2016 Commodity Classic Archives - Brownfield Ag News: Recent Episodes
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Elizabeth began her SAE in 2011 by renting ten acres of land to grow a crop of soybeans. In the five years since, her production has quadrupled and she’s developed the skills to coordinate all aspects of the operation: financial planning, record keeping, machinery maintenance, and more.
Wilts utilizes no-till methods in her soybean production.
Her parents are Gina and Harmon, and her FFA advisor is Christa Williamson.
AUDIO: Elizabeth Wilts, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunberg KMS FFA Chapter
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A Midwest farmer has saved more than just the soil by giving up most tillage practices twenty-eight years ago. Morris Heitman can’t wait to get back into the field.
“I farm with my brother and this is year 48 that we’ve been together,” said Heitman.
What is most important to Heitman is that for many of those 48 seasons, he’s done no tillage, or so little of it that one would be hard pressed to notice.
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A Michigan farmer says efficiency will be key for farmers to survive this downturn in the agriculture economy.
South central Michigan farmer Mark Kies says farmer have to be as efficient as they possibly can be to make a profit. “We have to get through this,” he says. “I think it’s a very good time for young people to learn how to become a little more efficient and how use their dollars a little bit better.”
He says some inputs have come down in price, but not enough to offset lower commodity prices.
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The United Soybean Board is focusing on three distinct areas during fiscal year 2017. USB Chairman Jared Hagert, from Emerado, North Dakota, says that in 2017, the soybean checkoff body will concentrate on soybean meal, soybean oil and sustainability. Whether it’s domestic or foreign, U.S. soybean growers produce a crop that is largely converted to animal protein and consumed here in the U.S., or in foreign markets. In efforts to increase demand, Hagert says the USB will continue to focus on its core mission: To maximize profit opportunities for all soybean growers.
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Brownfield speaks to Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council director Pat Sullivan of Franklin about ongoing water quality discussions in his state and beyond during Commodity Classic in New Orleans.
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An eastern Iowa farmer says investments over the past few years will help his farm weather the economic storm of 2016.
With continued low commodity prices squeezing margins, Mark Heckman of West Liberty tells Brownfield higher yields will mitigate financial losses.
“We have invested in the technology side of things to really improve and measure how well we’re doing, so that when we see firsthand things that aren’t being done right…down pressure on seed (or) making sure that we’ve got the right seed placement and working with the seed guys to make sure we’ve got proper nutrients.”
Heckman says he’ll need to spend wisely this year and possibly delay some capital expenses.
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One of the panel discussions held at the recent AgVocacy Forum hosted by Bayer was titled “Shared Stewardship: Interdependency of Resistance in Crops, Animals and Humans.” It focused on how the responsibility of prioritizing antibiotic stewardship should be shared among the three areas.
The panel included three experts: Dr. Anne Kobecky Vidaver, Professor Emerita, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Dr. Margaret Riley, Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst; and Dr.
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Kerry Grossweiler, Bayer SeedGrowth Product Manager tells Brownfield that it is important for growers to know Bayer has some great tools available for them during those times when commodity prices are lower.
Grossweiler tells Brownfield that seed treatments from Bayer can play an important role in protecting the seed and increasing yields. Specifically, he said the triple action protection for soybeans with Poncho/Votivo, which offers Insect and nematode protection, and new soybean seed treatment Alevo which offers protection against Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) and has activity against nematodes.
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Putting the right nutrients in the right spots to maximize yield.
An Encirca Services manager for DuPont Pioneer says in a year like 2016, managing inputs to maximize productivity will be the name of the game.
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MS Technologies, Bayer and Mertec LLC have been working together for more than a decade to develop products that improve the future of farming for growers. Through this research, the Balance™ GT Soybean Performance System was created. Lindsey Seitz, Brand Manager for MS Technologies, tells Brownfield Balance GT will deliver performance and control for farmers who should have access to the system during the scheduled launch in 2017.
Balance™ GT soybeans will be tolerant to glyphosate and isoxaflutole, the active ingredient in the new Balance® Bean herbicide.
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The Asgrow brand is offering the largest selection of Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybean products for planting in 2016, with 25 products spanning all eight maturity groups. This gives farmers across a vast geography choice in what products they plant in their local areas.
