Bird seed prices on the rise.

[JayinMN]

I'm sure anyone who feeds the birds has noticed how much bird seed has gone up. I used to be able to get a 50 lb bag of black sunflower seed for $9.99 and now it is at $16.99. I went into town today to buy some corn, which also went up 2 dollars a bag since last time I bought it. I was informed by the guy at L&M that the price of sunflowers will be going up to $20.00 a bag on the 18th Feb. Might be a good idea to buy a couple extra bags soon because I am sure sure prices will be going up every where.

[Steve Foss]

Thanks, Jay. I've watched it climb from $5 for 50 lbs back in the mid 70s when I could just go to the feed elevator in my city in N.D. and they'd bag up however many I wanted there on the spot.

[jonny_redhorse]

I just picked up a bag of the black sun flower seed 2 weeks ago at that 16 dollar price(L and M Supply)....few weeks back, it was 13 something dollars a bag...I guess the cost of fuel is going to be the blame for that no doubt...shipping expenses,harvesting expenses...we are going to "eat it" of course

[MN Shutterbug]

What the heck isn't going up? Our country has a 14 year high of oil reserves and the price per barrel keeps rising. This is affecting everything we buy. The ceo of Exxon Mobil must have one heck of a team of body guards.

[JayinMN]

I wonder if the new interest in corn as a biofeul has anything to do with this? Sunflower fields could convertinjg over to corn fields instead? I did score some suet cakes on sale today though, 2 for a dollar...lol

[Steve Foss]

Jay, I believe you are right.

I also believe it'll get worse next season. What we have with the current lot of seed is mostly higher gas prices increasing the cost of shipping with a little high winter demand thrown in.

Next year's sunflower harvest will pass on the full effects of added corn acreage — and fuel prices that not only impact shipping but production as well.

Sigh.

[Dotch]

OK, not trying to be a wiseacre, but this is a lot more complicated than what we read in the opinion pages of newspapers. We need to look at the big picture, in particular what crop acreages are doing first before we point fingers. Anticipated corn acreage for '08 is 88 million, down from 93.6 million in 2007. Soybean acreage in 2007 was 63.7 million acres and will grow to 71 million in 2008. Wheat acres are a lot more difficult to peg due to the winter wheat/spring wheat acreage mix but the projected acres for 2008 are up from last year substantially. After seeing modest interest in wheat where I live the past couple seasons, interest has become stronger and we'll see more scattered fields of wheat on our landscape in SC MN this summer. Unfortunately, sunflowers are a bit of a weak sister in this competition for acres. They are more risky to grow than wheat or soybeans in the primary sunflower production areas and over the years, there have been fewer biotech investments by seed companies in sunflowers due to the small acreage relative to corn and soybeans. World wheat stocks are tight with problems in both Canada and Australia. The cash wheat market's next level of resistance is at $20/bushel; MGE HRS wheat cash market closed today at $19.35/bushel. There is none to be had so pressure is being put on the market to increase acreage with a higher contract for September. Seed is tight however & that becomes another question mark. Soybean contracts for November are about $12.35 (Mankato). While gross return is close, soybeans are a cheaper crop to grow than sunflowers. With the breeding programs having developed soybean varieties adapted all the way to the Canadian border, it's like pushing the "easy" button when making the decision to grow them. The one wildcard may depend somewhat on how many acres were fertilized with fall N in anticipation of planting spring wheat. If there isn't enough wheat seed, some of those acres could wind up planted to sunflowers. Soybeans generally don't require fertilizer N.

If we're looking for something to blame for high black oil seed sunflower prices in '08, it's wheat and soybeans not corn, not to mention high crude prices. Future predictions? Look for sunflower prices to increase for at least another year (2008 Oct/Nov contracts are in the 22 cent range with an AOG clause) and then we may see some stabilization.

[Steve Foss]

Thanks for the insight, Dotch. Seems like EVERYTHING is more complicated than we want it to be.

[Dotch]

Sure seems that way. Just happened to get the periodical my brother writes for when I saw this thread. Always fun to plagiarize facts and figures from one's relatives.

[Steve Foss]

Boy, did YOU just blow it. You had everybody here thinking you were an Ag expert.

[JayinMN]

I don't really think anyone was looking for someone to blame, we were just curious as to what was driving the prices up. Thanks for giving us some input. The reality is though if they do go to $20 bucks a bag it is not going to stop me from feeding the birds. I don't think it will stop many others either. I would rather watch my bird feeder and feed the deer then watch television. I have noticed where I live that a few of the fields that had grown different crops in the past have all gone to corn so I thought maybe corn was becoming a more promising market for farmers. i'm not a farmer so I really don't know. I know the fields here were planted by ranchers to help off set the feed bills for their cattle. They take the corn and the silage. I have a 210 acres corn field across the Hwy from me. It has made a nice winter food plot. In the evening it gets rather full of whitetails digging for whatever corn is left.

