The year is over and many may be looking forward to 2022. I wonder if many farmers are happy to see 2021 in the rearview mirror or are they dreading the New Year. Despite some stories claiming that inflation is not much of a concern, I think many of us have seen some items with considerable price increases.
Farmers can buy many of the fertilizers, seeds and crop protection products ahead of time for some very good discounts. Those discounts may not help much this year if some current trend continues. The most common weedkillers are alleged to cost twice what they did last year due to shortages in manufacturing.
Would you pay 4 times more for your favorite coffee, beer or pizza? Probably not, you can always change your purchase to another option that is not as expensive. I paid $202/ton for nitrogen fertilizer one year ago. Today my supplier cannot give me a firm price; they are having trouble securing the product. The best I can do is an estimate of $750-$900 per ton. I can now skip a winter doctor’s visit for a stress test; I survived the fertilizer price shock so I will declare my heart in good order and apply my savings to my fertilizer bill next spring.
Let me put this in some hard numbers. A farmer with 1,000 acres of corn would have spent about $67,000 last year to apply nitrogen fertilizer to his cornfields. Using the $900 per ton cost this year they would be spending a tad bit over $300,000 for the same acreage. And you thought the increased price of gasoline was killing you! I am not sure what most farmers will do. There really are not many other options for a nitrogen source for cornfields.
Well, I doubt many want to hear the problems of today’s farmers in a covid world. It is time to make fun of this possible nitrogen shortage. The only solution that is truly readily available is human urine. I recommend everyone start catching and bottling his or her kidney’s discharge.
Last week when I wrote about my constant bathroom problem I was curious and went to the internet to ask Mr. Google what the nitrogen content and fertilizer value of urine was. There are many articles about using urine as fertilizer in home gardens. It is used in organic gardening. How many people would actually use their waste as fertilizer? I cannot even ascertain if that is a serious or rhetorical question.
On Christmas Eve I took a trip to Cracker Barrel and Farm and Fleet in Kankakee. I made the entire trip without one bathroom break. I made it 4 hours, even after 2 cups of coffee and large water with breakfast. The success of my prostate surgery means I can now come home and fertilize my own fields in lieu of using a restroom away from the farm.
At the farm store I bought baler twine for only $39.99 a bundle. The same twine was over $50 about 5 years ago. At least one item has become cheaper in the world of covid. I will apply my savings on the twine purchase to buying nitrogen fertilizer; there is no way I have enough urine for all my cornfields.
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