|
|
Wheat farmers reaping amber waves of grain with prices up
FORT MORGAN, Colo. (AP)--Good winter snow cover and a wet spring have been a double blessing for Colorado wheat farmers. All across eastern Colorado, semitrailer trucks and standard farm trucks are lining up at weigh scales. A shortage of migrant labor has meant some farmers have had to help their neighbors. "It's an excellent crop. We haven't had a crop like this in probably 7 or 10 years," Nick Midcap, a wheat grower in Wiggins told KUSA TV. Darrell Hanavan, executive director of the Colorado Association of wheat Growers, said 83 million bushels are expected, compared with 39 million last year. Some areas are benefiting both from good harvests and oil and gas development. "There are a lot more smiles this year," said Terry Kraich, manager of the Grainland Co-op elevator at New Haven, south of Fleming. "Everybody needed this--good bushels, good prices." "The wheat is good quality, too, this year," Kraich told the Sterling Journal-Advocate. Prices are up from $4.60 a bushel last year to as much as $5.75. Too much rain in other producers, including Oklahoma and Texas, is helping raise prices. "Wheat growers were blessed this year. We had 3 feet and 4 feet of beneficial snow that laid over the winter crop which melted in the spring. This is going to be a good year for wheat farmers considering they have been in a 7 year continuous drought," Hanavan said. Corn farmers also are likely to do well with soaring prices. They have planted 25 percent more acreage this year than last as demand for ethanol and food imports from booming Asian economies push demand. The year has been a disaster for ranchers, especially in the southeast, where blizzards killed thousands of head of cattle and efforts to gain disaster aid have had only mixed results. Date: 7/11/07
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2012. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
|
