Number VI

My original idea was to title this message "41" as in forty-one years/harvests since 1981, the year my farming career began. On second thought, I realized the more meaningful reference is 2017, the year Bert, Ben and Alex took the reins. Based on that starting point, this is their sixth harvest.

Bean harvest began September 15th. The first field underperformed. We had concerns this may be an indication that bean yields would disappoint. As bean harvest finished Sunday, we have the answer. The final '22 whole farm average is close to our five-year average. Yield varied greatly between fields. Variations in cultural practices and geography were largely responsible. While some farms benefit from all the best stuff, soil, drainage, manure, rainfall, variety, planting date, others are less fortunate. 

We see an opportunity to narrow the performance gap and thanks to our large data set, we know which interventions have the most impact.       

Corn picking began September 26. Early results suggest a very good crop, maybe our best. The downside is that the cool summer delayed maturity and moisture levels are high. This will slow harvest and require more LP. Despite that minor inconvenience, we are immensely grateful for the cooperative weather that made these yields possible. We will take modest credit for our thoughtful input selection and carefully managed field operations.  

Dry weather has been a boon to tillage and manure application. The disc rippers are doing a phenomenal job sizing trash and decompacting topsoil while leaving a level finish. This bodes well for spring seed bed preparation. The manure pumpers are going half speed until soil temps drop to minimize nitrogen evaporation. So far, we have avoided any major breakdowns or lapses in judgment. The more successful we are at minimizing the latter, the better our chances of avoiding the former.

We finished hauling out the old crop and got bins empty just in time to start taking in the new. Despite our ample storage capacity, it appears we will be a few hundred truck loads short. Every able body not required for field work is delivering corn to Valero.

We have a new member on the Team, Jeff Poorman, will be taking over some of Calvin’s duties when Calvin retires next April. Jeff's mission is to glean maximum knowledge from the wizened master before he leaves. We look forward to watching Jeff grow into his role.

On a sad note, the tradition of making sack lunches for the Team ended this fall. Last spring, I found discarded food in the trash. This was a cue to us that this benefit was no longer appropriate for a large, diverse group of employees with a variety of preferences and eating habits. The good news is we are saving $600/week in groceries and saved office staff eight hours/week making lunches. I hope the 90% of our staff who really enjoyed this perk are finding a silver lining as well. (It’s easy to stay alert on a diet of Mountain Dew and Snickers. 😉)

I will keep you updated on progress. Having crops in the bin by Thanksgiving is realistic but that leaves much to be done in the next five weeks. Wish us well.

Jim