Investing in a big crop

What's it take to get a corn crop started? A recent report from the Nebraska Corn Board shows just planting the 2011 crop in that state will take an investment by farmers of US$2.6 billion (UK£1.577 billion). "This multi-billion dollar investment, perhaps better known as planting, occurs in just a few weeks every spring," says Nebraska Corn Board director Don Hutchens in a recent report. "It's a tremendous investment, but one that also is subject to Mother Nature and the whims of outside markets."

Take that figure US$2.6 billion (UK£1.577 billion) and line it up with United States Department of Agriculture's corn acreage number for Nebraska from last month's projected plantings report: 9.5 million acres. That means for each acre of corn planted this spring, farmers will invest US$273 (UK£165.565). So, what's the investment for the top five corn-producing states in the US? Last month's USDA report showed those states and their respective acreage totals are: Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers