Although challenges to planting the 2013 crop may provide some degree of support to corn and soybean prices, they have quickly faded from the 2012 highs and are threatening to diminish further from the highs that began in 2007.  When corn prices were pumped up from ethanol demand and soybean prices had to bid for acres, a new era of commodity prices was declared by economists.  Since we are six years into that era and prices are settling down as predicted, how far down will they settle?

Iowa State University economists Dermot Hayes and Lisha Li leave little doubt they believe commodity prices are high now, but offer some long-term projections that may be valuable for farmers to engage in some long-term financial planning.  After all, if commodity prices fade further, it may be hard to make the cash rent payment. The economists offer a formula (pdf) for projecting corn and soybean prices out for five years, using the same type of calculations used by USDA’s Risk Management Agency for establishing revenue guarantees for crop insurance.

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Their contention is that economic models designed to predict prices are not as good as the use of commodity futures prices, since traders are using information that helps establish prices.  However, the more distant the contract the less the liquidity behind it and the less valuable it becomes as a predictor of prices into the future.  Subsequently, the Iowa State economists have projected a six year price trend, based on the futures market, plus an implied volatility factor.  But they are quick to qualify the accuracy of their projection, “Of course, any projected price level is subject to enormous uncertainty, and this uncertainty expands as one looks further and further into the future.”

See a breakdown of the predicted prices at farmgateblog.com.

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