The wet weather this harvest season has forced many farmers to sit on the sidelines while rain pelted their crops. All the while questions continue to mount throughout the Midwest and Southeast on how the wet weather will affect the amount of harvestable crops.As Scott Kilman reports for the Wall Street Journal, the slow harvest “forced the US Agriculture Department to trim its huge production forecasts and raise its price outlook for everything from corn and rice to cotton.” The USDA issued its monthly crop report on Tuesday, and the report estimates corn farmers will harvest 12.9 billion bushels, this is only a 1 percent decline from the October forecast. So, in reality corn production “will still be the second highest on record, and up 7% from last year [.]” USDA economists expect farmers will receive $3.55 per bushel, which would represent a 6 percent increase from the October forecast.
The federal government began tracking harvest progress in the mid-1970s. Given the data since that time, this is the slowest harvest yet. Most corn producers have only been able to harvest roughly a third of their land. At this point in the year usually 80 percent would have been harvested. One problem with the rain delays is that some farmers may not be able to clear the current crop in time to plant fall wheat. Another problem is using more propane than expected because the farmers have to dry their plants.
From the Midwest to the South, farmers right now are looking for a little sunshine and dry weather to get as much out of their fields as possible.
To read the Wall Street Journal article click here.
