LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) - As spring progresses, the farming season is kicking into high gear as drought conditions ease, though some economic uncertainty remains.
The Ohio State University Extension Office in Allen County says some nitrogen applications, herbicide spraying and tillage work are already underway in certain fields. On a major positive note, the drought that developed last summer and continued into the winter has ended in Allen County due to repeated rounds of rainfall.
On the flip side, the international conflict between the United States and Iran has led to significant increases in fertilizer prices. While the Strait of Hormuz officially reopened earlier today, extension officials say the prior shutdown caused fertilizer prices to skyrocket.
"The situation there with the Strait of Hormuz getting shut down, about 25% of the nitrogen traded globally runs through that passage there. With that shutdown prior to or after that, we've seen about a 15 to 25% increase in some of our nitrogen products, a significant increase in some of those products which really alters our mindset and thinking how we go forward with our growing season," says Garth McDorman, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Allen County OSU Extension.
McDorman says overseas geopolitical issues involving Iran are also introducing volatility in commodity markets.
"The commodity markets: we've seen them, I guess, pretty volatile, mostly because of the same geopolitical issues we're seeing with the Strait of Hormuz and the fertilizer markets, but fundamentals are still pretty strong. We've seen good demand on the corn side, less than on the soybean side, but I think for what we know right know fundamentally in the grain markets, they've held at pretty decently here recently," says McDorman.
From a policy standpoint, McDorman adds the H2Ohio program continues to be expanded into more Ohio counties.
