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Glyphosate shortages have farmers, retailers rethinking chemical plans

Potential glyphosate shortages have a farmer and an ag retailer uncertain about its supply and delivery

Northeast Nebraska farmer Lucas Miller tells Brownfield his concerns started in the fall when “Our supplier told us we’d be looking around somewhere between 70 to 85 percent of what we had gotten last year that we would be allotted for this year.”

He says other chemicals are available but they’re more expensive. “We will have to pivot to some of those things and change our practices just a little bit to pull some of that glyphosate out and use some other things just to stretch whatever we do get that is available.”

Jeff Bunting with Growmark says issues at Bayer’s production plant in Louisiana may create distribution issues for his company. “It’s still a moving a target.  It’s going to delay some shipments.  I just don’t know how it can’t.”

But, he tells Brownfield, there is good news. “You’re going to get it, we just don’t know when.”

Last week Bayer sent a letter to stakeholders saying that the supplier of a raw ingredient to produce glyphosate suffered a mechanical failure. Bayer recently told Brownfield the supplier will restore production within three months and impacts to glyphosate production would be marginal.