Editor’s note: With the increased use of railroad transportation for other purposes, there could be fewer train cars available to haul farm crops from area grain elevators to their final destinations. This potential shortage comes at a bad time for Kansas farmers who are in the midst of multiple fall harvests, including milo, corn and soybeans. In this four-part series, the Great Bend Tribune will explore the potential impact of this looming problem. Part one delves into just what crops are in the fields now, how they are looking and what storage challenges lie ahead.

BY DALE HOGG
dhogg@gbtribune.com

LORRAINE – On a recent early autumn afternoon, Lorraine-area farmer Matt Splitter sat in a tractor planting wheat, but that wasn’t all that was on his mind.
“We’re in the middle of soybean harvest and corn harvest,” the Ellsworth County producer said. “We’re busy.”
That’s not all. Splitter also raises grain sorghum, a crop that is already being cut in many areas. “We’re going in about four different directions,” he said.
When many think of farming in Kansas, one overriding image comes to their minds – massive fields of golden wheat waving in the hot, dry summer sun.
To be sure, Kansas is the nation’s breadbasket and wheat is an important crop. But, just as important to farmers are the harvests that are now getting underway.
Fall marks a busy time for agricultural producers. There is a confluence of three seasons that join in the early to mid autumn.
Farmers are in the process of or getting ready to start cutting milo (also known as sorghum), corn and soybeans. By all accounts, each should be above average to bumper crops.
According to the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s ag statistics office, last year, Kansas produced 165 million bushels of milo (42.4 percent of the national total), 508 million bushels of corn (3.6 percent) and 127.4 million bushels of soybeans (3.8 percent). This placed Kansas first in milo production, eighth in corn and 11th in beans.
To put that in prospective, the state raised 319 million bushels of wheat, placing Kansas first and growing 14.9 percent of the wheat grown in the United States.
These crops have to go somewhere. As of the end of 2013, Kansas had off-farm storage facilities that could accommodate about a billion bushels and on-farm facilities that could hold another nearly 400 million, the KDA reported.
This is a lot of numbers, but what do they all mean? It means there will soon be a lot of grain that will need to be stored and moved.
“Grain transportation is definitely a concern,” Splitter said. Since the fall harvests are somewhat spread out, storage elevator operators should have a chance to clear the corn and soybeans out before the milo arrives.
But, a shortage of truck drivers and a shortage of train cars may make this logistical dance a tricky one. “Getting the grain out of the elevators to the end users is a challenge right now,” the farmer said.
The lack of rail cars has several causes. First, the export market for grain is strong, meaning trains are busy hauling the crops to the nation’s ports.
The turn-around takes time, so the cars aren’t ready to return to the Heartland fast enough. “They are tied up,” Spiltter said.
There is also other competition for the rails. The recent oil boom has taken some trains out of the equation.
“Rail service is hard to come by,” Splitter said. “It’s very, very expensive.”
So, what happens to the grain? In a pinch, some of it can be stored on the ground or in open-air bunkers.
When it comes to shortage, “it will vary from area to area,” said Leslie Kaufman, Kansas Cooperative Council president and chief executive officer. The KCC is a trade group for among other things farm service coops.
“Some operators have been very proactive,” Kaufman said. They have found alternative storage options or even built new facilities.
“As a whole, the harvest is good this year,” she said. “But, they’ve managed their storage with an eye towards this.”
As for train availability, “we anticipate there could be some challenges,” Kaufman said.
Here, again, location is everything. Some elevators are served by more than one rail line and will have less of a problem moving the crops.
Just how are these fall harvests progressing and just what are those crops used for anyway?
Sorghum, AKA milo
The area milo harvest has yet to get rolling, Splitter said. A mid-summer hot and dry spell took its toll and stalled the development.
But, “it will be above average,” he said of the crop. Some late-season showers helped, but it is now those late showers that are keeping combines out of the fields.
“We’re a little behind,” Splitter said.
Sorghum grain is used primarily for livestock feed and in a growing number of ethanol plants. Sorghum produces the same amount of ethanol per bushel as comparable feedstocks and uses one third less water. In the livestock market, sorghum is used in the poultry, beef and pork industries. Stems and foliage are used for green chop, hay, silage, and pasture. A significant amount of U.S. sorghum is also exported to international markets where it is used for animal feed and ethanol.
An ancient crop originating in Africa, sorghum has recently appeared in food products in the U.S. because of use in gluten-free food products. Sorghum is an excellent substitute for wheat for those who cannot tolerate gluten. Sorghum is used to make both leavened and unleavened breads.
In Sahelian Africa, it is primarily used in couscous. Various fermented and unfermented beverages are made from sorghum. It can be steamed or popped and is consumed as a fresh vegetable in some areas of the world. Syrup is made from sweet sorghum.
Sorghum is also used for building material, fencing, floral arrangements, pet food and brooms.
Nationally, sorghum was planted on approximately 6.2 million acres in 2012.
Corn
“The rains that made the wheat harvest unbearable made the corn harvest exceptional,” Splitter said. The rains made wheat fields soggy but propelled the corn.
“It won’t be a record-setting crop, but it will be above average,” he said.
Around 80 million acres of land are planted to corn, with the majority of the crop grown in the Heartland region.
Most of the crop is used as the main energy ingredient in livestock feed. But, it is also processed into a multitude of food and industrial products including starch, sweeteners, corn oil, beverage and industrial alcohol, and fuel ethanol.
The United States is a major player in the world corn trade market, with approximately 20 percent of the corn crop exported to other countries.
Strong demand for ethanol production has resulted in higher corn prices and has provided incentives to increase corn acreage. In many cases, farmers have increased corn acreage by adjusting crop rotations between corn and soybeans, which has caused soybean planting to decrease.
Soybeans
Statewide, the 2014 soybean harvest is nearing the halfway mark, which is well behind the five-year average. Typically, about a quarter of the crop is in the bin by this time, said Brad Parker, communications director for the Kansas Soybean Commission.
Why? A wet spring and early summer delayed planting.
However, “we are expecting a record crop,” Parker said. There has been talk of storage and transportation problems.
“It’s been a really good growing season,” Parker said. The rains were well timed and the temperatures were moderate when they needed to be moderate.
Nationwide, there are about 30 states that produce soybeans and Kansas ranks in the top third. Last year, the Sunflower State harvest was valued at $1.6 billion.
Kansas is known as the breadbasket because of this dominance of wheat. Thus, Parker said, soybeans often fly under the radar.
Soybeans are about 80 percent protein meal and 20 percent oil.
The meal is predominately used as livestock feed because of the protein content. Historically, the oil finds its way into various human food uses, such as cooking oils and shortenings.
However, “there is a growing use of it in petrochemicals,” Parker said. From biodiesel and other bio fuels to artificial turf backings (including the football turf at both Kansas State University and the University of Kansas) and foam in car seats, the potential is being explored.
As new uses for the oil are found, the demand for beans increases, Parker said. With increased production comes lower prices for the meal cherished by livestock producers.
 “Its becoming a more popular crop,” Parker said. Through genetics and breeding, seed companies are creating varieties that will withstand the drier and colder climates of the western parts of the plains.
Although there are a lot of beans that are irrigated, Parker said most are dryland.