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Supply chain problems impacting inputs, parts

A market analyst says everyone including farmers is having difficulty getting needed products. Mike North with ever.ag says, “The supply chain right now is being stressed at a level that we’ve never experienced in our lifetimes.”

North tells Brownfield the difficulty with getting some crop inputs is forcing some farmers to change crop rotations. “Not because I don’t want to, not because the ground is not ready for it, but I just simply can’t get my hands on the right things to grow a crop so I’m going to shift to something else. that is something that I have heard.

North says certain fertilizers made from natural gas are in short supply. “Because of the ruptured pipelines in the south following the big freeze on Valentine’s Day, ultimately, there are a lot of products that are made from that natural gas that just couldn’t be made. The plants were shut down.”

And, North says the crop inputs are not the only product lines facing shortages. “Talk to anybody that’s trying to get their hands on parts, supplies, materials. Everyone’s experiencing it right now. Agriculture is not alone in that. It canvasses the entire U.S. economy.”

North says some producers obtained crop inputs they needed early, while others contracted for future delivery but were left out when retailers couldn’t get enough product to fill orders.  He tells Brownfield he also has farmer clients waiting a long time for machinery parts.