Soybean yields down; price per bushel up

The JOURNAL

While southeastern Iowa farmers may have poor soybean yields, the high cost of $14 per bushel is making up the difference.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a report earlier this week detailing the yields for corn and soybeans. Total soybean production across the country is up slightly from last year, while the bushels per acre are down. The average yield for the U.S. is estimated at about 43.9 bushels per acre, which is down 0.1 bushels from last year. The yield for Iowa?s soybean harvest was estimated at 52 bushels per acre.

The USDA estimates that corn production is down 4 percent from last year. The U.S. average yield is estimated at about 154 bushels per acre. The average for Iowa is estimated at 167 bushels per acre, which is two bushels lower than the USDA?s estimate in October. Last year, Iowa farmers averaged 182 bushels per acre.

Another noteworthy piece of information in the report is the large increase in China?s soybean imports. China?s soybean imports have increased by more than 13 percent in the last year.

The CEO of the Iowa Soybean Association, Kirk Leeds, said in a press release that ?this is clearly a demand-driven market for soybeans.?

Leeds remarked that global demand for soybeans, soybean meal and soybean oil remains very strong. He said that the recent action of the Federal Reserve to purchase $600 billion in Treasuries through June will pump more dollars into the economy, which will lower the value of the dollar relative to other currencies. He said this will, in turn, support even more exports of soybeans and other commodities.

?The market is going to battle all winter to try to gain more soybean acres,? said Leeds.

Leeds added that the soybean crop this year is higher in protein and oil than last year?s crop.

?We are in a terrific position to take advantage of the strong demand for high quality soybeans,? he said.

John Heisdorffer, a member of the Iowa Soybean Association and its past president, said the soybean yield was below average in Iowa, and especially low in southeast Iowa. However, he said that the increase in demand, including that from China, has made up for the low yields.

For the full story, see the Nov. 11 edition of The Washington Evening Journal