Farmers attending Iowa Ag Expo look to find input sweet spot


By Filed Under: Crops, Iowa, News

Farmers attending the third largest indoor farm show in the country are looking for ways to mitigate high input costs without sacrificing yield.

Stine Seed regional sales agronomist Dustin Ellis says growers will be challenged by the prohibitive cost of fertilizer and other ag inputs this year.

“A lot of guys are talking about variable rate fertilizer, and they’re also talking about variable rate seed as well. And with today’s technology, you can do that kind of stuff. So that’s one big thing.”

He cautions farmers not to cut too deep.

“Don’t skimp on what you’re buying for your inputs, especially your seed. Seed is one of your most important inputs in my opinion, that you can move forward with. Plant with the populations you need to be planting, be applying the nitrogen (and) fungicide. Everything to make that seed do the best it can possibly do.”

Brownfield interviewed Ellis Tuesday at the Iowa Ag Expo in Des Moines.