“Cost. Just the cost of operating is exponential. Parts, machinery, fuel. Government costs enforcing green energy, carbon tax. Just costs in general. Everything just costs more and more and more.
Scott Kinloch
Crop grower,
Martintown, Ont.
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Gary Gordon
“The biggest challenge is going to be getting inputs, getting parts for repairs. Because right now there’s a little bit of a dilemma with fertilizers, and they claim they’re going to be hard to get and a lot more expensive. So that’s going to be a challenge right there. When it comes to repairs, there’s a lot of people having issues getting parts for combines. You need that piece of equipment today, and you can’t get the part … It used to be we could phone John Deere, and it was overnight delivery, and we would have it the next morning at 8 o’clock. Now you’re a week to 10 days to get some of that stuff .
“Our input costs are going way, way up.”
Gary Gordon
Dairy farmer
Kingston, Ont.
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“I’d say managing our input costs. There’s so much variability, especially with feed, there’s so much that goes into feed, with fertilizer costs going up, and then buying in feed from the local feedmills. There’s so many diff erent components to it, from around the world, and that can all be disrupted through various supply-chain issues. Then there’s other things, like just getting parts … it’s all related to the supply chain and the uncertainty there.”
Thomas Kuipers
Dairy farmer
Martintown, Ont.
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“Figuring out how I’m going to get my son on the farm … this one’s close to my heart. I’m 68 and he just wants it so bad. So, as a matter of fact … I’m signing over my shares to him and four kids, just to give him incentive. Because I love when he’s on the farm, he’s just such a great help.” Lloyd Crowe Crop farmer, Picton, Ont.
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“Crop prices and input costs. I guess the input costs are going to be a real struggle this year and it’s going to take a lot away from the bottom line. And also COVID doesn’t help still.”
Brian Berry
Dairy and crop farmer
Seeley’s Bay, Ont.
