WACO, Texas (KXXV) — President Donald Trump has taken steps to lower one of the biggest expenses for farmers and gardeners: fertilizer.
A proclamation by President Trump temporarily stops extra taxes on certain fertilizers imported from other countries. According to the USDA, the goal is to increase supply, improve competition and lower costs ahead of the fall application season. The USDA estimates the temporary suspension could save American farmers about $1.82 billion each year while benefiting more than 100,000 farms across the country.
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In Waco, Gary Payne of Brazos Feed and Supply has helped farmers, ranchers and homeowners for more than three decades. While fertilizer has remained available, he said the cost has been a frequent topic among his customers.
"They tell me we're all, we're all feeling it. Some way, uh, whether it's at the gas pump, whether it's, you know, wherever, um. You, you know, a lot of people like to say we're all in this together, right, so. We are in it. I mean, yeah, it's a temporary thing, you know, a, a couple of months ago, uh, I go fill up my truck a lot because I do deliveries and, you know, $160.03 times a week to fill up my truck, and I filled up this morning and it was $110. OK. So diesel, you know, is, is way down from what it was. Um, we all have to deal with it one way or the other," Payne said.
Payne said he sees broader economic benefits in the administration's approach to fertilizer imports.
"Part of the, from what I read, part of the program is to get, uh, some of that manufacturing back in the United States, which is a good thing. I mean, helps, helps the economy. It, it helps a lot of things if stuff is done here and we're not depending on it coming from other places and sitting on ships stuck other places. So if we can get it, if we can get more things done in the US, that's better for all of us," Payne said.
Brazos Feed and Supply, which started in 1955, is a family-owned operation. Payne said he does not rush to raise prices when news of cost increases breaks.
"So as a family owned business, and when I say family, it's, you know, just, just me and and my family, um, I do, I try to do things a little different. Um, I don't watch the news and hear prices are going to go up and then go raise my prices on everything. Um, you might come in here one day and a bag of one type of fertilizer is $4 a bag less than the one sitting right beside it. And that's because mine is priced off of what I got in the last time. I don't change my prices until the distributor goes up on me. So," Payne said.
That approach is one of the ways Payne's business tries to serve its community — something he hopes customers keep in mind when deciding where to spend their money.
"It's important, and I say this as a family owned business or a local business, do business with local folks. You know, we're all, we're all trying to make a living out here. Um, local, local businesses are the ones that you go to when you want, um, something donated to your kids, FFA farm animal or, or, you know, it's FFA projects and those kind of things. Um," Payne said.
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