High grain prices, higher borrowing costs and a futures market with prices lower than the spot market are making life difficult for grain co-operatives, reports CoBank.
They are also faced with higher labour, insurance, energy and transportation costs.
They may be forced to lower their bids for grain, said Tanner Ehmke, lead grains and oilseeds economist for CoBank.
Interest costs have risen by 21 per cent for buying and carrying corn, 42 per cent for soybeans and 50 per cent for wheat from a year ago, he said.
The only glimmer of good news is that interest rates may level off, he said.
