The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) latest Agricultural Prices report was released on December 30th, with the latest data from November, 2022. The report shows that prices for various agricultural products were mixed compared to the previous month and in general up from the same time the previous year. The report includes data on corn, soybeans, hay, oats, milk, calves, steers and heifers, cows, pork, and table eggs.
Corn prices were barely down from October 2022, but still a bit higher than the prior year. Soy prices were up almost as much in the past month as they'd gone up in the prior year. Overall prices for cattle were up from November 2021, and mixed from October of 2022. November 2022 pork prices overall were trending down from the prior month,but well up from the prior year. Hay prices were up slightly from October 2022 but well down from November 2021. And egg prices saw a significant increase both in the past month, and the prior year.
Farmers in Iowa received an average price of $6.50 per bushel for corn in November 2022, 3 cents less than the October price but $1.27 higher than November 2021. The November 2022 average price for soybeans was $14.20 per bushel, 80 cents above the October price and $2.00 higher than November 2021.
In November, the average price for all hay in Iowa was $172.00 per ton, $11.00 higher than the October price but $15.00 lower than November 2021. The average price for alfalfa hay in November 2022 was $176.00 per ton, $2.00 above the previous month but $19.00 below November 2021. The average price for other hay in November was $152.00 per ton, $10.00 above the October price and $13.00 higher than November 2021.
The average price for milk in November was $24.30 per hundredweight (cwt), 20 cents lower than the October price but $3.60 higher than November 2021. Prices for calves in November 2022 were up slightly from October 2022, at $203 per cwt compared to $200 per cwt. Steers and heifers were up from $148 per cwt in October of 2022 to $154 per cwt in November of 2022. However, prices for cows (both beef cows and dairy cows culled for slaughter) were down from $84.10 per cwt in October 2022 to $74.80 in November of 2022, moderating the overall price of all beef cattle to $151 per cwt, which was still up from October 2022 when the overall price for beef cattle was $145 per cwt. Cattle prices in general were still well above prices in November 2021.
Pork prices were down across the board in November 2022, with barrows and gilts down from $70.50 in October 2022 to $66.70 in November 2022, and sows down from $70.40 in October 2022 to $63.80 in November 2022. The price for all hogs also dropped, from $70.50 in October of 2022 to $66.70 in November of 2022. However, pig prices in general were still well up from November 2021.
Farmer prices for table eggs showed a steep increase from October to November of 2022, jumping from $2.82 per dozen to $3.43 per dozen. This is a huge increase from 2021, when farmer prices for table eggs were 85 cents per dozen, more than a 400% increase.
