Today is Father's Day. Our Pop likes to follow the stock market and Futures, so we were challenged today to figure out, if we were real corn farmers, what our crop could be worth.
Based upon the article here, because of the heavy rain in the midwest, where most of the corn crops are grown, they think that the price per bushel could go over $8.00.
Futures are anticipated prices for commodities. Commodities are products grown from the earth like wheat, orange juice, and corn.
A bushel is an agreed amount of weight for a given crop like wheat, or in our case, corn. If the corn still has the ear on, then the agreed weight is 70 pounds. If the corn has been shelled, then the agreed weight is 50 pounds.
In the 1930's, a corn farmer could grow as much as 1.6 bushels of corn per acre. In the 1990's the same farmer could grow as much as 141.8 bushels of corn per acre. The state of Iowa reports that they can get 200 bushels of corn per acre.
We crunched our numbers. In the 1930's, the farmer would have earned $12.80 per acre. That was a lot of money back then. But if that farmer was able to get the 141.8 bushels per acre, the earnings would rise to $1,191.20. And if that farmer was in Iowa, then it would be even higher, at $1,600.00!
Our goal was to use 1/4 of an acre. We are using less land due to the Kernel's tiller breaking. To help make our math easier we decided to use that measurement. If we were real corn farmers, back in the 1930's, then our crop could be worth $3.20. If we use the 1990's 141.8 bushels number, then our crop could be worth $297.80. And if we lived in Iowa (instead of Connecticut), then our crop could be worth $400.00.
Pop said not to bank on it. One, he said we have nearly spent that amount on seeds, bugs, mulch, and marigolds. Two, the weather, as we are learning, plays a big part in how the crop will do. He suggests we keep an eye on the Futures, the value could go up if the midwest continues to have too much rain. Or it could go down if they are able to salvage their crops and increase production, with some reports stating they could go as high as 300 bushels per acre.
2 comments:
I think you are providing a wealth of information here! Even I didn't know how commodities markets worked. Unfortunately, if it is sweet corn, I'd eat all of the profits!
Happy planting!
Sheila
Hi Sheila, I'm glad you're learning from our blog. Thank you for visiting it. Don't forget to save some butter for us! Salt and pepper too. :)
Sally Stalks
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