News

Nebraska farmer says too much uncertainty keeps him up at night

A South-Central Nebraska farmer says he has a long list of concerns heading into 2023.

Michael Bergen tells Brownfield the cost and availability of inputs are his top worry. “It’s been something I didn’t have to really deal with in my first 15 years of farming and now we’re still seeing some supply issues and probably a little bit of that is the labor force coming from COVID-19.”

For example, he’s trying to apply NH3 fertilizer. “Because the supply is there right now. It looks like there could be some supply issues or some chatter about it for spring because of a little lower fall push.”

He says geo-political issues stemming from Russia’s invasion into Ukraine will create more uncertainty. “That’s also something that I didn’t consider on my farm 5 years ago, but with how much fertilizer that comes out of that region, that will be a big issue.”

And, Bergen says, while he isn’t close to the Mississippi River, lighter barge movement will create a ripple effect. “We still have supply issues.  They are different than the COVID-supply issues but they’re still present.”  

Add Comment

Your email address will not be published.


 

Stay Up to Date

Subscribe for our newsletter today and receive relevant news straight to your inbox!