Due to excessive rainfall and flooding experienced during the summer, prices, yields and production for corn and soybeans this year are down significantly from last year.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Indiana Agriculture Report, though improved weather conditions in August have allowed for “some drying of saturated fields” and “some greening of yellowed corn,” “Indiana crop yields are expected to stay well below last year’s records.”
In the Sept. 1 crop forecast, average corn yield for Indiana is expected to average 156 bushels per acre.
“We’re down, averaging 32 bushels below what we did last year, which is quite a hit for the state of Indiana,” Curt Campbell, Purdue Extension educator, said of corn yields in Indiana. “Wabash County we’re down even more than that because there are a few spots in Indiana that really aren’t too bad at all.”
Total corn production is forecast at 856 million bushels, down 21 percent in Indiana, which partially has to do with fields that didn’t get planted, Campbell explained.
“Those that had insurance chose to go with prevent planting rather than take a chance,” he said.
Though Indiana has suffered with corn yields and production, nationally, corn production is forecast at 13.6 billion bushels. Based on September conditions, yields are forecast to average 167.5 bushels per acre and if these numbers are realized, they will be the second highest yield and third largest production on record for the United States, according to the report.
Soybean yield and production also took a hit in Indiana this year, though not quite as significantly as corn. Indiana soybean yield is forecast at 50 bushels an acre, down six bushels from last year. Total soybean production is forecast at 285 million bushels, according to the report, down 7 percent from last year.
The report included a list of prices received by Indiana farmers for the month of July, which were all down from last July.
For corn, farmers received $4.03 per bushel, down $0.04. For soybeans, farmers received $10.30 per bushel, down $3.40. For winter wheat, farmers received $4.91 per bushel, down $0.29.
“Obviously they’re going to look at ways next year to try to cut their production costs down,” Campbell said of Indiana farmers. “In other words, make some cuts in different areas. Maybe they’re not going to add as much fertilizer as they have in the past, kind of bank on what the soils already have, cut some prices that way.”
Campbell said the low return prices could also have an impact on cash rent prices.
“I think landowners are going to be realizing that the profit’s not there for the farmers,” Campbell said. “So they’re maybe gonna give up a little bit of cash rent prices. I don’t see that being a significant drop, but I see there could be some reduction in cash rent prices to help the producer next year.”
Tomatoes were also severely affected by this year’s wet weather. According to the report, tomato processors only contracted 7,200 acres in Indiana in 2015, a decrease of 2,100 acres from 2014.
“You’ve got a very close timetable if you’re working with Red Gold,” Campbell said of the red gold tomato type.
When working with particular types of tomatoes, Campbell explained that farmers have to plant and harvest at certain times and if conditions aren’t right, the yield is not going to be good.
“It’s weather-driven,” Campbell said.
Though Indiana took a hit with corn, soybeans and tomatoes, commercial red meat and milk production saw increases this July from last July.
Indiana commercial red meat production totaled 148.7 million pounds, up 6.7 million pounds, and Indiana dairy herds produced 336 million pounds of milk, up 2.4 percent. According to the report, the daily rate per cow was 59.8 pounds of milk, up 0.8 pounds.
As Indiana was affected by severe weather, so other states were affected by an avian influenza outbreak that occurred earlier this summer.
“Avian flu really didn’t have any affect on us whatsoever,” Campbell said. “We had one flock, it was just a backyard flock, that had less than 100 birds in it. So the poultry people are getting some of the benefits of the higher egg prices because of that virus.”
Layers in Indiana totaled 26.9 million in July, down a mere 2 percent from last year, and total egg production totaled 652 million eggs, down 1 percent.
“We’re as invested in poultry now as, maybe even more than, what we are in swine,” Campbell said. “We’ve had some really big production houses in the northern part of the county.”
Though Indiana took a particularly large hit this year with corn, Campbell said since he’s been involved in agriculture “we never have two years alike,” and remains optimistic for next year.