Price Inputs Fluctuate For Farmers

Agricultural economists said price inputs have fluctuated over the last couple of years for Eastern Idaho farmers.

Year after year, farmers face the same challenges when it comes time to prepare crops. Weather and market prices are two things out of their control. Agricultural economists said over the last two to three years, the price of fertilizers, chemicals and fuel have been on a roller coaster.

“From a year ago, [fuel] prices are up about 18 percent so farmers who had to fuel their tanks this year saw roughly an 18 or 19 percent increase,” said Paul Patterson, an agricultural economist from the University of Idaho.

Paul Patterson said it’s important that the demand for the commodities Idaho farmers provide remains steady.

“That’s what the uncertainty is that farmers are always dealing with. They can’t control what the demand is going to be, they can only control what the supply is on their own farm,” said Patterson.

According to statistics from last year, the state’s number one crop is the potato, followed by wheat, hay and sugar beets. Buyers said wheat is sometimes seen as a more profitable crop for farmers.

Revenue from crops and livestock in 2011 was $7.4 billion. The state’s top agricultural sector is dairy. In 2011, dairy revenue was just over $2 billion.