Time Treasures

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Partners & Friends,

This past week we had a local “treasure” hunter contact us and ask permission to search former building sites with his metal detector. All he has inspected so far is our Checkrow farm, which had a schoolhouse on one corner for over 100 years as well as a house and farmstead site on the property. Included in the pictures are some of the treasures: many coins, including pennies, nickels and V-nickels, and dimes, along with silverware, a bracelet with the name Perry, belt buckles, and buttons from the late 1800’s. Our family loves history. Holding these treasures in your hand can stir a feeling of wonderment about what the story is behind each piece. Who were the owners, how was each item obtained, and how did they end up in the earth? Kudos to Kyle for having the patience and desire to search and explore our past!

We are currently preparing for spring with ideal conditions. The lack of moisture is a bit of a concern, but we are receiving some nice spring thunderstorms as I write this. We have finished 2 big tiling projects that both involved major main outlets through our neighbors’ property. The Hess Family Farm team is finishing up NH3 application on a few more acres allotted to corn, as the economy is leaning toward greater profit from corn this season. We’re leveling up the fields we have tiled over the past few years to get them in condition to leave until led in the future. We are also seeding a few CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) acres along with some pollinator habitat. In addition to all that, the team is hooking up the planters and preparing them to go to the field. Planting will commence around April 5th. We do hope for moisture before then; I believe we are back on the drought map area.

There is much talk about carbon as of late. We attended a farmer meeting last week learning how we can “pay the farmer” to keep carbon in the soil. Although it makes a lot of sense, it requires another layer of planning and management on our part as well as a lot of data verification. We are anxiously waiting for the new GREET guidelines to be published, which will govern how carbon credits are measured and compensated for. There will be ample discussion around this next year, so stay tuned.🙂 I will not quit talking about carbon anytime soon…anything to avoid pipelines!

Our family is staying busy with science fairs, college visits, goat sales, visits to Florida, and plenty of other academic and sport activities. Time truly does fly by quickly. 😓

Fall Prices:

Corn—4.47

Soybeans—11.59

Keep in touch,

Steve

Legacy

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Partners & Friends,

As I believe most are aware, my parents, Charles and Wilma, passed away on January 7th and 8th (respectively), a day and half apart. This is just as they would have wanted it—still together after 69 years of marriage. The outpouring of condolences has been so uplifting, and we are overwhelmed by the memories shared and lives they touched. It has truly brought to mind how careful we must be in our everyday lives regarding what and how we share with others; we never know what the takeaway will be for those we interact with. I am so thankful for the positive impact Charles and Wilma left on their earthly journey. They will be long remembered by family and friends. We are planning a celebration of life on July 15th—more details to come.

The Hess Family Farm team is keeping busy this winter with plenty of off-season projects. We’ve gotten some good days in with the tile plow—that task will be in the wings for several years as we continue to improve the fields. We are shipping corn to TriOak feed mill to take advantage of the strong basis. Next week, we will also deliver one of the soybean seed varieties we raised this year—there will be many trips to El Paso involved with that. It is the season of meetings as well. The Precision Planting meeting is this week to announce new products and past season agronomic data. And as a cherry on top, tax preparation season is upon us, with plenty of accounting details to attend to.🙃 

On a global standpoint, things seem very unsettled. The varying weather from cold, to warm, and back again equals energy price volatility. Congress, with its latest members, is preparing to address a new farm bill this year. Ukraine and Russia continue to trade blows and threaten grain exports. On a local standpoint, there is still adamant opposition to CO2 pipelines. La Nina seems to be fading from the weather influence.

School for our grandchildren is back in full motion. Ali is preparing for her last quarter at UChicago. More goat shows are coming up quickly.

Fall Prices:

Corn—5.77

Soybeans—13.39

Let us know what your thoughts, questions, or any other comments are.🙂

Steve

Livestock

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Partners & Friends,


Livestock of various kinds have dwelled at this farm all but one of the 153 years since 1869, when the Doll family homesteaded the property. Before Phyllis and I moved here in 1992, the farm was known for the feedlots of up to 400 head of feeder cattle. There was also a thriving pasture farrowing hog enterprise and sheep on the farm. When we discontinued milking our 250 cows ten years ago, the chores and animal care did not halt. After selling the milking herd, we custom raised dairy heifers for about 6 years. When the pandemic hit two years ago, Ali raised almost 100 bottle calves while doing college from home. Nowadays, we have a very small beef herd and sell farm raised beef (let us know if you are interested). There are currently 9 goats here for Harper’s show and breeding herd. We also had 3 pigs for Finley’s 4-H project last summer. Over the years, the farm has been home to countless horses, dogs, cats, rabbits, and chickens. We love animals!


We bide our time waiting for dry weather and warmth to plant by fixing tile holes, hauling grain, cleaning out the barn and hauling manure, organizing storage, making final adjustments to the planting equipment, servicing the trucks and tractors, and putting together planting prescriptions and SOPs. With commodity prices at the levels they are, more than ever we want to make every seed count . Our seed and chemicals are on hand, and we will be ready to go in short order. Regarding the weather forecast, we anticipate short planting and spraying windows, similar to the past few years, which tests our strength and stamina. 🙂


The Ukraine situation has made several things unpredictable. Fertilizer is looking to be very expensive this next year, mainly because much of it is manufactured with natural gas. We have overcome a few parts supply issues. The commodity markets are quite volatile, which makes sales decisions difficult. The inflation factor has hit all sectors…and what goes up often does not come back down. Every government crop report adds volatility to the market.


