By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
WASHINGTON — Kansas U.S. Senator Jerry Moran spoke at a press conference Wednesday and noted that the costs of agricultural inputs are staggering right now.
"The average retail price for anhydrous, the basis of nitrogen fertilizer, set a record this week at $1,113 per ton a 38% increase in just one month," Moran said.
That's leaving aside the increases at the gas and diesel pumps.
"Wheat sold in Colby, Kansas at the elevator, increased by 48% in the last year," Moran said. "Fed cattle increased by 21% in the last year. That should be, in a sense, good for farmers. Increasing commodity prices should mean increasing revenue."
The revenue isn't enough, though.
"Those increasing prices, while damaging to everyone, including what farmers put on their table, is not able to compensate for the ever-increasing cost of production. The input costs exceed the increase in the cost of those commodities."
Moran serves on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies.