Appreciating Creation

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Partners & Friends,

One of the things we are constantly reminded of in our work is the beauty and majesty of God’s creation. The Hess Family Farm team truly appreciates the fact that we get to work with it every day. We also feel that with our assistance, the condition of the land and animals are continually getting better. Sunrise, sunset, productivity of the soil, and the wonders of birth are all parts of God’s incredible creation that stand out to me. What a plan it took to put it all together!

Harvest is rolling along quite well, largely due to the fact that we have been without any significant rainfall since starting around 2 weeks ago. We are about 20% complete with corn and beans. Corn yields are solid so far—no records this year but very respectable. The soybeans are doing alright, and we hope the later varieties will pick up yield as we progress.

Energy prices are rising. War in Ukraine continues. The low river levels here and in Panama are causing disruptions. It also appears that Brazil is now the largest producer of corn and beans in the world, which makes us residual suppliers.

There was another goat show this past weekend in Nebraska. Schoolwork for our grandchildren is plodding along, but not proving to be the favorite pastime. However, they’re progressing well and are often reminded by Papa (me) of what the future holds if they are diligent and apply the talents God has gifted them with.❤️ The season of apple cider is fast approaching as well.😊

Fall Prices:

Corn—4.56

Soybeans—12.68

Stay safe and enjoy all the beauty that surrounds you!

Steve

Farm Progress

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Partners & Friends,

The Farm Progress Show was a week ago in Decatur. There was much to see at the “Super Bowl” of farm shows. All the new paint, huge equipment, startup companies, and exhibitions remind us of the interest and innovation in agriculture. Plus, the technology being developed is an exciting advancement to help replace scarce labor with machines. We would encourage anyone who gets the opportunity to visit the show and experience it for yourself; it will be back in Decatur in two years.

We are now getting ready for the harvest season. This involves completing equipment checks, getting drying equipment and storage bins prepped, servicing trucks and tractors, doing some last minute crop scouting and yield estimates, and forming plans regarding the changes we need to make next year. We do rather detailed field inspections—here is an example of our weekly crop consulting reports. We held our fall safety meeting this past week to communicate our operations and expectations and ensure that everyone is on the same page. The Hess Family Farm team is looking forward to another fun, safe harvest.

The worldwide weather is getting a lot of attention. We believe there is, indeed, climate change taking place, but that it has been happening since time began. Oil prices are getting jerked around by the Russians and Saudis. The water level in Lake Gatun on the Panama Canal is causing shipping issues; 70% of the canal traffic is US originated. Additionally, the Mississippi River’s low water level is increasing barge shipping rates to deliver grain to the gulf.

School is off to a good start for the students in our family. Phyllis and I took a nice trip to see Ali in Asheville. We also went on another trip north to Grafton, where we got to make many fun memories with the Luecht family. Phyllis is getting stronger every day. Goat showing season has slowed down. 

Fall Prices:

Corn—4.61

Soybeans—13.35

Steve

Hard Work Pays Off

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Partners & Friends,

This past weekend was the Illinois State Fair, where Harper and Abbott showed their goat herd. The Hess goats did very well on Friday at the Junior Show and Saturday in the Open Show. The girls placed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the respective doe classes, and the wethers all placed 1st in their classes, despite very tough competition!

The annual Parade of Champions in the Coliseum took place Saturday evening, featuring the top ten top meat goat wethers of the 2023 Junior Show, three of whom were from our herd. Harper's heavyweight wether was awarded Reserve Champion overall at the 2023 Illinois State Fair! He will remain on exhibit at the Fair the rest of this week along with the Grand and Reserve Champions in the Steer, Barrow, and Market Lamb divisions.

One year ago, Harper set her sights on winning Grand Champion at the Fulton County Fair and to have a goat in the Coliseum for the 2023 Grand Drive. We are all so happy for her, because she not only achieved, but surpassed those two goals. All the hard work and decisions, along with the chores, sweat, early mornings, late nights, and sacrificed family and friend time paid off and came to fruition with these winning goats. A huge 'thank you' goes out to everyone who has been there to watch and support our family in this project!

Meanwhile, back on the farm, we are wrapping up summer projects, including construction and building updates, semi inspections, prepping equipment for harvest, maintaining and prepping the bins and grain system for new crop, hauling about 700 tons of lime to be stockpiled and spread after harvest, and cutting hay. We might make 5 cuttings from the alfalfa this year! We will likely bale some grass also, because the late rains have prompted enough growth to make that worthwhile. Harvest here at the Hess Family Farm is anticipated to begin sometime mid-September.

