Ohio farmers see mixed price shifts
Staff Report
Ohio farmers observed mixed price changes in September, with corn and milk prices rising modestly while soybeans and wheat continued to decline, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports, citing the most current data.
Corn in Ohio averaged $3.72 per bushel, a $0.04 increase from August but down $1.78 from September last year. Soybeans dropped to $10 per bushel, reflecting a $0.80 decrease from August and $3.30 less than last year.
Details were released via news release Nov. 1.
Wheat rose slightly to $5.32 per bushel, up $0.04 from August but down $0.22 from last year. Hay prices also rose, with alfalfa at $210 per ton, up from $195 in August, and other hay reaching $175 per ton, up from $165. Milk prices in Ohio showed strong gains, rising to $26.00 per hundredweight, up $1.60 from August and $4.30 higher than September 2023.
On a national scale, corn averaged $3.98 per bushel in September, a slight increase from $3.84 in August, while soybeans fell to $10.20 per bushel, down from $10.30 in August.
Wheat in the U.S. averaged $5.28 per bushel, a minor rise from $5.14 in August. National milk prices followed Ohio’s trend, increasing to $25.50 per hundredweight, up from $23.60 in August.
The USDA's national Prices Received Index for September, reflecting 2011 agricultural production values, dropped 5.6 percent from August, with the Crop Production Index down 1.1 percent month-over-month and 13 percent lower than September 2023.
The Livestock Production Index dropped 7.5 percent from August but was up 11 percent year-over-year. Farmers received lower prices in September for market eggs, cattle, hogs, and lettuce, while prices for milk, corn, broilers, and turkeys increased.
The USDA noted that volume changes in marketed commodities also influenced these indexes, with decreased movement for cattle, wheat, cotton, and peaches and increased marketing of soybeans, corn, dry beans, and calves.