She Has Arrived!

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Partners & Friends,

Baby Prisca arrived on Saturday, April 29th! It was a quick delivery and she was welcomed into the family with an abundance of love. There has been no shortage of open arms and offers to hold either.😊 Lindsay is doing well after two brief hospital visits following delivery. I am anew reminded of the wonder of creation, as well as the innocence and marvels of youth.

Planting corn has once again shifted into high gear. We took a week off after being 50% complete, both due to the cold and to see how emergences would be with the early planting. It is a good thing we paused, because we are now replanting the majority of the first wave sowed in early April. The Hess Family Farm team is running the planter about 20 hours per day and averaging over 300 acres during each of those periods—replanting will not take long. As for the soybeans, it currently appears that they are going to have enough population to be satisfactory. We are also running our CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) drill fast and hard with custom work. There is plenty of marginal ground getting enrolled for some nice rental rates—that means more carbon sequestered, although no tax credits exist like a pipeline.🫤

There will be a press conference this week in Springfield, check it out here. Perfect planting conditions are causing commodity weakness. Export corridor negotiations are ongoing—changing tides day to day. Weather is getting to become a large concern; we have appreciated the great soil conditions, but now we need some regular rain!

These are exciting times with a new baby! Ali’s graduation is less than a month away. Spring concerts and performances are popping up and being enjoyed. The season of livestock show is also shifting into high gear.

Current Prices:

Corn—5.05

Soybean—12.44

Keep in touch and please reach out with comments and questions,

Steve 

Progress Report

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Partners & Friends,

The Hess Family Farm team made stellar progress last week. We completed about 60% of bean planting and around 50% of corn. The corn ground is all sprayed, and we’re working on bean fields now after receiving a 1/2 inch of rain. The ground was good and warm—soil temps are over 50 degrees. Most of the kinks have been worked out of the system now, so running should hopefully be smoother the remainder of planting season. We are also trying to avoid working after dark, since it is still early and we do not want to burn ourselves out. The Hess Family Farm team also had a few more hands on deck while planting, with my brother-in-law, Kevin, who helped out all week, and friend, Chuck, who came in for a day. Onward and upward!

It has been a wrestling match recently with oil prices and the question of what to do about locking in fuel. The Brazilian safrinha corn crop is looking good. They are planning on adequate moisture for the rest of the season—that’s what is being forecasted, anyway. The export corridor situation in the Black Sea changes daily.

Our family is well! Phyllis and I are waiting for the call to come any moment with news that Lindsay is in labor.😍 Softball practice has begun for Abbott.😁 Ali’s search for a job and final college quarter at UChicago are both coming along well. Miriam has also become our first grandchild to get a driver's license! 👏🏻

Fall Prices:

Corn—5.48

Soybeans—12.99

Stay safe and in touch,

Steve

Biding Time

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Partners & Friends,

Spring is in full swing, and we are getting closer to putting planters in the field. This week, the Hess Family Farm team is finishing some tiling repair and ground preparation over recently tiled lines, applying more NH3 on acres being switched from beans to corn, calving our small beef herd, voting, drawing field boundaries, seeding waterways, attending spring concerts, and completing other miscellaneous tasks. We just received almost an inch of rain overnight, along with some high winds. The planters are hooked up and almost field ready. The last of the seed beans have been delivered and most of the bins are swept. Between the longer days and warmer weather, the urge to begin planting is growing more and more.

Commodity markets have found support for now. Oil prices are up due to the OPEC announcement of reduced production. 8 of every 10 dollars we spend are related to energy/oil. Following yesterday’s election, it seems that progressives may have won the day.

The family is doing well. Our grandchildren are in the home run as summer break draws nearer and spring fever infects schools. Ali is also working hard through her last quarter at UChicago. Lindsay is within 2 weeks of her due date. Our plan is to celebrate the good news of Jesus on Resurrection Day, then begin fieldwork shortly after.

Fall Prices:

Corn—5.39

Soybeans—12.96

Give glory to our Risen Savior!

Steve


Spring Is Here

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Partners & Friends,

We are entering the time of year of great anticipation: planting season is just a few short weeks away! There are last minute financials to be attended to, winter projects being wrapped up, newborn calves on the way, and tiling projects getting finished. The equipment is hooked up and readied for the spring rush to begin. We have received deliveries of seed and products for planting. Over the past few weeks, we have also been able to put two more loads of tile in the ground. Grain delivery continues to be at the forefront of our attention as we try to take advantage of basis opportunities and clean out bins before the hot summer weather. 

The nationwide banking chaos is having a negative effect on the commodity markets. It appears that The Fed will not raise interest rates as expected, which will lead to a longer run of inflation. Energy and fertilizer prices are easing, which will help input prices for next year. The extension of the agreement between Russia and Ukraine will also enable more grain to be exported, which will help relieve worldwide supply issues. There is still, however, much longer-term production capacity lost in Ukraine.

Ali is at UChicago for her last quarter of classes before graduation. Phyllis and I had a wonderful, one-on-one trip with Cora in Kentucky, where we visited the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter. Lindsay is due in less than a month. Goat showing season has resumed again.

Fall Prices:

Corn—5.39

Soybeans—12.92

Enjoy spring!

Steve

Fungicide

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Partners & Friends,

The intensity of field work is finally winding down for the summer. We are spraying our last pass of fungicide on corn and beans. Our new sprayer has proven a huge benefit; we are now able to spray more efficiently with bigger loads (1,200 gallons vs. 1,000 gallons) and a wider boom (120 feet vs. 100 feet). A principal reason to upgrade the machine was to permit the application of 20 gallon/acre of water on the last pass of corn, opposed to the airplane rate of 2 gallon/acre. This thorough coverage of soaking should give the plant more, lasting protection against diseases and insects. We are conducting several field trials this season, which should provide insightful data to judge the value on the more complete coverage. We still feel there is much potential in both the corn and bean crops.

The team continues to stay busy working on the summer construction projects. Our window of extra summer labor will be closing in a few weeks as college and school begin to resume. The Fulton County Fair is this week, with the State Fair ensuing two weeks after.

Management decisions are difficult in this global, volatile situation. I attended a summer marketing meeting last week, which I hope to report on soon. Commodity prices have been in a freefall with the scattered rainfall across the cornbelt; corn and soybeans are down almost $2 and $3/bushel, respectively.

Phyllis and I have been getting some family time now that farming is less intense, including a visit to the Luecht family in Grafton, WI last weekend, and the Steele family and Ali in St. Louis, MO this weekend. Charles and Wilma celebrated their 69th anniversary last Tuesday, the 19th.

Fall Prices:

Corn—5.52

Soybeans—13.03

Stay cool and safe,

Steve