Hello CALS – Happy mid-summer to each of you.
This time of year, like every time of year, our Iowa landscapes are beautiful! I think of this time of year as the time when the corn is finally high enough that you can’t see over it. To me, that fundamentally changes the viewscape and, in a unique way, reminds me of other parts of the country that are relatively flat, like Iowa, but year-round, you are hemmed in by tree cover and can’t see very far at all. I have heard stories of and from people from flat-open country around the world who feel a bit claustrophobic when they drive across places where the vegetation hems them in.
In some places, like the forested parts of the coastal plain of the Southeast, that is basically true all year. Here in Iowa, it's mostly true for a couple of months each year, mid-summer to mid-fall, if you happen to be driving through tall corn on both sides of the road. Just something to contemplate. And remember, we’re the place where the tall corn grows!
The other day I was driving across the state, and talking about corn, and was asked to explain the basic economics of corn production. This is not a topic area I am an expert in. But I can work through the basic numbers if you’ll allow me, and if anyone reads this and finds fault, please send me a note to make a correction! Acre for acre, it currently costs about $1,000 in total to grow an acre of commodity corn in Iowa. That includes paying about $50 for 2-3 hours of labor per acre (paid to yourself if you farm, or to someone working for you). Acre for acre, the average production for corn in Iowa has been about 200 bushels in recent years. The average sale price per bushel of corn is right now about $5 per bushel. So, to do the simple math, and it's not a happy equation just now: $5 per bushel X 200 bushels per year = $1,000 proceeds - $1,000 per acre to grow = not very much.
There are lots of other mitigating aspects of this simple math, including if the land is already fully paid off, perhaps how a farmer/landowner plays the market, dramatic changes in weather or pests that impact the crop and conservation investments, among others. But it is a tough business right now on the ~13 million acres of Iowa corn. Things look a bit better for soybeans this year, which fill most of the other half of Iowa’s croplands. Then there is the relative value of the products made from corn and beans, such as pork, poultry, energy, etc. And all of that fits somewhere into the three interlocking circles of sustainability.
Have a great week, and keep watching the tall corn grow! - Dan
Scenes From CALS
On Tuesday, July 16, the Horticulture Research Station hosted its first Prairie Day.
This reconstructed prairie at the Horticulture Research Station, and the savanna parts of it where it reaches and interlocks with trees, provides a host of landscape values, including wildlife habitat.
The truly beautiful lake at the Horticulture Research Station, a source of irrigation water, includes along its edge a remnant native prairie.