Feed price going down ????

[FL.Boy]

Went to the feed store Monday and 50 lbs of cracked corn was $10.50 but the feed store said that when they get there next shipment that it will go down to $8.50 for 50lbs. So whats going on gas, corn, and food prices seam to be dropping.

[gerald77]

i don't know whats going on but saturday when i bought a bag of feed it was almost a dollar cheaper than usual. whatever it is i hope it stays that way for little while anyway.

[Lane Linnenkohl]

My guess is that corn is coming out of the fields so the supply is up right now.

[RandB]

It's all part of the bigger financial crisis going on in this country. Demand for everything is down, there are now oversupplies of commodities, so the prices will have to come down, just like oil has. It is probably the only benefit of this mess.

[Allen W]

Grain has been working down for awhile now. They're predicting the second largest corn harvest ever.

[Windy in Kansas]

Harvests were plentiful this year which has caused a drop in per bushel prices. Kansas has more corn acreage planted this year than any time since 1936, and for the first time in its history will harvest more bushels of corn than wheat. Will our slogan need to be changed from The Wheat State to The Corn State? With our lower rainfall we'll never rival other states but still we are in the market.

[MELOC]

i think randb has it. i use this commodities webpage to tract prices and lots of stuff is falling in price. there was a day last week where all the categories were up and in the green, but the general trend has been for things to come down.

http://money.cnn.com/data/commodities/index.html

Flock Raiser came down about a dollar a bag, whole corn not quite a dollar, whole oats remained about the same as of a week ago when I bought feed last.

.....Alan.

[plowjockey]

My mill has not lowered layer mix prices yet. "Maybe this week" was the answer I had received. Maybe after more people start complaining, they will make the changes.

[FarmboyBill]

Prices always go down this time of year, The elevators are filled to the tops, The streets are filled with shelled corn. They know that the farmers cant store all if there corn, so, they know they can drop the price per bu, and its been that way for 100 years

[rambler]

This is a normal low-price point of grains - during harvest.

The USDA believes we are having a record crop of grains in the USA - driving prices down.

The ecconomy mess makes everyone nervious - some believe people will not be able to afford as much grain as they could last yeear. Here, and overseas as well. So they think their will be less demand, which lowers price.

Grains have fallen a lot the past 3 days, a very lot. About limit down, which is 30 cents a day for corn. They also have fallen a couple bucks before that since their all time high this past winter.

Some farmers believe there is no where near the amount of corn & soybeans out there in the fields that the USDA is predicting. Many areas have poor and weather-beaten fields, and do not know where the record yields are going to come from.

If demand holds up (and these lower prices might help people continue to buy grains - other countries, big buyers) and if we end up having a poor crop as many farmers believe, prices could rise again in December - alot.

However, with the ecconomy the way it is, things could just nosedive as well.

Not trying to predict anything. Just that there are people believing both ways - grains are going to go way up, or they are going to drop this winter & spring.

BNe advised, cheap grain might not be such a great thing - seed, fuel, and fertilizer, as wella s weed control, has all gone up greatly in price, and many suppliers & even farmers have these prices all to deal with yet this winter _before_ we plant the crops. If grain prices fall, we simpley will not be able to pay the costs of all this, and it will cut the amount of grains we raise for 2009. This could become a big issue - costs way up, prices way down - where is your food going to come from?

Just something else to worry about.

--->Paul

[travlnusa]

Each month since April, the USDA planting report has been reporting a larger and larger corn crop.

The floods in IA scared all, but then logic set back in.

Also, the value of the dollar is starting to inch up a touch, thus exports are backing off a bit.

[ladycat]

One of the poultry trade journals I got in the mail a couple days ago says feed prices will NOT be coming down in the next year.

The commercial producers (Pilgrim, Tyson, etc), are already contracting for the cheaper grains from South America for next year.

Of course us "small" people can't buy millions of tons of cheap imported grain, so we'll be stuck with the high prices here.

[Windy in Kansas]

Originally Posted by rambler

BNe advised, cheap grain might not be such a great thing - seed, fuel, and fertilizer, as wella s weed control, has all gone up greatly in price, and many suppliers & even farmers have these prices all to deal with yet this winter _before_ we plant the crops. If grain prices fall, we simpley will not be able to pay the costs of all this, and it will cut the amount of grains we raise for 2009. This could become a big issue - costs way up, prices way down -

My renter this past week said his anhydrous ammonia cost $1000 per ton this year, one spraying $18 per acre, and with $4 diesel the input of that cost along with custom cutters for harvesting the crop----well he is starting to consider retirement. As he said, with such high input costs just to plant the crop and have one or two failed crops will wipe out many farmers. Anyone have dice, might as well roll them in Vegas since it would be more fun.

