Scientist says ag costs continuing to rise

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Sept. 15 (UPI) -- A U.S. agricultural economist is forecasting a continuation of rising costs for such farm commodities as fertilizer, seed genetics, energy and land costs.

"The cost of growing corn, soybeans and wheat increased dramatically for the 2008 crop and substantial increases are expected again for the 2009 growing season," said Bruce Erickson, director of Purdue University Extension Cropping Systems Management. "Our preliminary budgets, based on an assessment of the seed, chemical and fertilizer industries, show variable costs for rotational corn increasing by 29 percent, compared to 40 percent for soybeans and 39 percent for wheat."

For the 2009 crop, potash prices could exceed $900 per ton, anhydrous ammonia more than $1,000 per ton and diammonium phosphate around $1,100 or more per ton, Erickson said. Preliminarily, those numbers translate to fertilizer costs of $200 per acre for corn and more than $100 per acre for soybeans.

"We're seeing fertilizer prices skyrocket, primarily because worldwide market prices for crops are high, which increases the demand for fertilizers," he said. "The higher market prices are not only causing an influx of demand for fertilizers, but adding value to seed genetics and precision ag technology in the form of increased yields."