LP Prices?

[snobuilder]

Corn farmers.....what is the limit as to how long you can let the corn stand in the field and air dry?
This years crop matured fast with all the rain....won't that mean a longer period it can stay in the field?

 

[skidoodoug]

They have combined in the middle of December with snow on the ground. Problem is the longer it stays in the field the weaker the stalks get and you risk it laying down or the ears falling off.

 

[highhertel]

My wife's job is being a teacher ? This post was started to help people buy propane at a good price. My family has owned a lot of farm land over the years. Let's get back on topic.

No doubt, what a tangent.

Filled up my LP tank for gas grill, cost $12.80. Cheap any way I look at it.

HH

 

[luke_duke]

They have combined in the middle of December with snow on the ground. Problem is the longer it stays in the field the weaker the stalks get and you risk it laying down or the ears falling off.

---Another thing to keep in mind is some varieties don't dry as well as others. Also, the later you get into fall, especially if it is cooler than normal, little to no drying occurs.

 

[luke_duke]

I was told that prices might go up a little here in another week or so...if true, I would look to lock something up if you haven't yet. I am looking to buy a 1,000 gallon tank for next year so I am not locked into just 1 propane company. I haven't started my search yet, but I am sure they aren't as easy to find and are a lot more expensive after last year.

When I was getting refilled last year at over $4.00, the driver said he just came from another customer who was getting filled with his prepaid propane for $1.58. Talk about a kick in the teeth.

Woodtic- What's your take on the waterless geothermal(vertical loops). Do you guys have that capability? My parents have had geothermal for over 25 years and they just installed this new system since their old system was giving out.

http://buschursrefrigeration.com/

 

[snobuilder]

No doubt, what a tangent.

Filled up my LP tank for gas grill, cost $12.80. Cheap any way I look at it.

HH

Tangent?...yes a real close one too...pointing out that propane was sky high last winter due to corn drying useage is a direct connection to ethanol production . This topic is thick with irony once you realize that the ethanol product that NO ONE asked for or WANTS was the cause of misery and distress for them who could barely afford to heat there homes in the first place.
What next can the clueless do-gooders eff up?

 

[Woodtic]

The pay back with geo is cooling. Running a heat pump and exchanging the heat to 50 deg vers 90deg ambient is big. I just can't see geo being cost effective north of TN. It's a complicated system,every customer and there logistics plays a big factor.

 

[Woodtic]

Geo is nothing new. You basically take ground water,river water, lake water,the ground itself,and transfer the the heat to or from the source. You can achieve great cooling effects ,but heating???

 

[Admin]

Gee, all along I thought that since the real spike in propane costs nation wide last winter did not happen until around January 20th (months after the corn drying was done) AND that the prices subsequently fell sharply once the cold eased in spring AND that corn needs to be dried whether is it used for ethanol or feed, that is was due to the severe cold in the Midwest (where propane is used most heavily as a heating fuel and the severe cold was most concentrated last winter) that caused the price to spike.

Silly me, thanks snobuilder for clearing things up. Darn farmers, bad, bad, bad! I'll show you...I am never eating again!!!

-John

 

[Skylar]

Now John, dont be bringing logic to the argument! Lol.

 

[luke_duke]

I'm not too sure ethanol plants even use propane. The 2 facilities in our area take only corn that is already dried to 17% or less and I think they use other means to make the ethanol. I think the majority of the blame should be on the companies that sold the propane reserves to other countries, which in turn, screwed everyone when there was a pipeline that was down an extended period of time and the country went into a long cold winter. Nothing like creating your own disaster and probably profiting from it. I assume all this is considered "on topic" because this years corn crop is predicted to be even larger than last year which could effect the propane prices some. I really don't know what the reasoning is, in regards to weather, but John has dealt us two years of perfect growing conditions(plenty of moisture and cooler temperatures)...the winters haven't been too bad either(snowmobiling wise)!!

 

[luke_duke]

The waterless geothermal with the vertical loops are new here though. I will have to ask my parents to see what their savings are. I know what your saying though about not being able to make up the savings when compared to buying furnace/heat pump. I think it was around the $25,000-$30,00 mark(if I remember correctly) when compared to $6,000-$8,000. I think the savings are drastic but they would have to be for that price.