The family is doing well. Phyliss and I were blessed to attend grandparents day at Trinity Academy on March 24th, where Harper was in the school play (Oliver Twist), Finley portrayed Queen Elizabeth I in the wax museum, and Abbott was in the second grade Reader’s Theater (Romeo and Juliet). Harper showed her Boer goats that weekend at the Little Sioux Showdown in Afton, Iowa and did very well, including a Reserve Champion Percentage Doe. Phyliss is currently spending time in St Louis with Miriam, Cora, Walker, and Lincoln while their parents attend a conference. Phyllis is also scheduled for surgery to remove the silicone oil from her eye in two weeks, with cataract surgery soon to follow. Prayers are welcome.

Here is a post from a Ukrainian farmer about an update on the whole situation, please have a read.

Fall Prices (we are mostly sold out of 2021 crop):

Corn—6.84

Soybeans—14.43


Feel free to like and comment,

Steve

Remembering the Past

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Partners and friends,

I attended The Half Century of Progress Show in Rantoul at the old Air Force base this past week. There were acres and acres of equipment from over 50 years ago and over 5,000 UTV's on the grounds to look things over. My friend Chuck and I watched over 30 corn pickers in action and 5 corn shellers at work and numerous tractors and moldboard plows turn soil over. There was no carbon saved at that show. :) I give a big hats-off to the dedication and effort of the organization that puts on that show every other year. In observing all the events going on I am reminded of those who have gone before me and the sweat and innovation and development and refinement of the machines to make agriculture more productive and efficient. I can remember picking ear corn and 2,000 bushels was a big day—now we do that in less than an hour! I felt proud to think of those who have gone before and created the agriculture system we have in the world today, and how if there is food shortage in the world it is not because of supply, but is a distribution issue.

We are finishing up summer projects--tile repair, equipment maintenance, end of crop year bookkeeping, waterway repair, mowing, and tiling where crops are not in the way. The crop is rapidly maturing and from the looks of it, this corn crop will be one of the best ever. Beans are benefiting from some of the spotty showers this past week and are filling nicely. We are targeting a start date of mid-September. We have picked up a few part-time high school and college team members to round out the staff. Our annual fall safety meeting is on the schedule for September 8th. The bin project for corn drying is mostly complete. We have been told the new storage bin we ordered might not be delivered till late October. Will it get erected in time to use this harvest? Stay tuned.

Globally, grain supply is tightening up a bit. We foresee commodity prices staying elevated for a year or two. Brazil is preparing to plant more acres of soybeans than ever before. Weather concerns are popping up all around the globe—too wet or too dry. Climate change has been going on since the earth was created. Mankind now thinks he can control it by throwing money at it.

Family is well. Kennett is growing quite well. Show season is over. School is starting for everyone except Ali, who does not go back till late September. Phyllis and I had a nice getaway weekend on our anniversary.

Fall Prices:

Corn 5.44

SB 13.13


Keep in touch! Comments always welcomed.

Steve

What Was It Like?

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Partners,

Something that strikes me often is the amount of sweat, tears, and love that has been poured into this land we are caretakers of today. As we cross fields with equipment that can harvest 4000 bushels/hour I try to imagine what it was like for the first family members here to break out the sod. The prairie grass was probably over 10 feet tall and the soil wet and sticky, and there was no air conditioned house to retreat to for a good night’s sleep after all the toil of the day. Our family’s oral history tells us that the first settler who stayed the first summer on our land (mid-1800s) used an upside down wagon box for shelter as he prepared the farm for his family. He must have had his bravery tested with the coyotes howling at night, and the darkness (without any mercury yard lights), and the rainstorms that are bound to have occurred. What was it like digging post holes by hand for the livestock fence, planning how big of a barn to build (and make it easy to enlarge as the farm grew), and caring for the horses each day (unlike the tractors we use that sit dormant in the shed)? What were the thoughts and conversations that went on around the supper table and in bed at night, where the board of directors slept together?

We have a weather delay right now. 2 inches of snow yesterday and 3 inches this morning (Thursday). Beans are 85% complete and corn is about 70% done. The last corn is not going to dry down much more in the field—testing in the middle 20s. We ran hard Monday and Tuesday to get the wet bin filled up so we could dry during this weather delay. Seed bean harvest is complete so no more combine cleanings. :) Plenty of details to attend to with equipment and office work.

The trade dilemma is getting a bit tiring. Who blinks first is going to tell the story of how the resolution is going to be. Personally, I wish Congress would work on something that will move this country forward instead of chasing what the President said in a phone call. Anyone who has studied history or seen Hamilton or Lincoln knows that politics have been a part of our governance and I am thankful we live in a country where we can discuss them freely.

Our house remodeling project is finally in the last stage. We’re hoping to celebrate family Thanksgiving here. It’s hard to believe first quarter is already over and report cards issued. It seems this whole year will be one we will easily remember. Interesting how the challenging times are the ones we recollect and reach back to for wisdom.

Fall prices:

Corn 3.85

Soybeans 9.16

Comments welcome.

Steve