By KEVIN WALKER
Michigan Correspondent
 
LANSING, Mich. — The prices that Michigan farmers received last month were mostly down, according to the latest USDA report.

The February Agricultural Prices, issued by the Michigan office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), reported lower prices paid to farmers for corn, soybeans, dry edible beans, wheat, milk, steers, heifers and calves. All were down from last year, some significantly, according to David Kleweno, director of the Michigan office.

“There are some changes occurring there,” Kleweno said. “Corn is off. Wheat is off considerably. Prices have softened. Prices are definitely substantially off for cattle as well. Milk, especially, is off. Everything except hay and potatoes are indicating softer prices. It’s definitely a considerable change from the previous year.”

Here are some prices from the mid-February report: corn, $3.95 per bushel, down from $4.67 a year ago; soybeans, $9.15, down from $10.90; dry edible beans, $34 per cwt., down from $37.20; all milk, $12.20 per cwt., down from $19.70; winter wheat, $4.50 per bushel, down from $7.71; steers and heifers, $79 per cwt., down from $87; and calves, $88 per cwt., down from $104.

Hay was at $151 a ton, up from $143 a year ago. Potatoes were at $10.50 per cwt., up from $9.40. The price for market eggs was cut in half, at 62 cents a dozen, down from $1.20.

A potential bright spot for farmers in the report was the prices they paid for some inputs in February, although how much they actually benefited from this development is unclear. According to the report, “lower prices in February for nitrogen, potash and phosphate, mixed fertilizer and feed grains more than offset higher prices for gasoline, other farm services, complete feeds and feed supplements.”

“It’s definitely good news for farmers, depending on when you bought them,” Kleweno said. “If you waited until February to make your purchases, you may see some improvements in your bottom line. Some farmers may have benefited.”

But, he added, many farmers like to buy these items at the end of the year because they want to be able to write them off their taxes as soon as possible. He also said some producers bought these inputs last year thinking that prices for them might go up even more.

To get an idea of what prices might be for farm commodities later this year, check out agricultural economist Jim Hilker’s price forecasts. Hilker, a professor at Michigan State University, publishes his forecasts online at www.msu.edu/user/hilker/index.html

His forecasts for milk, for example, include projections for May, July and September. For example, Hilker projects there’s a 50 percent chance that the realized price for milk will be less than, equal to or greater than $10.67, $12.36 and $13.63 at maturity during those months, respectively.