01/06/06 Spud, beet farmers pay high fuel bills

Idaho sugarbeet and potato growers had to dig deep into their pockets to pay the rising fuel and fertilizer prices in 2005. University of Idaho economist Paul Patterson says good prices for spuds and sugarbeets last year were offset by the higher production costs. PATTERSON "The sugarbeet costs went up about seven percent and depending on the grower and the type of potatoes they're producing, storage vs. non-storage, their costs were up six to seven percent." Compared with the year before, sugar beet growers spent 43 percent more on fuel and 26 percent more on fertilizer. That's an additional $40-45 per acre for these two inputs alone. Idaho potato growers spent 31-44 percent more on fuel and 19-21 percent more on fertilizer, an increase of $60-75 per acre for those two expenses. Those growers also face the double whammy of rising interest rates. PATTERSON "Were up 1.5 percentage points which is basically a 25 percent increase from 2004 to 2003 and they're up 36 percent from 2003." Wages that farmers pay are up about seven to eight percent and Patterson says power rates went up by as much as ten percent in the past year. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott