Planting Progress

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Partners & Friends,

Last week was productive for planting. We completed soybean planting on Friday and are about 25% done with corn. We are intentionally cautious with corn planting due to the cold temperatures and low soil temps. This week looks to be cloudy and rainy, so after the 1 inch of rain we received over the weekend, there probably won't be much fieldwork happening. We are caught up with spraying all the planted fields for weed control. We have some maintenance and equipment tasks to address, as the week of fieldwork highlighted any issues that need attention. Fortunately, there were very few problems. Both the equipment and our team performed quite well.

Things are still messy in DC, with new and conflicting information coming out each day. Weather forecasters have determined that Illinois now has two more days favorable for tornadoes than in the past. Our April to October precipitation trend is +2.5", minimum temperatures in Illinois are +2 degrees since 1970, and our maximum temperatures are unchanged. There is some climate change, but no evidence of global warming. Longer-term trends of climate change actually favor Illinois agriculture.

The FFA chapter banquet was a week ago—two Hess girls received certificates. Harper is the Chapter Treasurer. We attended the estate sale for Phyllis' Aunt Luan last Saturday; there was a nice crowd and perfect weather. It wasn't raining, and there was no wind. We had a blessed Resurrection weekend celebrating our risen Savior.

Fall Prices:

  • Corn: $4.35

  • Soybeans: $9.80

Enjoy springtime!

Steve

In The Sky

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Partners & Friends

We test and experiment with different agronomy practices every year to assess what new methods and/or products will improve yields, soil health, and profitability. Last week, we had a drone spray fungicide and biologicals on a few test plots. The drone only sprayed 2 gallons/acre, but the plant coverage was exceptional thanks to the downdraft of the propellors while flying. The technology of the drone, particularly its guidance system, is incredible. I now understand why drone warfare is so feared! The ease and ability to maneuver along with the clarity of the cameras and video makes it feel as if you are in a Star Wars movie.😄 Other advantages of drones are the ability to fly over tall crops with no crop damage from wheel tracks, as well as not having to worry about wet field conditions. Later on in August, we hope to use the drone to seed cover crops into standing crop in order to get covers established before harvest, which will help lower our carbon score to qualify for tax credits. However, there are many details to work out yet, so stay tuned!

The Hess Family Farm team is staying occupied with haying. We have baled around 2,000 small squares, over 250 big squares, and over 50 big, round bales so far this season. We will do a second cutting of alfalfa next week. All crops have received a post application of herbicide. The NH3 side dressing is complete. Spraying and mowing field edges is underway. Summer construction projects fill in the lulls of crop tending. 

The USDA Crop Acreage report is due to be released this week. Discussions regarding the Farm Bill continue. The dry, hot weather does not have traders too worried about crop size. No one seems concerned that the federal government will spend $2 trillion more than is taken in next fiscal year.

The entire family celebrated PriscaStone 2024 last weekend in Grafton, Wisconsin to honor the passing of baby Prisca one year ago. It was a wonderful time reuniting with many friends, listening to Christian worship music, and seeing God glorified.

Fall Prices:

Corn—4.28

Soybeans—10.90

Stay cool,

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

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

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