Planting Progress

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Partners,

The last planting we did was Sunday, April 28th in the evening—we got rained out around 11:30. We are 40% done with corn and 35% complete with soybeans. Considering that statewide, Illinois is only 11% done with corn planting and 3% done with bean planting, we feel fortunate about our situation. According to the NWS in Peoria we are at 149% of normal rainfall for the year. A year like this reinforces the value of drainage in the fields. The timeliness of being able to get field work completed is huge, and the crop that is emerging can't stand water for too many hours. We are keeping busy nonetheless. With no full-time employees, Marcus and I are filling in as truck drivers & mechanics, catching up on office work, finishing up construction projects, attending end of school year activities, and preparing for the next surge of field work. Balance of work and life!

On the national front, the Chinese trade negotiations are heating up. Studies of past trade talks have indicated we gave up too much too easily. That certainly does not seem to be the case this time! This tariff war is almost a year old now and the tweets this past week were not warm and fuzzy. Here in Illinois the current proposals in Springfield are for doubling the motor fuel tax (we have to do something with the roads; we are shaking our trucks apart hauling grain). The minimum wage will be $15 in a few short years (so much for entry-level part-time work). And the progressive income tax proposal looks like it will be on the ballot Fall 2020 (how many higher income taxpayers that have the ability to relocate will stick around to see how that plays out?).

Getting some extra family time with the delays. Phyllis and I got to see Chicago in concert. Caught the final lecture at Monmouth College of a dear family friend. Violin recital one Sunday. Track meets and hip-hop performances in St. Louis. Life is good. We are truly a blessed people! Relish yours!


Fall bids:

Corn-3.50

Soybeans-8.05

Steve


Snowed Out

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Partners,

Got in a few days of field work last week. By Saturday night all bean ground was sprayed and most NH3 applied. Soil conditions aren’t bad, and a year like this is when our tiling efforts are paying off. We worked till the rain/snow started Sunday morning, and above are some pics of what it looked like at noon. Looks like we might have one day this week to spray. 

Tariffs are still in place and stress is showing in farm country. The pork market is very strong since China has lost 19% of their hog herd to Asian Swine Flu and is actively buying up world pork supplies to field their population. Markets are nervous about the weather but most longer-term forecasts have some windows of dryer, warmer weather in them.

Alison played her first Rugby tournament last weekend! We are eagerly anticipating the celebration this weekend of our risen Savior.

Have a great weekend and keep in touch!

Steve 

We Love History

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Partners,

Many of you know of the deep interest Phyllis and I have in history. So what could be more fitting than the celebration of the sesquicentennial of our home farm, owned by the Doll family for 150 years! In the 1860s, Phillip and Wilhelmina Doll brought their family from Germany to the United States to seek out a new life. They had their sights set on Hermann, Missouri, but eventually ended up returning to a town they had passed through on their journey: Bushnell, Illinois. Philip put his family (wife & 5 children) up in the Bushnell hotel and spent considerable time seeking the perfect homestead in the Bushnell area. He wrote up an agreement with a Mr. McDonald, who was the owner of the farm we live on today. In March 1869 he started operating the Doll Farm.

The original 160 acres was perfect for the livestock farm Phillip envisioned, with a creek running through it, pasture land, and rich black farmland to raise abundant crops for feeding out the cattle and hogs he raised. The first summer here he made his home in an overturned wagon box while he started a house for his family and continued to build his farm into a respected livestock and crop operation. The family line of ownership continued with Phillip’s son, also named Phillip, then two generations of Harvey Dolls, and now the current owners, Phyllis and her brother, Phillip, are the 5th generation of Dolls to have their name on the property. Our son Marcus is the 6th generation to live in this house (as a child), work in these buildings, and plant and harvest these fields. We will be sharing more stories of our rich 150-year history throughout the year here on our blog.

