Monday, July 31, 2000
Crop growers optimistic
Weather's been holding; green things are thriving
By Cindi Andrews
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Tristate farmers are having a rare year. It hasn't been too wet, and more amazingly, it hasn't been too dry.
“We're thinking we're in real good shape,” said Mason farmer Joe Steiner. “We're not calling it a record year yet, but it's looking good.”
Most corn crops will be in the clear with another two weeks of adequate rainfall, and soybeans need three to four more good weeks, said Steve Bartels, agricultural extension agent for Butler County.
This weekend's rain measured 0.20 inches at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, although it was hit-and-miss elsewhere around the area. Totals for the year are well above normal, with 30.85 inches received so far, compared to an average of 25.62 inches.
Good news for farmers is good news for the Tristate: Agriculture and agriculture-related products make up 18 percent of the Gross National Product here, Mr. Bartels said. That's slightly above their impact on Ohio's econ omy overall — 16 percent.
Unfortunately, the bumper crop probably won't bring lower prices for consumers or more money for farmers.
Grocery prices include not just the produce itself but related costs such as shipping, packaging and selling, Mr. Bartels said.
“They always go up, but they never come down,” he said.
Farmers are having the opposite problem with the prices they receive.
The good growing weather is the norm nationwide, with rare exceptions, said Mr. Steiner, who returned Sunday from a Midwest soybean growers conference.
Also, Mr. Bartels said, farmers continue to have trouble breaking into foreign markets, despite recent
trade agreements.
“There was a joke that GATT was the Agreement to Talk and Talk,” he said.
Both of those factors have helped flood the market.
Government subsidies, however, should help farmers break even, Mr. Steiner said. He grows corn, wheat and soybeans on about 1,000 acres in southern Warren County.
“We're not getting rich doing this, but we're able to cover our expenses,” he said.
Lou Jacquemin, who farms 600 acres of corn, soybeans and other crops in Fairfield, said he has stayed afloat by diversifying. He plants a little sweet corn — as opposed to the feed corn he mostly grows — that his kids sell at a farm stand. He also has 30 acres of hay that he sells to horse owners.
“It's gonna be a little tight, but we've got other sources of income,” Mr. Jacquemin said.
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