Florida Strawberry Farmer: Input Costs to go up 30% Next Year

Web AdminFlorida Grower

By Clint Thompson A challenging year for Florida strawberry production is expected to worsen next season. Especially if the price of oil continues to spike amid the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine, growers are likely to experience extremely high input costs entering next year’s planting season. “Anything that has to do with transportation is going up. If transportation goes up …

Expenses: What to Plan and Be Aware of

Web AdminAgri-business, Georgia

By Clint Thompson The spring season is just around the corner for Georgia’s specialty crop producers. High fertilizer expenses, increased gas and diesel prices and unpredictable weather conditions are just a few of the challenges farmers face over the next several months. Chris Butts, executive vice president of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA), discussed the mindset of …

Farmer Testimonial: Georgia Producer Laments High Input Costs

Web AdminGeorgia, Top Posts

By Clint Thompson Ricky Powe’s fall vegetable production generated positive yields. Combine that with an advantageous market for farmers and it should have produced a content farmer. So why wasn’t this South Georgia farmer more pleased with his cropping situation? It is the exorbitant amount of spending he and other specialty crop farmers are paying for input costs. “That’s going …

AFVGA Executive Director: Address Input Needs as Early as Possible

Web AdminAlabama, Top Posts, Vegetables

By Clint Thompson Blake Thaxton, executive director of the Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (AFVGA), implores his farmers to be proactive instead of being reactive with adjusting to the current surge in input costs. “Our overall message is to make sure you’re addressing your input needs as early as possible to get ahead of any kind of delays that …

FFVA President: Input Costs are No. 1 Thing Farmers Talk About

Web AdminFlorida, Top Posts

By Clint Thompson Trade and labor used to top the concern list for Florida’s vegetable and specialty crop producers. Not anymore. It is input prices and input availability, says Mike Joyner, Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA) President. “As we talk to growers and we’re in the field a lot it is the No. 1 thing they talk about. Yes, …

GFVGA Executive Director: Can’t Depend on Input Costs Dropping

Web AdminGeorgia, Top Posts

By Clint Thompson Input costs are high right now for Georgia’s vegetable and specialty crop producers. Charles Hall, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA), says his farmers can’t bank on prices for freight, fertilizer, diesel and labor to decrease for the foreseeable future. “I don’t think you can depend on it going away. You’ve just …

Farmer Testimonial: Georgia Producer Sounds Off on Increased Input Costs

Web AdminGeorgia, Top Posts

By Clint Thompson Increased input costs are an ongoing battle for Southeast fruit and vegetable crop producers. But what can be done to counter the rapidly rising expenses that growers are paying for freight, containers, fertilizer and labor? One Georgia producer believes staying up to date on your regular expenses is a first step in possibly increasing commodity prices. During …

Georgia Economist: Most of Increased Input Costs are Temporary

Web AdminAlabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Top Posts

By Clint Thompson Input costs remain high for vegetable and specialty crop producers. But they are not permanent, stresses Jeff Dorfman, University of Georgia Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics and State Fiscal Economist for Georgia. “I think most of this is temporary. People need to understand, we basically took a worldwide supply chain for every industry …

Watermelon Prices Just Average Amid Rising Input Costs

Web AdminFlorida, Georgia, Top Posts, Watermelon

By Clint Thompson The watermelon prices that were good, maybe, 10 years ago are not so much in the current economic climate. Branford Florida watermelon producer Laura Land estimated that current prices are approximately 18 to 20 cents per pound for 45-count seedless; roughly $126 per bin. However, the same input expenses that cost Southeast vegetable producers all spring are …