Harvest

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Partners & Friends,

Harvest is in full swing. As of today, we are 65% complete with soybean harvest and 25% complete with corn. The seed beans are in the bin, and over 50,000 bushels of corn have been delivered to the local pig feed mill. The bushels will help offset the low commodity prices we are experiencing—take note of the prices at the end of each blog post.😳 Yields are excellent. This will be the best corn and bean crop we have ever raised. Grandpa Hess and Doll would not have believed the yields from some of these fields they nurtured and tilled.🙂 Marcus and I have shared some sweet moments reminiscing about harvest memories that ultimately brought Hess Family Farm to where it is today. We owe so much to so many people who worked so hard.❤️

There is talk that Congress might attempt to pass a new Farm Bill yet this year. The prices and structure desperately require updating. Low river levels on the Mississippi are causing great concern and have widened basis levels. Additionally, the dockworker strike will result in major disruptions both in and outside the country. We have a unit down and are waiting on parts from Germany. 😬

Phyllis and I had a wonderful week with the Luecht grandchildren visiting. Lindsay and Keith celebrated 20 years of marriage in Myrtle Beach. Alison received 24 inches of rain in Asheville from Hurricane Helene. We are still very dry here in Illinois, with no rain in the two week forecast.

Harvest Prices:

Corn—3.91

Soybeans—10.08

Soak up all the beauty and wonder of creation that surrounds you! We feel blessed to work in it each day.

Steve

Safety

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Partners & Friends,

Safety is a serious topic here at Hess Family Farm. Entering harvest, we had the pleasure of hosting Illinois State Trooper Brian Backstrom to conduct a safety seminar. Trooper Backstrom spent over an hour with the team demonstrating semi inspections, going over CDL rules and requirements, and talking about general farm equipment road safety rules. Hopefully we can follow all the helpful fall safety tips as we head into harvest season. Marcus then briefed the group about general harvest plans, roles, and responsibilities for the team members. 

Harvest is upon us and we are closing in on preparations. The general election is in less than 60 days. We wish Illinois had a chance to be a swing state. ☹️

Phyllis and I got a few days to relax in Kentucky. Our grandson, Lincoln, is competing in mountain bike racing and placed second in his group. 👏🏻🎉

Fall Prices:

Corn—3.69

Soybeans—9.65

Steve

Big Tile

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Partners & Friends,

We are wrapping up a few tile projects that involve some large sized mains. This entails installing 15 and 12 inch tiles in standing crop so we can begin pattern tiling the majority of the fields and building dry dams once harvest is over. These installations require extensive coordination of materials, labor, and equipment. It has also been a bit challenging with the heat these past few weeks. However, the benefits in the future will be much enjoyed. Being able to plant earlier, harvest without rutting up fields, spray without cutting ruts, and eliminate washouts on the rolling ground will all make the short-term loss of a few acres of crop worthwhile. 

The Hess Family Farm team is still finishing some pre-harvest projects, including equipment movement and storage, grain center preparation, building projects, the last hay cutting, and bin cleaning and repair. The basis is set for our fall deliveries. Our crop is going to be a big one. We plan to begin harvesting the week of September 9th.

The Farm Bill is not going to be updated, but only renewed with the current policy in place. There is still more work to be done in Springfield on the CCS (Carbon Capture and Sequestration/Storage) bill to provide safeguards for land and landowners.

School is back in session for all our grandchildren. By the size of the crowd at the Hendersonville, North Carolina Apple Festival, the economy seems to be doing quite well.

Fall Prices:

Corn—3.69

Soybeans—9.58

Steve

Show Season

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Partners & Friends,

Show season wrapped up this week with the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. The Hess goats had a good showing. This season has been an excellent one with ample banners, ribbons, and gear. The success demonstrates what can happen with a lot of planning, hard work, and commitment. 🙂

The Hess Family Farm team has a large drainage project under way. We rarely lay tile sized over 8 inches, but are currently putting in a few 15 inch tiles to dry up some open water, as well as using 15 inchers in another project with other landowners to do some much needed drainage. Our shop is also busy with finishing up planter maintenance and preparing harvest equipment. We have completed spraying fungicide on the corn and beans but are staying vigilant for a tar spot in the corn due to the the cooler, wet weather. It appears we will have corn black layered soon, so our normal harvest start date should remain around September 10th. The team and I have some tiling we would like to complete after first fields are harvested. We are also finishing up grain center maintenance. The crop is looking to be a big one this year, so the extra dryer capacity will be put to use. And there is, of course, much mowing to be completed and a couple summer maintenance projects to finish up yet.

