Congress Leaves Corn Farmers Three Feet High and Dry in July

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--By the end of July, corn stalks are expected to be three feet high. This year, non-irrigated crops are not even three feet tall and they are already brown and withering away.

Corn rose to an all-time high last week, hitting $8.20 per bushel, and Congress adjourned last week without passing a relief package for farmers and ranchers who have anguished through the worst drought since the 1930s.

The bulk of the non-irrigated U.S. corn crop is unsalvageable; however, irrigated crops will be able to produce a usable kernal. Yields keep going down 10% to 20% as new yield numbers are expected to be released this week. But the House and Senate are expected to take the issue up after Labor Day, when Congress reconvenes.

"Corn farmers are basically going to be harvesting corn silage to salvage crops," said Jay Brunson, the vice president of Alternative Fuels for Industrial Info. "The current drought in the U.S. is the worst in more than 50 years. Southern Europe, Russia, China and Ukraine are also suffering from intense heat and lack of rain. The situation calls for agricultural salvage management."

"Early planting this season and irrigation will be able to save much of the corn crop in states like Nebraska, Texas and Colorado," said Ken Colombini, communications director with the National Corn Growers Association. "Take out the DDG [distillers dried grains] factor and the yields are expected to be about 7 billion bushels of corn for consumption and 4 billion bushels for ethanol."

The wheat crop can replace much of the corn lost in cattle feed, but farmers are sending cattle to the market due to the fact that they cannot afford to feed them. Congress played politics and decided four years ago to pass a five-year farm bill and eliminated support to livestock programs for 2012, not foreseeing what the current drought conditions are doing to farmers. House leaders threw in a quick Band-Aid before leaving for vacation, narrowly passing a $380 plus million disaster relief bill restoring the program.

The picture is expected to be much clearer later this week, but the damage from the drought on corn has already been done.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.