Management Time

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Partners,

Into the new year! The last few weeks, work-wise, have not been too intense due to holidays and personal time. We have most of our crop inputs ordered for the 2017 crop year: seed, fertilizer, and herbicide. For the most part seed prices and herbicide are steady from last year and fertilizer is down 20-25%. We tried some different herbicide products in 2016 to reduce costs and are looking at more generic products this year. We're also considering ordering some products direct from distributors to cut out middlemen. We have evaluated our equipment situation and are planning very little tweaking to our current lineup. We are replacing a few worn out items—auger and backhoe—but will inspect and repair all other items and put a few more dollars in the repair and maintenance budget. We have come up with a list of some surplus items, mostly livestock stuff, that we are marketing on several sites. We are also planning on raising our bean acreage; due to the increasing prices in the bean market, soy is getting more competitive with corn, especially if we can keep increasing yields. Our labor force is remaining stable although we feel for Marcus being the only employee under 60 on the full-time payroll. 

As for the ag economy, it is interesting that the president elect is waiting to choose a candidate for Secretary of Agriculture till the end of his nomination process. With a new farm bill on the list of legislation in the next two years, the background of the pick will probably play huge into the favored crop legislation process. But with the tighter budget constraints expected, the hope for larger ag subsidies are bleak. We keep in mind that over 60% of the agriculture budget is for the SNAP food assistance program.

On the home front we celebrated a great holiday season. Our whole family was together the day after Christmas. I had a new right knee put in on December 13—recovery going as expected. Marcus and Shanna celebrated a 10 year anniversary with a trip to a warmer climate for a week. The Lord has truly blessed us! 

Hope everyone is having a great 2017—we hope this year is your best ever! 

Steve