Agriculture
Storage capacity at the nation's federally licensed grain elevators is at an all-time high, and there is a shortage in states like Kansas and Nebraska. Millions of bushels of grain have been piled up outside elevators at risk of damage from foul weather.
It has become less expensive to build new grain elevators due to low interest rates Low interest rates and commodity markets have encouraged farmers to store crops during the harvest glut to wait for better prices later in the season. The result has been a busy year for grain elevator construction, most of it happening at existing elevators that are expanding.
Temporary jobs have been created in the Great Plains due to this situation but a big impact will also be felt by the resulting boost in property taxes from the new construction. This will help some municipalities and schools. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported earlier this year that federally licensed storage has reached a historical high of more than 4.5 billion bushels. That number does not include state-licensed elevators or the on-farm storage bins that are not licensed.
Farmers are hoping the extra storage will help bring down storage rates which have been going up for the last five years. According to salesman Larry McDonald of Woofter Construction and Irrigation Inc., based in Colby, Kansas, his company has more orders for new grain elevators than they can handle. It has been estimated that between 200 and 250 jobs were created just from the construction this year. McDonald's company needs even more millworkers but can't find them. Around 15 million bushels of permanent storage capacity was added just in Kansas over the last year and it is still not enough.
No one knows how long the grain elevator construction boom will last. A drought could stop it in its tracks. But in the meantime it's another bright spot in the regional economy.
It has become less expensive to build new grain elevators due to low interest rates Low interest rates and commodity markets have encouraged farmers to store crops during the harvest glut to wait for better prices later in the season. The result has been a busy year for grain elevator construction, most of it happening at existing elevators that are expanding.
Temporary jobs have been created in the Great Plains due to this situation but a big impact will also be felt by the resulting boost in property taxes from the new construction. This will help some municipalities and schools. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported earlier this year that federally licensed storage has reached a historical high of more than 4.5 billion bushels. That number does not include state-licensed elevators or the on-farm storage bins that are not licensed.
Farmers are hoping the extra storage will help bring down storage rates which have been going up for the last five years. According to salesman Larry McDonald of Woofter Construction and Irrigation Inc., based in Colby, Kansas, his company has more orders for new grain elevators than they can handle. It has been estimated that between 200 and 250 jobs were created just from the construction this year. McDonald's company needs even more millworkers but can't find them. Around 15 million bushels of permanent storage capacity was added just in Kansas over the last year and it is still not enough.
No one knows how long the grain elevator construction boom will last. A drought could stop it in its tracks. But in the meantime it's another bright spot in the regional economy.
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