After more than five years of profitable grain prices farmers have nervously watched the corn prices drop this year.

Dresden area farmer and agricultural economist Philip Shaw says rising demand from ethanol production and the American drought last year pushed up prices, but farmers are now producing enough to meet the extra demand.

“Having prices drop down on new crop down to the $3.60 (bu) level is below the cost of production for many people especially when you consider the price of land where it is,” he says. “Prices go up and down but the last four or five years we’ve not been used to that with the bio-fuel boom.”

However the drop is having a good effect on livestock producers how use corn for feed and have been struggling with high feed costs for several years.