Some Herbicides In Short Supply

It was a little over one year ago that the COVID-19 pandemic began with the shut down of the economy. My first thought was will we have shortages or delays in the shipment of seed, herbicides, fertilizer and other inputs we need to plant the crop? We caught a break last year because most of the inputs we needed were already in place at local Coops and retailers. However, now this year we are seeing shortages show up!

Fortunately maybe it is not too serious but I have heard from a number of agronomists about severe shortages of popular herbicides used widely by farmers and homeowners. The first is glyphosate with a number of trade names like Round-Up, Touchdown, Durango and many others. The other in short supply is glufosinate or Liberty. Many homeowners buy Round-Up at the garden or hardware store to kill weeds around their house and driveway.

The other day I stopped at my John Deere dealer on the way out to the farm and asked if they were having issues getting parts? It was not too serious but there were certain parts that were getting hard to find. It all comes down to many manufacturing plants in the United States and in other countries slowed production or even had to shut down for a while during the pandemic.

So, no matter what you are looking for, herbicides, shoes, washing machine, jeans, or a leaf blower you may have to wait for a while. Even my pressure washer that was 20 years old needed to be replaced at the farm. I am still waiting for my new one. Fortunately my dealer gave me a loaner to use until my new one arrives! I suspect it will be a while yet before we can say the affects of the pandemic are finally over!