Monroe County agriculture: Corn stocks at 8-year low
My job for the past 30 years has revolved around agriculture and natural resources and, more specifically, field crops. Much of this week’s report will focus on the “state of agriculture,” locally and more broadly.
But first I want to quote Katlyn Packard, a Washtenaw County young dairy farmer, who said: “The greatest challenge facing the (dairy) industry is public perception. The negative perception that people have just because they don’t have any experience with (dairy) farming. . . and they hear negative views and take that as it is.” Unfortunately, people rely on social media and not facts.
State of Agriculture: The September 30 USDA Grain Stocks report showed the 2021-2022 end of the year corn stocks at an 8-year low at 1.377 billion bushels. The 2021 national corn crop was revised down to 15.07 billion bushels. The Monroe County corn crop was 10.155 million bushels, an average of 193.6 bushels per acre, with this year projecting perhaps a 20 bushel decline due to late planting and a dry summer. The US soybean crop last year was revised up to 4.465 billion bushels, with the September 30 ending grain stocks at 274 million bushels, the second lowest carryout of the past six years. Monroe County had a crop of 4.258 million bushels and an average yield of 51 bushels per acre. Both of these grains are primarily fed to livestock, while wheat is primarily grown and used for food. The USDA first quarter report of the 2022-2023 marketing year of wheat stocks on September 30 showed 1.776 billion bushels on hand, the second lowest of the past 15 years. Monroe County farmers grew 1.751 million bushels of wheat and an average of 82.2 bushels per acre in 2021.
Grain stocks are tight in the U.S. and worldwide. The value of the dollar is high, making exports more expensive, though the US is the only major grain producing country with stocks available. Ukraine is projected to grow 30 percent less wheat for 2023. Australia had a good crop of wheat and India is the largest producer of rice, though both countries have restricted exports.
Most U.S. grain moves by barge down the Mississippi River system to export terminals around New Orleans. Fully loaded barges take 8 feet of draft and the US Army Corp of Engineers dredge the river channel to a depth of 9 feet or more. With the generally dry weather this summer, river levels are low and there is currently a large backup of river traffic as they wait for the Corps to continue dredging. Monroe County is fortunate that grain can move by rail or by boat, primarily from terminal elevators in Toledo, including Maumee and Ottawa Lake.
The latest Purdue/ CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) Ag Economy Barometer of farmer sentiment drifted lower in September due to rising interest rates, higher input costs, availability of inputs and weakened farmer perception of current conditions in agriculture. The Ag Economy Barometer is calculated each month from 400 farmer responses to a telephone survey.
The price of food at home increased by 13.1 percent over the past year, the largest jump since March 1979. On average, farmers only get 8 percent of the dollars spent at the grocery store, reflecting higher costs for fuel, trucking, labor and other costs further along the food pipeline. The energy index alone has risen 32.9 percent over the past twelve months, driven by increases in the prices of gasoline, fuel oil, diesel and natural gas.
Weather: A frost is considered when we get a visible frost and is 32ºF or higher while a hard freeze is 25-28ºF, and a killing freeze is 24ºF and below. We can have a freeze without a frost, depending upon the amount of water in the air. Air temperatures at the MSU Enviroweather station are measured at 5 foot above the ground and in the shade. Sensitive flowers or plants should be covered when the temperature is forecast around 28ºF. One early forecast for this winter is for a dry early half of the winter season through December with a wetter than normal second half of winter for January through March.
Ned Birkey is MSU Extension Educator Emeritus and a regular contributor to The Monroe News.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Monroe County agriculture: Corn stocks at 8-year low
