Stay Informed

If there was ever any doubt that farming requires a special kind of person, 2022 eliminated that doubt.

Last year also confirmed once again that no matter what happens, farmers will persevere.

For 2022, supply chain issues caused by the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine war, low water levels on the Mississippi River, hurricane damage and the narrowly averted rail strike have impacted farmers in a very big way.

It’s been reported that the crop that was just harvested was the most expensive in decades. On my farm, it was the most expensive crop in 39 years of farming. There were almost universal increases in inputs, from seed to herbicides, but the major factors were fertilizer and fuel. In 2021, I paid $2.12 for diesel. In 2022, I paid more than double that for fuel and I paid triple for fertilizer. I know most of you could tell similar stories. Fortunately, we also saw unusually high prices, so most farmers were able to stay in the black.

It’s difficult to predict what will happen this year. There’s a lot on the horizon that we can’t control – not only the weather, input costs and crop prices, but also landmark Supreme Court rulings on livestock issues and WOTUS that could affect farmers everywhere.

But farmers have to be resilient. Being a farmer is in our DNA. If I know anything about Farm Bureau members, I know that we will deal with whatever comes our way. We will persevere.