TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN9) — Farmers have to worry about budgets like any other business owner.
“This year I've already exceeded last year’s budget for fertilizer,” shared Farmer and Marana Town Councilman Jon Post.
Post says his costs have gone up across the board. So, even though he is selling wheat, cotton and corn at higher prices, the budget is not balancing out like it should.
“The fertilizer price took every hope of a profit out of there and added cost to it,” he said about his wheat crop.
The rising price of corn will lead to higher prices for the many items made with corn byproducts, but Post claims that is not even the worst part.
"It is also animal feed right? Cows, chickens, pigs, all that stuff," he clarified. "So, you are talking about a product that the supply of, or the lack thereof, has huge impacts on our country.”
The war in Ukraine also reportedly added to the strain on the global market for corn and other grains.
“It is kind of economics 101. If the supply tightens, the price goes up,” explained Arizona Farm Bureau Outreach Director Julie Murphree.
Murphree agrees more expensive corn will lead to more expensive meat products.
“Where this impacts you and I as consumers, is we are going see a continued increase in meat prices,” she said.
Post paints an even more ominous picture. He says farmers and ranchers will need to scale back operations to offset costs.
“I think we are facing severe shortages for food in the next year for sure,” he added.
Supply chain issues made it harder to get products onto shelves early on in the pandemic. Post says the next round of shortages will come from not enough food being produced.
