Farmers Planting More Corn This Year

Lynn Barry, of Manilla, Iowa, unloads corn to be processed at the Tall Corn Ethanol plant, as seen in this May 24, 2006 file photo, in Coon Rapids, Iowa. Prices for corn are up to $3.40 a bushel and projected to approach $4, reaching highs not seen in the last decade. At least 6 million to 8 million more acres of corn will be needed to supply ethanol plants, analysts say. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File) (Charlie Neibergall - AP)

"Most scientific research shows a 10 percent drop in yield when you plant corn on corn," Erickson said.

In Louisiana, the number of acres devoted to corn likely will double and could triple, said David Bollich, a grain marketing specialist with the Louisiana Farm Bureau.

"All you see is more and more ethanol production," he said. "Everybody wants to get into corn this year, some who have never planted it before."

Corn prices are so high, though, that it will cost chicken and pork producers more to feed their animals, and that could end up increasing prices at grocery stores.

Jim Harper, who grows cotton, rice and sugar cane near Alexandria, La., said he should make $150 more per acre by growing corn rather than cotton if he has a good crop.

That has him thinking about not planning any cotton for the first time in 30 years. "It's just a better income opportunity," he said.

But he wonders what will happen to cotton gins and their workers if farmers pick corn over cotton. "If you don't have a supply, the gins will close," he said.

Business is booming for the makers of corn planters and storage bins. Farmers have a shorter window to plant corn than other crops so the rush to get it in the ground will be greater this year. And because corn produces more bushels per acre than soybeans, some farmers are anticipating a shortage of storage space.