The Farm Bill debate continues to drag on in DC. It is looking doubtful anything will happen this year besides another extension of the current program. A different administration could truly change things up. Talk of tariffs is not a positive for export business. It was refreshing to hear agriculture mentioned in the Trump/Musk conversation. No further guidance for carbon scoring is in the near future—this is another can being kicked down the road. 🫤

School has started once again—it seems earlier every year! The Bushnell Fall Festival is next week. The Show and Sale is on Wednesday. Labor Day weekend will be last hurrah before harvest. 

Harvest Prices:

Corn—3.54

Soybeans—9.5

Steve

Toppling Goliath

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Partners & Friends,

Navigator—the CO2 pipeline company that had proposed a 5-state pipeline project capturing CO2 from mainly ethanol plants to sequester the product in east central Illinois—announced on October 20th that it is cancelling the project. As most of you are aware, our family has been opposing the project since it was first launched almost 2 years ago. The route of a feeder line to an ethanol plant in Galva would have gone through 5 tracts of farmland that our family grows crops on, mostly patterned tiled fields of very productive soil.

While this project is cancelled, there is still the possibility that another company might pick up the pieces and try again. There are other projects still in the works—mainly Wolf/ADM, which sources CO2 from 2 Iowa ADM ethanol plants to sequester in Macon county. This pipeline would run close to some of my cousins’ and friends’ farmland in Peoria and Tazewell county. There is also a 7 mile pipeline project at the ICC named One Earth Energy, which runs from an ethanol plant in Putnam county to sequester in McLean county with a pipeline sized much larger than is needed for single plant sequestration.

When the McDonough county board first became aware of this project, the States Attorney made the statement that there was nothing the county could do to oppose the project. However, the county board listened to landowners and citizens and twice voted unanimously to intervene, despite the significant cost to the county and tens of thousands of hard-earned taxpayer dollars. Additionally, the county passed a 2-year moratorium on pipelines in McDonough county until new safety rules could be written and implemented. THANK YOU!!

This battle is won but the war is far from over. As long as Eminent Domain is available for private projects like this to confiscate property, our personal property rights—and the land that our ancestors purchased and homesteaded with the intent of improving and making as productive as possible—will always be at risk. The farm Phyllis and I live on has been in her family since 1869. When I plant and harvest these fields, I ponder how much blood, sweat, and tears have been shed over the past 150 years to leave a legacy for this family. At the least, a moratorium could be established until new safety rules are developed by PHMSA, reviewed, and implemented.

As I farm alongside Gen 6 with Gen 7 and watch, learn, and think about their future, I recognize what this effort is truly about. It is about the future. It is about raising crops and animals in a responsible, sustainable way to provide food and shelter for this family, country, and world. It is using the creation that God has provided to prosper and multiply. It is to enjoy the freedom in this God-blessed nation that we do not appreciate enough. It is not to chase some government tax credit so we can be called “carbon neutral.”

Now, time to get off my soapbox.😅 Harvest is almost complete. Fertilizer application and some light fall tillage are planned along with more whole farm tile projects. We truly appreciate all the harvest crew that have been involved! The Hess Family Farm team handled more bushels than ever before, partially due to being heavy on corn acres. We also delivered more bushels at harvest than ever before.

It was officially announced the Panama Canal is reducing traffic by 1/2 due to low rainfall. Mississippi barges are still being light-loaded due to low river levels. Furthermore, world tensions are rising, which usually supports energy prices and causes chaos in commodity markets.

The FFA convention is this week. There are more goat shows in the near future. It is time to get holiday plans and schedules coordinated. Phyllis had a successful eye surgery this week, and more will be known about what the future holds for her vision in a few months.

Current Prices:

Corn—4.59

Soybeans—13.18

Steve