June AEM Ag Flash Reports
The Association of Equipment Manufact-urers’ (AEM) monthly Ag Flash Reports compares data from the current and past year of the U.S. and Canadian unit retail sales of two- and four-wheel drive tractors and self-propelled combines.
Highlights of the report are listed below. For more complete data, go to AEM.org.
U.S. Report:
| Under 40 HP: | 9,332 | -9.8% (from 2009) |
| 40 & Under 100 HP: | 5,276 | -8.9% |
| 100 HP & Over: | 1,914 | +7.4% |
| Total 2 Wheel Drive: | 16,522 | -7.8% |
| Total 4 Wheel Drive: | 494 | +64.7% |
| Total Tractors: | 17,016 | -6.6% |
| Combines (Self-Prop): | 910 | -3.7% |
Canadian Report:
| Under 40 HP: | 1,394 | +0.4% (from 2009) |
| 40 & Under 100 HP: | 474 | -33.0% |
| 100 HP & Over: | 281 | -34.7% |
| Total 2 Wheel Drive: | 2,149 | -14.9% |
| Total 4 Wheel Drive: | 76 | -43.3% |
| Total Tractors: | 2,225 | -16.4% |
| Combines (Self-Prop): | 236 | -29.1% |
Farmers Pay Disproportionate Amount Of Shipping Costs
A recent study, funded by the checkoff-funded Soy Transportation Coalition (STC), shows the strong economic relationships between transportation costs and individual farmer profitability, USAgNet reports. The study concludes that the costs to transport ag products is disproportionately absorbed by the farmers through a wider, more negative basis when they deliver their crop to the elevator.
“All of these costs affect our pricing, because transportation affects our basis,” said United Soybean Board (USB) and soybean checkoff farmer-leader Joe Meyer, a soybean farmer from Williamsburg, IN. “Farmers, almost always, pay for the cost of getting their products to market, and that doesn’t just mean putting it on a truck and taking it to the local elevator. It also includes the costs that are further assigned as it goes along to its final destination.”
This study calls attention to another issue beyond the elevator that affects U.S. soybean farmers’ bottom lines. Meyer said all farmers should be aware of all the variables that affect the price they receive for their soybeans.
“We need to be informed on all of the issues that affect our profitability,” Meyer said. “We need to understand all of the factors that go into the price of soybeans, including the cost of transportation. Through our checkoff investment in the STC, we have become a lot more aware of issues like these.”
Meyer also urged his fellow soybean farmers to work collectively to find ways to ensure the U.S. transportation system remains well maintained and efficient, and not an obstacle to soybean farmer profitability.
The study analyzed 36 soybean-loading facilities in seven states, studying the relationship between basis and transportation costs.
Part of the study included a survey of 11 grain traders who were asked whether end users or farmers pay for transportation costs. Seven traders said farmers pay for shipping, while two replied that end users pay for shipping and two said farmers and end users split the costs.