Harvest At Hand

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Goat Prep

Partners & Friends,

We plan to start harvest this week. The hot weather has pushed corn, especially, to quicker maturity. Some neighbors are already harvesting corn under 25% during this first week of harvest! 🤔 Yield reports so far are indicating an average crop. We still have some equipment preparation and facility maintenance to complete.

We have been busy trying to keep up with the mowing, which has been difficult with the rapid growth caused by the rain and high temperatures. We have also been hauling lime and making piles for application this fall—around 700 tons. Baling the last cutting of hay also took place this past week. Marcus attended Beckology Days in Atlanta, IN. There has been limited farmstead maintenance, and did I mention lots of mowing? There has been no rain for the past 21 days. We are looking forward to cooler weather this next week. We will try to pass along early harvest results as we confirm them.

Commodity markets are up following the Pro Farmer tour reports of lower expected yields. Congress is running short on time in D.C., which probably means no farm bill will pass before the midterms. The political football of small refinery exemptions continues to favor big oil. Farm input costs for 2027 are expected to increase by $15–35 per acre. 🫤

The State Fair had nice, cooler weather. There were three Hess goats in the Grand Drive in the Coliseum. The Hess goats also placed quite well in the BPC FFA Alumni Show and Sale. Phyllis and I got away for some time in Asheville. School is back in full session. BPC has won two football games back to back. Finley is on the golf team. We are anticipating a bountiful harvest. 🙂

There was a question from the last blog about whether soybean apical/meristem damage could increase soybean yields. Recent research from a decapitation study showed that terminal bud clipping can increase yields by 15–18%. More to come on this research. We will pass along information as we learn more.

Keep asking questions! ☺️

Fall prices:

Corn — $5.08

Soybeans — $13.12

Steve

Serving Beyond Ourselves

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Worship Team

Baptisms

Partners & Friends,

In the past 10 days, I have been on four plane flights, witnessed two grandchildren being baptized, helped erect a church in one week, shared testimonies with 14 fellow believers, hugged all 13 of my living grandchildren, and watched the Cubs clobber the Cardinals 10–2.

Checkrow Church sponsored a mission trip to the Dominican Republic in partnership with Mission 2535. Fourteen of us went to build, love, serve, cry, reflect, and grow together. What a blessed people we are!

Before leaving the Dominican Republic, we raised and enclosed a 30' x 50' church building, helped complete a home for a deserving family, delivered groceries, love, and compassion to five needy homes, shared testimonies at a home for adolescent boys, spent time sharing God's love at an orphanage, and attended a church service where we didn't understand the words or know any of the songs. 😬 Along the way, we also opened our hearts and shared our personal walks with the Lord with one another.

I would encourage everyone reading this to step outside the comfort of your everyday life when opportunities arise. Share the Gospel, use the gifts and talents God has given you to serve others, and then bring those experiences home with you. There are opportunities all around us every day to be the hands and feet of Christ. Serve with humility, passion, and courage.

At Hess Family Farm, we are finishing fungicide applications, mowing roadsides and waterways (nesting season is complete), preparing grain storage for harvest, maintaining equipment (always!), baling hay, organizing the shop, and trying to maintain a healthy life balance as harvest approaches. The crop is developing well. Sweet corn harvest indicates good pollination. Soybeans are podding nicely but could use a few timely rains to help increase both the number and size of the beans in each pod.

Commodity prices continue to be very volatile. Each day of war seems to bring new market influences. Wheat prices remain elevated with the uncertainty surrounding grain shipments from Russia and Ukraine. The direction of U.S. biofuel policy appears to be leaning toward greater profits for big oil. It also appears our border with Mexico will reopen for cattle shipments. I'm not convinced screwworm has been fully contained, but it appears we are moving forward.

We were blessed to witness two grandchildren's baptisms last Sunday. 🙏 We also celebrated Champion Doe and Champion Wether honors at the Fulton County Fair. Cubs/Cardinals baseball is always exciting! School starts back in a couple of weeks, and the State Fair is only two weeks away. 😯

Fall Prices:
Corn — $4.46
Soybeans — $11.43

Stay strong, stay cool, and enjoy the rest of your summer! 😎

Steve

Interns

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Pennycress Harvest

Partners & Friends,

Once again this summer, we have an intern spending a few weeks here at Hess Family Farm. Cadence Monson, a senior from Washington State, has been experiencing the many tasks involved in operating a Midwestern corn and soybean farm. Her family raises wheat on the rolling Palouse hills. We appreciate her vigor and get-it-done attitude. We are always looking for intern team members who want to experience farm life and explore whether it might be a future career path.

The crops are growing fast. We are wrapping up post-emergence corn herbicide applications. First-crop hay is in the barn. NH₃ side-dressing is complete. Planting equipment cleanup is mostly finished, and we are beginning to tackle some summer projects. We also checked in on a neighbor's pennycress harvest. We are down to shipping the last few loads of soybeans. A good rain would sure be welcome.

