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Partners & Friends,

We haven’t turned a single wheel in a week. We have received over 5 inches of rain and can verify that our soil profile is full of moisture!🙂 The Hess Family Farm team is 30% complete with corn planting and 99% complete with soybean planting. All of our fields have been sprayed. A spring like this demonstrates the advantage of tiled fields. There are very few spots with pattern tiling in place that have been drowned out. The Drowning Fork creek that runs through our home farm, however, has been out twice and will need replanting. Chuck has been a great help with trucking, and we have delivered the last soybeans to the bins. The focus during the rain delays has been on many detail projects, as well as preparation for the big push that will soon emerge with rest of planting, post spraying, hay making, mowing, summer tiling, goat showing, 4-H fairs, construction projects, and fine tuning on our farm chemical mixing center.

GREET modeling for 2024 was introduced this past week. It was a large disappointment, as very little guidance was provided regarding the crop we are planting and how it will qualify for SAF carbon scoring in the future. The farm bill debate persists in DC. The bird flu outbreak is weighing on livestock markets. Additionally, the ongoing war in Ukraine continues to cause volatility in commodity markets.

On the family front, it is the time of year for finals, spring recitals, and outdoor gatherings. Show season has also begun in earnest. We are making plans for a few fun summer getaways.

Fall Prices:

Corn—4.58

Soybeans—11.71

Let us know what you want to read about, and be sure to ask any questions you might have!

Steve

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

1 If By Land, 2 If By Air

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Partners & Friends,

We are wrapping up fungicide spraying for both corn and beans. There was a question on our last post asking what we spray fungicide for. In corn, our main enemies are Tar Spot, Northern Corn Leaf Blight, and Gray Leaf Spot. Then there was another question asking what elbowing in corn means. This is simply when the corn plant straightens back up after a wind event, causing a bend in the stalk near the root. Elbowing corn tends to cause spraying and harvest difficulties. 

We are doing application trials of different methods to apply fungicide. In one field we used our high clearance sprayer for ground application, flew on with an airplane, and used a drone to apply. It was quite a sight in the field that day! This is the second year of doing this trial. In theory, the ground sprayer should give better coverage since we are using 20 gallons of water per acre, while the drone and plane use a mere 2. However, the downdraft created by the drone might give better coverage deeper into the foliage, and the plane will be faster (more timely) while avoiding knocking down any plants. We will let you know the results of this trial after harvest.

The Hess Family Farm team is still keeping busy wrapping up summer projects. We are converting the old stanchion's space in the barn at Marcus’ house into a flat floor to give us options for livestock area or other uses. As always, we are working on the never-ending building repair projects that come with all the structures we maintain. There are also re-gating projects for the goat and cattle areas. On top of all that, we have begun to prepare equipment for harvest, which is only about a month away. Field scouting for yield estimates are indicating the crops will be good, despite the lack of rain. It is safe to say we will not set new yield records this fall.

The Ukraine situation is keeping commodity prices volatile. Oil prices are surging and driving diesel and gas prices up. Fertilizer prices for next year's crop will be about half of 2023’s. Natural gas to dry corn will be about 25% higher than a year ago. Climate change is a hot global topic that we feel we have minimal influence or control over. Brazil's soybean crop is looking good. 

Goat showing season is officially in full-swing. The State Fair is next week. My 50th class reunion is approaching. School for the grandchildren starts shortly. Summer seems like a fleeting wisp in the course of a year. Sweet corn season had mixed results (as we predict the field corn to be), but the tomato harvest is quite bountiful.

Fall Prices:

Corn—4.72

Soybeans—13.15

Steve

Great Finish

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Partners & Friends,

Phyllis and I attended the UChicago convocation activities last weekend to watch Alison Elaine Hess walk the stage! It was a wonderful couple of days with a reception at the Museum of Science and Industry on Friday night, a huge convocation Saturday morning, and the diploma ceremony that Saturday afternoon. Ali has completed another chapter in her life and now is onto the next. She is living in Asheville and working remotely for Berkeley Academy. Way to go Ali!🎉

The farm has yet to receive any rain. We have completed corn spraying, NH3 application, and haying the first time around. It is already almost time for the second cutting of alfalfa. The first cutting of grass hay was about 20% less than last year due to moisture reduction. The corn is starting to roll a little bit in the hot afternoons to protect itself. The Hess Family Farm team and I will begin spraying beans very soon; we’re hoping for a solid rain shower so they can take off and canopy to help with weed control. We just finished replanting a few thin spots, and some rain will be needed to bring those seeds up as well. 

Commodity markets do not seem to be paying much attention to the weather. We’re certainly not seeing the usual Father’s Day selling opportunity. Crude prices have firmed with the Saudi production cut announcement. The dam disruption in Ukraine will cause some crop production where the water was counted on for irrigation. 

Goat show season, softball, summer jobs, camps, and other festivities are here and keeping our family busy. The Peer group meeting is in the state of Washington next week. Independence Day will be here shortly!

Fall Prices:

Corn—5.11

Soybeans—11.53

Stay cool!

Steve

One of a Kind

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Partners & Friends,

Summer is upon us! Graduation season is in full swing. We have known and employed some wonderful students over the years. Today, I want to take a minute to recognize an employee who is a high school senior this year. Justin Daniel Runyan has been helping us at Hess Family Farm for about 4 years. He can do anything mechanical, weld superbly, drive any vehicle, solve any motor problem, and is just an all-around awesome follower of Christ. Justin helps with any and every task asked of him with full energy and engagement. We can make a similar claim about several other employees, students, and friends that have come up through the ranks over the years. The Lord has truly blessed us with some talented, timely hands these past several decades. We could not do what we do without you!

We are fervently applying NH3 before the corn outgrows our ability to drive through; the corn is in a growth stage where it doubles in height every week. We have completed harvest of our alfalfa and are currently working on several acres of grass hay from the many waterways we maintain. Additionally, the Hess Family Farm team is now starting to spray the second pass of corn herbicides to keep the fields weed-free. There are also the last calves to get out to pasture, as well as a bit of replant to do in areas where water saturated the soil during the heavy rain we received a few weeks ago. We have had no rain over the past 12 days, and the forecast is looking dry for the next couple of weeks. There is an old saying that states a dry June helps deep root the crop for a better outcome. Hopefully Snodgrass is right in that, and the El Niño pattern will give us moisture during the last part of June. Lastly, thanks to my brother-in-law, Phil Doll, who traveled from Michigan to help us for a few weeks, the Hess Family Farm managed to custom seed a couple hundred acres of CRP fields. Phil’s help gave us a huge boost this month!

I am keeping an eye on energy and fertilizer prices. At some point, this decline will turn and it will be time to lock-in needs for 2024 crop. The farm bill debate is heating up in DC. It appears that the Ukrainian war could last for years. The national labor shortage is a real thing—even down on the farm.

Summer break is almost here as end-of-school activities conclude. Phyllis and I are looking forward to attending Convocation at the University of Chicago on June 3rd next weekend. Ali Elaine Hess has earned her Bachelors degree and we are so excited to be there to witness her receiving her diploma! She has already put her degree to work by accepting employment with Berkeley2Academy as a college admissions counselor, and has moved to Asheville, North Carolina to begin this next chapter of her life. Summer camps, jobs, and sports are in play for the grandchildren. 

Fall Prices:

Corn—5.15

Soybeans—11.65

Enjoy summer!

Steve