What is the mood of US corn farmers at the moment?

This has been one of the best harvests we’ve ever had. Corn and soya beans have had record yields. There was perfect weather thoughout the growing season.

How is the corn price this year?

Price is lower at around $135/t. But over the last two years our costs have adjusted lower, so our profitability has improved and we are making money. There has been some switch out of corn and into soya bean based on profitability.

Are farmers buying machinery currently?

Between 2008 and 2014, agriculture really boomed and there were a lot of machinery upgrades. This was partly because of tax reasons as we were making money but also farmers were upgrading to take advantage of new technologies such as autosteer and satellite guidance.

In late 2014, this just stopped. In our case, from the late 1990s until 2014, we traded the combine every year. But now we keep this machine because of the economic situation and the cost of trade went up three times. But the equipment is still wearing out and down the road the demand will come. For now, we have the technology so there is no incentive to change again.

Listen to an interview with Steve on his combine in our podcast below:

Listen to "On the combine with US farmer Steve Pitstick" on Spreaker.

How do you cover risk?

Most farmers take out crop insurance and it works well. We also sell forward when we see opportunities to cover cost and reduce risk.

What about precision farming?

We are using a lot of precision technology, such as nutrient management, soil sampling and variable rate fertiliser application. Drones haven’t made an impact based on value yet. Data we collect is used to help drive yield.

Has genetically modified (GM) corn been a game changer?

All our crops are GM varieties and in the beginning GMO was a benefit. Roundup used to kill everything and we got huge value out of it. But now after almost 15 to 20 years of using it the value is not there like it used to be. We are getting resistant weeds as nature adapts. We are now having to use other chemicals to control the weeds. This is adding more cost and the price of the seed hasn’t adjusted accordingly.

Are US grain farmers optimistic about the future?

Firstly, there is a huge corn carryover, but we need a huge corn crop because we are using so much of it. For both soya beans and corn, the potential of a price rally is high as prices are so low. Because of the high demand, if there are any kind of crop problems at all, we could see some good rebounds in the prices.

20 minutes with James Graham, the chief executive of the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society.