A new planting season brings big decisions for First State farmers, complicated by impact of issues like the war in Iran.
Many factors already put pressure on the farming community before the US struck Iran earlier this year. The trade war in China harms Delaware’s soybean market, and the Trump administration's attitude towards immigration puts a strain on “guest workers”, a labor force First State farmers rely on.
The Iran war is pushing fuel costs to rise, but it also affects the cost of nitrogen based fertilizers, like urea.
University of Delaware Cooperative Extension Farm Business Management Specialist Nate Bruce says that can alter a farmer’s decision on what to plant.
“It’s already looking like there's going to be a big surge in soybean prices. Then you throw in an increase in nitrogen? It may look like it’s probably going to be that way for sure now. ” he told DPM.
Bruce says last minute changes are avoided by farmers if possible due to the opportunity cost of the practice. Farmers need time for things like fertilizer activation and herbicide spraying, however, that’s what they might have to do.
“Farmers might actually go till the last minute before they decide. They obviously have to buy their inputs from their supplier, but maybe a month or two prior to planting they need to make that decision, but I’ve
seen some farmers change on a dime too.” he said.
Bruce says nitrogen fertilizer is used for corn, not soybeans, which could make it cheaper to plant soybeans. Corn is also anticipated to go for a lower price, which could mean corn planters are paying more to sell for less, but he adds the Delmarva region's poultry industry could keep the crop profitable.
“We have a really good local market here compared to most other places in the country. The poultry industry, and their local demand for corn creates a kind of anomaly in the corn market where we have a local price here, higher than other places in the country” he said. “And farmers here, they benefit from that."
