Posted October 18, 2023 | By: Nutrien Ag Solutions

With interest rates rising and commodity prices decreasing, this year has been challenging for growers. The cost to operate a farm is high, so what can growers do to increase their chances of earning a return? Nutrien Financial’s Director of Sales and Marketing John Maman spoke with Damian Mason, host of the Business of Agriculture podcast, about what growers can do to make the most of a challenging year, including tips to leverage various financial solutions.

Maman spoke about the importance of looking at all your options when it comes to profitability. “Financing is meant to complement your operating line in any market conditions. The benefits lie in liquidity and the ability to pivot to use certain lines of credit when they can work the best for you,” Maman said. He added, “Sometimes the biggest opportunity is having awareness in the marketplace to know where your money can best work for you so that you can make the best decisions for your operation.”

Mason and Maman spoke about the market conditions and the benefits of turning to financing in unpredictable times.

“Our goal is to leverage our relationships in the marketplace to have the best offers for our growers,” Maman said. “Those come with partnerships from our strategic suppliers that we sell through Nutrien Ag Solutions. We offer the best-in-class rates and a lot of the value that we bring is from our balance sheet that enables us to lend that amount on an unsecured basis.”

Growers have always dealt with significant challenges, but these days, they have to be more flexible and efficient to earn a profit. Demand for food across the globe isn't changing, but the conditions producers face to grow that food are. When you consider sustainability, the access to farmland, increasing technology and enhanced agronomic practices, growers have to manage a lot of variables to make a profit. Maman spoke on the podcast about changing market conditions and how that impacts a grower's chances for success.

"It isn’t always linear how the market tracks. We’ve seen peaks and valleys in commodity prices in the last few years. Two years ago with COVID, we saw supply chain challenges and rapidly rising prices. This year we have softening prices,” Maman said. “I recognize that what we are seeing right now is a historic rise in interest rates. A small family farm is certainly going to feel the impact of the difference of what the year started out with versus where the year ended up.”

Growers can use Nutrien Financial as a way to preserve cash to have on hand in the case of emergencies, unexpected events or expansion opportunities. Maman talked about the value Nutrien brings. “It’s a triangle of value around our customers from Nutrien Solutions providing expertise, our strategic supplies providing promotional rates through us and Nutrien Financial providing the unsecured line of credit that doesn’t impede an operating line,” said Maman.

Listen to the full Business of Agriculture podcast to hear more about current market conditions and what growers can do to remain profitable.

Want to stay caught up in all things agriculture? Sign up for the newsletter and get all the latest news straight to your inbox.