Manitowoc County Ag Educator Angie Ulness
While everyone is feeling the pressure from inflation, the Manitowoc County Ag Educator says local farmers aren’t as affected as one may think.
We spoke with Angie Ulness, who said that other than the delay in getting some skid loaders, and in the repairs of some machinery, inflation has not caused an issue with getting things like fertilizer.
She explained that “A lot of the farmers had that booked ahead of time, and the suppliers have been really good around here, especially in Manitowoc County, having that supply for the farmers on a timely basis.”
She also said that all of the crops around here were planted around the same time in a small window of time.
“So now with fertilizing corn, put nitrogen, spraying, all that is happening all at once too,” Ulness said. “Those suppliers are ready, and they have done such a good job for the farmers. We are blessed in our county to have such a good infrastructure.”
Some have voiced concern over a potential food shortage, but Ulness says that is not something that is likely to happen.
“We have been known as a nation to have a really good supply of food and when you look at it as a whole, we have very cheap food,” she said. “Yes, flour and milk and dairy products, as well as bread and your staples, even vegetables, those prices are going up, but that’s tied into getting the supply to where it needs to go.”
Ulness also told us that farms in Manitowoc County are thriving.
The only farms to close up shop really didn’t completely shut down.
Those farmers are in what Ulness called “retirement age” so they have sold off some of their dairy-related machinery, and their cows and instead are focusing on the less labor-intensive job of planting and harvesting crops.
