Hello, once again, folks. I hope you all had a spectacular Fourth of July. Given I’m writing in advance of the holiday, I’m planning on having an enjoyable holiday myself. I’ll most likely be smoking some ribs, enjoying a barley soda, and going into kid-with-his-parent’s-wallet mode at the firework stand. Paying off the credit card won’t be pleasant, but that’s a problem for future-Bailey. He’s a swell guy.

Today’s topic is one that everyone is familiar with lately: price increases. Over the past week or so, I’ve received price increase notices from several of our key vendors: TeeJet, Banjo, Emco Wheaton, The Handler, Facet, Velcon. In fact, it would probably be easier to name those who have not instituted a price increase. That said, in a normal year, we typically get new pricing in the fall, so expect prices to change again in 2026.

This may sound like old news. I myself had the nagging thought I’d covered this topic before; I did, in mid-May. So why am I covering it again? Primarily because the proverbial chickens have come home to roost. Our inventory has been depleted, and the new stock is arriving. Some of the price increases have been eye-opening.

We’re doing our best to secure the best pricing possible from our vendors. Sometimes this means ordering additional inventory to secure the best rates. Other times, we may bring in more stock prior to an increase. Or, if it’s something we aren’t competitive on, we refer folks where we can.

As mentioned, there is a silver lining. We’re overstocked on certain items, and our yearly inventory is at the end of August. The less we have to count in August, the better. This means that we’ll be running sales on certain items. The best way to stay informed about these is our email list. If you’re already subscribed, you can attest that we aren’t bombarding you three times a day. I try to keep it quick, simple, and worth your time. I don’t yet have a solid list of what will go on sale, but I’m aiming to have an email out in the next few weeks.

I neglected to mention in previous posts about our repair window. The repair window is now open, and closes December 1. Send in your dry breaks or pumps, and we’ll get them rebuilt for you. But please, rinse and dry them really well before sending them in. Also, reach out to us so we can send you a form to include in the box. I can’t tell you how many boxes we get in, many with a generic UPS Store address and no way to ID who they belong to. Those boxes get bumped to the back of the queue.

Some of you are reading this, neck deep in spraying, and thinking, “you want to repair stuff now? This is when we’re at our busiest!” I get that, and so do my shop guys. The reason the repair window runs from June through November is these are typically our slower months, so it’s easier for us to jump on repair quickly. If we get repairs in January, we’re completely swamped getting preseason orders out the door for Helenas, Nutriens, and Simplots. As of this writing, we’re typically turning around dry break repairs in about one to two days. If you wait to send them in until January or March, it may take us four weeks to find time to squeeze them in around the busy shipping schedule.

I know some aerial folks are nomadic right now, based on the overnight shipments we have going to hotels and such. Stay safe out there, fellas. Stay hydrated. Stay focused. Get some sleep. You all have an enormous role in our nation’s food supply, and it’s an honor working with you.

Happy Fourth of July, and God Bless America.

• Bailey