[Dotch]

The price of the seed isn't going to stop me either Jay. I love feeding the birds and fill the feeders religiously every night after chores. Drives the wife absolutely nuts but do it no matter how cold I get. Plant bushes and shrubs every chance I get to enhance their habitat. Also plant and leave sunflowers, sweet corn and corn for them for a winter food supply. They have responded in number and variety to the effort so can't let them down now.

Steve, ya made me laugh! Sometimes wonder why I spend those wee hours of the morning sequestered in a room with a group of guys coming up with production numbers in August.

[jonny_redhorse]

Wow!..I just got a lesson in agrinomics! ...thanks Dotch!...here I thought a black oil seed was just, well ...a seed!...never look at a sunflower seed the sameway again...more precious then gold...well....not quite! ...I'll still buy the seed and feed the birds also...not letting it get the best of me!...I have been and will be adding beef suet(+ meat scraps) to the seed stations also in the future....and with the little suet blocks....I guess I just enjoy seeing the birds at the different feeding areas!...small price to pay for the enjoyment of capturing the birds in front of the camera and helping the little guys at the same time!....as long as I can afford it! I'll continue!...

[Dotch]

A link I got from a fellow soil scientist/agronomist/bird feeder about feeding the birds. Keep up the good work everyone!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080205191210.htm

[JayinMN]

I have to admit I have gone a little more overboard about feeding birds this year then in the past. Besides the three bird feeders and suet feeder in my front yard that host a large flock of birds, I have started feeding in other areas too. I have set up two other feeding stations in the woods on my property, one is a ppruce swamp and the other in decidous forest. I have also been feeding them along Admiral Rd in the Sax/Zim bog. I am not the only one either, I know jonny has fed the birds along there too and many others have set up feeding stations as well so next year we should have even more birds!

[bassphish2005]

One word-CORN-more field tillage is going into corn production because of higher prices for corn,less acres in plantings of the stuff we like to feed our feathered friends.It is all economics and what is most likely to make a profit for a farmer.

[Fish Toys]

Yea the grain market is high. Short supply and problems in other countries. 08 is going to be interesting. Input costs are following the market. Seed and fertilizer are continually rising. Wheat contracts for next fall are high but not as high as the cash grain price. All the other commodities have to follow the markets or farmers wouldn’t grow (sunflowers oil or edible, edible beans, canola, plus other specialty crops) which they wouldn’t make a profit on them if they didn’t raise their prices.

In this area last fall farmers had wheat contracted for around $4.50 to $6.00 and the farmers that put it in the bin received more as the market kept rising. My friend sold the last of their wheat for $13.00. Typical tho that when they started on the 20,000 bushel bin they were selling for $8.00. The $13.00 load was the smallest and last load. There are a lot of problems with the high prices. Land prices are going up and machinery is also rising and fuel and the crop insurance are also rising. Another friend was looking at a used front wheel assist JD tractor before harvest and didn’t buy it at that time. So after harvest he thought he would look at it again and maybe buy it. The tractor sat in the same spot and nothing had been done to it but the price was a little over $10.000.00 higher. It followed the grain market. Sure high prices are great but when they fall and everything else stays high. I just hope it doesn’t happen like in the 70’s and when the markets fell there where a lot of farmers in a hurt bag and had to quit. In our area there aren’t many sunflowers grown because of crop rotation and disease problems. If I heard right on the radio on Friday oilseed was $23.00 a hundred weight. I’m sure it’ll go higher to compete with corn & wheat & soybeans.

Farmers are buying equipment now. Case IH in Fargo are working overtime and looking for workers. For the people that aren’t familiar with machinery cost check out (tractor house .com) In the spring it doesn’t take as much fuel as compared to the fall tillage. Where I work it takes me around 100 hrs to seed the wheat & soybeans. The tractor burns about 16 gallons an hr seeding and around $3.00 a gallon. Spo’s I could keep going but this might get boring?

As far as I’m concerned the markets are way too high and are going to hurt in long run. Not only the producer but the consumer.

Keep feeding the wildlife even if it costs you a little more.

Have to clean the yard before the wind and cold temps come later today.

[MN Shutterbug]

Boring, Fish Toys? Actually, I found it quite interesting. I realized land prices were going up due to the corn prices, but I didn't think about equipment prices relating to that. Thanks for sharing the views from a farmer's standpoint.

I don't care what anyone says, ethanol or E-85 is not good for the country, at least not the way it's being produced now. The only people benefiting from this alternative fuel, is the ethanol producers. They're getting quite fat off it. The rest of us are paying more for steaks, chickens, eggs and many other products.