Corn prices nationally are at a 10-year record high and the boom has many farmers planting more corn nationally to meet the demand. Locally, it depends on who is asked.
The Associated Press reported that corn is what most U.S. ethanol is made from. The agriculture industry already expects a massive increase in corn acres nationwide based on recent demand for corn seed and fertilizer. And Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns is considering easing penalties for farmers eager to plant corn on land that had been set aside for conservation.
Locally, corn production is set to go up a minimum of 25 percent, said David McAfee, county executive director of Emporia’s Farm Service Agency.
“It depends on the weather,” McAfee said.
McAfee said ethanol production isn’t the only reason why there will be an increase in the price of corn. The recent freeze has taken its toll on the wheat. Wheat lost to the freeze likely will be tilled under and the field used for another crop — most likely corn.
“A lot of it depends on the freeze,” McAfee said. “If it takes its toll on wheat like we think it will, there will be more corn planted.”
Kevin Karr, who farms about seven miles north of Emporia, said how much corn he plants also depends on how badly the wheat was damaged due to recent freezes.
“If we have to plant something in the wheat ground, we’ll plant wheat and milo,” Karr said.
Otherwise, he said, he isn’t planning on planting more corn than usual.
Brian Rees, Lyon County Extension agent, doesn’t foresee a huge increase in the planting of corn.
“I don’t think a whole lot more will be planted, but probably a few,” Rees said. “Most of the guys that usually grow corn will grow corn and they may plant a few more acres.”
Rees agreed that it also will depend on the wheat crop and the crop replacing damaged wheat may not necessarily be corn.
“Really as far as the wheat goes, it depends on what herbicides they have used,” he said. “It may go more (toward) soybeans, because certain herbicides have a pretty bad effect on corn.”
The national boom in corn being planted also is affecting the availability of seed corn, Rees said.
“In all reality, corn seed is extremely tight simply because of the increased acreage nationwide,” he said.
Rees said the real jump is in the southern states. Some people are planting corn instead of cotton.
The demand for ethanol is fueling much of the change.
With about 114 plants nationwide and 80 more on the way, the country’s ethanol output was about 5 billion gallons last year and expected to double again by about 2009, according to the Renewable Fuels Association, a pro-ethanol trade group. This increases the need for more farmers to grow corn.
According to http://ksgrains.com, the “ethanol industry is growing rapidly in Kansas. The state now has eight ethanol plants with a capacity of 215 million gallons of ethanol per year. Corn also is used to make biodegradable plastics. Americans consume three pounds of corn every day through thousands of food uses and non-food uses.”
The higher prices for corn this year won’t just put more money in the pockets of producers, but will negatively affect the pockets of those who have to feed their livestock corn. And that will affect consumers at the grocery store and wherever they buy consumer goods.
According to an article published in a November edition of The Gazette, Tyson Foods, the world’s largest meat processor, warned that rising corn prices could mean U.S. consumers will have to pay more for chicken, beef and pork this year.
In another statement, Richard L. Bond, president and chief executive officer of Tyson, said the price of corn used for animal feed is rising because of demand from ethanol plants that are springing up to provide alternative fuel sources to oil.
“It definitely will affect them,” McAfee said. “Corn is at a 10-year high and that means everyone is paying for a big portion of it.”
Even though the demand for corn is higher, the higher demand for seed corn isn’t being seen everywhere locally. Harry Fowler of F&F Feeds, which sells seeds to farmers said the demand for seed corn is about the same this year.
“We might have sold a little bit more fertilizer, but we haven’t sold much more seed,” Fowler said.