USDA: Farm Production Expenses Up This Spring
May 2, 2013 The April price index for U.S. farm production inputs, at 234, increased 2.6% from a year ago. The USDA reports that indexes for feed, seed, farm machinery and agricultural chemicals increased across all subcategories, with feed concentrates and supplements showing the largest price increase. Indexes for fertilizers and fuel decreased across all subcategories, with gasoline prices showing the largest drop.
The U.S. prices paid index for feed increased 8.9% from April 2012. Concentrates increased 19.8% and supplements rose 16.8%. Complete feeds, hay & forages and feed grains were up 7.6%, 5.7% and 5.5%, respectively. The national seed price index rose 4.7% from April of last year. Field crop seed prices were 4.7% higher, while grass and legume seed prices rose 3.4%. The U.S. prices paid index for machinery rose 2.7% from April 2012. The price index for tractors rose 3.3%, self-propelled machinery climbed 3.0%, and other machinery prices increased 1.9%
U.S. chemical prices increased 4.6% from April 2012. Insecticides were up 8.2%, fungicides rose 6.7%, and herbicides rose 2.9%.
Compared to April 2012, the U.S. prices paid index for fertilizer was down 2.7%. Nitrogen decreased 2.8%, mixed fertilizer fell 2.6%, and potash and phosphate was down 2.4%.
The U.S. prices paid index for fuels saw a 6.5% decrease from April 2012. Gasoline dropped 8.6%, diesel fell 6.8%, while LP gas decreased 2.1% from the previous year.
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