Corn Prices Could Linger Below Breakeven

URBANA – Corn priced below breakeven prices could continue for the foreseeable future, according to an agricultural economics expert from the University of Illinois Department of ACES. “For farmland that is cash rented near average rent levels, breakeven corn prices have increased from $1.67 per bushel in 2004 to the mid-$4.00 range in 2013 and 2014. Mid -$4.00 breakeven prices will cause losses when corn prices are in the low -$4.00 range or below,” said Gary Schnitkey in a November 5 post on the university’s farmdocdaily website. “There are good possibilities of prices being below breakeven prices over the next several years.”

Increases in breakeven prices since 2004 can be traced to higher cash rents and input costs, according to Schnitkey. But due to lower fertilizer prices and higher projected yields, the 2014 breakeven level is projected below the 2013 level, at $4.31/bu. However, lower corn price projections could offset the reduction.

“Cash bids for 2014 fall delivery are near $4.35 per bushel, near the $4.31 per bushel breakeven level. Corn prices in the low $4 and high $3 per bushel range are possible over the next several years, leading to the possibility of losses,” Schnitkey indicated. (For the full report, go to www.farmdoc.illinois.edu/manage/newsletters/fefo13_21/fefo_13_21.html. on the Web.)

Container Shipping Gains Interest

BLOOMINGTON – With freight bottlenecks on the Mississippi River costing the U.S. economy an estimated $200 billion annually, the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) is among a growing number of agricultural commodity groups, barge companies and river industry stakeholders to voice support for reinstating container shipping and initiating market-based, commercial container-on-barge (COB) operations on the river. “Forty percent of Illinois’ agricultural production is moved down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico,” said Scott Sigman, ISA transportation and export infrastructure lead. “The board of directors of the ISA have evaluated the potential, and COB will be a valuable addition to to the current logistics system.”

Increasing the shipments of containerized ag commodities– such as soybeans– to foreign markets in China and elsewhere can be possible due to an excess of empty or half-filled shipping containers usually returned to their ports of origin emptied or underfilled, according to Sigman. “Ag products could be the base freight on a COB service and additional commodities and businesses could benefit,” he said. “They could literally piggyback on the ag volume.”

Opening the Mississippi River to COB shipping would not only help relieve river bottlenecks by reducing the square footage required to move products in bulk form, it would contribute to a more competitive agricultural shipping market for users of all transportation modes, Sigman added.

“Dire States” Road Tour Stops in DeKalb

DEKALB – It’s not every day that an award winning author and infrastructure expert stops in a small Illinois farming community to call attention to problems with America’s aging and occasionally crumbling rural bridges and roads, but that’s what happened last week in DeKalb. Author Dan McNichol, along with his faithful mechanic, Pear, sputtered into town in a beat down 1949 Hudson– representative of the age of much of the infrastructure supporting America’s Interstate System– to meet with area and township officials and members of the agricultural community. After gathering in DeKalb, McNichol and Paul Rasmussen, director of the Illinois Soybean Association, visited the Keslinger Road Bridge in Afton Township, which collapsed in 2008. The absence of the bridge creates a 16.7 mile detour for farmers and township residents and is a prime example of the need for more government spending on transportation infrastructure projects.

“Dan brings a sharp and informed voice to the discussion on America’s infrastructure,” says Jim Hasler, vice president of CASE Construction Equipment, which is partnering with McNichol on his “Dire States” road tour running through March 2014. “Infrastructure plays a vital role in our quality of life, getting from one place to another safely and advancing the economic stability of the entire country. We are a nation that is still standing on the edge of a fragile recovery, and finding ways to move these projects forward will help create jobs and spur economic development and prosperity.” (Charleston-Orwig, CASE Equipment news release)

Focus on Lake Springfield Nitrate Levels

BLOOMINGTON – The Bloomington-based Illinois Council on Best Management Practices (CBMP) is spearheading a partnership along with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the City of Springfield to coordinate the efforts of farmers, ag retailers, the Sangamon County Soil and Water District and others to lower nitrate levels in Lake Springfield. The partnership was formed in response to public concern over whether drought-influenced agricultural practices contributed to a near-excess level of nitrates present last spring in the lake, which serves as the capital city’s primary source for drinking water. The committee will work through local ag retailers to encourage farmers to adopt nutrient management plans under CBMP’s N-Watch soil nitrate testing system. The plan drew the praise of Robert Flider, director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

“This innovative partnership is another example of how agriculture and urban partners are making progress by working together on the important goal of improving water quality,” Flider said in a CBMP news release. “Ultimately, these efforts to keep nutrients for the crop will improve agricultural production and reduce the need for costly water treatment systems, which benefits everyone.”

The three-year partnership is supported by matching funding from NFWF- Conservation Partners. It is supported by CBMP partners including the Illinois Corn Growers Assoc., Ill. Farm Bureau, Ill. Fertilizer & Chemical Assoc., Ill. Soybean Assoc., Ill. Pork Producers Assoc., Syngenta, Monsanto and GROWMARK Inc.

Illinois Farm Fact:

After falling to an estimated 15 percent “adequate” rating the week of October 21, steady precipitation boosted central Illinois’ topsoil moisture level rating to a rating of 63 percent adequate on November 4. (USDA-NASS Illinois Weather & Crops report)

(Tim Alexander is a freelance reporter who writes agriculture, news and feature articles for the News Bulletin, Farm World and many other publications.)