Good Morning.
The word “gleaners” is biblical, and refers to those who go through the fields after the reapers to “glean” what remains so they can survive. It was an act of charity to allow the poor to do so in my interpretation of the scriptures.
This year, there are dire predictions of the shape of the corn crop when we get to harvest. I have seen quite a few fields that are tilted and twisted as a result of weak stalks and wind. The corn looks like it is going to be hard to get and some of it may be unavailable to conventional harvesters.
I was told this weekend by a mid-70s sage that high school boys will be out “gleaning” the fields for those ears that are laying on the ground after the combine passes through.
“It’s going to be worth $8.00 per bushel!” he cried as he rolled up the dollars in his head. I am still unsure whether we are hungry enough to do the stoop labor to pick up anything of that value. Does anyone want to do the math on how many ears it takes to get a bushel of shelled corn?
It appears we’ll have significant waste, but the real uncertainty is how much the crop insurance industry will pay to offset the loss from drought and mangled crop. In a time when they’ll be writing billions of dollars of checks, will they become miserly and say the crop is in the field and it is the farmer’s job to get it out?
The crop report from last Friday answered one question, but it caused many more to be asked. We enter this fall with great uncertainty about quantity, quality, harvestability, fertility, rainfall recharge, ethanol production and government farm policy. We only know that the corn crop is maturing rapidly and will be ready to handle by the first of September, if not before.
What’s your call? Will we run the price of this crop high enough that it’s worth walking the rows to collect fallen ears?
See you at the fair!
