Biology Technology

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Partners,

We finally got a break last weekend with the first significant rainfall in over six weeks. Fields were very dry and the soil was hard before this welcomed relief. We needed the time to rest and repair. Harvest progress stands at 35% corn and 65% beans. Yields have been pleasantly surprising; corn and beans will be among the top three harvests for our farm. We will be harvesting some of our less productive and replanted fields last, so we're not sure where they will come in.

Plant technology has been in the news on a couple of fronts lately. 

Syngenta (a global Swiss agribusiness that produces agrochemicals and seeds) announced a $1.3 billion settlement for putting a new corn trait technology in fields in 2013 that was not yet approved by China. China rejected several shipments of corn that fall claiming they were tainted. My thoughts are that in reality China bought some very high priced corn in the price run-up of that period, and by canceling these contracts they could replace it with cheaper corn after seeing the market reaction to the news. 

Monsanto has also been in the news this growing season with their Extend soybean technology release. These soybeans are resistant to Dicambia herbicide which gives us another mode of action for weed control in this crop. We personally planted Extend beans in 2016 for seed to sell to a major seed company, and were very impressed with their performance. Also with the increased weed pressure we have been facing, having access to another mode of chemical action will give us another option in the herbicide toolbox to battle some of the Roundup resistant weeds like Tall Waterhemp and Marestail. There have been many lawsuits filed after complaints of drift during this 2017 growing season and some states are suggesting very restrictive dates of use for next season. We will see where the dust settles on Dicamba beans for 2018.

My guess is that both of these issues will make some attorneys very wealthy, with farmers getting leftovers of settlement dollars and options for cutting edge technology.

The family is doing well. Alison's volleyball team won their senior night game, Phyllis's brother Phil was back for a class reunion, and we got to witness and celebrate a beautiful family wedding in Columbus, Ohio.

Fall prices:

Corn 3.13

Soybeans 9.27

Keep in touch and stay safe!

Steve