LITTLE ROCK — With the 2012 harvest all but complete statewide, Arkansas farmers are expected to produce 112 million bushels of corn — a record for the state at a time when much of the corn crop in other states has been devastated by drought.
“The best thing that happened for our guys this year was being able to get that crop in early,” said Matt King, an economist with the Arkansas Farm Bureau.
Warm spring temperatures allowed planting for many crops — including corn — to take place three to four weeks earlier than normal. Corn growers were able to see plants pollinate before the heat, allowing for a good start, King said. After the strong start, the availability of irrigated fields helped get the crop through the summer heat and drought.
The early start resulted in an early harvest, with average yields expected to hit 175 bushels per acre in Arkansas, up 33 bushels per acre from the 142 bushels per acre harvested a year ago, the National Agricultural Statistics Service said in a Sept. 12 report.
Corn as a crop has steadily grown in Arkansas. The statistics service said that farmers harvested 640,000 acres of corn in the state this year, a 23 percent increase over the amount harvested in 2011. In 2010, farmers planted 390,000 acres and harvested 57 million bushels.
Nationally, 96.4 million acres of corn were planted in 2012 — up 4.9 percent over 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, because of the drought that struck the nation’s corn belt, U.S. corn production is expected to shrink by 13 percent to 10.7 billion bushels, with an average yield of 122.8 bushels per acre — the lowest average yield since 1995, according to the statistics service. The av- erage yield nationally in 2011 was 147.2 bushels per acre.
This year’s success means that farmers likely will plant even more corn and soybeans next year — which will cut into the amount of cotton and rice planted, said Jason Kelley, an agronomist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
“Our irrigation takes out some of the drought risk,” but not necessarily heat risk, said Kelley.
Lonoke County farmer Dow Brantley is among those who expects they’ll plant more corn next year, but how much is up in the air.
“How much will all depend on next two or three months,” Brantley, who has 9,000 acres in corn, rice, soybean and cotton production.
He said how the federal Farm Bill that’s now stalled in Congress treats crop subsidies combined with what happens to corn prices will influence his decision.
Asked about Arkansas’ success, the troubles in other states and whether too many farmers will plant more — which could depress prices if yields nationally hit average levels — Brantley pointed out that Arkansas farmers are susceptible to their own misfortunes, such as the remnants of Hurricane Isaac that blew through the state in late August.
“Are we taking advantage of their misfortunes? No, not really. We just see opportunities,” Brantley said. “We can grow corn also. And grow it well and see opportunity to make a profit.”
Kelley agreed that growers are more interested in expanding acreage devoted to corn because of the 2012 results, noting that some are already signing contracts locking in prices for next year’s crops.
But the final decision on how much to plant always revolves around economics, he said, and include how much farmers can get in advance for crops, fertilizer prices and the prices of other crops, such as soybeans.
When corn prices rose to more than $5 per bushel, that got farmers’ attention, Kelley said. At one point, the market for future corn deliveries had corn selling at more than $8 per bushel. The futures market has pulled back, with corn for December delivery closing Thursday at $7.16 per bushel at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
King agreed that corn as well as soybean acreage will climb next year, as long as prices remain strong and cotton and rice prices stay depressed.
That’s prompting many farmers to sign contracts for next year’s crops.
“You’re looking at somewhere between $6 and $6.50 [per bushel] for future contracts,” King said.
However, King said whether corn and soybean plantings continue to expand depends on commodity prices.
There’s no doubt corn’s importance as a crop is growing even though it makes up only a tiny portion of what’s grown nationally.
In Desha County, corn acreage hit 51,000 acres in 2012, compared with around 2,000 acres a decade ago, said Wes Kirkpatrick, chairman of the Desha County Cooperative Extension Service office.
He expects at least that amount will be planted next year if not more, given this year’s results.
“In my area, we have been a traditional cotton-producing area,” said Kirkpatrick. “Over the last four to five years, there’s been a transition away from cotton and into grain and corn is the grain that’s taken over the bulk of those cotton acres,” along with some soybean acreage.
Kirkpatrick said farmers are routinely signing early contracts for their crops.
“A lot of farmers are forward pricing rather than selling across the scales when they deliver it,” Kirkpatrick said. “They are getting some contracts established so they know what they have.”
Arkansas farmers will continue their practice of diversifying their crops, Kirkpatrick said. He said he could think of only one farmer who plants a single crop. “That’s about to change. He’s going to get into more grain.”
Business, Pages 27 on 09/28/2012