0227ninemkMRpmjml-ncoew-.cfm
Just a scoop full
"Just a scoop full">
Just a scoop full
(Feb. 27)--What a wild ride in the wheat market. As of very early Wednesday morning, wheat had fallen on the futures a dollar a bushel with corn 8 cents to 10 cents a bushel cheaper, also--but that was changing fast.
Feeder cattle movement is in full swing with a lot moving, but only for a very short period of two or three weeks. Most cattle feeders are aware that the numbers will get very short from April through the next several months. There will probably be some feeder cattle in growing lots come back to the auction in April and May, but feeder cattle coming off wheat will be very light. The prices on calves and feeders have improved every week since the first of the year.
The wheat in our area varies from very small to some fair and to the south and east some might look good.
Expenses in the agriculture world are a big item with fuel being a big factor. Fertilizer is extremely high, causing most to evaluate their operation to see what each farmer thinks he can afford to apply to his crop. With wheat being high, most will put on plenty of fertilizer hoping to cash in on some of these unheard of prices. For a lot of years, wheat prices have basically been a joke with the price of machinery and fuel.
I have never been in support of the CRP program. The only part of that I support is the extremely poor land that should never have been farmed anyway. This program has bankrupted most elevators. It has also taken a lot of young farmers out of agriculture, sending them to the city to get a job. I would rather the government would have given the extra grain to poor countries than pay our farmers to do nothing . It has dried a lot of rural communities up. When they quit buying fuel, fertilizer equipment and repairs it affects a lot of businesses trying to make a living.
One politician said they could not just give this grain away--I personally think that was a poor excuse, as they give away money all the time.
This year looks very interesting. Unless corn gets a lot higher the scramble for available feeders should be very challenging. I just hope I have some to sell.
Editor's Note: Jerry Nine, Woodward, Okla., is a lifetime cattleman who grew up on his family's ranch near Laverne, Okla.
3/10/08
6 Star Midwest Ag\20-B
Date: 3/5/08
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