Farmers concerned over rising costs

SMITH COUNTY – Impacts from the conflict with Iran are reaching East Texas farmers as the prices of fuel and fertilizer are on the rise. According to our news partner KETK, with Iran’s disruption of global shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz, costs for key agricultural supplies, diesel fuel used to power delivery trucks, and fertilizer components are becoming hot commodities.

“Delivery is causing everything to go up because everything that comes by rail or trucking,” Smith County Farm Bureau Board Member Malcom Williams said. “Most fertilizers are a petroleum product, so you get that impact immediately.”

Petroleum is found in fuel, some fertilizer and several everyday products. A price jump in the supply chain could hurt customers.

“The answer is going to be to pass the cost along, and it’s not a good thing for anybody, but it’s a necessary evil,” Williams said.
Another compound used in fertilizer is nitrate. The owner of Rozell Sprayer Manufacturing in Smith County said they lucked out from raising prices for now by securing nitrate at a locked-in price for the coming hay season.

“Fortunately, we’ve got some product booked, so we’re not having to go up like people who don’t have product booked, but the freight getting it to us or getting it to the farmer has affected the farmer, unfortunately,” Owner Darren Rozell said.

Those without the products they need may have to find other solutions.

“If you wanted to go book some nitrate right now, you couldn’t get any nitrate delivered until June,” Rozell said.
It’s unclear how long these conditions could last, but the Smith County Farm Bureau encourages farmers to hold tight and hope for a fast resolution.