I read recently that fertilizer costs for 2009 corn production will average $200 per acre. Lessee, Miner Institute grows about 300 acres of corn, so that’s….. 60,000 #%$& dollars!!?? Holy cow, the Institute’s fertilizer budget for all 680 acres of crops was only $40,000 two years ago. (Since Miner Institute still doesn’t have an agronomist, I’m stuck with preparing the Institute’s crop budget for next year and can already hear the moans and groans from the treasurer.) Now we hear that some “super-elite” corn hybrids chock full of genetic traits will cost almost $350 per unit. At an average of 2.4 acres per unit, that’s $145 per acre. Plus in case you didn’t notice, Roundup had a big price hike last year, of such a magnitude that growers got a “Dear Valued Customer” letter from Monsanto explaining the price increase before it happened. Shees…
Fortuntately, corn production doesn’t have to cost nearly that much for dairy farmers growing corn in the Northeast. First, we have cow manure that allows us to significantly decrease fertilizer purchases, and second, we don’t have to include every last genetic trait in the seed corn we buy. In fact, we probably shouldn’t be using traits we don’t need. Seed companies are quickly moving past today’s “triple stack” combinations of glyphosate resistance plus Bt for both corn borer and corn rootworm, and we’ll soon see 6 or 8 traits including multiple ones for borers and rootworms. This supposedly will prevent the development of genetically resistant insects. In the meantime, I think we should follow university entomologists’ recommendations and not overuse this (currently) highly effective technology. And I’m still waiting for good solid research data proving that controlling corn borers is worth t
What this means is that every ton of corn silage will cost a lot more to produce, and therefore will be worth a lot more per ton whether bought, sold, or fed on-farm. Many farmers will discover, if they push the pencil, that corn silage is costing them at least $50 per ton.This makes silage-saving products that haven’t had big price increases, including silage inoculants and good silo management, even more important. And these days, with crop input bargains few and far between, that’s something worth considering.