High Fertilizer Costs Continue Says Study

(Jefferson City, MO) Missouri Department of Agriculture officials are warning farmers the cost of fertilizer will increase again, and dramatically, in 2022. The cost of fertilizer exploded in 2021, and farmers across the country are going to be hit even harder in 2022, according to a new study by Texas A&M University's Agricultural and Food Policy Center. Researchers with the center say as the nation struggles to recover from the COVID19 pandemic, a number of supply chain disruptions continue to wreak havoc on agricultural input markets, both in terms of availability and cost of inputs. Fertilizer costs will be as much as 80% higher than last year for this year's planting season according to the study. The study is based on data for 64 representative farms that A&M economists regularly use to evaluate the impact of policy and economic changes. The study found that the average feed grain operation would pay $128,000 more on fertilizer in 2022, an increase of $39.55 per acre.