Wheat Prices Up If*

25, 2002

This year, wheat in the silo means money in the bank

GARY ROBERTSON

AMERICAN TRENDS

Call Gary Robertson at (804) 649-6346 or e-mail him at grobertson@timesdispatch.com

Farming is a fickle business.

Hail, drought or flood can destroy a year's work.

But sometimes things work out.

This year, things worked out for wheat farmers - at least those who had a crop to sell.

Fortune magazine called it the "Bubble in the Heartland," when prices rose to the highest levels in years.

Late summer and fall have been good times to have wheat in the silo.

One of the big reasons for wheat's high prices has been a dwindling supply. Wheat production in the United States is down for the fourth year; worldwide, it's down for the fifth year.

[Has productivity increased because remaining farmers had higher dollars/acre?]

In the wheat belt, as elsewhere, drought was the big weather story this year. Crops dried up along with dreams.

But for those fortunate enough to have a wheat crop, either through luck or careful planning, money flowed.

Of course, a good year could always be followed by a bad year, which is perhaps why farmers are not known for their euphoria.

(Conclusion: In some circles the good life is a pickup truck that's been paid off, and rain at the right time.)

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