A volatile year for agriculture

Peoria Journal Star
By Steve Tarter, of the Journal Star
Posted Dec 29, 2008 @ 10:14 PM

Wild swings in commodity prices, late harvest among challenges for farmers

PEORIA — Volatility is the word that best summarizes agriculture in 2008, said John Hawkins, spokesman for the Bloomington-based Illinois Farm Bureau.

Record commodity prices, record oil prices, a new Farm Bill and a late harvest capped a growing season of extremes, he said.

"The inability of farmers to plan ahead was a key factor in 2008. Most farmers didn't know where they stood this year," said Hawkins.

The year's volatility also hit the ethanol industry hard, he said. VeraSun Energy, the Sioux Falls, S.D.-based company that claims to be the largest ethanol producer in the United States, declared bankruptcy in November. A number of ethanol plants - in Illinois and around the country - had production plans scrapped or delayed due to high corn prices and, later in the year, falling oil prices.

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