Most Albertans have been affected by rising fuel costs at the pump and a larger-than-life grocery bill, but those who rely on the availability and delivery of diesel fuel and fertilizer for their industry, such as farmers and ranchers, have faced a much larger albatross.
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, growers in the United States have expressed concerns about the availability and delivery of diesel fuel when needed most.
“Growers have been facing these price increases throughout the spring as they work to plant during one of the most important crop years in recent history,” said Shelby Myers, an economist with the Farm Bureau, in a blog post.
Myers added farmers and ranchers in the U.S. have faced delayed planting in many areas, which is compounded by the fact the window to plant crops this year was smaller than usual.
“Fuel delivery needed to be timely, but it also was very expensive,” she said, adding the rising price of fuel and other inputs weighs heavily on those in the agricultural sector.
At the local level, Rocky View County Agricultural Service Board members Tricia Fehr and Leisa Gallelli said rising input costs have burdened farmers and ranchers this year.
“The input costs such as seed, fertilizer and herbicide have also increased in the past year,” Fehr said. “Machinery costs and fuel costs are also significantly higher.”
As a result, many agriculture workers are expecting a loss or are hoping to break even, even though growing conditions have been fairly positive this year.
“Even though crop prices are relatively strong, the cost of major inputs has doubled, even tripled,” Gallelli said. “Consequently, the bottom line or profit will remain the same or lower in some cases.”
Many farm vehicles and machines, including tractors, are powered by diesel, which oftntimes this year rose above gasoline as the most expensive fuel.
Additionally, the price of fertilizer doubled over the spring and summer months.
Alberta farmer, Devin Hartzler, whose family has farmed peas, wheat, canola, and barley just west of Carstairs for decades, said increased prices have impacted production this growing season in myriad ways.
Mainly, he noted the cost of fertilizer has increased dramatically in 2022 compared to last year.
“For example, I bought some fertilizer this past week that was more than double what I paid two years ago,” he said. “And I got it at a good time, because since I bought it last week, it’s gone up another $50 or $60 a ton.”
Another factor impacting the cost of farming that ties in with inflation is Russia’s war with Ukraine, which Hartzler said has affected worldwide grain prices, as well as the cost of fertilizer.
“It has made an impact, but it’s hard to quantify exactly how much of the increase in grain prices is directly affected by that,” he said of the ongoing military conflict. “It definitely has been [a factor], but there are multiple things in the world that affect our grain prices, including drought in areas of the U.S. or however crops come off in South America.
“I would say on the fertilizer side, there is stuff that hasn’t made it out of Russia or Belarus that correlates to the war in Ukraine.”
—With files from Scott Strasser/Rocky View Weekly
