‘Absolutely not’ say farmers who are sticking with a crop plan
An employee of Pembroke crop farmer Darcy Smith drives Smith’s big Case tractor and plants corn at a field near Cobden. (Nelson Zandbergen photo)
Farmers Forum staff
OTTAWA — As the United States threatens to continue its war against Iran, there is no end in sight for a price break for fertilizer. Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz and 25 % of the world’s fertilizer must pass through this waterway and Iran won’t open the strait unless the United States stops bombing.
Meantime, farmers on both sides of the border say they don’t have enough fertilizer for this growing season. What’s a farmer to do? U.S. reports claim that some farmers made last minute decisions to switch from growing corn to soybeans to avoid eye-popping high fertilizer costs.
What did Ontario farmers do? Statistics Canada predicted in March that Ontario would still grow a record number of corn acres. Farmers Forum attended a OMAFA information breakfast in Arnprior in early May to talk with farmers and called others to find out if anyone switched crops.
“Absolutely not. Stick to the plan.
“We shifted our plan several years ago, and we took corn out of our rotation. We just found that there were too many crop insurance claims consistently on that crop on our farm.”
Charlene Whattam-Dick
Wheat and soybean producer
Douglas, Ont.
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“We didn’t change for a couple of reasons. One, we had pre-booked and paid for all our fertilizer before the war. And two, other than Mother Nature throwing a monkey wrench into things, our regular plan is to go by rotation.”
Joe Hickson
Cash cropper
Lindsay, Ont.
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“No. I plant four crops and stay with the rotation. Our fertilizer didn’t go up that much. I no-till everything. We started to reduce tillage 30 years ago, and in the last couple of years I no-till everything except alfalfa.”
David Wilson
Cash cropper
Antrim, Ont.
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“No, absolutely not. Our crop rotation is planned several years in advance. It’s dictated by what we need out of our acres, and it has to be a really significant shift for us to change, and there hasn’t been that…. Partially as a dairy operation, we need feed so that determines a lot of our acres and those (fuel and fertilizer cost) impacts I think maybe will dictate next year but not enough to change things this year.”
Ashley Knapton
Dairy farmer and crop consultant
Almonte, Ont.
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“Not at all. Mainly to keep crop rotation.
“I’m not going to put corn on corn on beans. I’m keeping the rotation to see the benefit in both the corn and beans, and then having the field open to be able to do other work, whether it be tiling or tillage. We may cut back (on fertilizer) … probably put on a little less because there will still be a crop response.”
Mike Sullivan
Cash cropper
Kinburn, Ont.
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“We’re holding the line, and we’ve done the pretty even (crop) split that we normally do here. For us, if we change too drastically, it throws our rotations out of whack, and eventually you’ll pay for that. We make better use of our manure now. Manure is not a waste product, it’s a valuable resource. We really pay attention to that stuff now, and do split applications on fertilizer just to maximize our usage.
“Regardless of the price of fertilizer, I think corn’s got the greatest potential to … make some money, if we get good yields.”
Bruce Hudson
Cash crop and vegetable farmer
Kinburn, Ont.
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“No, I haven’t scaled back yet (since the war started). I did change, but … I changed back in the fall. I’m growing slightly more acres of beans than corn, maybe a 100-acre swing. Part of the discrepancy is rotation, and part of it is just switching from corn to beans just to have a slightly lower input bill for this year.
“I’m going to be planting a little over 500 acres of corn, and I’m going to be planting almost 800 acres of beans.”
Mark Burnham
Cash cropper
Cobourg, Ont.
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“I’ve pulled 50 acres out of corn (about 15 % down from originally planned 600-plus acres). I just altered plans (because) it’s too expensive. Fertilizer is very expensive. Corn is the most expensive crop to grow, by far.”
Darcy Smith
Cash cropper
Pembroke, Ont.
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“No. I made (my plans) last fall and I’m following through with them. Despite the costs and everything, I build it in…. And I don’t plan to change my planting intentions unless the weather changes.”
Dick Straathof
Dairy farmer and cash cropper
Arnprior, Ont.
