For farmers and ranchers
By Brandy Nance (Contact)
Originally published 01:37 p.m., March 27, 2008
Updated 01:37 p.m., March 27, 2008
For farmer and cattleman Richard Porter, who farms in Lyon County, high agriculture commodity prices are mixed issues.
On the farming side, Porter, like other farmers, is reaping the benefits. Porter farms about 2,500 acres of land.
“Mainly corn and soybeans,” he said. “From the farming standpoint, I am benefiting from this all. And I’m also benefiting from the higher farmland prices.”
Corn prices alone have risen from $2 a bushel two years ago to about $5.50 a bushel now, Porter said.
“It is clearly a different world,” Porter said.
However, Porter said farmers who are not planting to sell are not benefiting from the high commodity prices. All of Porter’s corn is sold through his livestock. He also runs a large cattle operation in Lyon County.
“It’s driving up our feed prices,” he said. “You’re taking a hit on the wall.”
Another local cattleman, Scott Briggs, said feed prices have gone up from 45 to 50 cents cost per pound of gain to 97 cents to just over $1 per pound of gain on the cattle.
“You’re going to end up losing quite a bit,” he said. “I think everybody’s cost of (weight) gain went up through the high commodity prices.”
Briggs said if you’re a grain farmer, it looks good; however, their profits aren’t always high, either.
“The fertilizer and fuel cost is higher,” he said.
The higher prices and higher costs to farmers and ranchers are felt by the general public in the supermarket. The increase in production and transportation costs is driving up the price of food, including staples such as meat, milk and bread.
To make up for higher feed costs, Porter said, he looks for alternative ways to feed cattle. One way is to feed more ethanol byproducts, which is what is left over after the corn is processed into ethanol.
“That only offsets some,” he said. “At a small portion of the ration (ethanol byproducts) is quite a bit better than corn. At a higher percent of the ration, the increase will drop off … there are some limitations if you try to go too high.”
Another way Porter is making up some of the losses is trying to get more gain on the grasslands he grazes. Porter grazes about 8,000 acres of land.
“I’m also looking at adjusting at where I’ll be trying to get more pounds of gain on grass as opposed to on a feed lot where I’m feeding them purchased material,” he said.
Porter said he will put fewer cattle on grass and keep them on grass longer.
“I think many people are going to be looking to the conventional feed lot,” he said.
Porter also is looking at buying replacement cattle cheaper or not buying them at all.
“It’s just a variety of economic adjustments,” he said.
But it’s not just cattlemen that are taking the hit, Porter said.
“It’s certainly forcing adjustments into all the livestock industry,” he said. “There’s also swine and poultry. About anything that is utilizing corn is going to be feeling the impact.”
The reasons for the high commodity prices are mixed, but one prominent reason is that more farm products such as corn are being used by the ethanol industry.
“When you start using food products to make fuel, it doesn’t make sense sometimes, but that’s the animal we live with,” Briggs said.
Porter said there’s a lot of debate out there about ethanol and its effectiveness.
“I would encourage people to do a Net search about the efficiencies of ethanol,” he said. “There’s a lot of different opinions. The bottom line is, the costs probably outweigh the benefits.”
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