South Dakota Senator, John Thune, says hefty farm input costs are driving ag profits into the ground.
He says despite this being a record year in terms of gross farm receipts, inflation-adjusted net farm income will be down one percent. This comes, even after seeing a 14 percent gain over last year, the highest-ever top-line revenue.
He says costs have risen across the entire food chain.
“You look at the cost of fertilizer since 2020, it’s gone up 84 percent. The cost of fuel and oil has gone up 35 percent since 2020. You look at these increases and what it costs to produce a crop this year, and you can see why all these, throughout the entire food chain, the impact that inflation is having, ultimately felt by the American consumer and the American family,” said Sen. Thune.
He adds food at the grocery store is 13.5 percent higher than a year ago, the highest rate of increase since 1979. A new report also shows Russia’s war in Ukraine is playing a major role in added costs. An estimated 16 percent of Ukraine’s crop storage facilities are either destroyed or damaged.
