MARCH 2008: AROUND THE STATE
Demand and the dollar help
spike wheat prices
PENDLETON
After a rough 12-year slog with more drought than profit,
Oregon wheat growers are finally back in the black, thanks to
record wheat prices that are not expected to drop any time
soon.
After years of selling their harvest at $5 a bushel, less than
it cost to produce, growers watched with amazement over the
winter as the price soared to $16 a bushel, buoyed by the weak
dollar and unprecedented global demand for grain brought on by
crop failure in Australia and a relentless ethanol market.
Growers now have the opportunity of pre-selling next
year’s harvest at a healthy $9 per bushel, says Tammmy
Dennee, with the Oregon Wheat Growers League. It currently
costs $6.62 per bushel to produce. “This is going to be a
great year for profit in wheat country,” says Dennee.
The whopping price increase should overshadow more modest
price increases in diesel fuel and fertilizer, boosting Oregon
wheat growers with cash to invest in deferred maintenance and
overdue equipment upgrades.
“Those investments are going to create new wealth in our
communities,” says Dennee. “We’re seeing
smiles that we haven’t seen in a very long
time.”
BEN JACKLET
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