Spring Is Here

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Partners & Friends,

We are entering the time of year of great anticipation: planting season is just a few short weeks away! There are last minute financials to be attended to, winter projects being wrapped up, newborn calves on the way, and tiling projects getting finished. The equipment is hooked up and readied for the spring rush to begin. We have received deliveries of seed and products for planting. Over the past few weeks, we have also been able to put two more loads of tile in the ground. Grain delivery continues to be at the forefront of our attention as we try to take advantage of basis opportunities and clean out bins before the hot summer weather. 

The nationwide banking chaos is having a negative effect on the commodity markets. It appears that The Fed will not raise interest rates as expected, which will lead to a longer run of inflation. Energy and fertilizer prices are easing, which will help input prices for next year. The extension of the agreement between Russia and Ukraine will also enable more grain to be exported, which will help relieve worldwide supply issues. There is still, however, much longer-term production capacity lost in Ukraine.

Ali is at UChicago for her last quarter of classes before graduation. Phyllis and I had a wonderful, one-on-one trip with Cora in Kentucky, where we visited the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter. Lindsay is due in less than a month. Goat showing season has resumed again.

Fall Prices:

Corn—5.39

Soybeans—12.92

Enjoy spring!

Steve

Fungicide

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Partners & Friends,

The intensity of field work is finally winding down for the summer. We are spraying our last pass of fungicide on corn and beans. Our new sprayer has proven a huge benefit; we are now able to spray more efficiently with bigger loads (1,200 gallons vs. 1,000 gallons) and a wider boom (120 feet vs. 100 feet). A principal reason to upgrade the machine was to permit the application of 20 gallon/acre of water on the last pass of corn, opposed to the airplane rate of 2 gallon/acre. This thorough coverage of soaking should give the plant more, lasting protection against diseases and insects. We are conducting several field trials this season, which should provide insightful data to judge the value on the more complete coverage. We still feel there is much potential in both the corn and bean crops.

The team continues to stay busy working on the summer construction projects. Our window of extra summer labor will be closing in a few weeks as college and school begin to resume. The Fulton County Fair is this week, with the State Fair ensuing two weeks after.

Management decisions are difficult in this global, volatile situation. I attended a summer marketing meeting last week, which I hope to report on soon. Commodity prices have been in a freefall with the scattered rainfall across the cornbelt; corn and soybeans are down almost $2 and $3/bushel, respectively.

Phyllis and I have been getting some family time now that farming is less intense, including a visit to the Luecht family in Grafton, WI last weekend, and the Steele family and Ali in St. Louis, MO this weekend. Charles and Wilma celebrated their 69th anniversary last Tuesday, the 19th.

Fall Prices:

Corn—5.52

Soybeans—13.03

Stay cool and safe,

Steve

Toe In The Water

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Partners & Friends,


We planted 80 acres of beans last week; they are not up yet. Soil temperatures are still below 50 degrees, but since heat is in the forecast, there could be some sprouting this week. A main reason we took the planter to the field was to solve first field bugs. Marcus encountered many of them.🙃 We will now be ready to hit the ground running, once the weather clears. The corn planter has not been started up yet, so there will be some first day issues to sort out there. The Hess Family Farm team spend much of time and money each year ensuring the planters are ready to roll. Crop has the most potential the minute the seed hits the soil, so we want to be certain we give it the best placement and position as possible. Planter technology has come so far over my career. Planting no longer entails just dropping seed into the ground in any soil conditions. Rather, down force, row cleaning, depth wheels, seed firmers, sidewall compaction, air pockets, closing down pressure, and seed singulation are some of the issues we now aim to perfect when placing seed in the trench.


Our other duties, such as leveling tile ditches from the winter projects, hauling grain, livestock care (goats and cows), equipment readiness, office details, mushroom hunting, and relaxing before season starts, are also keeping us busy. The new sprayer was delivered last week and is now fully operational, having run it for a day. I will share more about that decision soon—it was a big commitment.


I recently saw pictures of Ukrainian farmers wearing helmets and bulletproof vests while planting.😔 There will be no way to export the crop that is produced with some of the ports being so heavily damaged. Commodity markets show little weakness. This could be an extended bubble, and with inflation running hot on its heels, will create additional management issues. Take a look at interest rates for 2-year bonds since the beginning of this year; our issues are still minor compared to others!


Family is in full school mode. We had a wonderful Easter celebration, despite Phyllis having to get a COVID test that morning for her surgery on Wednesday. The surgery was a bit complicated, and she is now facing a long recovery time from it. The carbon pipeline issues are heating up.


