Wet Spring and Fall Complicating 2019 Harvest, and Could Impact 2020 Planting- Compounding Difficulties

Couple that demand with the increasing cold weather, and with it the increase in propane use for drying the corn out more and the need to heat homes, suppliers were left unprepared.

The Globe Gazette article stated that, “Not all farmers have the capability to dry their own corn on their farm, so they take them to a co-op to dry, which many use propane. Now the co-ops are shutting down and not accepting wet grain at noon, Hestness said.

“‘When they do that, it’s hard for farmers to continue to get this crop out of the field,’ he said. ‘Now that there’s snow on the ground, it’s getting colder, you’re losing yields, you’re losing money, you’re leaving money out in the fields. There’s a lot of stuff that’s going on right now, that with this entire year and everything that’s happened, this is just another piece, another straw on the camel’s back.'”

Also on the propane drying issue, Reuters writer Mark Weinraub reported last week that, “Grain merchant Archer Daniels Midland Co is waiving the fees it charges farmers to dry grain at three of its Midwestern corn processors as it seeks supplies to keep the plants running at optimum levels through a slow, wet harvest period, a spokeswoman said on Thursday.”

Farmers, who are weeks behind schedule in much of the U.S. corn belt due to rainy harvest conditions, have been reluctant to sell their grain at current price levels. Free drying offers them a significant break as tight supplies of propane needed to run grain driers have sent costs soaring this fall.

The Reuters article stated that, “ADM’S chief financial officer said last week the company expected wet crops would lead to increased revenues from its drying operations.

“But a spokeswoman said in an e-mailed statement that ADM on Wednesday started offering free drying of corn at 19% moisture rate or less that farmers brought to its wet corn mills in Decatur, Illinois, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Clinton, Iowa. The plants process corn into ethanol and produce ingredients used by food and beverage companies.”

Meanwhile, Jessie Van Berkel reported on the front page of Friday’s Minneapolis Star Tribune that, “Gov. Tim Walz made a plea Thursday on behalf of Minnesota farmers beset by waterlogged fields that made it difficult to plant and harvest soybeans, or whose beets and potatoes remain frozen in the ground.

“‘Northwest Minnesota needs access to federal aid to recover and endure the effects these losses will have in the coming years,’ Walz said in a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.

“Farmers have been pushing for federal disaster assistance after an unusually hard season made worse by President Donald Trump’s trade war with China. Walz took up their call Thursday, asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to grant disaster designation to a dozen Minnesota counties. The designation makes it easier for affected farmers to access loans and qualify for a federal program that helps offset disaster-related losses.”

Additional news items pointed out that the adverse weather was set to continue in many parts of the Corn Belt.

John Bacon reported on the front page of Monday’s USA Today that, “A wide swath of the nation is bracing for an early season blast of cold, wintry weather that could smash records from New Mexico to New Jersey and bring more than a foot of snow to parts of Michigan.

“‘148 daily record lows are currently forecast to be broken, tied, or come within 1 degree between Tuesday and Thursday this week,’ the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center tweeted Sunday.”

As poor weather conditions complicate efforts to complete harvest in some states, the effects of the fall weather have adversely impacted yields in some areas.

Reuters writer Mark Weinraub reported late last week that, “The U.S. Agriculture Department lowered its corn harvest outlook on Friday as cold and wet conditions late in the growing season cut into yields in key production areas such as South Dakota, Nebraska and Minnesota.”

Unfortunately, the impacts of the wet year could continue into spring planting in 2020 for some areas.

A fall flood update last week from the National Weather Service explained that, “Well above normal rain and snowfall throughout 2019 has led to unprecedented flooding, record high river levels, and abnormally wet ground for the fall season across the region.

“Through the end of October, nearly every state in the Upper Midwest and Northern Plains was within its top five wettest years-to-date.”

The Weather Service update noted that, “While wintertime precipitation makes up a relatively small amount of the overall yearly precipitation for many locations, the amount of snow that falls over the span of a winter has a significant impact on spring flood potential. This is because the water held in that snow tends to be released over a relatively short period of time during the spring thaw.”

With respect to potential impacts of the “unusually high streamflow, water levels, and abnormally wet soil,” the Weather Service pointed to: “Widespread record flooding again next spring,” and “Delay or prevention of crop planting.”

Another difficult spring would certainly be unwelcome in today’s economic climate.

Annie Gowen, in a front page article in Sunday’s Washington Post, summed up the state of the agricultural economy this way: “Farm bankruptcies and loan delinquencies are rising, calamitous weather events are ruining crops, and profits are vanishing during Trump’s global trade disputes.”

Writing in Monday’s Wall Street Journal, Jacob Bunge and Kirk Maltais pointed out that, “Five straight years of bumper harvests have pushed down crop prices and eroded farm profits. The Trump administration’s trade war with China has further depressed demand for U.S. crops. Record wet weather this year left millions of acres unplanted.

“Farm debt is projected to hit a record $416 billion this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, up nearly 40% since 2012. Defaults and bankruptcies are rising as well, crimping the ability of cash-strapped farmers to secure funding for seed, fertilizer and fuel.”