CALDWELL, Idaho — Solid demand for equipment and services is expected to continue as 2022 unfolds, several Western Idaho Ag Expo exhibitors said.

Brian Tollefson, who owns Precision Grain Systems in Fargo, N.D., participated in the Jan. 25-26 event in Caldwell, Idaho. The company provides grain storage and handling equipment.

Last year’s high commodity and steel prices drove record-high sales, he said. Steel prices, which spiked in the summer, led to buying promptly rather than waiting. And high commodity prices meant more farmers could afford to add on-site storage.

“When corn gets above $5 (per bushel), grain bins pencil out a lot better,” Tollefson said.

He said a grower may use on-site storage to hang onto grain in hopes of capturing the best price.

“It’s staying steady,” Tollefson said Jan. 25 of sales. “There is no drop-off in sight,” partly because most commodity prices remain high.

Aden Johnston, a sales and design specialist with Agri-Lines in Parma, Idaho, said he expects demand this year to be as good as it was in 2021. Center-pivot sprinkler systems are among the company’s offerings.

He said growers, many of whom had a good 2021 that left them with money to put back into their operations, remain optimistic overall.

Center-pivot sprinklers, remote monitoring and other systems can help growers realize labor and water savings. Johnston said sales increased about 20% last year, but higher supply costs cut into profits. He expects supply-chain challenges to continue.

Last season’s drought led some to pursue repairs and upgrades they might ignore in a normal water-supply year, he said.

Caldwell-based R&M Steel Co. manufactures steel buildings, including hay barns and farm and ranch shops. President Rob Roberts said 2021 demand for ag-related buildings was higher than usual.

“Drought was a concern,” he said.

For example, tight hay supplies and high hay prices drove additional demand to move a fresh cutting inside a building as soon as possible — to get the crop out of the weather, and to guard against losing mass from the top and bottom of the stack, Roberts said. R&M sold hay buildings as far away as Montana and Western Oregon.

He said he expects similarly strong demand for on-farm steel buildings this year.

“I hope the steel mills are able to get back on track,” Roberts said. Steel prices, which recently leveled, saw threefold and fourfold increases last year.

Twin Falls-based Justin Leavens, a commercial agriculture sales specialist with Perfect Blend Biotic Fertilizer, said the company paid more last year for inputs ranging from labor and transportation to propane, which is used to dry chicken manure, which also cost more.

Demand was steady in 2021, though price increases left some customers “on the fence,” he said.

Leavens said he expects to add customers this year as more acres transition to organic and regenerative farming. High nitrogen prices are prompting new interest in other inputs.