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Boozman: rising fertilizer costs highlight need for ad-hoc farmer aid

U.S. Senate Ag Committee Chairman John Boozman says he’s not surprised the American Farm Bureau’s new farmer survey shows 70 percent of farmers won’t be able to afford all required fertilizers this year.

“Almost every crop that’s grown right now is really in a very difficult situation losing money.”

Boozman tells Brownfield ag inputs have surged even more following the Middle East Conflict.

“Fertilizer was already high and now, it’s outrageously high, along with diesel going up. The list goes on and on, and with these very low commodity prices it just exacerbates the situation.”

Boozman says that adds urgency to efforts he’s working on in the U.S. Senate to provide more ad-hoc farmer assistance. He says while it won’t make farmers whole, it should help farmers get through the current growing season.

He says he’s optimistic more farmer aid would be included in a supplemental spending bill tied to things like military funding and disaster relief.