High Fuel And Fertiliser Costs Are Forcing Many Farmers To Cut Back This Season
Despite some of the best opening soil moisture many growers have seen in years, SA grain producers are heading into seeding with one eye on the paddock and the other on the fuel bowser.
A new survey from Grain Producers SA shows soaring fuel and fertiliser prices are hitting hard, with 73 per cent of growers already cutting back fertiliser use this season just to try and make the numbers stack up.
The GPSA Seeding and Seasonal Outlook Survey gathered responses from 384 grain producers across the state and paints a pretty clear picture of the mood heading into this season. While farmers are getting on with the job, there’s a lot more weighing on them while they do it.
Good Start, Hard Decisions
GPSA Chief Executive Officer Brad Perry said growers were pushing ahead despite mounting pressure from rising costs and soft grain prices.
“This survey shows that South Australian grain producers are getting on with the job of seeding despite so many things happening around them that they have no ability to influence,” Mr Perry said.
Confidence for the season ahead averaged just five out of 10, despite many areas receiving solid early rain and good stored moisture.
Mr Perry said growers were being squeezed from every angle.
“Fuel, fertiliser, finance and freight costs have all increased sharply, while grain prices have softened considerably compared to previous years,” he said.
The survey found many farmers are changing plans on the fly, reducing fertiliser, cutting crop area, changing rotations or moving into lower-input crops to try and limit the financial hit.
Doing It For Love This Season
And while there’s genuine excitement around the seasonal conditions, there’s also a feeling a lot of farmers are running low on room to move after a rough few years.
One grower said, “Like most farmers in our area this is the last roll of the dice. If we don’t put a crop in it will be the end of our business. If we do and it goes wrong, that will be it.”
Others didn’t sugar-coat it either.
“Prices being what they are, we need an above average year to survive.”
“Who do we pass our costs onto because everyone is passing them onto us?”
And perhaps the quote that best captured the feeling heading into seeding came from one farmer who said –
“Spent a lot of time doing figures on expenditures versus income and unless things change considerably, then we will be doing it for love this season.”
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