Returns on crop storage lower than normal this year

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Farmers trying to decide whether to sell the crop they harvested this fall or continue to store it have a big question to answer: Will storing the crop lead to greater profits later?

Although a matter of speculation, returns on crop storage are lower than normal this year, according to Corinne Alexander, associate professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University.

“Buyers are saying, through price signals, that they are willing to pay a lot more right now because they need the grain,” Alexander said. “The market isn’t paying a lot to store, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea. There’s no easy rule of thumb.”

What to avoid

Alexander recommends that farmers who choose to store their crop avoid putting it into commercial storage, which is less profitable than storing it on the farm. The increase in crop prices primarily is the result of lower yields for different crops around the world.

This means that supply is tight in relation to demand, Alexander said. That likely will raise commodity prices.

Also playing into the current high prices is a drought in Russia and lower-than-expected yield in U.S. crops. There still is uncertainty about the actual size of the corn crop as well as what the demand for corn will be.

Corn production nationwide is expected to drop by 4 percent from last year on yields averaging 154.3 bushels per acre, compared with 164.7 bushels per acre in 2009, according to a November report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Hoosier state

In Indiana, corn production is forecast at 918.4 million bushels, down 2 percent from last year.

In August, the USDA had projected that Indiana corn production this year would top 1 billion bushels for the first time. Alexander said projections showed less than 1 billion bushels for the 2010-11 ending stocks, which is a tight number.

Demand for corn acres is expected to be high in 2011. International circumstances also are playing into high crop prices.

When Russia banned exports on wheat this year, countries that normally would import from Russia had to buy elsewhere. The result was increased demand for wheat exports from the U.S. and other countries, Alexander said.

“We’re going into a year where we’re expecting substantially higher prices for all commodities that are field-crop commodities, simply because there is going to be an acreage battle,” Alexander said.