Karl Dirks, who planted 1,000 acres of land in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, has been hearing about the soaring prices of glyphosate and glufosinate, but he has no panic about this. He said: “I think the price will repair itself. High prices tend to go higher and higher. I am not too worried. I belong to the group of people who are not worried yet, but a little cautious. We will figure out a way.”
However, Chip Bowling, which has planted 275 acres of corn and 1,250 acres of soybeans in Newberg, Maryland, is not so optimistic. He recently tried to order glyphosate from R&D Cross, a local seed and input distributor, but the distributor was unable to give a specific price or delivery date. According to Bowling, on the east coast, they have had a bumper harvest (for several years in a row). But every few years, there will be years with very mediocre output. If next summer is hot and dry, it may be a devastating blow to some farmers.
The prices of glyphosate and glufosinate (Liberty) have exceeded historical highs due to continued weak supply and no improvement is expected before next spring.
According to Dwight Lingenfelter, a weed expert at Penn State University, there are multiple factors for this, including the lingering supply chain problems caused by the new crown pneumonia pandemic, the inability to mine enough phosphate rock to make glyphosate, Container and storage issues, as well as the closure and reopening of a large Bayer CropScience plant in Louisiana due to Hurricane Ida.
Lingenfelter believes: “This is caused by the superposition of various factors at present.” He said that the general-purpose glyphosate at $12.50 per gallon in 2020 is now asking $35 to $40. Glufosinate-ammonium, which was available for US$33 to US$34 per gallon at the time, is now asking for as much as US$80. If you are lucky enough to order some herbicides, be prepared to wait.
“Some people think that if the order can actually arrive, it may not arrive until June next year or later in the summer. From the point of view of weed killing, this is a problem. I think this is where we are now. Circumstances, it is necessary to comprehensively consider what can be done to save products,” Lingenfelter said. The shortage of “two-grass” may lead to the collateral effect of 2,4-D or clethodim shortage. Clethodim is a reliable choice for grass control.
The supply of glyphosate products is full of uncertainty
Ed Snyder of Snyder’s Crop Service in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, said he doesn’t believe his company will have glyphosate in the next spring.
Snyder said that this is how he told his customers. They could not give an estimated date. Can’t promise how many products you can get. He also said that without glyphosate, his customers might switch to other conventional herbicides, such as Gramoxone (paraquat). The good news is that brand-name premixes containing glyphosate, such as Halex GT for post-emergence, are still widely available.
Shawn Miller of Melvin Weaver and Sons said that the price of herbicides has gone up a lot. He has been discussing with customers the highest price they are willing to pay for the product and how to maximize the value of herbicide per gallon once they get the goods. value.
Miller will not even accept orders for 2022, because all products are priced at the point of shipment, which is very different from the situation where it could be priced in advance in the past. However, he still believes that once spring comes, products will appear, and he prays that it will be like this. He said: “We can’t set a price because we don’t know where the price point is. Everyone is anxious about it.”
Experts use herbicide sparingly
For those growers who are lucky enough to get products before early spring, Lingenfelter suggests that they should consider how to save products or try other ways to spend the early spring. He said that instead of using the 32-ounce Roundup Powermax, it is better to reduce it to 22 ounces. In addition, if the supply is limited, the timing of spraying must be grasped-whether it is for killing or spraying on crops.
Forgoing the 30-inch soybean varieties and switching to 15-inch varieties can make the canopy thicker and compete with weeds. Of course, land preparation is sometimes an option, but before that, its shortcomings need to be considered: increased fuel costs, soil loss, and destruction of long-term no-tillage.
Lingenfelter said that investigation is also crucial, just like controlling expectations of a field that is basically pristine.
“In the next year or two, we may see more weedy fields,” he said. “For some weeds, be prepared to accept that the control rate is only about 70% instead of the previous 90%.”
But this idea also has its drawbacks. Lingenfelter said that more weeds means lower yields and problematic weeds will be difficult to control. When dealing with amaranth and amaranth vines, 75% weed control rate is not enough. For shamrock or red root quinoa, a 75% control rate may be sufficient. The type of weeds will determine the degree of lenient control over them.
Gary Snyder of Nutrien, which works with about 150 growers in southeastern Pennsylvania, said that no matter which herbicide arrives, whether it is glyphosate or glufosinate, it will be rationed and used carefully.
He said that growers should expand their selection of herbicides next spring and finalize plans as soon as possible to avoid weeds becoming a major problem during planting. He advises growers who have not yet selected corn hybrids to buy seeds with the best genetic selection for later weed control.
“The biggest problem is the right seeds. Spray as soon as possible. Pay attention to the weeds in the crop. The products that came out in the 1990s are still in stock, and this can be done. All methods must be considered,” Snyder said .
Bowling said he will maintain all options. If the prices of inputs, including herbicides, continue to be high and crop prices fail to keep up, he plans to switch more fields to soybeans, because soybeans are cheaper to grow. He may also change more fields to grow forage grass.
Lingenfelter hopes that growers will not wait until late winter or spring to start paying attention to this issue. He said: “I hope everyone will take this issue seriously. I am worried that many people will be caught off guard by then. They think that by March next year, they will place an order at the dealer and they will be able to take home a truckload of herbicides or pesticides on the same day. . When I thought about it, they might have rolled their eyes.”
Post time: Dec-15-2021