Poor pasture growth in western Kentucky, soybean prices lower locally due to level of Mississippi River
10/23/2022 1:54:13 PM
CATEGORIES:
Agriculture
Business & Industry
Plants & Wildlife
Water Supply & Quality
AFFECTED AREAS:
Ballard County, KY
Caldwell County, KY
Calloway County, KY
Carlisle County, KY
Crittenden County, KY
Fulton County, KY
Graves County, KY
Hickman County, KY
Livingston County, KY
Lyon County, KY
Marshall County, KY
McCracken County, KY
Trigg County, KY
Start Date: 10/23/2022
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Drought in Kentucky has hindered fall pasture forage growth, leading farmers to feed hay earlier than usual. The drought-stressed pastures will likely have plant loss, which will be felt in the next growing season. After the dry weather in June, pastures did have some regrowth, so farmers do have some hay available.
“The river hasn’t been this low since the 1980s, maybe longer,” said Chad Lee, director of the UK Grain and Forage Center of Excellence. “This has already hurt the local price for soybeans. On Oct. 17, there were 51 barges parked at Hickman, Kentucky, while crews dredged the riverbed to clear debris so they could pass.”
“Grain farmers are taking up to $1 per bushel off of the soybean price to ‘pay’ for barges. Some are instead stockpiling soybeans to wait until barge prices drop. But, if you’re a farmer without on-farm storage, you have to take the cut.”
The London Sentinel Echo (Ky.), Oct 23, 2022
Sources
