Biology Technology

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Partners,

We finally got a break last weekend with the first significant rainfall in over six weeks. Fields were very dry and the soil was hard before this welcomed relief. We needed the time to rest and repair. Harvest progress stands at 35% corn and 65% beans. Yields have been pleasantly surprising; corn and beans will be among the top three harvests for our farm. We will be harvesting some of our less productive and replanted fields last, so we're not sure where they will come in.

Plant technology has been in the news on a couple of fronts lately. 

Syngenta (a global Swiss agribusiness that produces agrochemicals and seeds) announced a $1.3 billion settlement for putting a new corn trait technology in fields in 2013 that was not yet approved by China. China rejected several shipments of corn that fall claiming they were tainted. My thoughts are that in reality China bought some very high priced corn in the price run-up of that period, and by canceling these contracts they could replace it with cheaper corn after seeing the market reaction to the news. 

Monsanto has also been in the news this growing season with their Extend soybean technology release. These soybeans are resistant to Dicambia herbicide which gives us another mode of action for weed control in this crop. We personally planted Extend beans in 2016 for seed to sell to a major seed company, and were very impressed with their performance. Also with the increased weed pressure we have been facing, having access to another mode of chemical action will give us another option in the herbicide toolbox to battle some of the Roundup resistant weeds like Tall Waterhemp and Marestail. There have been many lawsuits filed after complaints of drift during this 2017 growing season and some states are suggesting very restrictive dates of use for next season. We will see where the dust settles on Dicamba beans for 2018.

My guess is that both of these issues will make some attorneys very wealthy, with farmers getting leftovers of settlement dollars and options for cutting edge technology.

The family is doing well. Alison's volleyball team won their senior night game, Phyllis's brother Phil was back for a class reunion, and we got to witness and celebrate a beautiful family wedding in Columbus, Ohio.

Fall prices:

Corn 3.13

Soybeans 9.27

Keep in touch and stay safe!

Steve

Haze & Hurricanes

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Partners,

What an interesting month! On Labor Day Phyllis and I noticed how funny colored the sky was, especially in the afternoon. Turns out it was smoke from fires out west. Then seeing Harvey and Irma move thru the South was an experience of a lifetime--so much power and fury! While avoiding natural disasters, we are busy finishing up summer projects: mowing, building repairs, equipment storage and readiness, grain hauling, storage readiness, and cattle upkeep. We just started corn harvest yesterday and are experiencing the usual startup kinks. Better now than in 2 weeks! Corn is doing well yield-wise (over 200 BPA) but is still high in moisture (27%). Should be a good harvest if weather cooperates.

Ag outlook seems steady for now. Land prices seem to have stabilized in Illinois and the good harvest should help farmer moods, but prices are really tanking due to the yields. USDA has been predicting good crops nationwide (there are some pockets of drought and excess water) and as it turns out they were accurate with their system of collecting data. But I can think of no other country that publicizes its crop size in the way we do.

Our family is doing well. We have a wedding coming up in October (our nephew, Suanne's son Joel). Schooling for all the kids of the right ages with lots of learning and homework. Lindsay and Keith settling into Milwaukee area. We are trying to keep life simple through harvest!

Fall prices:

Corn 3.16

SB 9.43

 

Steve

Summer Swoon

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Partners,

Summer is rushing by. Since the last post we have received quite adequate rainfall here. The month of July turned out to be a real blessing when the corn was tasseling. The beans responded to all the moisture with lots of growth. We are now expecting close to a trendline yield. The beans still need to make progress filling pods. The corn crop is now starting to dent. The cooler temps have slowed development (that's okay) so harvest will not start as early as we might like. We ended up spraying every acre of corn and beans with fungicide and insecticide. 

We have been keeping busy trying to get all the extra projects done we seem to put off during the rest of the year. Barn maintenance is high on the list. We had a wall blow out in one of the storms in July. To repair it we have to make our own shiplap. We also re-roofed a large section of the barn at Marcus's house, repaired and screwed down the rest of the tin and are now getting ready to paint. We have been mowing the CRP ground that was seeded this year to keep weeds in control till the new seeding gets established. We are also repairing many tile issues that are accessible in the summer with a growing crop. In between we have taken some time off for some family fun. We will be getting harvest equipment out and inspected for the upcoming task at hand.

Ag economy is plugging along. The predicted crop size has set a firm tone to the market. In our travels east and west we saw many crops suffering from too much and too little water. Overall we feel like our situation is one of the better ones. Agriculture is still waiting for all the secondary positions to be filled at USDA--can't understand why the process is so slow. Illinois has passed a budget but now is squabbling over all the details. Economics seem to be good enough that the used equipment market is firm and up-trending.

The family is doing well. Alison is preparing to return for her senior year at Wayland. Shanna is back from a trip to Columbia and Ecuador concerning online WIU classes there.  Many of the grandkids are back to school in the next week or two. During the past 6 weeks we have visited 13 colleges trying to pick a path for Ali post high school.  Phyllis and I celebrate 40 years August 21st. Summer livestock shows are coming to end--State Fair just finished up.

Can you answer the college pic question?

Fall prices:

Corn 3.39

Soybeans 9.17

Keep in touch! Like and comment below.

Steve 

Last Day

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Partners,

Finished up Tuesday just in time to get the combine to the service center for an inspection, and all the grain tucked in before it started raining. Then the rain continued throughout the day on Wednesday. Harvest was a good one with above trendline corn and soybean yields. We are still compiling all the records to figure specific yields. 

The basis would seem to indicate that all the farm storage built over the last several years has changed the way crops are marketed. The old days of dumping all the extra crop that the bins won't hold at harvest are less. Most farmers are doing a better job managing the extra bushels, marketing-wise. We usually have enough HTAs (hedge to arrive contracts) to soften the blow of overrun bushels and allow us to absorb the extra crop to be marketed more orderly. This year even with the quick harvest due to the weather, there didn't seem to be a real harvest price low.

We put in pictures of my parents--Marcus's grandparents--in the field on the last day of the 2016 harvest. This year was the 62nd harvest by Hesses on the home farm where Marcus & Shanna live. Farming runs deep in the blood of the Doll side of the family also: at the farm where Phyllis and I live, which was homesteaded by Phyllis's ancestors, this year marked the 147th harvest by the Doll family. Marcus is the 6th generation to pick a corn crop here. We love this rich history!

Speaking of history, enjoy this World Series--GO CUBS!!!

 

Current cash prices:

Corn 3.19

Soybeans 9.67

 

Steve

Team Hess

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Partners,

Harvest is moving swiftly along. Last week we had a day that we handled a record number bushels of corn--almost 40,000. In our area there is not a lot of crop left standing. We are down to about 300 acres of corn which is about 3 days worth of good running. Fertilizer is being spread now and we have started tilling the fields for preparation for next year's crop. We appreciate all the good help this fall and the long days that have been put in. The heart of this operation is the people who make it run--all year round.

Prices seem to have been put in a harvest low, but with all the piles of corn across the Midwest it will be a long, slow road to much recovery. There are piles where there have never been piles before. A new challenge is the major appearance of a corn mold--diplodia--in the later picked crop. Apparently the growing conditions this year were perfect for its spread. I cannot ever remember getting dockage for this before.

 

Prices:

Corn 3.26

Soybeans 9.49

 

Stay Safe,

Steve