More of a…. “Getting-By”… year

It looks like 2015 will be a tough year for row crop prices.

Here is what agribusinesman Tommy Dollar recently said. “One thing we can teach our younger generation is that farming cycles, and you need to be prepared for the next DOWNturn. (We are here)”

UGA Ag economist Nathan Smith says 2015 may be a “gettin-by year”.

Here’s some news from UGA.

“While cattlemen can expect good news at this year’s Ag Forecast events, row crop farmers will get disappointing news. Cotton prices are hovering at 60 cents per pound, peanuts are $400 per ton and corn prices are around $4.10 per bushel. Those are discouraging figures for Georgia farmers who are planning next year’s crops.”

“It’s not as rosy a forecast for row crops as we’ve had in years past,” said UGA Extension agricultural economist Nathan Smith.

For peanut growers, the news is especially grim as prices could fall even more as acreage is expected to increase in 2015, Smith said. “This year is more of a getting-by year, in terms of cash flow. The outlook isn’t as bright for row crops,” he said.

“I think, in 2015, cattlemen will be looking at pretty similar prices to what they had this past year, depending on when they sold. Last year we started off the year somewhere around $1.80 per pound for a 500-pound calf. That market today is almost $2.75. You’ve seen almost a $1 increase in a year,” said Curt Lacy, the Extension livestock economist based on the UGA campus in Tifton.

Farmers who sold their stock in January or February of 2014 are going to receive a much better price this year, he said.

Lacy expects prices to remain high, which is good news for cattlemen in Miller, Colquitt and Early counties. Those three south Georgia counties finished in the top 10 in farm gate values for beef cow production in 2013, according to the UGA CAED, joining Morgan, Madison, Carroll, Wilkes, Franklin, Jackson and Coffee counties.

“I think, in general, this is about where we’re going to be for the next year or two,” Lacy said.

These and other issues will be discussed at the 2015 Ga Ag Forecast meetings across the state. Our closest will be in Bainbridge on Jan 16th. You can Pre-register now.