The Corn 'Train Wreck' May Be Worse Than Forecast, U.S. Farmers Warn

[Recursion]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-14/corn-train-wreck-may-be-worse-than-forecast-u-s-farmers-warn

A smartphone could fit in the space between James McCune’s index finger and thumb as the Illinois farmer describes the height of crops stunted by incessant rain and unseasonably cool weather.

“Corn’s not supposed to be this tall” in mid-June, McCune, who can trace his family’s farm roots as far back as 1857, said. “It’s supposed to be this tall,” as he gestures just below his waist.

Conditions and morale are so low in McCune’s area of northwestern Illinois, typically the second-biggest corn-producing state, that he organized a get-together Thursday evening at The Happy Spot, a restaurant and bar in Deer Grove, Whiteside County. About 125 farmers and others tied to the industry turned out for chicken and beer at the event, dubbed “prevent plant party,” in reference to acreage left unsown this season.

“It’s going to be a train wreck,” McCune said.

A bad corn harvest is going to wreak havoc on cattle, too

[Wounded Bear]

1. Produce prices are already up where I am...

Some things have doubled since the first of the year.

[MFGsunny]

2. Same here. n/t

[sarabelle]

33. Two weeks ago at Giant Food store in my area: 12/$2

The corn was good and sweet. It's back up now but still cheap.

[OnlinePoker]

3. On June 28th, we'll get the annual report for acreage planted for all crops

I don't think it's going to be pretty. The worst part about corn is how much gets diverted for ethanol production. It's mandated in some states which will make the shortage of corn available even more acute.

[Recursion]

5. Yup. Cattle ranchers hate that

I used to work for the cattle trade association, and this is exactly the sort of scenario they warned about: ethanol diversion is fixed quantity, not percentage, for many farmers.

[TheBlackAdder]

6. Trump boosted e10 to e15, wich will cause some non-FlexFuel cars to have problems. Boost corn sales

.

Trump's farmer fucking turned a little as he's panicking for 2020 and just gave the corn farmers a small bone.

.

[Zoonart]

4. in NYS almost everything up a dollar.

[Maeve]

7. "Knee high by the 4th of July" used to be the rule

But corn has grown higher than that for years, with new strains. This year, however....driving thru parts of Ohio, looking at the fields, it's just sad.

[UpInArms]

8. and yet,

they still supports the Orange Menace

Besides the rain, farmers have borne the brunt of President Donald Trump’s trade war with China. McCune and Snetcher are among farmers that support Trump’s moves, citing unfair trade practices by the Asian nation. The administration is preparing a second round of tariff-aid payments to farmers, as well as looking into freeing up funds for growers claiming what’s known as prevented plant insurance and who sow an eligible cover crop.

[True Blue American]

19. Ohio has been inundated with rain and flash floods.

21/2 inches more expected tonight and rain for the next few days.

I actually visited the Dayton Cemetery that was hit on the Southwest side 2 weeks ago this morning.171 tombstones and Monuments toppled.

15 tornados in this area. Huge areas demolished

[UpInArms]

22. in northwest missouri,

at least 60% of the fields are not even planted and the corn that is coming up is about 4 inches tall

it's going to be pretty awful for the farmers

[True Blue American]

26. Same here, the fields have flash floods.

A friend was coming home from vacation, decided to take more of a scenic route. In Southern Ohio he noticed water across the road, managed to slow but the water was really deep.

And it is getting worse.

[maxsolomon]

9. No one controls the weather.

If these farmers think it's ACC causing this year's rains, well, change the way you vote, rural America.

[infinite_wisdom]

11. Tell that to the Alex Jonesians

That's been a long standing conspiracy of theirs.

[Achilleaze]

17. No one controls the weather or climate, but republican lies about it

make a bad situation worse.

[True Blue American]

20. Thank you!

[Duppers]

29. Wait, what? Climate Warming?

You do not think it's caused by humans? Sorry but i must not understand your intent. Agreed, no one person or group *controls* it but we certainly are influencing it.

Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree*: Climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities.
https://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/

Some extreme weather and climate events have increased in recent decades, and new and stronger evidence confirms that some of these increases are related to human activities.
https://nca2014.globalchange.gov/highlights/report-findings/extreme-weather

[cab67]

10. It's going to impact ethanol production, too.

This could do real violence to gas prices in some parts of the country. The cheaper gas where I live in the upper midwest is always an ethanol blend.

[DallasNE]

12. To Make Matters Worse

Trump just signed an executive order permitting E15 gas sales the year around. That was to offset loss of sales due to the tariffs but other demands may have filled that void so this will just drive up prices for consumers.

[Recursion]

13. Yup. Funny how that works (nt)

[Frustratedlady]

14. It's worse than he describes around here.

I was out for a ride on Sunday and the corn in many fields is just popping through the ground. Many plants are missing and will have to be hand planted or leave blank.

[hibbing]

15. And corn is almost in EVERYTHING

Ugh, this with the idiotic tariffs that are hurting people everywhere, but especially here and soybeans, but yet the farmers will never, ever vote for a Republican.


Peace

[superpatriotman]

25. An understatement

Corn is literally in EVERYTHING!

[saidsimplesimon]

16. First, allow me to congratulate

you on your move to Paris. The photos of your flat and surroundings were delightful.

Many cultures are just one bad harvest away from starvation.

[Drahthaardogs]

18. I drove out in the Midwest two weeks ago

The graineries are full. They are stockpiling corn on the ground. New crop is in. It's gonna hurt.

[Recursion]

21. Oh Lord. Bad harvest during a glut?

That's fucking hard.

[Drahthaardogs]

30. Nope. Good harvesting no market

The farmers then take out loans to live on and put their crop onto storage hoping prices go up. Get another big harvest and there is no market, no place to store, and no way to payback the loans they took to live on.

[murielm99]

23. I have been to the Happy Spot many times.

The Whiteside County Democrats hold their annual fundraiser there. We have our JFK dinner at a nearby golf course. The Happy Spot burned down a couple of years ago, so we have been going elsewhere. I guess they have rebuilt it.

There are a lot of Democrats in Whiteside County. Now is a good time to make inroads on the GOTV over there.

We have a farm in a county adjacent to Whiteside. There will be no crop this year. It just won't be planted.

And I think this may be a "both sides" article. Quite a few of those people will not be voting for Trump. Also, they have a Democratic Congress person who serves on the ag committee and quite a few state reps in the area who are Democrats. We will make inroads.

[Cracklin Charlie]

24. I just traveled by car from western Missouri to north central Ohio.

Most of the corn in the fields we saw that had actually gotten planted was just emerged. The tallest maybe six inches tall through Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. The tallest anywhere was maybe knee high, on a sunny hilltop in Missouri.

I feel terrible for these Americans.

[bearsfootball516]

27. I'm in Elkhart Indiana and I drive past several corn fields on my way to work

They all look the same. Half of the field is still underwater, the other half has corn plants 3-4 inches high when it SHOULD be 3-4 feet high at this point.

[blogslut]

28. That excessive rain is messing with cotton crops in West Texas too.

[roamer65]

31. Mother Nature is pissed and she is trying to eliminate the problem.

The problem is us.

This is what we get for trying to fool her.

[Itchinjim]

32. I live in Scott county, Iowa.

I am 60 years old and the grandson of farmers. Never in my life have I seen so many fields go unplanted, not set aside for pasture land, but simply unplanted. The crops that are planted are stunted and the fields are patchy with bare spots. This aint good.