Colorado
War in Ukraine impacting fertilizer prices in Colorado
The plant food one farmer in Yuma got last period has actually greater than increased in rate.
YUMA, Colo. — Colorado farmers as well as breeders pay attention to the battle in Ukraine due to the fact that the dispute contributes to the price of operating.
Russia was a significant manufacturer as well as merchant of plant food up until its intrusion of Ukraine interrupted manufacturing. The resulting assents as well as supply chain concerns have actually increased the price of plant food also for farmers in Colorado.
“This plant food right below has actually increased,” stated Nathan Weathers, standing close to a number of big storage tanks of fluid plant food on his ranch in Yuma.
“Simply this plant food right below alone would certainly cost us concerning $15,000 to $20,000 even more cash today than it did when we got it,” he stated.
The climbing price of plant food is simply the current curveball farmers like Weathers have actually pertained to anticipate.
“We’ve got Mother Nature, we’ve got prices, we’ve got input costs, we have actually obtained all these different things that we’ve obtained to balance,” Weathers said.
Resilience runs deep on any family farm. Weathers’ grandfather irrigated land off Highway 34 about 45 years ago. Now, Weathers, his father and wife grow corn and popcorn on the property in northeast Colorado.
“When you have a way of life that you’ve grown up with and you appreciate it as much as we do, you try to do everything to sustain it,” he said.
Weathers makes his living reacting to things he can’t control — like the price of fertilizer.
“It’s opened my eyes,” he said. “I did not realize the sheer amount of fertilizer that we imported into this country.”
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, Russia is a major exporter of the three nutrients that compose fertilizer: nitrogen, phosphate and potassium. Russia leads the world in nitrogen exports and ranks third in phosphate and potassium exports.
In a recent report, the Colorado Farm Bureau said they expected fertilizer rates to continue rising because of disrupted production, supply chain pressures and trade sanctions.
Weathers stated he was fortunate to have purchased a season’s worth of fertilizer before the war at a lower price.
“We’re all looking to next year because we don’t know how much longer that conflict is going to last,” he said.
Weathers said some farmers have accepted this growing season won’t be their best.
“I’ve had conversations with several farmers that they’re like, ‘you know what? We’re just not going to go after that top yield,’” Weathers said. “‘We’re going to cap it. Here’s our budget. This is how many dollars we’re going to spend on fertilizer, as well as that’s it.’”
Whatever happens in Ukraine, a farmer in Yuma will figure out how to move forward.
“Farmers and ranchers are probably the best at making do with what they have,” Weathers said.
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