PTI Farm Agronomy Tour

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Partners & Friends,

Last week I went to the Precision Technology Institute in Pontiac for their summer agronomy tour. There are a lot of very interesting things going on there. Here are some of my bullet-point takeaways:

  • Tile spacing: Tile is most efficient and cost-effective on 40-foot centers, with 20-foot centers in problem areas, across most soil types.

  • Soybean apical/meristem damage: If soybeans experience intentional apical/meristem damage when they are very young, there can be significant yield increases.

  • Drone technology: Drone technology continues to improve every year, with larger tank and weight capacities, longer battery life, and more self-guiding technology. Drones appear to be best suited for smaller fields or hard-to-access areas where a ground rig is difficult to use.

  • Corn genetics: Some of the highest-yielding corn varieties on the farm have been full-season DK 6835 and Pioneer 1742.

  • Symphony/Vision spray technology: This technology has the potential to drastically reduce chemical costs in post-emergence applications. John Deere currently charges farmers $5/acre for acres that are not sprayed, taking away some of that potential benefit.

  • Magrow Tech: Magnets are placed in the spray delivery lines and are reported to reduce drift by 90%, reduce chemical rates by 20%, and help with hard-water issues.

  • Phosphorus fertilizer: Phosphorus moves only about 1/8 inch per year in the soil. Putting fertilizer where the plant roots are located can dramatically increase efficiency and reduce the amount of fertilizer needed.

  • Strip-tillage: Strip-tillage allows for a 25–50% reduction in fertilizer rates and has consistently shown about a $30/acre advantage.

  • Arrow seed tubes: Arrow seed tubes can provide up to 80% tip-down placement, which can help improve early corn emergence. Availability is expected in 2028.

  • CIH closing system/FurrowForce: The CIH closing system coupled with FurrowForce appears to provide more consistent corn and soybean emergence.

  • AgZen: AgZen technology helps apply fungicides as low on the plant as possible. Fungicides primarily move upward through the plant, so lower application can be more beneficial.

  • Carbon Builder: Carbon Builder is offering five-year contracts for carbon credits. Talc is applied at a cost of about $13/acre, with a possible $50/ton payback for yields of 1–2 tons/acre.

  • Razdicle soil sampling: Razdicle offers consistent and quick-turnaround soil sampling.

If you have any questions, reach out!

We put in some main tile lines this week, mowed roadsides and waterways, and got the cornhead out to prepare for harvest. With all the rain and heat, it’s hard to keep up with the yards! Landowners, I have the base-acre allocation updates. If you are interested, let me know.

The USDA crop report comes out today, and the Pro Farmer Crop Tour is next week. The Farm Bill was delayed in D.C. last week. We are still waiting on IRS guidance for 45Z. Commodity traders are anticipating a big corn and soybean crop.

Off to the State Fair this week—we’ve been preparing for this year’s fair for the last several years! School is starting this week in some places. The Cubs still have a chance at a wild-card spot. The Bushnell Fall Festival is next week. Last weekend, the Uncommon Men's Conference in Quincy was very edifying, and I would recommend attending in future years.

Fall Prices:
Corn — $4.45
Soybeans — $11.48

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

5 Months

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Partners & Friends,

We completed soybean replanting this past week. We have now planted soybeans in five different months this year—a new planting window for us. About half of our March-planted beans are thriving; the other half had to be replanted. Modern soybean production wisdom says one of the easiest ways to increase yields is to plant early. Some years that strategy doesn't work out so well, but in the years it does, the payoff in bushels can be significant. We'll continue pushing the envelope in search of higher production and will be happy to share what we learn along the way.

We sprayed our first-planted corn field with fungicide, and now that all the corn is tasseling, we'll follow suit on the remaining acres. With the high humidity and greenhouse-like growing conditions, there is already discussion of making two fungicide applications this year to help keep plant diseases at bay. A late first cutting of grass hay has been completed, and the second cutting from our new alfalfa seeding is in the barn. There is plenty of mowing to do along roadsides and waterways, as all the rain has really encouraged the waterhemp. We have also cleaned out the last bean bin and shipped the final load of the 2025 crop to Havana. With summer already half over, we've started trimming our special project list because there simply isn't enough time—or labor—to get everything done.

Some of the 45Z rules have finally been announced. The omission of book-and-claim is a huge disappointment for farms like ours. Because we farm using regenerative, lower-input practices, we will not be able to qualify for low-CI credits. A recent study by the National Corn Growers Association also found that Brazil pays substantially lower prices for some of the same chemicals and crop protection products that we use. Add in the on-again, off-again trade negotiations and ongoing conflicts around the world, and it's creating plenty of volatility in both energy and input markets.

The State Fair is only a month away, and school isn't far behind. We're trying to squeeze in a few days away before harvest is upon us.

Fall Prices:
Corn — $4.36
Soybeans — $11.63

Reach out with any questions or comments. Stay cool and enjoy the rest of your summer!

Steve

Wet

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Partners & Friends,

We are having quite a wet spell—over 3 inches of rain in the last four days. And more rain is forecast for five straight days starting Wednesday this week. Some bottom ground will not have a crop this year. Otherwise, the crop is looking great and growing rapidly with all the moisture and warmth. We have been able to spray in brief spurts between showers. We barely achieved coverage across all the corn acres and are about 50% complete with the second pass on soybeans.

We are making slow progress resettling our main shop after the remodel over the past few months. There is one more load of beans to haul to Havana. We are getting the mowers out and trying to spray fencerows, although the crop is growing so rapidly that we won’t be able to reach all the places we had hoped. We are servicing the planting equipment before putting it away and are already beginning preparations for harvest.

Fuel and fertilizer markets have settled somewhat, but the real question now is availability. Sulfur will probably be in short supply since a significant portion comes through the Strait of Hormuz. Fuel prices are lower but have not returned to pre-war levels. We are still waiting for 45Z guidance to determine what the rules will be. We are really hoping for book-and-claim treatment on low-CI crop credits. Our bill to eliminate Eminent Domain authority for CO₂ pipelines in Illinois did not get called for a vote. It also appears we are in for electric rate increases. 🫤 So far, no data centers have been proposed for McDonough County. 🙂

Goat show season is in full bloom. Summer camps are happening every week. The FFA Convention was a great event—my first time back in 25 years.

Fall Prices:
Corn — $4.13
Soybeans — $11.11

Celebrate and appreciate our country's 250th anniversary!

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