(The Associated Press circulated the following on September 25.)
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — After a record-breaking wheat harvest, overflowing silos and backed up railroads and ports have caused farmers in western Kansas to start piling corn and milo on the ground.
At Skyland Grain in Stanton County, the elevator’s colossal concrete silos are filled to the top with the wheat, the local railroad is behind schedule and the Gulf ports are clogged.
“It’s a logistical nightmare,” said grain manager Matt Overturf, whose elevator took in 13 million bushels of wheat in June, compared with just 3.8 million in 2006. “Everybody is in the same boat, and it all boils down to logistics.”
While this year’s wheat harvest in central and eastern Kansas was hit by drought, an April freeze and too much rain, western Kansas farmers harvested 172 million bushels, compared with just 77 million in 2006.
Increased desire for ethanol also has led many farmers to plant more corn this year, while demand for wheat worldwide has picked up after weather damaged the wheat crop in Australia and elsewhere.
With more corn and wheat, there isn’t much storage.
“It’s a good problem to have. It really is,” said Jerald Kemmerer, general manager of Dodge City Co-op and chairman of the Kansas Grain and Feed Association board. “But we are going to fill everything up. Space is tight, and transportation is tough.”
Outdated infrastructure has caused issues for transporting the crops.
One Texas port can unload only eight trains a day, and BNSF Railway now requires shippers to have a permit before bringing wheat south. There were more than 40 trains waiting to go to the Gulf port on Monday morning, said Kevin Kaufman, group vice president of agriculture products for BNSF Railway.
Overturf, who uses single-unit cars, can’t get a permit. He has had trouble finding enough trucks to haul the grain and faces higher costs to transport wheat to terminal markets in Kansas.
Imports of the fertilizer additive urea also are causing congestion. With wheat prices soaring, more farmers are planting wheat and wanting fertilizer.
“High prices mean the farmers want to spend more, and they are willing to spend more on inputs to increase their yields,” Kaufman said.