U.S. Off-Farm Storage Capacity Rises

WASHINGTON - Jan 11/08 - SNS -- Capacity of off-farm commercial grain storage totaled 9.06 billion bushels in the United States on December 1, 2007, up 3% from December 1, 2006, according to the USDA.

Twenty-six States showed increases in capacity from a year ago while eight States recorded decreases and nine States were unchanged. The largest increase occurred in Iowa where an additional 100 million bushels of capacity were added since December 1, 2006. Other notable increases were shown in North Nakota where capacity increased 25.7 million bushels and in Illinois where capacity was up 25.2 million bushels. The largest decreases were recorded in Washington where capacity decreased 5.14 million bushels, and California where capacity decreased 3.04 million bushels from last year.

Illinois continued to lead all States in off-farm storage capacity, followed by Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas. These 5 States accounted for 52% of the Nation's off-farm storage capacity on December 1, 2007.

Off-farm grain storage capacity includes all elevators, warehouses, terminals, merchant mills, other storage, and oilseed crushers which store whole grains, soybeans, canola, flaxseed, mustard seed, safflower, sunflower, rapeseed, Austrian winter peas, dry edible peas, lentils, and chickpeas/garbanzo beans. Capacity data exclude facilities used to store only rice or peanuts, oilseed crushers processing only cottonseed or peanuts, tobacco warehouses, seed warehouses, and storage facilities that handle only dry edible beans, other than chickpeas/garbanzo beans.

Off-farm storage facilities totaled 9,165 on December 1, 2007, down 1% from December 1, 2006. States with the largest number of facilities are Illinois with 910, Iowa with 900, Kansas with 745, Minnesota with 585, and Nebraska with 486.

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