3.86 million acres of South Dakota cropland are lying fallow this year due to our awful wet spring:
In South Dakota alone, a total of more than 3,947,548 acres that normally would be planted with crops are lying fallow this year. That number includes 2,845,194 acres of corn and 850,864 acres of soybeans in fields where farmers were prevented from planting [Beth Burger and Doug Caruso, “Nearly 4 Million Acres Unplanted in South Dakota Because of Excess Rain {paywall},” Columbus Dispatch/Gatehouse Media via Aberdeen American News, 2019.08.14].
The South Dakota Department of Agriculture says we have over nineteen million acres of cropland. Thus, over 20% of South Dakota’s crop land is producing nothing but weeds this year.
The latest USDA crop projections, based on data as of August 1, say South Dakota will harvest 19% less corn, 39% fewer soybeans, 11% less spring wheat, 11% fewer oats, and 18% less sorghum. On the bright side, we’re harvesting 20% more winter wheat, 29% more alfalfa, and 29% more other hay.
USDA says nationwide, the wet spring kept farmers off 19.26 million normally cultivated acres, at least according to what farmers have reported to the Farm Service Agency. South Dakota’s 3.86 million acres make up 20.07%, the single biggest chunk, of reported unplanted acres. The next most hindered planting state was Illinois, where farmers reported 1.50 million acres left unplanted. Four other states reported over a million acres unplanted: Ohio, Missouri, Arkansas, and Minnesota. In Nebraska, where it also rained like crazy last spring, farmers reported “only” 408,000 unplanted acres.
Reports such as this should send grain prices higher for farmers now and in the future knowing there will be a smaller harvest than guesstimated before planting.
Allow me a bit of snipe: I hope some rotten Socialist from the tax-wasting government doesn’t come in and try to pay these free-market farmers for the loss of their ability to produce this season. Socialism and “big government” spending tax dollars (according to the talk I hear around SD) are AWFUL.
Thank you for letting me get that off my chest.
You probably know this O, since your comment was snipe, but I’ve been running across bits of information about the “Planting Prevent” insurance coverage. (I might not have the name of it exactly right.) It seems like farmers are saying it’s really an insufficient amount. I imagine it falls in the “better than nothing at all” category.
thus the foremost issue of 2020 election: CLIMATE CHANGE.
Number two is economic inequality.
That covers it, really. Hard to describe which is more complex. I will find an article which describes #2 in depth.
thus the foremost issue of 2020 election: CLIMATE CHANGE.
Number two is economic inequality.
That covers it, really. Hard to describe which is more complex. I will find an article which describes #2 in depth.
This is a video of Minnesota farmers about Economic Eunuch’s disastrous trade war. (It’s a Democratic video, which takes nothing away from the farmer’s words.)
https://www.facebook.com/OccupyDemocrats/videos/402635940604161/?app=fbl
Mike, another of your illustrious Iowa MOCs had less than complimentary words for the Bungler-in-Chief. (From the paywalled Strib.)
______________________________________________
Sen. Charles Grassley says farmers were “screwed” by the Trump administration’s decision to allow some refineries to not blend ethanol with gasoline as required under federal law.
During a taping of Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press” program Friday, Grassley was asked his thoughts on 31 refinery exemptions the Environmental Protection Agency issued for 2018 and approved after a review last week. He responded: “They screwed us.”
President Donald Trump promised farmers , who largely supported him in the 2016 election, he would support ethanol production. The fuel is primarily made from corn.
Industry groups say the additional exemptions reduced biofuel demand by 1 billion gallons. They say previous exemptions the last two years reduced demand by 2.6 billion gallons.
Some in the industry blame the policy for recent biofuels plant closures.
Climate change and economic inequality are not linearly independent variables.
57% of the global wind turbines come from 4 companies: Vestas in Denmark, Goldwind in China, GE Renewable Energy (US), and Siemens Gamesa in Spain. Similar outcomes are found in batteries, solar power, and nuclear power.
So there is the opportunity to do much more in terms of domestic clean power and its associated economic impact.
And we are not really mining the critical elements nor recycling them either. Ironically, the melting of ice and snow in Greenland may facilitate more access to the critical elements it holds that are necessary for clean energy.
With regard to biofuels, hydrogen from biomass may be the future. But we need a suite of biomass crops that can grow in the extreme conditions.
The prices have improved very little even though nearly 20 million acres couldn’t be planted. We have become a very risky supplier for any market, not just China, with the antics this administration has pulled. 20 million and the burdensome overstock of grain is projected to hardly decline. If this hadn’t happened prices would be far below the federal crop insurance price support. Federal Crop insurance is subsidized to the max so I guess you all are paying for the mess we farmers are in.
Keep checking that R box!
EU farm subsidy amount’s to 38% of the EU budget. EU farmers say they need that much to compete with US farmers!
Just more of the race to the bottom! I think we may be winning…..
Debbo, a good friend of mine sat down with his non framing son and did the math on “Prevented Planting” and determined that the payment, though small, would be more profitable than growing the crop. Remember, no expenses and low projected crop prices.
Well, him being in the habit of growing things he got about half of his land planted.
Son was right….fall crop prices now are such that the best move would have been to take a vacation.
Here is an idea, do like Uruguay.
“This year, Uruguay is beating its historical record of import of beef to satisfy the domestic market, a whole change of situation for one of the world’s leading producers, promoted by the constant rise in exports to a voracious buyer: China . According to official data, last July they arrived in the South American country, one of the world’s roast mecca, 3,000 tons of beef from Brazil , and to a lesser extent, from Paraguay and Argentina. Meanwhile, thousands of tons of high-quality local product were shipped from its ports to China and many other countries. The trace ability of cattle and the feeding of cows, only with pastures, without fattening flour or hormones the world, has allowed Uruguayan meat to position itself in the high quality segment. In parallel, swine fever has triggered demand.”
Get it, the market does not like hormones and other additives America any more than they like chlorinated chicken. If you want to be a capitalist ag producer, then produce products that will sell.
Here is an idea, do like Uruguay.
“This year, Uruguay is beating its historical record of import of beef to satisfy the domestic market, a whole change of situation for one of the world’s leading producers, promoted by the constant rise in exports to a voracious buyer: China . According to official data, last July they arrived in the South American country, one of the world’s roast mecca, 3,000 tons of beef from Brazil , and to a lesser extent, from Paraguay and Argentina. Meanwhile, thousands of tons of high-quality local product were shipped from its ports to China and many other countries. The trace ability of cattle and the feeding of cows, only with pastures, without fattening flour or hormones the world, has allowed Uruguayan meat to position itself in the high quality segment. In parallel, swine fever has triggered demand.”
Get it, the market does not like hormones and other additives America any more than they like chlorinated chicken. If you want to be a capitalist ag producer, then produce products that will sell.
Clyde, that’s amazing. Don’t farm and make more $. What an ag program the GOP created.
Jerry, maybe we ought to import Uruguayan beef? Actually, there are lots of small farmers in the US that raise beef that way. You can find them online or at farmers markets or sometimes, next door.