InterviewIowa farms lost up to $3bn in crops

26 June 2008 22:01  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Iowa farmers have lost $2.5bn-$3bn (€1.6bn-1.9bn) of crops in recent flooding, which may get worse as new rain pours into full reservoirs, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey said on Thursday.

Northey also called corn prices of $7/bushel or more “unprecedented territory” and said at least two ethanol plants, one in each Iowa and Minnesota, have decided to open later than scheduled to save costs.

“It’s hard to guess what things could be. Our efforts are to get the most out of what we’ve got out there and then pray for some awfully nice weather,” Northey said.

Recent floods have pummelled Iowa and the rest of the US corn belt, destroying crops in one of the state’s worst natural disasters in recent history. Several levees were breached, while 300 miles (483 km) of the Mississippi River were closed to barges by the US Army Corps of Engineers because of high water.

Northey said many of Iowa’s reservoirs are full of water and have retreated from their highest points. The state needs a dry spell to fully recover - although it is expecting rain on Thursday in some areas and possibly more in the days to come.

 “We do need several weeks here to let some of that water move out of here and without abnormally large rains, or we could be back in the same situation here,” Northey said.

He estimated that his state lost 1m acres of cropland normally reserved for corn planting and another 2m acres normally used for soybean.

While some of that has since been replanted, Mindy Williamson of the Iowa Corn Growers Association said “that magic window is pretty much shut” for planting corn this late in the year.

In addition, the existing crop is not out of danger just yet, Northey said.

“The crop out there itself is in a risky situation. It’s been delayed, it’s been distressed,” Northey said.

The state’s infrastructure is slowly recovering from the floods.

Farmers needing fertilizers such as ammonia or urea are normally able to access those chemicals, Northey said. However, in particularly devastated areas, it has been more difficult to get resources to farms.

“Where we have seen damage, we’ve seen operations where we’ve had serious damage,” Northey said.

On Wedneday, Estelle Grasset, director of communications for The Fertilizer Institute, said some farmers in the US corn belt may encounter increased cost for fertilizers because of difficulty transporting chemicals through flooded areas.

The US uses corn as feedstock for ethanol, and soybeans as feedstock for biodiesel.

($1 = €0.64)

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By: David Rosen
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