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Analysis shows crop inputs down $17/acre

An analysis of crop input prices for 2016 shows farmers are saving about 17 dollars per acre compared to last year.

Mike Preiner with farm management software and analytics firm Granular says their analysis included chemicals, fertilizer and seed.

“Both chemicals and fertilizers dropped fairly significantly between 2015 and 2016—a nine percent drop, on average, across all chemicals and an eight percent drop on fertilizer,” Preiner says. “Seed prices didn’t move nearly as much—only about a one percent drop in seed prices.”

Preiner notes that Granular compared the same products from year to year, so their analysis does not account for the effects of growers switching to more economical products or seed varieties.

While Preiner expects the downward trend in input prices to continue, he says it won’t happen overnight. He points to a recent University of Illinois FarmDoc study.

“What they found—unfortunately for farmers—is that it takes about five years on average for input prices to fully adjust to changes in crop prices.”

AUDIO: Mike Preiner