Phyllis's knee is healing nicely—there's almost no limp in her stride. We celebrated a first birthday in Milwaukee last weekend. Our oldest granddaughter visited and worked for a week (kind of like an intern 🙂). We also took in a couple of Little League games and decorated graves for Memorial Day.

Fall Prices:
Corn — $4.19
Soybeans — $11.04

Steve

Blue and Gold

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Partners & Friends,

This past Saturday was our Bushnell–Prairie City FFA chapter banquet. Blue blood runs deep in our family. Grandpa Harvey Doll and Grandpa Charles were both FFA members back in their high school days. I participated in FFA all four years of high school and married the chapter sweetheart.❤️ Phyllis tried to join her junior year, but the high school principal wouldn’t allow girls in FFA back then.🙁 This year, and last, all the chapter officers are female. 😀

Marcus served as Greenhand President, Chapter President, and Illinois State Star Farmer. Marcus, Stephani, and Steve all earned American Farmer Degrees. Now the next generation is carrying it forward, using their leadership abilities and taking full advantage of the opportunities FFA provides. Finley is serving as Greenhand President. Harper was installed as Chapter Vice President last week…52 years after I held the same office. And our local ag teacher, Steve Seargant, has retired after a teaching career that helped launch several vocational agriculture teachers. FFA has developed many leaders, statesmen, stateswomen, engaged citizens, teachers, and agricultural business and production professionals.

We have not planted any crops over the last two weeks due to wet conditions. Instead, we’ve been finishing repair and maintenance projects, shipping more corn, seeding waterways and completing yard projects, spraying all ground intended for beans, and taking delivery of the last of our seed. The soil profile is full of moisture, and at the next dry weather window we are ready to roll at full speed with corn and soybean planting.

Fuel and fertilizer prices remain very elevated. Commodity markets aren’t paying much attention to the Iranian war. The drought in Florida still hasn’t broken. Here in Illinois, we’re still holding out hope for new estate tax legislation and an end to eminent domain authority for CO₂ pipelines during this legislative session.

As we look ahead to planting, here are a couple of short videos worth watching on soybeans, frost concerns, and tillage vs. minimal tillage:

Soybean & Frost Considerations
https://youtube.com/shorts/JeHw2M730Z4

Tillage vs. Minimal Tillage
https://youtube.com/shorts/STMw8r73gko

FFA chapter banquet is now behind us. Track season is in full swing. Lindsay and family made a trip to Florida to celebrate Prisca. Goat show season is heating up.

Fall Prices:
Corn: $4.39
Soybeans: $11.19

Steve

Fire!

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Partners & Friends,

We had a bit of unexpected excitement Saturday afternoon. A neighbor from the Checkrow area called to ask if we were burning anything. Occasionally we do burn CRP acreage, but this time it wasn’t us. It turns out another neighbor was trying to expand a food plot for deer hunting, and the fire got away from him.

Two fire departments and a few hours later, things were under control. Thank goodness the wind wasn’t any stronger, and Praise the Lord for the rain and snow last week that helped moisten conditions. We are extremely grateful for the Bushnell Fire Protection District, our neighbors who stepped in to help, Uncle Phil, and the quick response from everyone involved.

We’re gearing up for spring planting. Seed is being delivered, and we’re wrapping up the last equipment repairs. Several building projects are nearing completion, with a few larger ones set to come together later this summer. Grain is moving out as quickly as local terminals can handle the large volumes currently in storage. We’re still hoping to get a few more days of tile installed.

We also have an early planting crop insurance option for soybeans, so we may take the planter out soon just to make sure everything is field-ready. And it’s kidding season for one group of goats, which is always a fun (and cute) time of year!

On the broader front, the war in Iran is creating major disruptions in fuel and fertilizer markets. Fuel prices are up more than 30%, and we’re facing fertilizer increases of up to 40% for what we’ll need in the coming months for planting and side-dressing—more margin squeeze. Commodity prices have firmed some, but most bids are still at best break-even.

Work on the Farm Bill in D.C. is slowly progressing, but if nothing gets signed until a new voting rules bill passes, it could stall things out. Locally, the primary election saw a few incumbents lose their positions. And as of today, another burn ban is in effect. 😬

On a brighter note, the FFA State Proficiency Awards were held yesterday…congratulations to Harper on being a state winner! 🏆 Phyllis is recovering well from knee surgery. We’ve been keeping an eye on the Illini and Boilermakers in the NCAA tournament, and Easter is quickly approaching, a time to celebrate our risen Savior.

Fall Prices:
Corn — $4.64
Soybeans — $11.08

Enjoy spring and the renewal of the earth! 🌍

Steve