12 / 44
Page 12 March 23, 2017
2017 Logan County Farm Outlook Magazine
LINCOLN DAILY NEWS
exports are influenced by trade
policy and world corn production,
and it is too early to see what effects
any changes made to economic
policies will affect exchange rates.
It is possible that we could see
higher corn prices if we sell less
internationally and demand increases.
It is also possible that we will see
higher corn prices due to higher
necessity on the part of the domestic
consumer. In the U.S., rates of
purchased feed corn is expected
to increase by nine percent, and
overall consumption is set to exceed
production by the end of the year.
Keep in mind that the ability of
livestock producers to pay a higher
price for corn could still be limited,
should we see significant changes in
the livestock market.
Additionally, as of February corn
used for ethanol is expected to
increase to nearly 5.5 billion bushels.
As of right now, other domestic uses
of corn are not expected to change
much in 2017.
It appears unlikely that higher corn
prices will come about solely due to
higher demand for corn on the part of
domestic farmers. If South American
production increases as projected,
we may need to see a decline in U.S.
acreage to push prices back up over
$4.00 a bushel.
In the simplest of economic terms,
there will still absolutely be a
demand for corn, both domestically
and in the international market. But
there will likely still be a sizable
supply leftover, and corn prices
may remain at their recent levels for
another year.
Sources
Good, D.
“Weekly
Outlook: Assessing
the Potential
for Higher Corn
Prices.”
farmdoc daily
(6):205, Department
of Agricultural and
Consumer Economics,
University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign,
October 31, 2016.
Hubbs, T.
“Weekly
Outlook: 2017 Corn
Prospects.”
farmdoc
daily (7):31, Department
of Agricultural and
Consumer Economics,
University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign,
February 20, 2017.