. Ryan Rippy farms in Fountain, Montgomery, and Tippecanoe counties.
“So, as far as getting products, we were able to get everything that we needed this year. But going into next year, I think that might be more of a concern as far as product availability. And then the costs. What it’s going to cost is going to be really concerning. Is it going to go higher from record highs? What are we going to be able to sell our crops for next year? All those things are very concerning at this point.”
Rippy says it’s difficult to plan because of the uncertainty surrounding outside influences like inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“We don’t know. As things progress with events all over the world, it creates uncertainty which then creates volatility in the market. It’s just hard to predict what the next thing is going to be. What’s the next shoe that’s going to drop?”
Speaking of volatility in the markets, new crop corn lost 29 cents on Tuesday, falling to $5.78 ¾. New crop soybeans fell to $13.16, down 79 ¼ cents.
