TRI-STATE NEIGHBOR: Keep tabs on costs

Some farmers cut back on herbicide use, and used less than the full rate – not something agronomists usually recommend because it can create issues with resistance. Some farmers made cuts to their fertilizer program and into maintenance mode rather than adding more nutrients to try to boost fertility, according to Ellens. Now that prices have come down for fall, he’s seeing more farmers return to “building” mode.

Farmers, like everyone, enjoyed low interest rates in recent years. While farmers enjoyed a prime rate of 3.25% over the last decade, that’s jumped to 8.25%. It’s an expense that shouldn’t be ignored, ARM’s Gibson said.

“That’s just another input that’s gone up, something we haven’t had to worry about for a while,” he said.

It’s not the 20% interest of the 1980s, but he said it is a shock to the system.

South Dakota’s average cropland prices reached $4,030 per acre a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s 19% higher than the year before. New numbers will be released in early August.