Corn's Perfect Storm

Even with the weather in the midwest getting better, the damage is already done and I think the worst news is yet to be seen or priced into the market. I think corn and soybeans are going to skyrocket this summer. And with the drought in Austrailia wheat might join in.

I have been reading a lot of news articles that say pretty much the same thing as the following................

The roots of plants like corn and soybean are not able to survive being flooded because of the oxygen deprivation that occurs under those conditions. Indiana has already lost much of this season’s planting of these crops and as other processes caused by flooding, such as disease and fungus become more prevalent, the total loss remains to be seen.

“If a field (of crops) is flooded because of water from another body of water has flooded into it, the potential is for pathogens or chemicals to be in the soil,” said Elizabeth Maynard, regional horticulture specialist at Purdue University. “For safety reasons, we recommend waiting 120 days before harvesting any produce for fresh consumption from fields that were flooded that way.”

Maynard and others at Purdue put out a press release warning of the danger of contamination by microorganisms of crops touched by floodwaters.

“For edible crops, there is the risk that the crops have been contaminated with pathogens or chemicals,” Maynard said in the press release. “These crops should not be harvested for sale as fresh produce. This may come as very unwelcome and unexpected news for producers.”

 

Nice post.
I feel the environment might be changin around here.

 

I came across an editiorial page from a small town newspaper website from GA and it seems by the following comment that even in non flooded regions things don't look so great.

“Almost all farming is seasonal, and the window for corn has long since past. If people saw the corn in Thomas County, they would know we are going to go even hungrier.”

http://www.timesenterprise.com/opinion/local_story_175220153.html

 

More tidbits right from the source......

http://www.wthitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8549140&nav=menu593_2

DAVIESS COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI)

"We won't know the official estimates for several weeks, but I can guarantee you this is going to be one of the worst ag disasters our state has ever seen," Andrew Miller, Indiana Commissioner of Agriculture.

The flood waters turned farm land into a dead zone. What should be corn and soybean fields don't even have weeds growing on them now. Once fertile land and crops were washed away.

Not all of the crops have been wiped out by the flooding, but it's really obvious that this land has been battered and beaten by the floodwaters, and the problem is it extends for thousands of acres.