DENVER, CO – Farm supply cooperatives enjoyed a strong spring as rising grain prices gave U.S. crop producers the confidence to increase input spend. While too early to make predictions for the fall agronomy season, CoBank economists see both opportunities and challenges. Fertilizer supplies remain plentiful but prices are approaching decade-high levels, exposing re-sellers who buy fertilizer now to the risk that nutrient prices will correct by the fall.
A secondary risk that CoBank economists are closely monitoring is the availability of herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides which points to delayed shipments and/or shortages from Asia, even as global manufacturing recovers post-COVID. With more than 100 chemical products out of stock, according to one of the largest U.S. ag retailers, the key risk is that 2022 crop protection sales could be drop precipitously if the situation is not resolved.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)