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Corn Losses Estimated at $1.5 Billion Posted 26 June 2008 The Iowa Farm Bureau has estimated the loss of this year's corn crop alone to be $1.5 billion across the Midwest.  Many farmers in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri are looking at a bleak harvest after a promising start to the planting season. Farmers were originally optimistic as corn prices continued to climb in recent weeks and remain above $7 a bushel. The price was driven up by increased demand from livestock producers, overseas markets and the ethanol industry. But a wet, cold spring combined with extreme flooding washed out fields and the expectations of a bumper crop. Farmers once expecting one of the most profitable years in recent memory now will be lucky to recover their costs. In Iowa, the nation's leading corn-producing state, the Iowa Farm Bureau has pegged the corn losses at $1.5 billion, plus $1.5 billion in soybean losses. It still remains to be seen how much damage the corn crop has suffered nationwide as flooding is not over in many areas. For many producers, it is too late in the growing season to replant flooded areas with corn. An early frost in the fall could damage or kill the crop and waste any money spent on replanting.

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