According to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) Financial performance of cropping farms 2029-20 to 2021-22 report, total input costs for the average wheat farm in NSW increased from $212 per hectare in 2019-20 to $425 per hectare in 2020-21, with further increases expected through to 2022-23.

Fertiliser costs increased from $64 to $82 per hectare, while the cost of chemicals increased from $30 to $63 per hectare.

NSW Farmers vice president Rebecca Reardon said the figures reinforced what farmers had been saying for many months. That the cost of food production was outpacing the prices paid to farmers.