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Farm input costs are much higherBy D. Bruce Bosley CSU Extension Agent, cropping systems Colorado Higher input costs are not good news for farmers, even though record prices were received last fall for corn, wheat and other crops. The projections for corn and wheat are good again for at least this year's harvests. Unlike crop and livestock market cycles, farm input costs tend to ratchet-up but don't normally drop back down once established. Nebraska Extension economists have noted that costs have increased in almost every input category--fuel, land, electricity, and chemicals, with fuel and fertilizer leading the way. The cost of diesel fuel has increased 55 percent since 2006. Diesel prices are averaging slightly over $3.50 a gallon in the High Plains region, this spring, compared with closer to $2 a gallon two years ago. Fertilizer prices have increased comparably. Nitrogen fertilizer prices are up a bit, over 60 to 70 percent since 2006. Phosphorous fertilizer has increased 180 to 200 percent. Fertilizer prices are driven by a number of factors. Half of the nitrogen fertilizer is imported and global demand is up. The weak dollar abroad is another factor. For phosphorous, which is also imported, the cost has increased due to world demand. Price increases for the various crop protection chemicals have varied widely, ranging from 5 percent to more than 200 percent. In addition, electrical costs have increased 12 percent in the past two years and land prices have increased 20 percent since 2006. This affects not only renters, who typically share the costs, but also landowners, since they could be investing the capital at a 5 percent rate of return or better. Balancing input costs against production sales is essential for profitability and ultimate farm sustainability. Colorado State Extension specialists have just released the 2007 Crop Enterprise Budgets for irrigated and dryland field crops for Northeast Colorado. The researchers created the Enterprise budgets through information provided by many area producers. Contact your local Extension office to receive a copy of these crop production budgets. Farmers typically modify these budgets to fit their farm records. Early painted lady butterfly flight A rather unusual flight of painted lady butterflies showed up in eastern Colorado in mid-April. A flight of painted ladies coming into our area is always good news. They are a beautiful butterfly. This winter was a good year for the painted ladies in their overwintering grounds in the Sonoran Desert. That area had plenty of rainfall, produced lots of vegetation for the larvae, and setting the stage for the big spring butterfly flight. What is unusual about the flight this year is that this part of it is so early. Usually, painted ladies find their way over the mountains sometime in May or even June. More may come later, but right now, there are a fair number, already. The caterpillar of painted lady butterflies is known as the thistle caterpillar. It has a fair host range but thistles and mallows are likely to be the primary hosts. Caterpillars will appear in a few weeks; they produce a bit of silk around their feeding area on leaves. Please contact me, Bruce Bosley, about this or other cropping systems or natural resource topics at 97-522-3200 extension 285 at Sterling or 970-542-3540 at Fort Morgan. 5/5/08 Date: 4/30/08
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