From DTN Progressive Farmer, February 24:
This article was originally posted at 9:44 a.m. CST on Thursday, Feb. 24. It was last updated with additional information at 4:32 p.m. CST on Thursday, Feb. 24.
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OMAHA (DTN) -- As the invasion of Ukraine caused global grain companies to suspend their operations there and put some global grain exports at risk, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Thursday one of his biggest immediate concerns is the possible impacts on fertilizer or other input supplies for farmers.
Vilsack was asked Thursday by reporters on a livestream press conference from the USDA Ag Outlook Forum whether the invasion posed new risks for farmers in terms of fertilizer and energy costs. The secretary raised some concerns that suppliers could try to take advantage of the situation to further increase prices.
"That's my biggest concern here in terms of the current situation," Vilsack said. "It will take some time, obviously, for the impact of all of this to be understood and felt. I sincerely hope that no company out there -- whether it's fertilizer or any other supply that may be impacted by this -- will take unfair advantage of the circumstances and situation." He added USDA would be "making sure they don't use this situation as an excuse for doing something which isn't necessarily justified by supply and demand, and that's my biggest concern. We will keep an eye on that."
Vilsack also said it was too early to talk about food impacts -- though he acknowledged he would have a different view if he were an agriculture secretary in Europe rather than the U.S.
"It's too early to talk about Ukraine, as it relates to Europe," Vilsack said. "From a U.S. perspective, I don't foresee a circumstance where American consumers on the food side are necessarily going to be impacted and see the kind of impact we will see on European consumers."....
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