Geo is nothing new. You basically take ground water,river water, lake water,the ground itself,and transfer the the heat to or from the source. You can achieve great cooling effects ,but heating???

 

[G]

At my latitude I would have to live to be 146 and have 0 problems for geothermal heat to pay off. Neither is likely. The compressors on geothermal systems also require energy to run and only last about ten years max. Maybe it would pay in Iowa and south but not up here where we have a real winter. From what the local farmers tell me it depends more on the degree of maturation of the corn plants when planning for LP drying supplies. If the plant is not mature when it dies it will require much more energy to dry it. Up here the crops are all late and the current weather is not letting them catch up. It will be a late harvest and should we get an early frost things will get even worse. Buy your LP now and pray for an El Nino everywhere but in the UP and northern Wisc.

 

[snobuilder]

Real simple logic....
Love the farmer....hate the ethanol mandate, politicians, EPA, lefties, money grubbers, corporate and personal welfare addicts except for the truly needy.




Uses of Corn/Maize 2013-2014


Type-Production (Million Bushels) Percentage

Ethanol......... 3552........... 27
DDGS ............1293.......... 10 ....(distilled spirits....LOL)
Other processing* 1420 ......11
Exports............ 1450......... 11
Residual use...... 1055......... 8
Dairy............... 823............ 6
Beef cattle....... 1213.......... 9
Hogs ................1004......... 8
Poultry............. 1205.......... 9
Other animals ......100.......... 1

 

[fusion]

>Love the farmer....hate the ethanol mandate, politicians, EPA, lefties, money grubbers, corporate and personal welfare addicts except for the truly needy<

Yes - rather than plow the corn under due to excess production capacity like the old days, now they make it into a government subsidized product that can't even stand on it's own in the free market.
Get back to me when they develop an engine that can run on the junk and get 50 MPG, sell at the same price per gallon as gasoline, and produce the same performance. Maddening world

Oh - I filled my tank about 2 weeks ago for approx. the same price I did last November before the shortage.

 

[snobuilder]

Gee, all along I thought that since the real spike in propane costs nation wide last winter did not happen until around January 20th (months after the corn drying was done) AND that the prices subsequently fell sharply once the cold eased in spring AND that corn needs to be dried whether is it used for ethanol or feed, that is was due to the severe cold in the Midwest (where propane is used most heavily as a heating fuel and the severe cold was most concentrated last winter) that caused the price to spike.

Silly me, thanks snobuilder for clearing things up. Darn farmers, bad, bad, bad! I'll show you...I am never eating again!!!

-John

"months after corn drying time was done"....so this couldn't possibly contribute to the shortage?....clearly my lack of education and confusing abundance of common sense makes me an inferior fellow to your intellect....hiccup!

 

[polarisrider1]

Wow Snobuilder your "Hate" list is pretty long. What exactly is a "Money grubber" or a "Corporate welfare addict"? (p.s. I know farmers who fit the bill for those).

 

[highhertel]

"months after corn drying time was done"....so this couldn't possibly contribute to the shortage?....clearly my lack of education and confusing abundance of common sense makes me an inferior fellow to your intellect....hiccup!

300 million gallons of propane used to dry Midwest farm crops in 2013, up form 65 million the year before:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...-push-record-as-pipelines-can-t-catch-up.html

HH

 

[luke_duke]

Grub- Your reply is spot on. It's a huge factor.

HH- I assume that somewhere between 300 mill and 65 mill is what is typical in a given year.

I'm not saying farmers didn't have a part in it last year, but it was mainly due to an unusually large crop as stated before. Farmers have been drying corn as long as I can remember. Here are some interesting facts...

"The U.S. is producing more propane than it did five years ago, but it’s exporting much more, too.

Domestic propane production increased 27 percent over the past five years to 1.4 million barrels per day, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, exports more than tripled in that time, from under 85,000 bpd in 2009 to a pace of 280,000 bpd in 2013 through October, the most recent month EIA statistics are available."

After last year's debacle, the government wants to regulate the propane industry now. Who wants that?

 

[gogebictodd]

PROPANE PREPAID contract for 14- 15

With last years shortage/high prices I decided to Lock in w/Ritchie Propane(leased Tank) 1.74 per Ga. 500 gallons (that is about what I use in a year). The lock price is only good through FEB 2015, then market price 3/1/15.

Based on What I paid last year, worth it.