Currently, we are servicing tractors, hooking up planters, taking delivery of seed, creating prescription planting maps, and getting ready for planting season. The weather outlook is a wet one so we anticipate short planting windows to get the crop in the ground. Since we have only about 25% of our nitrogen applied we have that gap to fill also. We think we have the planting capability to put the crop in the ground in 7 days. Adding the second planter last year really added capacity to the mix. We are preparing the team for a busy time.

Sounds like progress with China trade talks. Some are fearful that the president might walk out when the leaders get together to finalize the deal. In my opinion there should have been some walking before. A bad deal for the US is worse than no deal, in my opinion. The commodity markets are anticipating acres switched to soybeans for the 2019 crop season. The flooding of the river system is causing some shipping delays. We have been informed that the Corp of Engineers is closing all locks on the Illinois River north of Beardstown in the summer of 2020. That will be challenging for grain sales.

Family is doing well. This month we’ve helped celebrate our youngest grandson’s first birthday, and Ali’s 19th birthday. Ali just finished her Winter quarter at UChicago (we did not pay anyone to have her admitted).

Fall Prices:

Corn 3.66

Soybeans 8.83

Keep in touch! Please 'Like' & comment below.

Steve

Test Plots, Graduations, and Weddings

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Partners,

We just completed the busiest season of the year -- not planting or harvesting, but getting the crops sprayed and fertilized and laid by, while keeping up with fun family and social events on the calendar!  

We still have some late spraying to do on the seed beans we are raising, but we had to wait on the seed to be delivered so planting was delayed.  Seedling emergence this year is excellent in both corn and beans. Stands are very even and we have not had big rains to cause drowned out spots or soil crusting problems.  We try very hard to keep field edges and fence rows and roadsides maintained to control weeds and prevent brush from getting a foothold.  That work needs to be done while the crop is still small enough to drive through.  We also have a considerable amount of grain contracted for June delivery so Charlie S. is busy with that job.  Commodity prices are faltering due to the lack of weather concerns.  Corn is down almost 30 cents and soybeans are 40 cents lower than highs made in the last month.  

For the agricultural sector, the big news is the Bayer purchase of Monsanto.  Bayer has announced that they will drop the Monsanto name going forward.  It does have a reputation (whether it is deserved or not?) of being the big bad bully on the playground.  Bayer had to divest itself of over $6 billion worth of subsidiaries to get the deal past the US Justice department.  There are basically 3 seed/chemical companies remaining in the world.  Businesses have been consolidating since time began.

The past few weeks have been a busy time for family events.  Alison graduated from Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, on May 20th.  Our nephew, Luke Hess, was married May 26 in Peoria Heights, Illinois,  and our nephew, Lance Doll, was married on June 1 in Macomb, Michigan.  It was really great to have these three fun family weekends.

Fall Prices:

Corn:  $3.68/bushel

Soybeans:  $9.54/bu 

Keep in touch and enjoy the summer!

Steve

Great Two Weeks

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Partners,

We have just finished a great two week window of planting. We are 100% complete with corn and 75% complete with beans. We are waiting on some seed for the remaining beans which are special seed soybeans we are raising for a major seed comany. Just received a .8 inch rain event the past week, which puts all the planted crop in near-perfect moisture conditions. The soil temperatures have warmed quite nicely and crops are emerging well. We have been keeping up with spraying tasks and will soon start side dressing NH3 to the corn. Our plan for having two planters worked well for the later planting schedule and allowed us to make great progress. We did not put in too many super-long days.

The ag economy seems to be gaining steam with firm commodity prices and renewed optimism. Maybe our president really does know how to negotiate! One plus of all the trade war/tariff talk was the raising of scrap steel prices which gave us an opportunity to get our scrap piles cleaned up. Progress is being made in Congress on the Farm Bill renewal with the biggest stumbling block being how the house and senate will resolve the differences in the SNAP program benefits. Keep an eye on New York Times coverage of progress.

Family: Ali's college decision is made & high school graduation is coming right up. Summer is going to be a busy one with weddings and lots of good things. 

Fall Prices:

Corn 3.89

Soybeans 10.07

Keep in touch,

Steve