{"id":40128,"date":"2022-06-10T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-10T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/southwest-colorados-farmers-adapt-to-rising-prices\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:53:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:53:35","slug":"southwest-colorados-farmers-adapt-to-rising-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/southwest-colorados-farmers-adapt-to-rising-prices\/","title":{"rendered":"Southwest Colorado\u2019s farmers adapt to rising prices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Tanner
Tanner Dukart, with Basin Coop in Durango, fills and stacks bags of poultry feed Thursday at Basin Coop. Farmers and ranchers are feeling the effects of inflation, the war in Ukraine and the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and not everyone is understanding when they raise their prices for goods. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Nearly every week gas prices nudge higher, as do prices across many facets of life in Southwest Colorado.<\/p>\n

For farmers and ranchers, the effects of inflation, the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic are even more pronounced. The costs of fertilizers, animal feeds and nearly all of the inputs they rely on for their operations have ballooned in the last year. As prices have crept upward, they have compounded the challenges of drought for farmers.<\/p>\n

But as Southwest Colorado\u2019s agricultural community adapts, some are highlighting practices that have insulated their operations from the worst effects of the price increases.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like all across the board everything\u2019s getting more expensive,\u201d said Tyler Hoyt, who runs and owns Green Table Farm in Mancos.<\/p>\n

\"Cracked
Cracked corn is ready to be picked up Thursday at Basin Coop in Durango. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Hoyt grows an array of vegetables and raises chickens, hogs and goats. He feeds his chickens and hogs a mixture of wheat, corn, sunflower seed pellet, calcium and Austrian field peas.<\/p>\n

With the war in Ukraine disrupting agriculture in the country and Russia, which together account for about a quarter of the world\u2019s wheat production, prices for the wheat Hoyt includes in his feed have increased significantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cA bag of wheat went from $11 to $18 basically overnight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Hoyt has seen the biggest jump in animal feed, but the price of diesel has also surged, as has the cost of hay.<\/p>\n

In response, he has had to make changes to his operation and increase prices of the produce he sells at Durango Farmers Market.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve definitely cut down on getting the best hay possible. We have to really shop around trying to find a price where we\u2019re not going to lose money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Eggs went from $7 to $8, lettuce from $4 to $5 and apple juice from $20 to $22.<\/p>\n

When Hoyt raised prices on his produce a few years ago, customers at the farmers market questioned the increases. But amid global disruptions and inflation, his buyers have recognized the necessity.<\/p>\n

\"Kalen
Kalen Elliott, yard supervisor with Basin Coop in Durango, talks with customers Thursday at the co-op. Farmers and ranchers have had to raise some of their prices at farmers markets as a result of higher costs they are facing for fuel, fertilizer and animal feed. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThis time around when we went from $7 to $8 (for eggs) I didn\u2019t hear anything,\u201d he said. \u201cI think people have kind of accepted that that\u2019s the way things are going right now and there\u2019s really not much you can do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heidi Rohwer operates Rohwer\u2019s Farm near Yellow Jacket with her family where they grow fruits and vegetables and raise chickens, turkeys, sheep and pigs.<\/p>\n

Costs for Rohwer\u2019s pots and potting soils have gone up over the last year, as have the prices for her seeds. Anything that requires shipping has surged, if they were sent in the first place. With supply chain disruptions and shortages, some of Rohwer\u2019s suppliers did not send everything she ordered.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost everything has gone up from between 20 to 50%,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

At Basin Coop in Durango and near Cortez, prices for nearly all farm supplies have swelled.<\/p>\n

Fertilizer has increased dramatically, though over the last 30 days prices have relaxed some as farmers have finished fertilizing their fields, said Don Dukart, president and CEO of Basin Coop.<\/p>\n

\"Travis
Travis Tyler with Basin Coop in Durango loads cracked corn for a customer on Thursday. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Economic Research Service, the cost of fertilizer in April, the most recent month data is available, was up 71% from the same time last year.<\/p>\n