Soybean farmers throughout the country have started receiving their orders for the new Asgrow® brand Roundup Ready 2 Xtend™ soybeans this month. During the recent Commodity Classic in New Orleans, Louisiana, Dipal Chaudhari, Asgrow and DeKalb Brand Manager told Brownfield there is great excitement surrounding the introduction.
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During 2016 Commodity Classic, DEKALB launched DEKALB Disease Shield, combining its exclusive genetics with enhanced protection against the top 5 yield-robbing corn diseases that farmers face today.
Becca Waller, DEKALB brand manager tells Brownfield that the new lineup will help maximize yield potential and yield protection. Waller said seed selection is the number one priority because when you put that seed in the ground, its maximum yield potential has already been determined. It’s all about management practices to protect that seed and finding the right seed for the right acre.
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Ryan Grable, Channel Seedsman and Casey Rush, Manager for H.K. Rush Farms, both of Troy, Kansas consider themselves to be partners on the farm. During a conversation with Brownfield Ag News at 2016 Commodity Classic, Grable said the slogan “Seedsmanship at work” is a year-long commitment to growers that covers emergence, vegetative, reproductive phases and maturity stages of the crops.
Channel seedsmen have an eye on product performance, insect, weed and disease pressure.
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An industry leader says soybeans grown in Minnesota seem to be bucking the national trend of higher yields but less protein content.
“There’s a trend line across the United States that we’re just (starting) to learn more about,” says Tom Slunecka, CEO of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association. “While yield has been going up, protein nationally has been going slightly down.”
The good news for Minnesota he says is that soybeans produced in the state are holding up better protein levels than ever before and yields last year were phenomenal.
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Precision technology is an important offering for John Deere’s farmer customers. Laura Donaldson, Product Manager at John Deere, talked with Brownfield’s Cyndi Young during Commodity Classic.
“Everything we are doing in this space is committed and linked back to the customer, helping them to increase productivity and efficiency. That’s why we’ve invested so much in this space.” explains Donaldson.
Many farmers have been collecting data for several years. Much of the focus now is on how to move that information from APEX, John Deere’s desktop-based farm management software system, to the John Deere Operations Center.
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Corn is being grown below the cost of production, but there are several programs underway to help increase demand and disappearance of the crop that is about to be planted. National Corn Growers Association President Chip Bowling is one of those most concerned about the market price of corn. He says corn growers depend on livestock producers for demand, and for the past couple of decades, they’ve created demand through ethanol. Bowling, who farms in Maryland, says the big topic for corn growers during Commodity Classic and beyond is ethanol demand and its use.
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Kirk Kimble is confident that cover crops are resulting in healthier soil, but the Chillicothe, Illinois farmer signed up for the Soil Health Partnership so that he’d have the metrics to bear that out.
“I told my landlords that I know this is improving, but hopefully I’ll have some physical information to give them to say that we’re improving our farms,” Kimble told Brownfield Ag News at Commodity Classic in New Orleans.
Kimble has planted cover crops for five years, but is only in his second year of testing with the Soil Health Partnership.
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Kevin Ross is a sixth-generation family farmer who grows corn, soybeans, alfalfa and runs an 80-head cow/calf operation in southwest Iowa. Ross is dedicated to conservation, growing corn almost exclusively using no-till methods. His commitment to conservation led to planting cover crops “to display the data that we think can be achieved and the results that can be achieved through cover crops,” he told Brownfield Ag News at Commodity Classic in New Orleans.
The results he’s looking for include value beyond farming sustainably.
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Roger Zylstra got involved with the National Corn Growers Soil Health Partnership because “I thought that it would be a good opportunity to help learn about conservation, about soil health and to improve the quality of the soil on my farm,” Zylstra told Brownfield Ag News at Commodity Classic in New Orleans.
When Zylstra sold his milk cows several years ago he quit growing hay. That’s the reason that he began putting down winter rye as a cover crop.
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Greg Whitmore of Shelby, Nebraska refers to himself as “that western dot on the map that we have of the Soil Health Partnership.” He’s neighbors with a dairy, to whom he provides silage and from whom he receives manure to further improve soil health.
He doubts that he’ll ever go back to the days when he wasn’t planting cover crops. That was when he felt lucky to pull 27 tons of silage off an acre of his land.
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