Signs of Spring

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Partners & Friends,

The first day of spring is just around the corner. The Hess Family Farm team is gearing up for planting season, taking full advantage of the weather. The field conditions are drying out rather quickly, so we've got the tiling crew in full operation. This week alone, we've tiled over 40 acres, with much more to come if the weather holds up. Initially, we planned to drain about 200 acres, but conditions only recently became suitable with all the other activities we had to manage. We've also finished applying the last of the NH3. This year, our corn-to-bean ratio will be 80% corn due to crop economics. That means we'll have a lot of bushels to handle this fall (hopefully), but the corn-to-bean ratio heavily favors corn. Almost all of our beans will be seed beans for Beck's. Seed deliveries started this week as well. Our sprayer update is nearly complete—more on that in a few weeks. We've serviced our equipment and are looking forward to taking our new corn planter to the field.

There is still much uncertainty coming from DC. The mixed signals are causing a lot of head-scratching and delaying commitments for new projects in the ag sector. We're participating in a carbon reduction program to sequester carbon in the field. We qualify for credits due to our cover crops, reduced tillage, and smart fertilizer usage, but the rules still haven't been clarified. It would be ideal if certainty was in place for the 2026 crop. Tariff talk and countermeasures are truly whipsawing the commodity markets. Weather forecasts for this summer suggest a higher-than-average chance of reduced rainfall, but predicting weather months out is very difficult. We heard a presentation this past weekend by Peter Zeihan—he still thinks central US is the best place in the world for row crop agriculture.

On a family note, Judah—the oldest of our three grandsons in Wisconsin—got baptized this past weekend. We had a great week of extra help tiling due to spring break. The spring weather is putting all of us in a happy state as we look forward to another season of working with this wonderful creation to feed the world.

Fall Prices:

Corn: $4.24

Soybeans: $9.80

Enjoy Spring!

Steve

Watching It Grow

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Partners & Friends,

We officially finished planting on Friday with the drilling of soybeans into a hayfield we previously harvested hay from. As of now, all crops are green and growing well with stands above average. We did replant around 40 acres of corn in total, including the bottom that flooded out here on the homestead. The Hess Family Farm team is now in the process of a second pass of spraying corn before row closure, as well as baling hay, side dressing NH3, spraying fence rows, and beginning projects. Springtime means that the cows are out on pasture and an exceptionally large litter of kittens is now roaming around the farm. We received some golf ball-sized hail the first week of May that caused damage to the siding of our house and office but not to any crops, as they were too small and just emerging.

CO2 legislation was passed in Springfield. It put a few rules in place but not any Eminent Domain protection for pipeline projects; there remains much work to be done in that department. The Farm Bill debate is picking up steam in DC. Weather in some areas of Brazil has been particularly wet. The Murphy blacktop in Fulton County is getting a complete upgrade!

On the family front, school is out for the summer. Goat show season is picking up. Phyllis and I, as well as Ali who flew up from Asheville, attended the Steele family’s gymnastics performance in St. Louis. We also got to go to the Luecht family’s spring concert in Grafton. VBS is this week. PriscaStone, a day of worship, testimony, teaching, and fellowship in honor of our granddaughter Prisca, is in 2 weeks. Phyllis and I booked a 2 week agricultural tour of Europe for July. 

Fall Prices:

Corn—4.42

Soybeans—11.55

Keep in touch,

Steve

30/99

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Partners & Friends,

We haven’t turned a single wheel in a week. We have received over 5 inches of rain and can verify that our soil profile is full of moisture!🙂 The Hess Family Farm team is 30% complete with corn planting and 99% complete with soybean planting. All of our fields have been sprayed. A spring like this demonstrates the advantage of tiled fields. There are very few spots with pattern tiling in place that have been drowned out. The Drowning Fork creek that runs through our home farm, however, has been out twice and will need replanting. Chuck has been a great help with trucking, and we have delivered the last soybeans to the bins. The focus during the rain delays has been on many detail projects, as well as preparation for the big push that will soon emerge with rest of planting, post spraying, hay making, mowing, summer tiling, goat showing, 4-H fairs, construction projects, and fine tuning on our farm chemical mixing center.

