About one-third of Alberta farm input prices fell between March 2019 and March 2020.
Seventeen of 47 input categories fell over the 12 months according to the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry survey.
Most price declines came in the feed category. At $4.46 a bushel feed barley fell 3.7 per cent while feed oats, $2.84 a bushel, fell 1.8 per cent
Number one feed wheat, $5.27 a bushel, lost 6.2 per cent while 50 per cent alfalfa dropped five per cent to $164 a tonne.
A 25 kilo bag of calf starter was up 8.3 per cent to $18.06 and a 25 kilo bag of cattle mineral increased 14.7 per cent to $33.80.
Only one of seven items under machinery and parts declined. Truck tires, at $302, fell 3.5 per cent.
At $18.41, four litres of anti-freeze was up 3.7 per cent.
Plastic round baler twine increased 7.4 per cent to $36.45 a roll while a 12-volt battery jumped 12.8 per cent to $122.73.
Farm labour, no board, increased 4.3 per cent to $3,841 a month.
Repair shop costs jumped 14.5 per cent to $140.78 an hour.
Energy and seed classes saw six increases and three declines year over year.
Diesel fuel at 90.4 cents per gallon jumped 14.5 per cent while unleaded purple gas at 83.9 cents a litre, fell 15.9 per cent.
Electricity was up 15.6 per cent to 7.08 cents a kilowatt while natural gas was down 32.8. per cent to $2.97 a gigajoule. Propane gas was up 11 per cent to 64.2 cents a litre.
At $24.37 for five litres, motor oil was up 4.5 per cent.
Among seeds, barley at $43.05 per 100 kilos increased 3.5 per cent; herbicide tolerant Liberty canola was up 2.9 per cent to $705.50 per 22.7 kilos; and herbicide tolerant Roundup canola increased 3.5 per cent to $619.40 per 22.7 kilo bag.
Five increases in seed, fertilizer and drugs were led by a 29.5 per cent boost in 50ml, penicillin to $29.76 and a 15.5 per cent hike for 250ml vitamin AD and E supplement to $42.30.
Among fertilizers, 11-51-0 bulk at $676.63 a tonne was down 15 per cent; 46-0-0 urea bulk was down six per cent to $524.68 a tonne and anhydrous ammonia,82-0-0, at $874.37 was down two per cent.
Ten litres of Roundup WEATHERMAX at $88.78 increased 6.9 per cent.
Prices increased in all classes of machinery with a three-quarter tonne truck up 1.6 per cent to $53,777.
An air drill, 40 to 42 feet, increased 5.1 per cent to $345,255 while an 800 to 900-gallon pull type sprayer was up 4.5 per cent to $67,133.
A four-wheel drive tractor, 325-375hp, increased 5.1 per cent to $427,172 while a front wheel drive unit, 205-130hp, increased three per cent to $178,025
A class seven self-propelled combine increased 3.6 per cent to $538,814
A PTO round baler jumped 9.1 per cent to $67,133.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
