Ottumwa Courier, IA
02-06-07
Preparation the key to gaining the most out of high corn prices
Forum gives advice on marketing, corn-on-corn planting and advantages of
byproducts with livestock
By SCOTT NILES Courier staff writer
SIGOURNEY — High corn prices can benefit crop and livestock producers, but
only if they are prepared.
A recent meeting informing farmers of the best way to take advantage of the high
prices was held in Sigourney. Three main topics were the focus of the
discussion: incorporating and marketing mistakes, corn-on-corn planting and
advantages of byproducts with livestock.
Bob Wells, farm management and field specialist for Iowa State University
Extension in Mahaska County, reviewed the most common grain marketing
mistakes and how to avoid them.
The most common mistake he said is anticipation of the previous year.
“Farmers need to stop remembering what happened last year and focus on this
year,” he said. “They keep thinking prices went up on harvest last year and they
will do it again this year. That is not necessarily true. What happened last year is
not going to happen this year; this is a whole new year.”
The second mistake is the reluctance to pre-harvest prices. Wells suggested that
instead of holding out for a higher price, that some farmers should sell now. This
leads into one of the other common errors of keeping the grain in storage too
long while anticipating higher yield prices.
“Some of these mistakes can be avoided if the producer has an exit strategy plan
in case the prices fall and if they have a better understanding of the local basis
they sell to,” Wells said.
The last mistake, he said, is forgetting to apply the storage cost into the profit.
“Farmers need to take this into consideration when they are figuring prices,” he
said.
Wells said that local producers should already be starting on a harvest plan for
2007.
“They can’t be afraid to make sales at this level. If prices go down they can look
like heroes because they sold at a higher price. They can win both ways, but they
have to have a plan to do it,” Wells advised.
Another part of the meeting centered around ways to produce the best yields
when planting corn on corn ground.
Jim Fawcett, an ISU crop specialist for Johnson County, said typically, crop
ground is alternated, planting soybeans one year and corn the next. But since the
price of corn is higher than soybean prices this year, more farmers are leaning
toward more corn-on-corn planting.
Sometimes this can cause problems with the yields.
“The most common problems are rootworm and lack of nutrients in the soil,” he
said.
However, with the corn hybrids that are available, Fawcett said this can be
controlled fairly easily.
“It will take more nitrogen fertilizer, probably about 50 more pounds per acre, but
that has to be put on anyhow,” he said.
Overall, with the added care, Fawcett said corn is still the better bet for this
harvest season.
The final portion of the meeting was dedicated to livestock feeding.
Terry Steinhart, a swine specialist for the ISU Extension in Keokuk County, said
there are ways to reduce feeding expenditures and utilize other grain
alternatives.
“When we have low pig prices and high feed costs, the feed is 80 percent of the
cost,” he said.
Steinhart suggested mixing byproducts in with the livestock feed in order to offset
the high cost of the grain.
He said there are factors that can be adjusted to get the best results.
First, ration the amount of feed in accordance with the size of the pigs. He said
this will make sure there is not a lot of left over.
The other suggestion was to mix distiller dried grain in with the soluble. Distiller
grain is the byproduct that comes from dry milling ethanol plants.
The dry mill grain, he said, is better for cattle and the wet mill byproducts are
better for swine.
“The best thing is to combine all the tips and look at phase feeding, matching
rations size to the animals, make sure there is very little waste and consider
alternative feeds,” Steinhart said.
He said the purpose of the meeting was to inform both crop and livestock farmers
how they can gain the most out of the high corn prices and reduce feed costs.
Scott Niles can be reached at (641) 683-5360 or via e-mail at
sjniles@mchsi.com.