By STEVE BINDER
Illinois Correspondent

URBANA, Ill. — While corn prices escalated, the expenses to grow it took a nosedive during 2010, according to ledgers supplied by farmers to their respective Farm Management Assocs.

The news is similar for soybeans, although the drop in costs wasn’t as large, said Bradley L. Zwilling, an economist with the University of Illinois’ ag department. The department released a complete analysis of expenses last week for large, non-livestock farms from north to south.

Dwight Raab, also an economist with the UoI, said steep drops in the cost of inputs drove expenses down last year. “In general, soil fertility prices affect everyone across the Midwest about the same, so these numbers likely would be similar for farmers in other states as well,” he said.

Corn expenses were down an average of 7 percent statewide, at $704 per acre. The average yield statewide was 164 bushels per acre, the lowest average for corn in the past five years. In the central part of the state, costs dropped by about 9 percent in 2010.

Soybean expenses were a bit more moderate, down about 1.3 percent statewide, from $522 to $517 per acre. Bean yields, on average statewide, were the highest posted, at 56 bushels per acre.

Raab noted that certain expense areas went down for farmers across the state, including fertilizers and pesticides. “On average, soil fertility costs went from $185 per acre down to about $120,” he said.

The report breaks the state down into four main areas. For example, for 2010, total corn costs averaged $739 per acre in the northern section of Illinois, $717 in the central section for land with “high” soil ratings, $687 for central land with “low” soil ratings and $635 for land in the southern section. Soybean costs were $524, $539, $493 and $467, respectively – from north to south.
To read Cost to Produce Corn and Soybeans in Illinois-2010, go to www.farmdoc.illinois.edu