With Ukraine a major producer of corn in addition to wheat, the costs of animal feeds have broadly increased. Purina\u2019s Equine Senior, a popular horse feed, is now more than $28 per bag at the farm supply, up from about $21.50 last year, Dukart said.<\/p>\n

The prices for fencing and any product with steel have soared, and even vaccines have risen 10% to 15%.<\/p>\n

Basin Coop has struggled to simply obtain the farm products it needs, and when it does, pricing is challenging with markups from manufacturers forcing the co-op to quickly change prices, Dukart said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m surprised our sales are still really good. People are still buying,\u201d he said. \u201cOf course, if you\u2019re farming you\u2019ve got to have the inputs. It\u2019s not like you can\u2019t buy diesel fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dukart said lasting impacts from the pandemic are also playing a role.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that things are opening back up and people are wanting to spend money, there\u2019s just no supply there,\u201d he said. \u201cSupply and demand: The demand\u2019s a lot greater than the supply so the price goes up. It\u2019s kind of a combination.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Orren
Orren Cundiff, 10, buys livestock supplies with his brother Cole, 8, as Teagan Deweese, at the register, and Rachel Smith, both with Basin Coop in Durango, assist them. Some farmers say high costs are compounded by the effects of an extended drought, which has made agriculture difficult in Southwest Colorado. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

For Southwest Colorado\u2019s farmers and ranchers, high costs are compounding the effects of extended drought, which was already making agriculture difficult.<\/p>\n

In 2021, Rohwer\u2019s Farm received 1.7 inches of water of the 22 it is allotted, forcing the farm to cut down its production by two-thirds, Rohwer said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just decided to scale back quite a bit last year because we knew it was a bad year and we really weren\u2019t expecting a good monsoon season,\u201d Rohwer said. \u201cI would say the drought is causing the biggest problems for the farms around us, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoyt attributed the rising hay prices to drought. Hay farmers in the region have been limited to one or two cuttings instead of three, and in some cases, four without enough water, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe environmental factors are probably greater of a cost than diesel being $1 more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sustainable farming helps offset disruptions<\/div>\n

Even as some farmers wrestle with higher costs, others are pointing to the benefits of their farming practices as a way of insulating them from global and domestic disruptions.<\/p>\n

Max Fields and his partners operate Fields to Plate Produce north of Durango. The farm grows organic vegetables and raises sheep and cattle using regenerative techniques.<\/p>\n

Fields relies on the livestock to fertilize crops and does not purchase feed because the farm\u2019s animals are entirely grass-fed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe grass feeds our animals, the animals feed our crops and that circle continues year to year,\u201d he said. \u201cWe do have equipment and tractors to run, and of course that\u2019s been more expensive to do, but I think we\u2019re able to rebound a lot easier from this kind of inflation because we just aren\u2019t super reliant on outside inputs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoyt does not use conventional fertilizers, making his own fertilizer at his farm, which has also shielded him from a significant cost increase.<\/p>\n

\"Travis
Travis Tyler with Basin Coop in Durango helps Tom Eskew load metal fence posts into his truck Thursday. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Fields said the effects of inflation and global turmoil on agriculture have revealed the benefits of regenerative farming.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just kind of goes to show the world this kind of farming is something that can feed the world sustainably,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For those farmers and ranchers adapting to increasing costs, help could come later this summer. Some of Basin Coop\u2019s suppliers suggested prices and supplies will ease in the coming months, Dukart said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of these steel prices will back off after they get production back up. It\u2019s got to. People can\u2019t sustain this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But even if prices slouch, the relief for some of Southwest Colorado\u2019s farmers will likely be fleeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than price hikes and inflation, I feel like the environmental factors are a much more important thing to pay attention to and adapt to,\u201d Hoyt said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to really be on your feet thinking hard about what the future might look like, and it\u2019s probably not going to be any better than it is right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

ahannon@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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