Farmers haven’t had this much to sing about since Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote “Oklahoma!” In the last 6 months, wheat prices doubled after more corn was planted to support the ethanol craze. Throw in a drought in Australia and you've got record wheat prices. Will it go higher, and what are farmers looking to plant now?
Roger Neshem, a farmer from North Dakota joins the panel for this conversation. Here are excerpts from what was said.
You planted 15%- 20% less wheat this year. Why?
Last fall when we were making planting decisions the price of corn was going up and the price of wheat was staying flat, says Nesham. When it came time to plant it was a better deal for us to plant corn and that’s what we did.
Are you surprised at the price you’re getting for wheat now?
Kind of a perfect storm has hit the wheat market, replies Nesham. It’s rallied over $2 since harvest and that’s just unheard of.