News

CoBank report outlines headwinds for specialty crop sector in 2023

Drought, labor shortages and a strong US dollar will continue to influence specialty crop producers next year according to CoBank’s 2023 Year Ahead Report.

Ag economist Tanner Ehmke tells Brownfield this is the third year of intense drought for some key growing regions and water availability is tight.

“Right now, water prices are record high or trending toward record high and that is a concern for our growers, especially out west in regions like California.”

The report also highlights tightening farm labor and increasing labor wages as headwinds for specialty crop farms next year.

Ehmke says the good news is energy and transportation costs are coming down, and shipping backlogs at the Port of Los Angeles have eased, but there is still uncertainty for the export market.

“How healthy is the world consumer financially? Are they going to be able to buy our product with the US dollar so strong? We are concerned about the European economy and the Chinese economy which are both major export destinations especially for tree nuts.”

Ehmke says it has been a rough year for citrus growers especially in Florida where they had their smallest orange crop in about 80 years because of an early season freeze, two hurricanes and ongoing struggles with citrus greening. So, he will be watching how that sector rebounds in 2023.