One correction from my last post: natural gas is lower than last year, although our supplier is raising hookup fees substantially for commercial accounts. 😐

The farm bill renewal is taking center stage in DC. There is much positioning for renewable fuels and biodiesel. China's economy is weakening. The Crop Tours are predicting good crops, meaning no supply shortages for the next year. Brazil's soybean crop is doing quite well.

School is starting this week; how can that be?🤔 College is back in session shortly. Our fall safety meeting is not far off. 

Fall Prices:

Corn—4.59

Soybeans—13.04

Steve

1 If By Land, 2 If By Air

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Partners & Friends,

We are wrapping up fungicide spraying for both corn and beans. There was a question on our last post asking what we spray fungicide for. In corn, our main enemies are Tar Spot, Northern Corn Leaf Blight, and Gray Leaf Spot. Then there was another question asking what elbowing in corn means. This is simply when the corn plant straightens back up after a wind event, causing a bend in the stalk near the root. Elbowing corn tends to cause spraying and harvest difficulties. 

We are doing application trials of different methods to apply fungicide. In one field we used our high clearance sprayer for ground application, flew on with an airplane, and used a drone to apply. It was quite a sight in the field that day! This is the second year of doing this trial. In theory, the ground sprayer should give better coverage since we are using 20 gallons of water per acre, while the drone and plane use a mere 2. However, the downdraft created by the drone might give better coverage deeper into the foliage, and the plane will be faster (more timely) while avoiding knocking down any plants. We will let you know the results of this trial after harvest.

The Hess Family Farm team is still keeping busy wrapping up summer projects. We are converting the old stanchion's space in the barn at Marcus’ house into a flat floor to give us options for livestock area or other uses. As always, we are working on the never-ending building repair projects that come with all the structures we maintain. There are also re-gating projects for the goat and cattle areas. On top of all that, we have begun to prepare equipment for harvest, which is only about a month away. Field scouting for yield estimates are indicating the crops will be good, despite the lack of rain. It is safe to say we will not set new yield records this fall.

The Ukraine situation is keeping commodity prices volatile. Oil prices are surging and driving diesel and gas prices up. Fertilizer prices for next year's crop will be about half of 2023’s. Natural gas to dry corn will be about 25% higher than a year ago. Climate change is a hot global topic that we feel we have minimal influence or control over. Brazil's soybean crop is looking good. 

Goat showing season is officially in full-swing. The State Fair is next week. My 50th class reunion is approaching. School for the grandchildren starts shortly. Summer seems like a fleeting wisp in the course of a year. Sweet corn season had mixed results (as we predict the field corn to be), but the tomato harvest is quite bountiful.

Fall Prices:

Corn—4.72

Soybeans—13.15

Steve

Life Lived Well

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Partners & Friends,

This past weekend was wonderful family and friend fellowship time while celebrating the life of Charles and Wilma, who passed away in January. It was lovely to see their 9 grandchildren reunited for the first time in a while. Having all 19 great-grandchildren (ages 16 years to 3 months) of Oma and Opa (Wilma and Charles) together was a sight to behold as well. We held a family ceremony and scattered ashes at Cousins' Corner, just as Mom and Dad instructed in their box of personal papers. The service at the church brought out many great memories from 90 years of life and almost 70 years of marriage. The overall message and legacy to be remembered was how they showed up for and embraced their community, included everyone, and loved like Jesus. Let us all take a lesson from their example.

We have received very little rain these past two weeks, but are experiencing terrific crop development from the blessing we got a few weeks ago. The sweet corn is pollinated all the way to the tips—very tasty! The corn has grown about 2 inches and the beans completely cover the rows. All the smoke haze in the air is making it difficult to find a window to cut hay. We are currently applying fungicide to corn and beans. The corn is elbowed so much that it is hard to drive through with the ground rig. Our summer project list is getting prioritized and shortened. Roadside and waterway mowing is taking place along with spot spraying and farmstead improvements. 

The Russia and Ukraine export corridor tension is causing much commodity volatility. Weather concerns are still very real across the corn belt. Crude oil prices are constantly moving up and down. The weakness of the dollar has helped exports, but the huge Brazilian crop is hanging over the market and the prices down south are quite competitive. The hay market is very strong.

County Fair season is upon us, and there are lots of goats to show. It was a real blessing to spend time with our loved ones this weekend—I want to do more of that! The Illinois State Fair is not too far off…maybe we can catch a short break before school starts again.😊

Fall Prices:

Corn—5.08

Soybeans—13.73

Steve