BLBG:U.S. Corn-Seed Supply Adequate Before Planting, Iowa Board Says
Farmers in the U.S., the world’s largest corn grower and exporter, have enough seeds to plant this year’s harvest, according to the Iowa Corn Promotion Board.
“We have not heard of anything that shows there’s any kind of seed-supply problem at all,” Kevin Rempp, vice chairman at the Johnston, Iowa-based group, said in a phone interview today. The state is the nation’s largest producer. “The only way acreage will not be planted will be weather issues,” he said.
An adequate supply of seed may help farmers increase acreage in the nation that ships about 44 percent of the world’s corn trade as dry weather caused by La Nina curbs harvests in Argentina, the second-largest exporter, and Brazil, the fourth- biggest. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier today that farmers were facing a shortage of seeds.
“Overall, there is no shortage,” Adel Yusupov, Southeast Asia director at the U.S. Grains Council, said from Kuala Lumpur today, citing comments to him from Julius Schaaf, a farmer in Iowa. “There may not be enough drought-tolerant seeds, but there’s plenty of other corn-seed varieties.”
Corn rallied 6.3 percent in Chicago last month amid concern that South American supplies may tighten. That increase helped the grain post a third annual advance, beating declines for wheat and soybeans. March-delivery corn gained 0.2 percent to $6.595 per bushel at 3:58 p.m. in Singapore.
U.S. Plantings
Iowa accounted for about 19 percent of the nation’s 312.7 million metric ton harvest in 2011-2012, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. The state’s harvest is about double the output in Argentina, the data show. The Iowa Corn Promotion Board comprises 17 growers, elected by their peers, who distribute funds collected from sales for research and market development.
U.S. plantings may reach about 94 million acres (38 million hectares) this spring, Morgan Stanley said in a report dated yesterday, citing an estimate from Michael Cordonnier, president of forecaster Soybean & Corn Advisor Inc. Farmers planted 91.9 million acres last year, according to the USDA.
The Wall Street Journal said that by some estimates U.S. production of corn seed was down 25 percent to 50 percent before this planting season and that output was hurt by drought in the Midwest and Great Plains last year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Luzi Ann Javier in Singapore at ljavier@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net
