AUDIO: Thomas Perkins – Illinois farmer
A central Illinois farmer says he’s already considering the impact that high fertilizer prices are going to have on his operation in 2027.
Thomas Perkins, who raises corn, soybeans, wheat, hay, and cattle in Effingham County, says he’s not optimistic of any major input cost relief before decisions need to be made.
“Most of the co-ops will probably have something out in the next month or two, but until this Iran deal settles down, I don’t imagine they’re going to be very aggressive on marketing anything because they probably don’t know themselves, but I don’t see much change from last year.” He says, “Hopefully anhydrous and urea are down a little bit, but the DAP, that conversation I don’t think is going away.”
He tells Brownfield, “There might be some acres that just don’t get fertilizer next year.” He says, “I mean, it sounds bad, and there was probably some that didn’t get it this spring. But I think you need to look at what you’ve got banked up and go from there. You got to make the most economic sense on your farm.”
Perkins says he’s not planning to cut back on fertilizer applications at this point, but he is allowing himself flexibility on his acres next year to plant crops that show the most profit potential.
