For the most part in our area, harvest has wrapped up and local producers are working on any remaining field work. Overall, most of our producers have reported average to below average yields with high variability across fields due to too much rainfall this year. Our area also experienced a couple of widespread hail events this summer that further reduced yields and added to an issue that we don’t often see, which is elevated levels of vomitoxin in the corn. Vomitoxin is the result of fungus growing on the corn and can be harmful to animals if consumed in high enough levels. The ethanol plant’s challenge in the coming year will be to monitor our inbound corn for vomitoxin in order to maintain the quality of our DDGS and not limit the marketability of the DDGS. To this point, we have maintained low levels of vomitoxin in our DDGS and are confident that we can navigate this with no impact to our normal marketing channels. Unfortunately, due to the disappointing yields relative to the rest of the U.S. and the large number of acres lost to hail in our immediate area, I do believe we will be faced with higher corn prices relative to other regions than we typically see.
As always, please don’t hesitate to call with questions and best wishes to you and your family in the coming year.