For just the third time in recorded history, farmers will be planting more soybeans than corn as they grapple with the rising cost of fertilizer — a cost that will almost certainly be passed on to consumers.
Russia previously accounted for 15% of U.S. fertilizer imports.
“We have heard that some farmers have balked at buying at the high prices and have not filled their needs, hoping prices will go down,” Nebraska farmer John Dittrich, who grows both corn and soybeans, told MarketWatch.
Prices for some types of fertilizer cost a record $1,520 per ton, an increase of 127% this year. Corn is up 4%, at nearly $7.67 per bushel. As a result, 4 million fewer acres of corn will be planted, while soybean crops will increase by the same amount, MarketWatch reported.
Soybeans put nitrogen back into the ground rather than extract it, so they only need a small amount of fertilizer when compared to corn. Previously, the average farmer used 255 pounds of fertilizer for corn, compared to 65 pounds for soybeans, Bloomberg reported.
But fertilizer is just one part of the equation when it comes to rising food prices. Farmers have also endured rising costs for livestock feed, fuel, machine parts, and herbicide.
To make matters worse the Midwest is experiencing drought-like conditions that yield poor crops.
“It feels like going down the hill in a truck and picking up speed but not being sure if you can make that corner at the bottom,” Iowa farmer John Gilbert said of the numerous calamities that growers are enduring.
