Spring Break

/

Partners,

The recent warm dryer weather has allowed us to work on some significant spring projects this month. We completed a 40 acre tiling project that we have been trying to accomplish since the wet year of 2013 when we had to replant and side dress NH3 on this half of an 80. Our goal is to drain 80 acres a year and we have been sticking pretty close to that the last 5 years. The last nice day this week we were able to get some brush removed from fences, along creeks, and taking out some long unused fence. All the waterway work from last fall is looking good with lots of green as the rye and grass are really growing with the warm weather, and with the light rains there has been very little washing to the vulnerable dirt work. All this taking place while Alison is on spring break from school, so she and her friend Ellie get to be part of the crew!

National scene: we are wondering why, after finally getting a nominee for the Secretary of Agriculture position, now the confirmation process is dragging on forever. After rural America played such a big part in this presidential election it is very frustrating that we have no leadership in the Department of Agriculture. Meanwhile the State of Illinois proves how spineless our legislature is by not even being able to vote on a state budget. Oh well--it is only costing us $11 million a day.

Family is doing well. Marcus and family went to see all the princesses at Disney World. We are eagerly awaiting spring planting to arrive so we can put all this planning and budgeting into the real world and await mother nature to show us who is really in charge.

Fall Prices: Corn 3.53 / Soybeans 9.71

Keep in touch! "Like" and comment below.

Steve

The Last Acre

/

Partners,

What a great weekend this has turned out to be.  As of 1 PM yesterday we completed corn and bean planting for 2015 (for the first time at least)! We have never been done this early - usually we are struggling between rain events to complete corn as of about now. This past week went like clockwork and all the preparation of manpower and equipment really paid off with field efficiency. Corn planting was finished on Tuesday by noon and switching over to beans began that afternoon.

We want to say a big thank you to all the staff that participated in this spring event.

Don't worry, we have still have plenty to do. We hope to complete a tiling project that has been on the list for several months, seed some CRP ground, and rework and seed some more waterways. Sidressing corn and spraying will be on the agenda in about two weeks

Was nice to relax on a Saturday afternoon and spend some time with families.

There is a chance of rain forecast almost every day this next week and 80 degree weather. Almost perfect growing weather! Just keep in mind, this is the situation in almost all of the Midwest growing area and prices are reflecting that. The bird flu story is also going to affect corn consumption for several months the way it is spreading, so keep an eye on that also.

Don't forget your moms next week!

A Good Week

/

It has been a good week in the field - we are at 90% completion with the corn planting. We pulled the planter in the shed last night at 10:30 and rain started at 1 am. It was a perfect 1"+ which should get everything in the ground up and going well. The weather has still been cool; very few days up to 80 degrees yet. Our neighbors have just a few fields slowly coming up that have been planted for over two weeks.

We have also been completing spraying all the corn fields. It's a good feeling to be done with that project for now. The new sprayer and update to the tender system have really helped with efficiency and speed of the process. I am so enjoying being able to fully participate in planting season. We are experimenting with some different nitrogen methods and hope to fine tune the corn and bean production even more this season.

Celebrated Abbott Bruer Hess's one year birthday on Wednesday. Stopped planting long enough for some burgers and delicious cake. Actually scheduled a planter service call while we ate so wouldn't miss any planting time.

Crop prices continue to deteriorate with the mostly excellent planting weather across the midwest.

Fall prices:

Corn 3.58

Soybeans 9.03

Appreciate the likes on the blog! Question for all of you: what day of the week would you most like to have updates? Let me know - we are fairly flexible and want to be viewed. Please post your comments!

A Good Beginning

/

Partners,

Got a good day in today after major planter frustrations yesterday. It got dry enough to officially start planting Tuesday afternoon, but we couldn't get the planter to "talk" to the monitor--totally unable to go! We were on phone with Precision Planting tech support till 10pm. We finally gave up, went to bed, and this morning the software we needed to install loaded in less than a minute! By tonight will have over 200 acres in the ground. 

Finished spraying bean ground Monday and started with the corn burndown for the no-till fields. We should be caught up with the planter by early next week.

Still leveling and moving dirt to help heal some of the scars from the last three years' heavy rainfalls. Seeding more wider, longer waterways to try to stem the erosion possibilities.

Weather forecast does not look very wet or warm for the next ten days.

Ready for the Race

/

Partners, 

We are just about ready to start planting in earnest. We have been using the dry weather these past few weeks to finish fertilizer application, tear out no longer used fences, cut trees, seed waterways reworked last fall, repair erosion issues from the last two years, repair tile holes, and ready our planting equipment. We also delivered our winter crop contracted grain. All of our soybeans are now delivered and we still have about half of our stored corn which will be delivered this summer to take advantage of stronger basis. 

The only updated equipment for planting is a used sprayer purchased this winter. Our older pull type was just not strong enough or fast enough to handle the spraying chores on the amount of acres we cover. The newer self-propelled will give us the ability to be more timely and cover more acres with less labor involved. 

The weather is a bit of a concern. We have not had significant rainfall the past month. Ground conditions are good with adequate subsoil moisture but we have missed precipitation several times with chances of 80-90%.

Families are doing well. Celebrating one year birthday of Abbott this month and I (Steve) am so thankful to be fully functioning and able to help get this crop in the ground. 

There is lots of concern in the ag economy about commodity prices and where farm income is headed. We are usually enjoying a bit of a spring planting rally this time of year but prices have been flat to down-trending the last couple of months.

Fall prices:
Corn $3.57
Soybeans $9.93

Enjoy the beauty and renewal of springtime!