[FL.Boy]

I know this will more than likely get me flamed but i blame the farmers for some of there problems. They just keep doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome. Instead of spaying and fertilizer why don't they do more cover crops and rotate. Some of the farmers around here don't spray they just let the weeds grow so it must not hurt them to bad.

[rambler]

Originally Posted by FL.Boy

I know this will more than likely get me flamed but i blame the farmers for some of there problems. They just keep doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome. Instead of spaying and fertilizer why don't they do more cover crops and rotate. Some of the farmers around here don't spray they just let the weeds grow so it must not hurt them to bad.

I grow corn, soybeans, and a little oats - very little. I have a few cattle, not many. I'm one of the smallest farms in my county, and I try to make my living off it.


So, I rotate corn & soybeans. All the time. Everyone does where practical.

I use every bit of manure I get to fertilize next year's corn. I get very little tho - my cattle graze a lot.

The oats I grow to break up the weeds & diseases a bit, someplace to apply manure, and I plant it with a cover crop. This year I put down clover/alfalfa blend, turnips, and field peas in with the oats in early spring.

In a couple weeks I will fence that field, as well as a corn field, and let the cattle graze until the snow gets too deep.

Here in MN, we typically have a deep frost any day now. In spring the snow goes away in April, and we have corn in the ground in about 2 weeks.

How can I plant a cover crop on any of my corn or soybean ground? It would never have a chance to grow????

I got 93 bu of oats per acre this year - avery good crop. Add in the cover crop I planted, and the valued the soil & cattle will get from it, and I sold the straw.

My corn I try for 175bu an acre. With my variable soils, some will get 200+bu an acre, some will be 140 or so. I try for 175.

What do you get per acre for your corn with cover crops & rotations?

My beans can get to 50 bu an acre, but I have high-ph soils and beans just do not grow so well. This year will probably be 30bu an acre. Just tough weather, lots of insects & disease on them.

What kind of protien & food/feed value do you pull off of your land in comparison?

What should I be doing better?

What are you doing better? I always like to learn more about farming - I am only now working in soil tests, strip fertilizer, and so on to improve my farming. I'd love to learn more - help me out.

What I do is similar to the rest of the county. The other 'big' farmers.

I'm not gonna flame you.

I just don't see what it is you want me to do? What is it you think I - and my neighbors - are doing wrong?

What is my fault?

Heck, the past 2 years is the best farming of my life. Who was complaining about farming?

My comments were to those who need to buy feed - be aware of what is happening. We are on a see-saw ride, and it can go drasitically one way or the other. Don't get caught left out of a good deal on feed costs.

--->Paul

[FL.Boy]

It sounds like your doing good. i was referring to what i see around here they just plant the same thing over and over i never see anyone plant cover crops and here in Florida you can grow just about all year.I'm not a big corn fan to me its to much space and time taken up for what little you get out of it.But the point is there's always something out there better. You sound a lot like me and keep an open mind about things i wish some other people would.

[Jennifer L.]

If the economic problems keep going, and people can't get loans easily in the spring to plant, you will see grain prices skyrocket. So enjoy these prices while they're here.

Jennifer

[Windy in Kansas]

Originally Posted by FL.Boy

Instead of spaying and fertilizer why don't they do more cover crops and rotate.

I can't speak about why they don't in your area but in much of Kansas there isn't enough rainfall for both. You actually aim for two crops every three years with the third used to build up subsoil moisture to start the routine over.
Summer fallow to gather moisture, winter wheat, then milo.

Originally Posted by FL.Boy

Some of the farmers around here don't spray they just let the weeds grow so it must not hurt them to bad.

You certainly don't find that in Kansas for the above reason. You don't want the weeds growing and sucking the moisture from the field.

I also wonder what it costs to work ground for a cover crop, buy seed for it, plant it, plow it under, etc. versus simply applying fertilizer, and of course how much moisture does the cover crop use which has the potential to or does lower crop yield. Sounds great but things don't always work out like the sustainable ag people would like for you to think they would.

[Ramblin Wreck]

Cows were down in price at the sale barn on Monday. It was a buyer's market for sure. Maybe prices are coming down.