GREET modeling for 2024 was introduced this past week. It was a large disappointment, as very little guidance was provided regarding the crop we are planting and how it will qualify for SAF carbon scoring in the future. The farm bill debate persists in DC. The bird flu outbreak is weighing on livestock markets. Additionally, the ongoing war in Ukraine continues to cause volatility in commodity markets.

On the family front, it is the time of year for finals, spring recitals, and outdoor gatherings. Show season has also begun in earnest. We are making plans for a few fun summer getaways.

Fall Prices:

Corn—4.58

Soybeans—11.71

Let us know what you want to read about, and be sure to ask any questions you might have!

Steve

Spring Has Not Sprung

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Partners & Friends,

We are in a consistent pattern waiting for planting to begin. We have plenty of work to keep us occupied, but as of April 5th, we can plant and be in compliance with crop insurance guidelines. Soil temperatures are still very chilly, and now that we have finally received 2-3 inches of rain, field conditions are quite saturated. It will be several days until they dry out, and even more precipitation is in the forecast for this week. That being said, our best stands and yields usually come from crops planted in mid to late April. We will be positioned to spray and plant in an efficient manner so we can take advantage of the weather windows that present themselves. All of us at the Hess Family Farm are keeping busy preparing a safe, enclosed chemical mixing area, hauling soybeans to clean out seed bean bins, trimming overgrown trees, and finishing office duties before planting and our spring safety meeting with all players involved in operations.

The wait for the GREET CO2 modeling guidelines from DC continues; we need them before we can move forward with carbon scoring of our fields. There is much legislative positioning taking place in Springfield concerning CCS. Revisions to the Illinois estate tax laws are being considered and sorely needed. The Baltimore Bridge collapse has caused issues with distribution of some agriculture supplies and fertilizers.

Phyllis served as an election judge in the Illinois primary elections. The family all celebrated a wonderful and joyous Resurrection weekend. We are now binge watching the newly released season 4 of The Chosen. 😊

Fall Prices:

Corn—4.46

Soybeans—11.69

Think and pray for spring!

Steve

Time Treasures

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Partners & Friends,

This past week we had a local “treasure” hunter contact us and ask permission to search former building sites with his metal detector. All he has inspected so far is our Checkrow farm, which had a schoolhouse on one corner for over 100 years as well as a house and farmstead site on the property. Included in the pictures are some of the treasures: many coins, including pennies, nickels and V-nickels, and dimes, along with silverware, a bracelet with the name Perry, belt buckles, and buttons from the late 1800’s. Our family loves history. Holding these treasures in your hand can stir a feeling of wonderment about what the story is behind each piece. Who were the owners, how was each item obtained, and how did they end up in the earth? Kudos to Kyle for having the patience and desire to search and explore our past!

We are currently preparing for spring with ideal conditions. The lack of moisture is a bit of a concern, but we are receiving some nice spring thunderstorms as I write this. We have finished 2 big tiling projects that both involved major main outlets through our neighbors’ property. The Hess Family Farm team is finishing up NH3 application on a few more acres allotted to corn, as the economy is leaning toward greater profit from corn this season. We’re leveling up the fields we have tiled over the past few years to get them in condition to leave until led in the future. We are also seeding a few CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) acres along with some pollinator habitat. In addition to all that, the team is hooking up the planters and preparing them to go to the field. Planting will commence around April 5th. We do hope for moisture before then; I believe we are back on the drought map area.

There is much talk about carbon as of late. We attended a farmer meeting last week learning how we can “pay the farmer” to keep carbon in the soil. Although it makes a lot of sense, it requires another layer of planning and management on our part as well as a lot of data verification. We are anxiously waiting for the new GREET guidelines to be published, which will govern how carbon credits are measured and compensated for. There will be ample discussion around this next year, so stay tuned.🙂 I will not quit talking about carbon anytime soon…anything to avoid pipelines!

Our family is staying busy with science fairs, college visits, goat sales, visits to Florida, and plenty of other academic and sport activities. Time truly does fly by quickly. 😓

Fall Prices:

Corn—4.47

Soybeans—11.59

Keep in touch,

Steve