Drought drives yields down, prices up

As area farmers enter the heart of the 2012 harvest season, the effects of this summer's severe drought are becoming all-too apparent.

After months with little or no rain, especially at the most crucial times for row crop maturation, reports from Nodaway County indicate yields well below average.

The bad news has been expected, but that doesn't make it any more palatable for producers, many of whom have absorbed heavy blows from Mother Nature two years in a row.

A series of brutal wind and hail storms last August destroyed millions of dollars worth of crops across the Maryville Region, and now there is the Drought of 2012.

Tim Dreier, executive director of the local U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency office, said that roughly 75-80 percent of producers in the county have finished their corn harvest.

"From what I've been hearing from the ones that are done, they are getting about a half or two-thirds of the average yield," Dreier said. "Getting half of what you normally get is never good."

But it could be worse. The drought and extreme heats that set records throughout the summer has also driven prices significantly higher.

As of Monday morning, corn was selling at $7.10 a bushel. At this time last year the going rate was around $6.05.

Depending on where you go in the county — northern Nodaway received more rainfall — farmers are bringing in anywhere from 30 to 130 bushels per acre. Ideally in this area the yield would be around 160 bushels an acre.

What's more, significant precipitation in late August is unlikely to boost soybean yields.

By the time the rains came, blooms had already dropped from the plants, blunting pod formation. But the moisture did help fill out the pods that had already set.

Expectations for the bean crop, however, are still grim, Dreier said, maybe even worse than for corn.

Predictions of a drought-blighted crop drove bean prices to $15.88 as of Monday, and even higher in some markets. Last year a bushel of soybeans sold for around $12.

In addition to the impact on farm profits, low yields could also mean an increase in the price of soy-based commodities like ethanol and processed foods.

There are currently no federal disaster assistance funds available for farmers, but it is expected that Congress will approve some kind of relief measure similar to the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE).

At Consumer's Oil Company in Maryville this week, a steady stream of grain trucks were pulling up to the newly constructed elevator.

"We won't be able to fill it because yields are so low," Twyilla Stiens said. "But most of the corn that is coming in is dry so we are putting it in the new (bins)."

Taking into consideration the effects of the drought, and the likelihood that relief funds will not come until next year, Dreier said he wanted to remind producers about the importance of insurance.

For producers who will soon be planting winter wheat, the deadline for buying crop insurance is the end of September.

Dreier said he is not predicting a poor yield but simply reminding producers who want to stay on the safe side that they have less than a week to federally insure their winter crops.