What We Do Right

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Partners & Friends,

This is the time of year where we reflect on what choices we made are paying off. Not everything we do gives us the returns we expect; we will share some of that later. But first, here are some of the main takeaways from 2022 that helped deliver the successful year it turned out to be:

  • Early Planting—we strive to take planters to the field as early as April 4th, as field conditions are fit (soil conditions almost always trump weather forecast)

  • Multiple Nitrogen Applications—with the high cost and low availability of our main fertilizer (nitrogen), efficiency and timeliness of application are huge cost savers and allow us to be more environmentally friendly

  • Crop Consultant—we cannot do everything, and seeking help in areas we are weakest in or lack time for is often necessary

  • Lender Relationship—it is vital to have a strong relationship with our lender to be nimble and take advantage of opportunities presented

  • Flex Rents—the sharing of risk with an open upside to benefit from price strength and good yields is beneficial for landowners and tenants

  • Equipment Capacity—we must be able to get crop planted, tended to, and harvested in weather windows, hence the upgrading of our planters, sprayer, combine, and trucks

  • Technology—we are constantly upgrading and adopting new technology to deal with one of our greatest challenges, labor

  • Work Hard, Play Hard—time away with family is refreshing, rejuvenating, and provides better perspective on who we are and what we do

The Hess Family Farm team is busy selecting and purchasing inputs (seed, chemicals, fertilizer, and equipment) for this next crop year. Higher interest rates are adding a new dimension to this and other marketing decisions. Energy is still one of the biggest uncontrollable factors we deal with. The world economy is slowing, which will affect demand for our commodities. I recently heard that chip manufacturing is now in a surplus! It is funny and ironic how we overcompensate to find new balance.🤔 The crop in South America is looking to be a big one. The fluctuating dollar is just another item for us to monitor in regard to marketing decisions.

Our family is doing well. Grandchild #13 is due in April! We all had an opportunity to gather for a Christmas reunion this past week in Monmouth, IL. A visit to sing carols to Oma and Opa was made and enjoyed. We survived the extreme cold and have all waterers operational again. The multitude of animals, even new babies, made it through the cold quite well also.

 Fall Prices:

Corn—5.86

Soybean—13.92

Keep in touch,

Steve

Relationships

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Partners & Friends,

We are wrapping up 2022 and spending time counting our blessings of family, friends, business partners, neighbors, and team members. Hoping you are all doing the same. We had our annual meeting with our crop consultant to review and reflect over what we’ve learned the past year—hopefully more on that soon. The recent weather has been causing some extra chores and challenges.

May you all have a blessed and rewarding Christmas holiday involving much time for deepening relationships. That was a big part of the message of the birth we celebrate this season.

We appreciate all of you and look forward to a bright and glorious 2023! Enjoy and celebrate the love and blessings we have.

Steve

Going Green

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Partners & Friends,

We are going green—solar panels were installed at both farmsteads and are generating enough power to send some back “upstream”. To avoid the chance of damage to equipment, the arrays were installed on the roofs of the barns. The solar panels have been operational for about 10 days now. We will keep you updated as to cost efficiencies.

NH3 application is almost complete, only about 120 acres remaining. The weather should warm up again next and allow us to complete it. The Hess Family Farm has been shipping corn daily to the local TriOak feed mill. They are grinding over 15000 bushels per day! We are in the midst of crop plans for next year— considering planting more corn and reducing bean acres due to current economics. Seed prices are up 10-20% from a year ago, while fertilizer bills are over 40% higher than last year. Diesel is also a real wildcard. We are trying to be smart shoppers and efficient users of inputs (as always), but the pencil is a bit sharper this year.

Volatility is still the word for world markets. Ukraine's export corridor turns on and off at the whim of Putin. Inflation is still very high. The weather in Argentina is dry. Energy costs, especially natural gas and diesel, are high. Congress will be divided for the next 2 years. The dollar remains strong, dampening exports.

