Higher prices, short crop
Area farmers are enjoying higher prices but are disappointed by low yields in all grains this year, resulting in less to sell.
Wheat has seen the most dramatic increase, jumping from $2.70 a bushel Sept. 11, 2001, at Cooperative Grain and Supply to $4.74 at its peak Sept. 11, 2002.
"It's a matter of supply and demand," said Mike Thomas, manager of the Marion elevator. He noted that in many parts of the Midwest and Canada, the wheat crop was poor.
Thomas said about 40 percent of local farmers sold their wheat at harvest time because the price, more than three dollars, was higher than it had been for some time and they had bills to pay.
When the price climbed to $4.50, many others sold. Others still are holding it, looking for five dollars, Thomas said.
Fall harvest has been underway for several weeks. Thomas said soybeans have been a "disaster" for most people, with many yields around 10 bushels per acre or less.
On top of that, the beans tend to be green and can only be used for livestock feed.
Thomas said though milo yields are down, test weight is good. Big rains a week and a half ago have caused green heads to emerge in many fields, slowing harvest.
The total volume of beans and corn taken in at the elevator has been less than half of last year.
"It's been depressing," Thomas said. "Everybody is grumpy."
He said the Longshoremen's lock-out on the West Coast has bottled up goods going out and coming in and has brought grain prices down in recent weeks. The longshoremen now are back at work.
Thomas is concerned that, because of the good wheat price, farmers are sowing a lot of it, which could cause the price to go down by harvest next spring to pre-rally lows.
