Some Minnesota farmers skipping planting season amid rising fuel and fertilizer costs
By John Lauritsen
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Minnesota (WCCO) — Planting is underway and spring conditions have been good across much of Minnesota. But even so, some farmers are electing to sit out a year.
“It’s very dry for April 20. We have great field conditions, dry soil, the frost is out of the ground,” said Ryan Mackenthun.
For Mackenthun, getting off to a good start is key to getting good yields. On Monday, it was all about planting corn in McLeod County, despite challenges ranging from high fertilizer and fuel costs to trade wars and tariffs.
“As a farmer, I’m optimistic that eventually we’re going to have a market that will supports farming,” said Mackenthun.
Steve Zenk shares Mackenthun’s optimism, but with a volatile market, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture farm advocate is noticing a trend: more farmers are leasing out their property instead of farming it themselves.
“The neighbor will pay me $300 an acre and I can just take the year off. I mean yeah, it’s a very particular set of criteria for you to be able to do that,” said Zenk.
Zenk said it’s an option that makes sense for older farmers who have owned their land for decades and don’t believe they can make a profit this year.
Working with finances on a daily basis, Zenk said it boils down to sheer numbers. Right now, he foresees some farmers spending up to $900 to plant an acre of corn but getting a return of $800, a net loss.
While that’s not the case everywhere, Zenk knows many Minnesota farms are struggling to make a profit.
“I’m happy if I can get them to break even. There’s just not a lot of profitability in most farming operations right now,” said Zenk. “We will get better at this and we’ll get through this, and we have many times before, and then things will get better again.”
Zenk said he’s also seeing similar cases with cattle where high prices have some farmers choosing not to buy cattle and leaving their feed lots empty, for now.
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