Come Again Another Day
Rain, that is! Monday’s Informa Economics Policy Report said that more than a million acres of corn land and that more than two million acres of soybeans in Iowa have been lost due to the seemingly never-ending flooding. Even the East Coast media is beginning to take notice of the flooded towns and fields.
(It seems the only time the media takes notice of the Midwest is either when they decry using corn for ethanol or when flood-caused grain shortages threaten higher food prices!) Corn futures are now in the mid $7.00 range and bean futures are well into $15.00, according to Agri-Marketing. Officially, corn damage is estimated at 10% but many experts are saying it will be higher.
Some are estimating that two million acres of total cropland will be lost this calendar year. That compares to the three million acres lost during the drastic flood year of 1993. The Iowa Farm Bureau estimated on Friday, June 13, that up to 20% of Iowa’s grain crops may be lost. This is the first solid estimate on possible crop loss in the state.
The National Weather Service is calling the moisture level of soil at “once-in-a-hundred-year” levels. Even where fields have avoided flood damage, the waterlogged soil will certainly reduce crop yields.
Senate Agriculture Committee chairman, Tom Harkin (DID) felt “dumbstruck” after touring the state by helicopter. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), a top member of the Agriculture Committee, also on the tour with Sen. Harkin, added, “There isn’t a dry field in the state.”
Aside from crop damage, barge and rail traffic has probably been most severely hit by the flooding.
The Army Corps of Engineers reports 11 locks on the upper Mississippi are closed as of this writing. This has effectively closed river traffic from Missouri to Minnesota, affecting fertilizer delivery upstream, as well as grains downstream for exporting purposes.
As of June 8, USDA reported that only 77% of the soybean crop had been planted vs. 92% last year. Only 56% of that crop had emerged by the June date, while 80% of the beans had emerged last year. Ninety-two percent of the expected corn acres had been planted by June 8, while only 89% had emerged.
Agriculture Online said, “Monday’s USDA Crop Progress report (June 9) showed a 3% decline in corn conditions from the previous week, with 60% in good-to-excellent condition, compared to 63% a week ago. Forty percent is seen in very poor to fair condition, compared to 30% the previous week. Emergence is slightly behind the average pace: As of Sunday, 89% of the nation’s corn had emerged, compared to the previous 95% average.”
The online report said, “Monday’s soybean planting numbers alone are enough to make market-watchers and traders in Chicago a little nervous. Plantings are 12% off the previous average at 77%.
There is one bright spot with soybeans, however, as 85% of the nation’s beans are in fair-to-good shape compared to the 82% fair-to-good average.”
Widely quoted, the United Press International reported, “one farmer, Dave Timmerman said, his farm has been flooded four times in the past month by overflow from Wildcat Creek, a Cedar River tributary. Timmerman’s newly planted corn is surrounded by pools of water and he hasn’t been able to plant his soybeans because the soil is waterlogged . . . ” the New York Times also reported. “It’s going downhill by the day,” Timmerman said.
One possible outcome of all this misery in rural America – possibly the urban population might begin to appreciate the value of a farm safety net. But, then again, they’ll probably worry more about the effects rain has on their gladiolas.