About 100 acres of Boland's farmland runs along the English River, which has flooded twice this year and has stymied his efforts to get plants in the ground.
He spent Monday combing his property for small lots dry enough to plant soybeans. He found 12 acres in one corner and 15 in another and altogether on Monday was able to get between 35 and 40 acres planted, but he's not sure whether the plants will take hold.
"We should have corn right now, all across this land, that is knee-high. It should be rich and green," Boland said. But as he looked at the neighboring farms, all Boland could see was wet, straggly, yellowing shoots, barely inches above the ground.
"I am not sure how much yield we are going to get out of any of this," he said.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated demand for corn in the coming year at 12.5 billion bushels.
About 5 billion would be used for feed, 4 billion consumed by ethanol production, 2 billion sold overseas and the rest put to other food, seed and industrial uses. The nation was on schedule to produce just 11.7 billion. The shortfall would be made up by corn grown in previous years and stored.
But because of the soggy plants near Boland's farm and across the Midwest, analysts now think corn production could fall to about 11 billion bushels, draining supplies to precariously low levels.
"Everyone is going to have to cut back," Meyer said.
Some analysts believe the rapid increase in the use of corn to make ethanol has left the nation with little room to maneuver through weather-related disasters in the Midwest.
"Our ethanol policy requires perfect weather, and not surprisingly, we aren't getting it," said Michelle Perez, senior agriculture analyst with the Environmental Working Group in Washington.
Perez said that in establishing federal mandates for the use of renewable fuels, the Bush administration and Congress ignored "the impact this policy could have on food prices, relying entirely on good weather to make this roll-of-the dice decision a success."
Even before these latest rains, the acreage devoted to corn was falling.
Enticed by high prices for soy and wheat, farmers expected to plant 86 million acres this year, about 8% less than 2007, according to the USDA.
But it's doubtful that all those acres got planted.
