2022 Spring Farm Outlook

Page 6 Spring 2022 Logan County Farm Outlook LINCOLN DAILY NEWS March / April 2022 Spring 2022 Logan County Farm Outlook LINCOLN DAILY NEWS March / April 2022 Page 7 Supply chain issues continue Continue 8 A s 2022 began, there were continued supply chain issues that have been going on the last couple of years. These issues have resulted in higher prices for many products and service as well as a scarcity of necessary products. Floyd Heller, General Manager for Ag- Land FS in Hartsburg, and Pekin, says the agricultural world is dealing with many of the supply-chain issues that the rest of the world is dealing with. With the agricultural market being affected by these challenges, product and equipment suppliers have had to find ways to manage these problems. Supply chain problems have resulted in various impacts. For example, an iron shortage has negatively impacted product availability. In addition, some dealers have had problems getting steel and computer chips for larger equipment. The shortages have affected the services that dealerships provide as parts needed for repairs are not always available. These problems have resulted in lengthy delays on getting supplies. Research shows people purchasing large equipment have sometimes had to wait a year for equipment to be delivered. The delays on new equipment have resulted in a higher demand for used equipment, which in turn has increased the price of used equipment. With these issues, the January Ag Economy Barometer survey reported “machinery purchase plans are down for farmers, with 45 percent of respondents saying that tight farm machinery inventories impacted their machinery purchase plans.” Additionally, producers say they are having difficulty purchasing fertilizer, insecticides, and herbicides due to supply chain issues. The skyrocketing prices of the anhydrous ammonia based nitrogen fertilizers is another part of the problem. At the end of 2021, The USDA Economic Research Service said they were estimating “an annual price increase of 235 percent for anhydrous ammonia, 149 percent for urea, and 192 percent for liquid nitrogen (32% N) using data provided by