Iowa farmer concerned about planting and nervous about next year’s costs

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Iowa farmer concerned about planting and nervous about next year’s costs

A central Iowa farmer concerned about planting this year’s crop says he’s increasingly nervous about next year.

Corey Hillebo grows corn and soybeans near Polk City and tells Brownfield he’s not sure commodity prices can sustain current levels.

“That’s the unknown, right? The unknown is concerning, we know fertilizer prices are high but we don’t know what the markets are going to do. You hope that they stay high, or they almost have to if you’re going to pay what these inputs are demanding. So it’s weighing on the mind (and) is probably more concerning than the ’22 crop, as long as we get the ’22 crop in.”

To that end, he says there have been less than three days suitable for fieldwork the entire spring.

“We got a lot of rain late last week, and some fields with a lot more rain than others. And there’s more rain in the forecast. I fee like we’re going to kind of be dodging some wet spots here and there if we can get going, so I’ll have to be pretty flexible.”

Hillebo says yield potential could be compromised if his corn isn’t planted by the third week of May.

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