Everyone is looking forward to Thanksgiving this week! The holiday is a good reminder to be thankful for all our family and friends. We are a blessed nation, community, business, and family.

Fall 2023 Prices:

Corn—5.85

Beans—13.48

Enjoy this week and appreciate the outpouring of abundance we have around us!

Steve

Happy Birthday, USA!

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Partners & Friends,

The 4th of July celebrations this weekend mean we are already to the middle of summer (and year)! The pace of farm activities is a bit easier now that we’ve completed the first cutting of hay and finished the second spraying of corn last week. I just noticed some tassels today, which is good news because it means the corn crop is catching up after a slow start. I have not seen any local sweet corn at the market yet, but it can't be far off! The Hess Family Farm is in full construction mode, with some of the remodeling already at the rebuilding stage. The last of our grain has been shipped; now we need to prepare the grain center and storage bins for new crop. The weather over the next four weeks will be critical. We currently have no excess moisture, but the corn and soybeans are looking very good. The two-week weather forecast shows chances for rain (although nothing substantial) and no extreme heat.

The commodity market absorbed the quarterly grain stocks and planted acreage reports last Thursday with downward movement. The weather over the next few weeks will offer plenty of volatility. There has been some decrease in price in the fertilizer and fuel market, and we are looking to lock in some input (fertilizer, chemicals, seed, and fuel) for the 2023 crop soon. Here in Illinois, the Democrats and Republicans both claimed victory in the Republican primary.🤔 Phyllis opted out of serving as an election judge for the first time in decades due to the unfortunate issues with her eye.😔

The family is keeping busy with vacations, camps, shows, and fireworks. This month of July will fly by with county fairs and meetings to attend.

I hope you all have a great holiday, enjoying and appreciating the freedoms we have here!

Fall Prices:

Corn—5.95

Soybeans—13.90

To read a message from Dennis, a Ukrainian farmer, click here.

Please feel free to leave comments—we do our best to reply to every single one!

Steve

2020

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Partners & Friends,

Here in this season we pause to reflect on the past year and plan ahead for the next. We are constantly asking ourselves how we can make the operation more sustainable, do more with less, be more efficient, increase our margins, determine what our core competencies are and best utilize our resources. Here are some of our thoughts heading into next year.

  • Tile—our highest yields consistently come from the ground that is patterned drained. Earlier planting, more even stands, better root development, easier harvest and less soil compaction all add up to increase the ROI 

  • Seed Beans—raising seed gets us the newest and best varieties with the most yield potential, but means weed control must be tip-top, bin space is an issue, and combine clean-out on hot afternoons is the most unpleasant 

  • Equipment Efficiency—keeping track of hours per power unit and repair cost of each piece of equipment gives information about cost to operate, when it’s time to replace, and do we need it

  • Less Tillage—part of the effort to make the land more sustainable is fewer trips, less compaction, and covering more acres with existing labor

  • Management Zones—part of the strategy of our multi-hybrid planter is investing in the parts of fields with the most profit potential and accepting the lower-yielding areas for what they are

  • Marketing—this past season reinforced that we must take advantage of opportunities to lock in profit and that the market is always right

  • Human Resources—our most valuable commodity is people—team members, suppliers, grain originators, landowners; those relationships must be nurtured and maintained

There are lots of details involved in this list that must be managed for the bottom line to be positively affected. That's what our job is-to bring everything together to allow this 150 year-old business to carry on to the next generation. We appreciate all who are a part of this endeavor that allows us to keep our dream jobs.

It appears the trade talks have negotiated a Phase One deal. We anxiously await seeing all the details on paper and signed. The general economy seems so strong with the labor marker so tight. Hopefully this next year’s major weather anomaly will be somewhere else in the world. :)

We are all celebrating this Christmas season with family and friends while enjoying all the blessings we have been given by a very generous Creator. Lindsay is due with their 4th child any day now. Ali is dog and cat sitting close to college campus. Preparing for bringing in 2020 with family and friends.

Have a Great Contented New Year!

Steve