the film forum library tutorial contact

Wheat Tops $5 a Bushel; Barley Hits $3.62 by Scott Yates Capital Press, March 9, 2007

From the "What a difference a year makes" department comes AgriFacts from the Washington Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

The statistical agency reports that in February 2006, a bushel of winter wheat produced in Washington was selling for $3.12.

The preliminary number for February 2007 has the average price of wheat at $5.06 a bushel, a 62 percent increase.

Spring wheat does better from a dollar value point of view, but the increase is not as great on a percentage basis. It rose from $3.56 a bushel in February 2006 to $5.19 a bushel in February 2007. That represents a 46 percent increase in the past year.

Barley is the big winner. It has gone from $1.97 a bushel to $3.62 a bushel, an 84 percent increase over the past year.

It should be noted, however, that the AgriFacts publication includes what is known as the U.S. Parity Price, or that amount wheat and barley should be selling for given the ratio of farm income to farm expenses using 1910-1914 as a base. For wheat, the number is $10.60 a bushel. For barley, it is $7.37 a bushel.