DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig urges farmers and agribusinesses to start evaluating how much propane they’ll need to meet grain drying and home and livestock heating demands this fall and winter. The derecho that swept through Iowa on Aug. 10 created many unknowns for this year’s harvest. Propane users should anticipate, and suppliers should make plans to accommodate, increased propane demands this fall.
“After an ideal planting season and a warm, dry summer, we anticipated normal crop dry-down this fall, but the drought and derecho had significant impacts on our corn fields,” said Secretary Naig. “I encourage farmers to take a look at their grain drying and home and livestock heating needs, and formulate a plan with their propane suppliers to make sure their needs are covered and their tanks are full.”
The derecho’s sustained, high winds damaged an estimated 3.57 million acres of corn in 36 counties, just a few weeks before the harvest. While the degree of damage varies by field, millions of acres of corn stalks were snapped, flattened or tangled. This will reduce the amount of airflow around the crop, and farmers should anticipate harvested corn will have higher-than-normal moisture levels. Farmers should start engaging in planning conversations with their local propane suppliers, take advantage of early buying and booking programs, and top off their tanks now before harvest begins.
Planning resources for suppliers
The National Propane Gas Association has developed an “ABCs of Supply Preparation” checklist. This tool guides propane suppliers through demand, supply, logistics, storage, and customer considerations to help decision-makers plan their fall inventories.
Suppliers can track Iowa propane demands, inventory levels and prices on the Iowa Propane Trends and Statistics website. This is a public resource that was launched in Jan. 2020 by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and Iowa Department of Transportation to increase the visibility of key metrics that impact the propane supply chain in Iowa.
As of Aug. 26, U.S. propane stocks were at 90.8 million barrels or 86 days of supply. The U.S. propane inventory is expected to build over the next few weeks to peak around 91 million barrels. Midwest propane supplies stand at 25.26 million barrels, down from 26.12 million barrels at this time last year but supplies have been steadily increasing since July 10.
If farmers or agribusinesses experience propane shortages, they should notify Paul Ovrom at the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship at 515-242-6239 or paul.ovrom@iowaagriculture.gov, or Deb Grooms at the Iowa Propane Gas Association at 515-564-1260 or dgrooms@iapropane.org.