By Dick Berry - email
Posted by Lisa Strawbridge - email
PEMBERVILLE (WTOL) - Pemberville farmer Roger Burtchin has planted less than half his corn crop.
It's been a wet, rainy Spring, and all he can do now is tend to his equipment. Until the fields dry out allowing Rogers to get out, he's losing money every day. "After May 10, every day you delay corn planting, 1-2 bushel reductions in yields," Burtchin told us.
That's leading to predictions of a corn shortage. "Normally, this crop would be in the ground by now. We're a couple of weeks late at least," said Burtchin.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says there will be one million fewer acres of corn planted. It's something folks at grain elevators like Countyline Co-op are noticing."Normally, when you get the corn in the ground early, you get better yields. Better yields, better production, then there's more supply to meet the demand. Keep prices lower," said Bob Rahrig of Countyline Co-Op.
Corn prices are expected to go up. Farmers will pay higher feed prices for livestock. That's expected to drive up food prices.
