Rising Input Costs in 2026: What Farmers Can Control (and What They Can’t)
Ask any farmer what’s changed most in recent years and the answer is usually the same: costs.
Feed prices move quickly. Fuel jumps without warning. Fertiliser remains expensive. Labour costs keep edging up. Machinery and parts cost more and take longer to arrive.
Much of that is outside your control — and pretending otherwise only adds frustration.
Accepting What You Can’t Change
Global markets, weather, geopolitics and policy all play their part. Waiting for costs to “settle down” isn’t realistic anymore.
What is realistic is deciding how those costs hit your business.
Where Control Still Exists
Farmers still control:
- When major purchases happen
- Whether cash is tied up or kept available
- How costs are spread across the year
- How much headroom exists for the unexpected
Those decisions make a real difference when margins are tight.
Avoiding the Cash Trap
One of the biggest pressures comes from paying large sums upfront — particularly when income is months away.
That’s when stress creeps in:
- Overdrafts get stretched
- Repairs are delayed
- Decisions are made under pressure
Spreading costs through leasing or structured finance helps farms:
- Keep working capital where it’s needed
- Smooth costs across the season
- Reduce reliance on short-term fixes
It doesn’t lower prices — but it gives breathing room.
Finance as Part of the Toolkit
Used properly, finance supports the operation rather than patching problems.
It allows farms to:
- Invest when efficiency matters
- Replace unreliable kit before it fails
- Keep cash for day-to-day running
That’s not weakness — it’s sensible planning.
The Bottom Line
You can’t control global prices. But you can control how exposed your business is to them.
Flexibility is what keeps farms steady when everything else moves.
