Eye on Agriculture - Commodity Prices Looking Favorable

Between the storms and the steady rain this week those in the Ag industry are taking time to reflect on what they re working for this fall For the first time in a long time farmers aren t cringing when they call in for a bid at an elevator or log on-line to see which director the major boards are moving Wayne Johnson GM Bottineau Farmers Elevator With the funds in it so much and the competition for all of these different acres and the demands we have it s very positive right now Wayne Johnson the manager at the Bottineau Farmers Elevator says the general concern for the area is what s going on with wheat prices Prices were nearing the five dollar a bushel mark a while back but recently have tapered off a bit Wayne Johnson Basically rain makes grain There s been some reports of some better than expected yields down south in the winter wheat Crop progress comes out every Monday and that number has been around 59 percent good to excellent where last year it was six to seven percent While wheat prices may be a bit under the weather other commodities are holding strong simply because of a demand being built on biofuel Wayne Johnson With the biodiesels and the ethanol s and all that and that isn t going to change So with the sunflowers for the transfats that s a big competition for acres right now Those prices should stay strong Johnson says with most of the focus right now on crops like Corn and Canola another commodity may just surprise a few people come harvest Johnson I kind of think the flax with the demand or oil as well in flax I think that could be the sleeper crop this year But truth be told prices right now are looking good but they almost have to be Fuel and Fertilizer costs are soaring and are almost outpacing the commodity price push Johnson Wit the inputs as high as they are you know we re going to have to have wheat levels stay there Now with enough moisture to finish out spring planting farmers will wrap up their remainder of their work when things dry out a bit and hope their crops flourish throughout the summer so they can cash in come fall In Bottineau with your Eye On Agriculture Shaun Sipma KX News