March 2009 Articles

Archives by Months

Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation—Presidents Column 2013 Crop on Par fo

Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation—Presidents Column 2013 Crop on Par for Record Source: www.lfbf.org
Farmers spend a lot of time with their fingers crossed, albeit figuratively in most cases.
But this year I’d bet many farmers have one hand on the combine’s steering wheel while the other has their fingers securely crossed. That’s because the real potential exists for one of the best harvests on record. And that’s across the board, no matter the crop.
The 2013 corn crop is on pace to top the record crop harvested last year. Yields in some areas are averaging 210 bushels per acre. There was a time if a farmer told someone he was averaging 210 bushels of corn per acre he would have been called delusional, or worse yet, a liar. Not today.
Corn haulers are running nearly non-stop to get this year’s crop to market. Farmers and grain elevators are scrambling for anything with wheels and a trailer to carry a crop that has combines filling up faster than front row seats at a Carrie Underwood concert.
Soybean farmers who are just beginning harvest are finding much the same thing. Bean growers, depending on where they farm and what time of year their crops were planted, also are seeing staggering yields. In the mid-1990s a bean grower was lucky if he averaged 25-30 bushels per acre. Today, those yields wouldn’t pay the fuel bill to run the combine. One West Baton Rouge farmer I spoke with averaged 72-bushel beans. Another soybean grower in Concordia Parish saw his yields reach an unbelievable 99 bushels per acre.
And if further evidence of a stellar crop year in the making is needed, Louisiana sugarcane growers, while delayed somewhat in planting this year’s crop, can’t be anything but pleased at the state of the mill crop right now.
Across the cane belt the sugarcane stalks are tall, lush and green. And while sugar prices are down compared to the last few years, it’s almost certain yields this year, tropical weather notwithstanding, will be healthy. And there’s an old saying in farming that given the choice between the crop and the price, farmers will take the crop every time.
But farmers won’t be the only ones benefitting from the expected bumper harvests. Local farming communities and the state as a whole will also reap the economic benefits. The farm dollar turns over seven times in the local economy. Merchant after merchant, from the equipment dealer to the grocery store owner to the car dealership, and their employees will get their hands on the money farmers pump into their local economies.
Some might ask why isn’t this the case every year? Why is the 2013 crop year different? It’s a good question, a simple question, but one whose answer is very complex. Some farmers might jokingly say it’s the alignment of the stars. Other might say Mother Nature was too tired to kick them in the head this year. But the real reason is one that combines price, crop demand and just a pinch of luck.
Right now a lot of the Louisiana corn crop is being shipped up the Mississippi River to the Midwest Corn Belt where it will be turned into ethanol. One of the reasons our corn is heading north is because Louisiana is the earliest state in the nation to harvest its corn. Our warmer temps that happen earlier in the year means farmers plant their corn months earlier than their Midwest counterparts. For ethanol refiners located in state’s like Illinois and Iowa, our corn becomes a nearly year round feedstock for their product. The result: Higher prices for Louisiana corn.
The same can be said for the Louisiana wheat crop. It’s harvested mid-May, the earliest of any state in the country. And in farming sometimes timing is everything. There are only six states that produce rice and Louisiana is No. 3 behind Arkansas and California. In this case, less truly is more.
Louisiana and Florida constantly run neck-and-neck as the nation’s top sugarcane producing states. Last year Louisiana sugar growers produced a record 1.7 million tons of sugar. In this case more was better. Much better.
When you examine to overall contribution agriculture makes to Louisiana each year you realized how blessed we are to grow lots of different commodities. This hedging of bets, if you will, ensures that Louisiana farmers will remain prosperous and continue to adapt to the ever-changing global farm marketplace.