EasternIowaFarmer_Fall2022

THE COST OF FARMING
“I went a month without
knowing what it was going
to cost me, but knowing it
was needed. At least
I could tell farmers it
was here. I said, ‘I know
I can get you the product, I
just don’t know how much
your cost will be yet.’”
— TERESA COONS
world’s potash respectively.
The average price per ton went from
$221 at the end of January to $562 in
mid-April, a 154% increase.
“We haven’t heard that there’s going to
be a shortage yet,” Lammers said in late
August, “but they’re still not exporting
enough.”
It’s just one example of many of how
pandemic-related production slowdowns,
unrest in Eastern Europe and other market
factors are impacting the fertilizer and
crop protection products that White Front
sells. As they and other companies in
the industry pay higher prices for their
products, they must balance remaining
profitable with passing on increases to
their customers.
Natural gas shortages this year have
also impacted the production cost of both
pesticides and fertilizers. And China’s
reaction to sanctions by the United States
and other countries for human rights violations
has resulted in a slowdown of how
fast some of fertilizer’s key ingredients –
many of which are made in China – get to
crop protection manufacturers.
“We’re learning that for this go around,
it’s always something different that we’re
facing,” said Lammers, who handles
the fertilizer side of the business. Teresa
Coons, his sister, handles the crop protections
side.
One more widespread challenge this
year is not knowing what things are going
to cost until delivery or after, as price
swings for some products in both the
fertilizer and crop protection sectors can
be unpredictable, the siblings said.
Coons recounted how earlier this year
she received two loads of herbicide with
no price tag.
“I went a month without knowing what
it was going to cost me, but knowing it
was needed. At least I could tell farmers it
was here. I said, ‘I know I can get you the
product, I just don’t know how much your
cost will be yet,’” she said.
As it turns out, the price increased
about 30% from when she’d ordered it.
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48 EASTERN IOWA FARMER | FALL 2022 eifarmer.com