Last Time

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Partners,

Things are slowing down a bit at Hess Family Farm. This past Wednesday Marcus replanted, for a second time, 40 acres of flooded creek bottom. We have not had rain since the last time the creek flooded. We'll now spot plant in some drowned out areas in a few bean fields--not as bad as the corn but we'll plant to keep a crop growing in the field and keep weeds at bay. We finished side dressing NH3 a week ago and the corn fields have really responded to the opening of the ground with the anhydrous knives. We still have the potential for some good yields but the weather for the next 4 weeks will make or break the crop. Some of the lighter timber soil that struggled to emerge is showing unevenness of stand and not growing very fast or even. We got our grass hay for the heifers baled this week along with the second cutting of alfalfa. I attended the Illinois Forage Expo and entered a first cutting alfalfa sample that won its class! We have been keeping the excavator busy repairing tile lines. We are also regularly delivering corn to the local feed mill for processing into hog feed. The never ending job of spraying weeds and mowing are also underway.

The commodity market is heating up with the weather issues on the horizon--corn is at an 11 month high. The new administration stance on several issues is causing a lot of apprehension in the ag sector. Determining what the path for immigration, infrastructure funding, ag trade, and the funding for the next farm bill are looming large. It is evident that our political clout is shrinking and we must use our ammo wisely. The story here in Illinois is the same.

Family is doing well and running full speed into summer activities. There is softball, camping, college visits, summer camps, and squeezing in some vacation days all on the docket. As usual it seems summer will be over before we know it and school back in full swing.

Fall prices:

Corn 3.74

Soybeans 9.23

Keep in touch and stay cool! I'll try to update more regularly about how the weather is progressing.

Steve 

Just in Time

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Partners,

It started raining here this past Wednesday about 6:00 in the morning.  We had pulled out of the final corn field at 3:00 that morning with the corn planting completed. We've received a little over 4 inches since then. Overall the field conditions were very good to plant into, and the first corn we planted on the 8th of April is up and looking good.

We have all the bean burndown (which we put on the field to prevent weeds from growing) sprayed on the fields that we're switching over to beans, so we feel good about planting progress. We hope to resume planting later this week, weather permitting--early soybean planting has helped increase bean yields. While planting we have been repairing tile, tearing out fences, preparing CRP ground for seeding, shipping corn and soybeans, and keeping the yards mowed. The season is off to a good start.

The Secretary of Agriculture was finally confirmed on the 100th day of the new administration. Hopefully he can hit the ground running and catch up the time lost in the confirmation process. There are lots of posts to fill in the department and plenty of stress and issues to deal with in the country. We have been supporting efforts to help the victims of the tragic fires in the western states. There are 18,000 miles of fences to rebuild, 12,000 head of cattle were killed, and seven people lost their lives.

In the family we are seeing the end the of school year in sight. Alison has a full load of AP testing and completed her ACT test a few weeks ago. Harper and Finley are having school music programs and Shanna is looking forward to summer vacation from WIU. Phyllis and I were able to attend Parents Weekend and see Ali play a lot of softball--fun time. Had a great Resurrection Day celebration at grandparents' house and lots of fun hunting baskets.

Fall bids:

Corn 3.55

Soybeans 9.05

Stay safe and keep in touch! Comment and "Like" below.

Steve

Spring Break

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Partners,

The recent warm dryer weather has allowed us to work on some significant spring projects this month. We completed a 40 acre tiling project that we have been trying to accomplish since the wet year of 2013 when we had to replant and side dress NH3 on this half of an 80. Our goal is to drain 80 acres a year and we have been sticking pretty close to that the last 5 years. The last nice day this week we were able to get some brush removed from fences, along creeks, and taking out some long unused fence. All the waterway work from last fall is looking good with lots of green as the rye and grass are really growing with the warm weather, and with the light rains there has been very little washing to the vulnerable dirt work. All this taking place while Alison is on spring break from school, so she and her friend Ellie get to be part of the crew!

National scene: we are wondering why, after finally getting a nominee for the Secretary of Agriculture position, now the confirmation process is dragging on forever. After rural America played such a big part in this presidential election it is very frustrating that we have no leadership in the Department of Agriculture. Meanwhile the State of Illinois proves how spineless our legislature is by not even being able to vote on a state budget. Oh well--it is only costing us $11 million a day.

Family is doing well. Marcus and family went to see all the princesses at Disney World. We are eagerly awaiting spring planting to arrive so we can put all this planning and budgeting into the real world and await mother nature to show us who is really in charge.

Fall Prices: Corn 3.53 / Soybeans 9.71

Keep in touch! "Like" and comment below.

Steve

The Last Acre

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Partners,

What a great weekend this has turned out to be.  As of 1 PM yesterday we completed corn and bean planting for 2015 (for the first time at least)! We have never been done this early - usually we are struggling between rain events to complete corn as of about now. This past week went like clockwork and all the preparation of manpower and equipment really paid off with field efficiency. Corn planting was finished on Tuesday by noon and switching over to beans began that afternoon.

We want to say a big thank you to all the staff that participated in this spring event.

Don't worry, we have still have plenty to do. We hope to complete a tiling project that has been on the list for several months, seed some CRP ground, and rework and seed some more waterways. Sidressing corn and spraying will be on the agenda in about two weeks

Was nice to relax on a Saturday afternoon and spend some time with families.

There is a chance of rain forecast almost every day this next week and 80 degree weather. Almost perfect growing weather! Just keep in mind, this is the situation in almost all of the Midwest growing area and prices are reflecting that. The bird flu story is also going to affect corn consumption for several months the way it is spreading, so keep an eye on that also.

Don't forget your moms next week!

A Good Week

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It has been a good week in the field - we are at 90% completion with the corn planting. We pulled the planter in the shed last night at 10:30 and rain started at 1 am. It was a perfect 1"+ which should get everything in the ground up and going well. The weather has still been cool; very few days up to 80 degrees yet. Our neighbors have just a few fields slowly coming up that have been planted for over two weeks.

We have also been completing spraying all the corn fields. It's a good feeling to be done with that project for now. The new sprayer and update to the tender system have really helped with efficiency and speed of the process. I am so enjoying being able to fully participate in planting season. We are experimenting with some different nitrogen methods and hope to fine tune the corn and bean production even more this season.

Celebrated Abbott Bruer Hess's one year birthday on Wednesday. Stopped planting long enough for some burgers and delicious cake. Actually scheduled a planter service call while we ate so wouldn't miss any planting time.

Crop prices continue to deteriorate with the mostly excellent planting weather across the midwest.

Fall prices:

Corn 3.58

Soybeans 9.03

Appreciate the likes on the blog! Question for all of you: what day of the week would you most like to have updates? Let me know - we are fairly flexible and want to be viewed. Please post your comments!