Parsons, Kansas —
Only 1.5 percent of U.S. Corn Supply Is Used In “Cereals and Other Products” Category… Farmers Still Get Only nine cents of the $4.19 That Consumers Pay for a Box of Cereal According To USDA Price Statistics
“With a drought-driven-reduced 2012 corn crop we see higher corn prices paid to farmers being blamed as the reason food prices to consumers will rise and that is wrong,” says Gale Lush, Nebraska corn farmer and Chairman of the American Corn Growers Foundation. “Only 200 million bushels or 1.5 percent of the 2011/12 marketing year’s 13.5 billion bushel corn supply will be utilized in the corn use category of “Cereals and Other Products” according to the June 2012 reports from the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service. The farmer’s share is only nine cents of a $4.19 box of cereal.”
“For those who are trying to make corn use for ethanol the scapegoat farmers need to remind the public, politicians and consumers that only the starch from yellow field corn is used to produce ethanol,” said Lush. “The protein, minerals, oils, all those high value feed components, still go to livestock feed just as they would have if the entire bushel of corn would have been fed to livestock. The real added value is that with corn use for ethanol the livestock still gets the feed and the U.S. economy gets all those billions of gallons of ethanol that results in about $1.09 per gallon cheaper gasoline prices at the pump for all U.S. motorists, or a savings in 2011 of about $1,200 per household, according to the University of Wisconsin and Iowa State University.”
Lush added, “According to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service the retail price paid at the grocery store for an 18 ounce box of cereal, such as corn flakes in May 2012, was $4.19. The farmer’s share of that $4.19 box of cereal was only $.09 or about two percent. Even with stronger corn prices the farmer still only gets about two percent of the retail price paid by consumers for the relatively small amount of the U.S. corn supply that goes to cereal products. Who gets $4.10 of that $4.19 price paid by consumers for that box of cereal? According to USDA, off farm costs including marketing, processing, wholesaling, distribution and retailing account for 80 cents of every food dollar spent in the United States. It’s not the price of corn causing grocery prices to go up.”
Source: USDA-ERS June 2012 Corn Food, Seed, Industrial.
Crops
Corn prices vs food prices, don’t blame corn
- Crops
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Plant now, add nitrogen later
When the rain faucet shuts off, plant first and apply nitrogen later, advises Peter Scharf, University of Missouri Extension agronomy specialist and professor in plant sciences at the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.
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MU Field Scouting Report: No freeze damage to wheat, delayed corn planting
Wheat is in the flag leaf to early boot stage. No freeze damage to the wheat head was seen. Temporary phosphorus deficiency, identified by purpling on leaf tips, was seen due to cold weather.
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Corn planting dates and cold temps cause concern
“The possibility of temperatures nearing 32 degrees or below, there is concern among producers for damage of the wheat head,” said Jill Scheidt, agronomy specialist with the University of Missouri Extension in Barton County. According to Bill Wiebold, state specialist with the University of Missouri Extension, wheat is the most sensitive to freezing temperatures when the heads are coming out and flowers are beginning to form.
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Wildcat Extension Report: Can gypsum fix what ails your soil?
A man much wiser than me once said that the easiest way to change your soil is to move. Unfortunately, this is not always an option for most producers. Soils in southeast Kansas are classified, in general, to be heavy clay soils.
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Kansas wheat growers should be aware of crop diseases
With forecasts of snow still a possibility and the wheat just starting to green up in parts of Kansas, it may surprise some wheat growers to know that March is an important month for wheat disease development.
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Cover crops can provide many benefits
Having plant growth in fields year-round can improve the soil, according to Tim Reinbott, superintendent of the University of Missouri Bradford Research Center. He says using cover crops in the fall and spring can provide large benefits.
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Drought impacts U.S. soybean quality results
According to a recent soy-checkoff-funded study, the overall oil levels in last year’s U.S. soybean crop increased over the previous year, while average protein fell. United Soybean Board (USB) Customer Focus Action Team Chair Sharon Covert says U.S. soy’s biggest users pay attention to those results.
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Midwest soil could take up to two years to recover
The Midwest suffered the worst drought in years last summer, and Midwest soil has been suffering from a drought since early 2010. As a result, crops have wilted and farmers have fallen on hard times. Now, a University of Missouri researcher says that it may take at least two years for crops and soil to recover.
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Ag profitability conference addresses crop concerns
Corn and soybean producers face wide-ranging harvest price possibilities for the crops they plant this spring.
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Local growers get latest on new herbicides
Controlling herbicide resistant weeds was the hot topic during the Andrew County Ag. Update conference on Thursday, Jan. 17 in the Clasbey Center in Savannah, Mo.
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Plant now, add nitrogen later
