Team Hess

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Partners,

Harvest is moving swiftly along. Last week we had a day that we handled a record number bushels of corn--almost 40,000. In our area there is not a lot of crop left standing. We are down to about 300 acres of corn which is about 3 days worth of good running. Fertilizer is being spread now and we have started tilling the fields for preparation for next year's crop. We appreciate all the good help this fall and the long days that have been put in. The heart of this operation is the people who make it run--all year round.

Prices seem to have been put in a harvest low, but with all the piles of corn across the Midwest it will be a long, slow road to much recovery. There are piles where there have never been piles before. A new challenge is the major appearance of a corn mold--diplodia--in the later picked crop. Apparently the growing conditions this year were perfect for its spread. I cannot ever remember getting dockage for this before.

 

Prices:

Corn 3.26

Soybeans 9.49

 

Stay Safe,

Steve

Middle

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Partners,

While watching the monitor Wednesday afternoon, Marcus announced we were half done with harvest, acre-wise, corn and beans. Things have been rolling along relatively smoothly, bringing in the good crop. We had a 1.5 inch rain event Thursday night which has given us a much needed chance to catch up on repairs and maintenance. Yields are still staying strong--this will not be a record crop but is above trend-line. I am always thankful to have the bushels--it is much more fun to manage the bushels to sell with the challenge of pricing for a profit, as opposed to a small crop and high prices.

The ag sector is eyeing the election opportunities with apprehension. It is no secret that Hillary is no fan of ethanol and the other candidate is a real wild card in the area of policy stands. Here in Illinois we will, for the first time, have a state legislature without a active farmer. The retirement of Senator John Sullivan and Representative Don Moffit leave agriculture with no direct link to the lawmaking process. To this end Marcus is very involved locally with the representative race to afford us a relationship link to state agricultural representation. Only a month left to go to see what all outcomes are. The state of Illinois politics has become the muse of the nation.

Our families kept busy during the rain delay. Saturday was an opportunity to help with the restoration of the Bushnell train depot. The community is coming together to restore the building to a community event center. Marcus and family are walking in a parade today in support of Norrine Hammond, our local state representative. We would encourage everyone to vote for the candidate of your choice and support whoever gets elected.

Fall prices:

Corn 3.11

Soybeans 9.44

 

Steve

 

 

Harvest has begun!

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Partners,

It really began a little over 2 weeks ago with the acre of pumpkins we are raising for the Boy Scouts in Macomb. It is a lot of work to hand pick several hundred and load them onto trailers to get to sales spots! We had lots of good help along the way and there should be plenty of jack-o-lanterns this Halloween. We started on corn two weeks ago today with our non-gmo field as to not risk contamination by regular trained hybrids. And just this past Thursday started beans by harvesting our seed beans we raise for Becks. So far harvest is progressing smoothly with just few minor startup hiccups. Yields of all crops are above average.

The big news in agriculture is the sale of Monsanto to Bayer. This follows the Chem-China acquisition of Syngenta this past summer. As this global economy continues to consolidate we seem to have fewer choices of suppliers as we march forward. Most of our fertilizer options are limited to 3-4 global players. Seed supply has 3-4 trait suppliers. Herbicide options are the same way. Equipment manufacturers are down to 3 major players worldwide. And the choices of markets for us to market to are dwindling all the time. This is the world as we know it!

Family is busy with school back in full swing. Alison is studying hard and playing lots of volleyball. Phyllis is helping out with childcare, office responsibilities, and field work as needed. All things are easier as weather continues to be relatively clear allowing for bit more relaxed harvest situation.

Prices today at Havana(river terminal)

Corn--3.11

SB--9.44

Keep in touch--remember there is an extra seat in the combine!

Steve

Beanfielding

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Partners,

Summer seems to be rapidly coming to an end. Last week we took a morning to clean up a few weeds in a couple of soybean fields. This practice of "walking" beans brought back some not so fond memories of days growing up when we did this to all the soybean fields we farmed (thank goodness it was not so many acres). Before there were chemicals available like today, for practically every weed control, we would put down grass control, cultivate, and then walk the fields with a hoe or weedhook to get the stray weeds. For several weeks we would, every morning, go to the fields while the dew was still on the plants and start. By the time we quit at noon we were usually soaked with sweat to replace the wetness of the dew in our clothes. Rarely would we walk in the heat of the afternoon--but that was because thee was hay to bale or pastures to mow or cultivating to do. The good old days!

Crops are looking good. The beans are about as tall as I have ever seen them and fields look very even for plant height and health. There is talk of sudden death syndrome moving in due to the damp, warm conditions, but we have not detected any in our crop so far.  August rains will determine the yields. Corn is starting to dent and we will be preparing to start harvest in about a month. Sweet corn crop was excellent! We are mowing, still working on barn restoration, and taking a few days off ahead of the harvest onslaught.

Ag economy is in doldrums right now in about all sectors. Livestock and grains are all feeling the effects of current over production but there are signs of better times ahead. World grain demand has never been higher. Milk and meat demand is holding steady, but with cheap feed, getting the supply to lessen will be a slow process.

School starts in only a few weeks!

Fall bids:

Corn 3.09

Soybeans 9.40

Enjoy the rest of summer!

Steve

Earth, Wind, and Water

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Partners,

It's been warm and wet here these past few weeks. Water is always a big issue on our minds. We are participating in a voluntary water quality study this summer through McDonough Co Farm Bureau and assistance from the University. We are collecting water samples from 2 different farm tiles every 2 weeks that are measured for mainly nitrates. One tile is from a bean field and one is from a corn field. We are also measuring flow rates in gallons per seconds. Our first samples have come back very satisfactory as far as nitrate levels go but that would be expected in such a dry time with so little rainfall. Part of the purpose of this study is to create some baselines to use when the EPA is very soon going to try to regulate fertilizer applications on farm fields. The Toledo green zone last summer was a rude awakening as to what possibilities are if nitrogen blooms find perfect conditions. Part of our strategy of multiple nitrogen applications is to put the fertilizer on when the plant needs it and thereby reduce rates. We will keep you informed how this project turns out. We will see summary results from all the participants in McDonough county in November.

With the near perfect weather our crops look about as good as I have ever experienced in my farming career. It does seem that the corn and bean crop are about as even growing and good stands as they have ever been. We have finished spraying crops - the second pass - and are applying fungicide (with a plane) to selected corn fields. Soybean fungicide will follow soon. We are finishing up delivering our contracted corn sales in July and hope to have the last of the bins cleaned out soon. We have also been mowing and spraying fence rows and creek banks to keep brush from growing. We are also starting on summer projects now like painting, building maintenance, equipment cleanup and repair, waterway rebuilding, tile repair, and brush cutting. Our heifer enterprise has turned into a calf enterprise - we are now feeding 7 bucket calves and selling the heifers as freshened milkers ready to go to work.

Family doing well all around. Alison is going on an 8-day mission trip to Dominican Republic in one week. Summer softball is complete. Marcus and girls are walking and riding bikes in many parades for local Republican candidate. Bucket calf show was last week. Each family should get in some vacation time before summer is over so we can go into harvest refreshed and renewed. Once again, summer is flying by!

Fall Prices:
Corn 3.33
SB 10.32

Stay cool and keep in touch!

We love getting your questions & comments - just click on "Comment" below.

Steve