Current prices:

Corn—7.96

Soybeans—17.28


Keep in touch,

Steve

Livestock

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Partners & Friends,


Livestock of various kinds have dwelled at this farm all but one of the 153 years since 1869, when the Doll family homesteaded the property. Before Phyllis and I moved here in 1992, the farm was known for the feedlots of up to 400 head of feeder cattle. There was also a thriving pasture farrowing hog enterprise and sheep on the farm. When we discontinued milking our 250 cows ten years ago, the chores and animal care did not halt. After selling the milking herd, we custom raised dairy heifers for about 6 years. When the pandemic hit two years ago, Ali raised almost 100 bottle calves while doing college from home. Nowadays, we have a very small beef herd and sell farm raised beef (let us know if you are interested). There are currently 9 goats here for Harper’s show and breeding herd. We also had 3 pigs for Finley’s 4-H project last summer. Over the years, the farm has been home to countless horses, dogs, cats, rabbits, and chickens. We love animals!


We bide our time waiting for dry weather and warmth to plant by fixing tile holes, hauling grain, cleaning out the barn and hauling manure, organizing storage, making final adjustments to the planting equipment, servicing the trucks and tractors, and putting together planting prescriptions and SOPs. With commodity prices at the levels they are, more than ever we want to make every seed count . Our seed and chemicals are on hand, and we will be ready to go in short order. Regarding the weather forecast, we anticipate short planting and spraying windows, similar to the past few years, which tests our strength and stamina. 🙂


The Ukraine situation has made several things unpredictable. Fertilizer is looking to be very expensive this next year, mainly because much of it is manufactured with natural gas. We have overcome a few parts supply issues. The commodity markets are quite volatile, which makes sales decisions difficult. The inflation factor has hit all sectors…and what goes up often does not come back down. Every government crop report adds volatility to the market.


The family is doing well. Phyliss and I were blessed to attend grandparents day at Trinity Academy on March 24th, where Harper was in the school play (Oliver Twist), Finley portrayed Queen Elizabeth I in the wax museum, and Abbott was in the second grade Reader’s Theater (Romeo and Juliet). Harper showed her Boer goats that weekend at the Little Sioux Showdown in Afton, Iowa and did very well, including a Reserve Champion Percentage Doe. Phyliss is currently spending time in St Louis with Miriam, Cora, Walker, and Lincoln while their parents attend a conference. Phyllis is also scheduled for surgery to remove the silicone oil from her eye in two weeks, with cataract surgery soon to follow. Prayers are welcome.

Here is a post from a Ukrainian farmer about an update on the whole situation, please have a read.

Fall Prices (we are mostly sold out of 2021 crop):

Corn—6.84

Soybeans—14.43


Feel free to like and comment,

Steve

Good Start

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Partners & Friends,

Just got rained out today after a couple of days planting. We have over 400 acres of beans in the ground and about 200 acres of corn. Soil conditions were perfect with the long, warm, dry period we just experienced. Research the last several years has shown early bean planting can really boost yields, and that the soybean seed can withstand more adverse conditions than corn. Ideally we would like to plant all the beans the second week of April and corn the third week.

Elsewhere we are doing tile repairs (never-ending), plumbing a fire department tanker repurposed to sprayer tender, surface drainage projects, building repair, bin site remodeling, show pig procurement and housing, and some job realignment. We also have our first calf of the season--a nice heifer! We are also wrapping up some grain shipments of corn and beans and cleaning out the barns from the winter accumulation. There seems to be some extra fertilizer going in some fields around here (not ours) which indicates some more corn acres. Lots of new iron coming out of the neighbors’ sheds this spring too.

Farmers are trying to do everything possible to capitalize on the higher commodity prices this year--extra fertilizer, early planting, higher yield potential seed. The latest stimulus bill really did little for the farm community unless you are a disadvantaged farmer. The last scheduled CFAP payments are due any day now but are minuscule compared to last year's relief package. China seems really hungry for corn and soy for their food needs—but are being very tight lipped about the actual Asian Swine Flu that is sweeping through the hog population there again.

Family is heading for the home stretch for this spring schooling. Ali is in her last quarter of her junior year. Trinity school kids are headed for summer vacation starting around Memorial Day. Homeschool bunch is aiming for the same summer vacation. We have another grand child due on the 4th of July. :)


Fall Prices--

Corn--4.68

Soybeans--12.63


Keep in touch and enjoy this beautiful spring green-up!

Steve