Smaller corn crop leads to quicker harvest

Listen to comments from Illinois Pork Producers Association president Dereke Dunkirk on impact of higher grain prices on hog operations.

Dan Grant

Published: Sep 21, 2012

The combination of good weather, an early-maturing corn crop, and smaller-than-average yields helped many farmers get a jump on corn harvest. In fact, some farmers recently wrapped up corn harvest for the season.

Editor's note: Check out Cropwatchers for the latest harvest update. Also report your yields via our online survey.

“We’re on the downhill slide. There’s maybe 15 to 20 percent of corn left in my area,” said Dereke Dunkirk, a grain and pork producer from Morrisonville who also is president of the Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA). He said corn yields in his area ranged from 80 to 170 bushels per acre.

Dereke Dunkirk, IPPA president

Dunkirk said pork producers and other livestock farmers are concerned about the short crop and its impact on feed availability and feed prices.

“Nobody has a real good handle yet what the supply of corn will be (heading into 2013) and there are concerns about quality,” Dunkirk said.

Livestock producers have responded by changing feed rations. But, ultimately, a feed ration featuring corn and soybean meal still leads to the best performance in pork production, according to the IPPA president.

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