Fuel, fertilizer prices expected to keep climbing

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2006/05/03/business/112803.txt

Central Illinois farmers planting their corn and soybean crops are paying fuel prices 113 percent higher than four years ago, according to a University of Missouri energy economist.

Fertilizer prices - largely based on energy costs due to the petroleum products comprising fertilizer - have increased 70 percent during the same period.

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Farmers' concerns about soaring energy costs were reflected in planting intentions this year. Illinois farmers said they would plant 11.4 million acres of corn, 6 percent less than last year. They said they'll plant 10.1 million acres of soybeans, an increase of 600,000 acres from last year.

Missouri cohorts followed suit. Farmers there plan to reduce corn acreage by 11 percent and increase soybean acreage by the same amount. That's because it costs an estimated $124 per acre in fuel and fertilizer costs to produce high yielding corn. That compares to $38 per acre for soybeans.

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An explosive combination.

who only venture out across the country on an interstate highway. they have`t a clue to what is going to happen if the cost of production goes up to where it is no longer worth farming.

I ordered my fertilizer for the farm when the price was down and did not spend any more than last year. Still, very expensive.

Next year I will have to drive 40 miles and haul tons of the stuff and hook it all up then return the spreader. It may cost me as much transporting as it would to have someone else do it.