Are you overpaying for your farm chemicals?

LARCHWOOD, IA (KELO) – Our weather this week has had many of us dreaming of Spring. For farmers, that means planting season will be here before we know it. When it comes to buying products for the crops, though, the Farmer’s Business Network (FBN) has some tips for saving money.

Every year, the Farmer’s Business Network puts out a price transparency report that analyzes how much farmers are paying, or overpaying, for the same products.

“In this farm economy, that can be an important thing for a farmer to be aware of so that they can make the best decision for them,” Tim Bjordal, an account executive at FBN, said. “Getting the right products at the best price.”

Bjordal says the good news is the ag chem market is becoming more competitive, so prices are down, but inconsistency remains.

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“An example right here in Iowa where two farmers purchased the same exact product. Their locations were 18 miles apart. For the same exact product, one farmer paid twice as much as the other farmer,” Bjordal said. “And because the prices aren’t transparent, they had no way of knowing that. So, we bring that transparency.”

What’s unique about this year, though, is the discussion of tariffs.

“60 to 80 percent of the inputs that we use to create the chemicals that farmers use on their farm — the pesticides that they spray, the crop nutrition products — are sourced outside the United States. Some of them, 100 percent of the product comes from overseas,” Bjordal said. “If those products are subjected to tariff, prices will automatically rise.”

So, Bjordal’s advice for farmers is to shop around.

“It’s no different than when you’re driving down a busy street in a large city near you and the gas tank says it’s on ‘E.’ You look for the lowest price because it’s gasoline, you just need gasoline,” Bjordal said. “Same thing here, understand what the active ingredients are in the products you’re accustomed to using and search for those products online.”

And start sooner rather than later.

“So the prices that we’re enjoying now are still available but as we go out to try to procure replacements for these products, we anticipate having to raise the price because we know that tariffs may impact the price of the inputs as they’re brought into this country for manufacture,” Bjordal said.