So we’re trying to look at these discrepancies and see what is really out there.”Īs of 2006, USDA said off-farm capacity was 43 million bushels and on-farm was 65 million bushels in Georgia, says Luke-Morgan.
“But whenever I go to the Georgia Department of Agriculture list of bonded warehouses, there’s no where near that many commercial warehouses listed. USDA currently estimates storage capacity in Georgia at 136 off-farm facilities in the state, she says. It is expected the results of this survey will be completed by May 15, she says.
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Once this information is gathered and analyzed, we plan to map it geographically so we can determine the locations, the capacities, and how to better facilitate transportation throughout the state,” says Luke-Morgan. “We’re also hoping to search and survey corn producers to see what is out there on the farm for storage and drying. This will be available through your county Extension agent, and it will allow you to look at individual situations on your farm,” she explains.Įconomists at the center currently are doing a search and survey of current commercial grain facilities in Georgia. In this process, we’re also completing an economic feasibility analysis of various corn drying and storage options, and from that we’re going to develop a user-friendly decision aide that can be used to compare various alternatives for drying and storing corn in Georgia. Secondly, we’re going to assess the ability to move corn to buyers in the region and how that can be done in an efficient manner. “First, we assess the current situation in Georgia related to the information available to dry, handle and store corn.
There are four main objectives in the study, she says. This includes an analysis of the current infrastructure and capacity, and the economic feasibility of new facilities in the state. The Center for Agribusiness & Economic Development is currently involved in a project that looks at all facets of on-farm drying and storage in Georgia, she says. “Make sure you get the information you need so that you can manage stored grain properly, and so that you’ll have a high-quality product to sell,” says Luke-Morgan. If you control storage, then you make the decision when to market, she says, but there are management issues to consider. Last year, there were insufficient commercial storage facilities in the state, and there were complaints of transportation issues and bottlenecks during harvest,” she says. And if Georgia is going to remain a grain state and continue to improve acreage, we have to look at the long-term picture and decide what we’ll do to solve this situation. “Last year showed us that there are other factors to consider. Finally, can you make money doing it? On average, the basis gained will be enough to cover variable costs and in some years, it will also cover fixed costs,” she says.īut there are even more factors to be considered, says Luke-Morgan. “Once you put in that capital investment, those are sunk costs, and they need to be recovered at some point. Growers should consider the long-run implications, she adds. And when you’re considering those variable costs, don’t forget shrink and ‘opportunity cost,’ or the interest on inventory,” says Luke-Morgan. “In the short-run, you must cover your variable costs at a minimum. But it’s important to consider all costs - including those pesky hidden ones - before making such an investment decision, says Audrey Luke-Morgan of the University of Georgia Center for Agribusiness & Economic Development (CAED). With seemingly ever-increasing corn prices, many growers are rushing to construct on-farm storage facilities.
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