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Thursday, July 27, 2006
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Purdue expert: Prices may be up, but farm income down

INDIANA - Challenging weather and concerns about corn prices and farm income will be discussed by a panel of Purdue University and state agriculture experts who will talk about the harvest forecast on Aug. 11at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis.

Purdue News

The 2006 crop briefing will take place at 9 a.m. in the Our Land Pavilion. The discussion, which is open to the public, will cover the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service crop futures report issued that morning.

"This is our first real opportunity to make assessments of what the income from the crops will be and get an idea for price levels for the 2006 year," said Chris Hurt, a Purdue agricultural economics Extension specialist.

Panelists are Greg Preston, director of Indiana Agricultural Statistics; Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman; Andy Miller, director for Indiana's State Department of Agriculture; and Hurt. Randy Woodson, Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture, will moderate the panel.

Hurt projects that due to increased crop production costs, farm incomes will be squeezed this year. He does expect corn prices to be up, but the projected increase will likely not offset the cost of production. However, Hurt also advises producers to hang on because 2007 looks more promising.

Preston will provide details of the USDA yield and production estimates, as well as summarize the weather conditions to date. Soybeans are behind in development for the year, but ahead in condition rating. The corn and soybean crops are uneven throughout the state, he said.

"A cool, wet spring delayed planting, caused replanting, slowed germination and had many Hoosier producers worried about the 2006 crop," said Preston. Hurt said agriculture continues to be significant to the state.

"This year 5.5 million acres of corn and 5.7 million acres of soybeans were planted in Indiana," said Hurt. "If you think about it, one out of every two acres in Indiana is either soybeans or corn." The event will also include information on grain marketing and storage options.

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