(Toledo News Now) - This year's corn crop is causing a drop in prices that we have not seen in the past five years.
A bushel of corn costs 38 percent less this year compared to last July. Consumers, especially farmers, could see a huge benefit from this bumper crop of corn this fall.
The talk is all about grain corn, not the sweet corn that you would pick up in your local supermarket and have for dinner.
"It's dried, processed, and it feeds the livestock people. About 60 percent of our grain goes roughly to livestock," said Jim Swartz, assistant manager of Luckey Farmers. "The other 40 percent goes to individual use, like the ethanol people."
Farmers who are feeding their livestock grain corn are saving a lot of money, thanks to the abundance in corn and the current $4.37-per-bushel price, which is the lowest price in many years.
"The crop is off to a good start. It's got great potential to see record crops, but we have a ways to go yet," said Swartz. "We've got eight weeks of severe concerns about the good weather yet."
Ohio produces about five percent of the country's crop. Eventually, these savings could trickle down to the sweet corn market as well.
