Region’s farmers bring in banner harvest

Northern Colorado farmers are enjoying an experience they can only dream about at planting time – a bountiful harvest.

Corn, wheat and sugar beet growers are realizing the fruits of their labors with record and near-record-breaking crops this fall. Sugar beet farmers had a good year, with an “above average crop” and strong prices, according to Wellington area grower Richard Seaworth.

The only cloud on the horizon is an August decision by a federal judge that banned the use of genetically modified sugar beet seeds until the U.S. Department of Agriculture can prove they are safe. While the current harvest can be marketed, the decision means, for the moment, that GM seeds cannot be planted next year.

But that’s next year. Meanwhile, things are looking good for wheat farmers, who just set a record for winter wheat production in the state. Glenda Mostek, spokeswoman for the Colorado Association of Wheat Growers, said the latest crop had the highest per-acre-yield ever in Colorado at 45 bushels per acre.

A typical year is about 30 bushels per acre.

“We’re crediting it to a combination of good weather in most parts of the state, and also the wheat-breeding program at Colorado State University with varieties specifically bred for drought tolerance and growing in the high plains,” Mostek said.

This year, 2.45 million acres of wheat were planted in Colorado and 2.35 million acres were harvested, for a total yield of 105.75 million bushels. The state’s 10-year average for winter wheat is 63.3 million bushels.

Mostek said the CSU wheat-breeding program, which began in 1963 and is funded by a check-off program on state tax returns, has resulted in CSU-bred varieties now being planted in 61 percent of the acres devoted to wheat production.

“We growers have invested a lot in that over the years and that investment is really starting to pay off,” she said.

Mostek said 80 percent of Colorado’s wheat is exported to foreign countries because of strong demand from places like north Africa, southeast Asia and Russia.

Colorado’s corn harvest is looking very good, according to Mark Sponsler, executive director of Colorado Corn in Greeley. While the harvest has just begun and won’t be finished until mid-to-late November, Sponsler said initial reports are good.

“As a whole, Colorado is looking to have one of its best crops ever, even better than last year,” he said. While last year’s corn harvest was “outstanding,” Sponsler said “it looks like this year we may even improve on that.”

Sponsler said weather was the key ingredient for this year’s apparent bumper corn crop.

“We had a relatively mild spring with higher temperatures starting later than usual and some very timely rains in late July through mid-August,” he said.

The demand for corn has never been stronger, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Oct. 13 announcing it was raising the maximum allowable ethanol blend from 10 percent to 15 percent.

Sponsler acknowledged that some Colorado corn is grown for ethanol but most ethanol produced here is made from corn shipped in from out-of-state.

“I don’t think there’s any plant in Colorado that uses more than 20 percent from in-state,” he said. “They do what they can to buy locally at harvest time but they depend on getting a supply year-round, with a lot of that supply coming from major commodity brokers.”

Corn’s increasing use by ethanol makers and its rising price is expected to have an effect on meat production, with less pork and poultry produced because of the higher cost of feed.

Sponsler said Northern Colorado corn growers so far this fall are getting a “good, healthy price” for their crop, averaging around $4.50 a bushel from local buyers.

But Sponsler said corn farmers, like most who work the land, tend to keep their smiles on the inside. At least until that last ear has been picked and stored.

“This is a group of businessmen who don’t count their chickens before they hatch,” he said. “But they’re probably having more optimism than in a typical year.”

Steve Porter covers agribusiness and natural resources for the Northern Colorado Business Report. He can be reached at 970-232-3147 or at sporter@ncbr.com.

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