Higher Energy Prices May Stunt Corn Crop
Posted on: Thursday, 20 April 2006, 18:00 CDT
By Ben Sutherly, Dayton Daily News, Ohio
Apr. 20--Expect to see fewer corn fields this year as rising energy prices ripple through the farm economy.
It is too early to tell if price increases for fertilizer and fuel will cause produce prices to increase, said Tom Sachs of the Ohio Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.
Ohio farmers who raise field corn will plant 3.15 million acres this spring, the lowest amount in a decade, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Field corn is raised to be used in livestock feed, food additives or industrial products.
Nitrogen fertilizers such as anhydrous ammonia, made from natural gas and used to grow corn, cost 22 percent more this year than last, according to Barry Ward, who tracks farming costs for Ohio State University Extension.
"That is one reason corn acreage is decreasing in Ohio and across the Midwest," Ward said.
Not everyone thinks farmers will plant less corn this year.
"If the weather's nice till May 15, there'll be as much corn planted in Montgomery and Preble counties as there always is," said Greg Brubaker, manager of Brubaker Grain and Chemical in Farmersville.
Chad Gilbert, 31, of Jackson Twp., whose family sells fertilizers and chemicals through Ro-Lin Farm Services in Germantown, said Ro-Lin's chemical prices have dropped as more generic brands have become available, but said that won't offset a 20 percent or more jump in fertilizer costs in the past year for Ro-Lin's customers.
Don Roberts, 71, who farms 1,350 acres in Miami, Darke and Montgomery counties, said he won't plant less corn because he does not want to upset his crop rotation. His anhydrous costs almost doubled to nearly $600 a ton from $305 a ton three years ago.
Higher costs for chemical fertilizer partly explain why demand for organic fertilizer such as poultry manure is increasing, said Dave Hanes of Mercer Landmark in Chickasaw. Hanes said demand for manure is up at least 25 percent from a year ago and demand for quality manure is close to exceeding supply. Prices for manure are up 25 percent to 50 percent from a year ago -- partially because of increased fuel and labor costs.
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Source: Dayton Daily News
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