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High input costs continues as the season approaches

Farmers and ranchers are feeling the impact of high input costs as the planting season approaches.  

Andrew Walmsley, the senior director of congressional relations with American Farm Bureau, tells Brownfield “while we are seeing higher commodity prices which are helping our farmers and ranchers weather these high production expenses, it’s still really eating into profitability. I mean, we’ve gone through not only what would be considered a black swan event, but probably a flock of black swan events.”

And, he says production expenses don’t show signs of slowing anytime soon.

“Total production expenses, according to USDA, is estimated to increase about 5 percent this year,” he says. “That’s after a nine percent increase from 2020 to 2021.”

Walmsley says Farm Bureau members should continue to reach out to lawmakers about potential solutions.