Page 33 2024 Logan County Spring Farm Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS March 2024 bushels/acre and an estimated soybean yield of 68.4 bushels/acre. It will take some time for NASS to complete their work, but what we all recognize is the lower yield numbers than we see in a regular growing season (if such a one exists). We know that 2023 was a difficult year for crop growth, but what does this mean for 2024? The University of Illinois Extension’s Ag Economics team released the projected 2024 crop budgets for Illinois in January. The budgets for central Illinois estimate yield at 227 bushels/acre for corn and 72/bushels/ acre for soybeans for high productivity farm ground, with estimates for low productivity ground at 214 bushels/acre for corn and 67 bushels/acre for soybeans. These projected yields seem to be a return to what we could expect in central Illinois based on historical trends, but the same cannot be said for market prices. The 2024 crop budgets project prices of $4.50/bushel for corn and $11.50/bushel for soybeans, which differs from their August 2023 estimates of $4.80/bushel for corn and $12.80 for soybeans. While non-land production costs in 2023 sored to over $800 per acre in 2023, it is projected that nonland costs in 2024 will return to the $800 per acre mark, partially due to lower costs for fertilizers. Total costs per acre (non-land costs plus cash rent) are expected to be around the 2022 total cost of $1,166 per acre, after total costs soared past $1,200 per acre in 2023. The breakeven price for total costs in central Illinois is above $5/bushel for corn, and anywhere from $11.79/bushel to $12.22/bushel for soybeans depending on the productivity of the ground. While we experienced higher income levels for 2021 and 2022 thanks to high prices for corn and soybeans, it is expected that margins are going to be much tighter due to the lower market prices and relatively inflated costs of production. But what about our livestock producers? Afterall, there are over 3,000 head of beef and dairy cattle and approximately 71,000 hogs in Logan County. Recent USDA cattle and calf inventory numbers show the national cattle inventory is at its lowest since 1951 at approximately 87 million head. This reduced number of cattle across the U.S. will likely lead to a 3.2% reduction in beef production in 2024, which is projected to cause a reduction in domestic consumption to 56.5 lbs. per person (down from 58.1 lbs. per person in 2023) and a 7.6% decrease in exports. There is some good news for cattle producers, as the market price for beef is expected to continue its upward trend. A smaller than expected calf crop and fewer feeders under 500 lbs. will continue to drive the price for Continued --
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