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Iowa crop and livestock farmer dealing with thin margins

A crop and livestock producer in southwest Iowa says margins are tight.

Duane Aistrope raises cattle and grows corn and soybeans in Fremont County.

“We background feed our cattle, we just run a cow/calf operation, and the feed prices are a little pricey right now. But the cattle market is kind of hanging in there where we can still make a profit.”

He tells Brownfield feed costs are only going higher as winter approaches.

“I was doing some bookwork and looking at the last feed bill for some creep feed. We just weaned our calves and they’re starting to eat a lot of feed and I saw that bill and (said) ‘holy cow they’re really putting away the feed right now.”

Aistrope is also concerned about crop inputs for next year as prices for all major fertilizers continue to climb.