CORN HARVEST PRICE ESTABLISHED

Becky Finfrock

Nov 01, 2012  |  Today's News

Illinois Corn has received word that the harvest prices for corn and soybeans have been determined. This is important for many different reasons, but especially as we head into the election season and the Lame Duck Congress. With crop insurance wearing a bull’s eye in 2013, many people will be watching for this number.

According to Dr. Gary Schnitkey, with whom IL Corn has worked closely now for many months to provide data that support crop insurance improvements, the harvest price for corn is $7.50 and for soybeans is $15.39.

If you’re among the majority of Illinois corn farmers who find crop insurance to be a part of your business plan, this news is relevant to you because of losses you may have felt this year due to the heat and drought. Maybe it supports your decision, or maybe not.

But to those people who want to drag their feet on getting a farm bill done, these numbers can paint a different picture. The picture won’t be of a successful farm safety net that provides for a cost share and risk share arrangement in a public-private partnership. The picture will instead be of a bloated program that Congress should slash with a butcher’s knife.

And a butcher’s knife is exactly what will be cutting away at Farm Bill costs if we have to wait until 2013 to get to work. The fiscal cliff and sequestration actions will demand big cuts. And the crop insurance program is the biggest slice of the Farm Bill that supports farmers.

So, if you think crop insurance is worth fighting for, now might be the time to pick up the phone and tell your member of Congress to pass a Farm Bill in the Lame Duck. If you don’t, this could be the last time you have to worry about something like the harvest price average for corn and soybeans with regard to your crop insurance investment.