It's Cold Outside

This sort of reminds me of those Winters we had years ago where there was ice on the water trough.

It has been a long time since we have had sustained cold like this. You can pretty much bet it has killed some bugs and weeds this year. I hope this is the start of a perfect growing season. I want just one of those before I retire.

There is sure a lot of uncertainty right now. The Cotton Market is seeming to trend stronger and an increase of a million acres, experts say would not glut the market given the current carry-in numbers.

Farmers are telling me that $425 on peanuts will tend to cause plantings to be pretty conservative, probably not much different than last year. If cotton, corn and bean prices are even stronger then we could actually see a decline in acres of peanuts from last year.

I think the situation is even more tenuous in some of the other states. Growers in Texas are telling me they can't keep doing what they have been doing because they are going broke. From the numbers I am seeing off of the representative farms I don't think these farmers are lying to me. I wish some folks in the industry would take a look at what the representative farms are showing right now; Spend time, understand farm cost structures, and learn from the numbers what is going on out on the farm.

Well we will know something pretty soon because farmers are going to have to line up financing and make their cropping decisions. They may have some flexibility but in late February when corn planting starts in the southern tier decisions will soon become etched in stone.