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Thumb of Michigan | Not at all trying to start an argument, but wasn't it just a few years ago (with terrible corn and soy prices) that some areas of the corn belt jumped soy acres up pretty big because corn yields were viewed as unreliable? I don't remember the details now, but I was thinking that it was a pretty large area that happened in then. I know input costs at the time were a big part of the equation as well. Be nice to have whatever those "high" costs were back today, though, wouldn't it? Talked to a couple of Illinois farmers at the time who had went to a 50-50 rotation for the first time ever.
I've read enough articles and posts on sites like this to realize that many farmers feel they've hit a ceiling on soy yields, and haven't seen a down or sideways trend in corn yields recently. Just a theory, but I assume thats because of the huge adoption of GMO hybreds in areas where they really are useful. Again, not trying to start an argument. Just trying to point out that isn't the case everywhere. In fact, Imay (for whatever reason) be seeing the opposite trend here- soy yields sort of creeping north, corn not so much.
Its not that I'm pro or con either soy or corn. For me, I have to use "average" yields -whatever that is. We had a terrible corn crop in my backyard this year, yet soys didn't seem to take our drought real bad. In fact, we had some soys that yielded 50% of what corn fields next door yielded. When budgeting, I usually figure 3 bu of corn for every soy bu. For me, with the year I had, I've just got to throw 2007 out of the mix for calculating my 08 crop mix. I'm still on the fence myself.
Edited by pat-michigan 11/16/2007 12:57
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Why plant more corn at all?
