A Time of Thanksgiving

It's November.  Harvest is behind me.  The weather during October was terrific and for me harvest went very fast -- I was finished on October 8th.  Wow!.  Yields were good on soybeans, but just so-so for the corn.  In fact, I was a bit disappointed in the corn yield.  It looked better than it turned out.  In Texas there is a saying, "All hat and no cows."  For me, that would be modified to, "All stalk and no corn."  But, I don't want to complain too much because 2011 will turn out to be the best year (financially) that I have had farming.  High prices overcome a lot of other issues.

As, I mentioned earlier, October weather was terrific harvest weather - warm and dry.   It has allowed my to get anhydrous ammonia (nitrogen fertilizer) applied for next year's corn crop.  I have done some bulldozer work, repairing the grassed waterways and fixing some gullies that were starting to develop on a few hillsides.  We dug out some large rocks that had worked their way up to the surface in a few fields and my son, Brent, has spent a few Saturdays picking up rocks from fields.  In addition, it has been beautiful weather for doing some machinery repairs and other maintenance work.

And now it is November - a time of Thanksgiving.  I like the Thanksgiving holiday.  It is probably my favorite holiday.  It is a time of family gathering.  It is a time for remembering from whence comes all good things.  It is a time for recognizing that I am extremely blessed to live in a free land where I can pursue my dreams and succeed according to my abilities and willingness to pursue those dreams.

I like Fall colors.  I like the the reds and yellows and browns and oranges of the trees.  But, I get a bit sad when the wind blows and the leaves fall from the trees and the colors fade.  I am not a fan of winter.  And the leaves falling from the trees is a sure sign that winter is nigh at hand.  I believe in evolution, and somewhere in my genetic past is a bear, because I sure have an urge to hibernate through the winter.

But for now, it is November, and as Thanksgiving approaches, I give thanks for all that I have -- and save me a turkey leg and a piece of pie!!!

Going Once, Going Twice, Sold.

I love auctions.  And, I hate auctions.  I attended several auctions lately.  One was an estate sale with farm equipment and several parcels of farm land.  The equipment was nothing special, although I was interested in a corn planter that was on the sale.  It needed a fair amount of work, so I did not even bid on it.  The real estate sale was interesting.  A family member was there and made quite a scene and was very intimidating to the other bidders.  Let's just say that the final bid prices were not reflective of the land values of the area, but what is the value of farm land when the winning bidder might fear for ones safety if they actually bid what the land was worth.  I like bargains, but not at any price, especially when dealing with a person who may be a bit unstable.


On Labor Day, I attended the annual Chariton Farm Equipment auction in Chariton, Iowa.  It is a rather large consignment auction that attracts a fairly large crowd from the local area and machinery jockeys from surrounding states.  I consigned two pieces of equipment to the sale -- an International grain header and an 8-row Deutz corn planter.  I was pleased with the outcome of the sale, as the equipment brought in total about what I was expecting -- just not the way I thought it would.  The grain header sold for $1,250 and I thought it would bring about $500 since the cross auger in it was damaged.  The corn planter brought $900, and I thought it would bring about $1,500.  So, I expected to get about $2,000 and I actually got $2,150.  Not a bad day. 

But it is an auction, and I did some bidding as well.  I ended up buying a 1983 Wilson Hopper Trailer for grain hauling.  I think I got a bargain.  It seems in pretty good shape structurally, and the tires and brakes are good.  The roll tarp needs some repairs, but Brent and I have already done some of those repairs.  I don't know that I need a semi truck to haul what grain I have.  But at the price I paid, even if I only use it as a "big wagon" it is cheaper than buying 1,000 bushels of capacity.  But it will be handier than a couple more wagons.

But auctions take time.  Lots of time for the Chariton auction.  It actually is a 2-day sale, although I only attend the second day of it.  Even so, it starts at 8 am and runs to nearly 6 pm or later.  That is a lot of time to stand around while waiting for a particular piece of equipment to sell.  And bidding on used equipment is a crap shoot.  You really do not know exactly what shape the equipment is in and there almost always are surprises.  But I must say that I think I have been generally pleased with the used equipment that I have purchased at sales.

Acquiring used equipment through auctions and sales is not just a way of life for a Lucas County Land Baron, it is a necessity.  Small scale row crop farmers cannot afford to have brand new equipment -- the depreciation costs are just too high to justify.  But using used equipment carries a cost -- it comes with a high cost of frustration and aggravation as it often breaks down more than new equipment and the rusty bolts are a real pain to break loose.  But I have more psychological capital than I do cash capital, so I make do.  But don't get me wrong, I am enjoying the adventures of farming in Lucas County Iowa.  I would not trade the time on the tractor and the joys of seeing a crop growing for either more free time or less frustrations.  I guess once one gets "being a farmer" in their blood, it is very hard to get it out.

How high is high enough?

Corn and soybean prices are terrific this year.  Corn prices traded near $8 per bushel earlier this year and harvest prices for this year are the highest I have ever seen.  Soybean prices touched $15 earlier this year and are still above $13.  It is a great year to be a corn and soybean farmer in Iowa.  But, how high is high enough?  This is a great problem to ponder,  but it is also the source of angst.  The current crop fundamentals -- supply and demand balances -- suggest that crop prices could go higher this winter.  And, I would like to capture those higher prices.  But, I also know that "stuff happens" and these high prices could disappear in very short order if world economic conditions continue to deteriorate.  Where is the correct balance between desires for prosperity (greed), horrible hindsight (disappointment at missing market opportunities), and personal serenity. 

Now, to set the stage, I have already priced some corn and soybeans for harvest time delivery -- the corn a couple dollars lower, and the soybeans about 50 cents higher than they are now.  But there is more to sell and I do grow the crops for the purpose of selling them.  But the corn sales I have already made are a reminder that hastiness can be the cause of future angst (worrying about the money left on the table), but they are also a reminder that I have a sound financial base for this crop year and nearly no matter what I do in marketing the rest of this year's crop, it is going to be a very good year (smug satisfaction). 

Now, don't get me wrong -- this is one of the "great" problems to have.  Deciding how much profit one will lock in is so much better than worrying about whether or not the proceeds from this year's crop will pay the bills.  But it is the problem I face and it is one that most farmers face nearly every day.  And no matter what one does, it will be wrong!  Even if I sell at the top of the market, I surely will not have sold enough of NEXT year's crop, so the dilemma is a never ending story that goes on and on.

Green But Dry

July has been a very dry month for the Miller Farms in Lucas, Iowa.  The farm received about 1/2 an inch of rain in early July and two "dust settlers" since then for a total of about 3/4 of an inch for the month.  Surprisingly, the grass is still green and the crops look good.  But, stress is beginning to show in the corn with the lower third of some of the stalks now "fired" or turning brown.  There are big cracks beginning to emerge in some of the pastures and fields.  I noticed some large enough that my whole hand can fit into the cracks in the ground.

Last Saturday, Mother Nature was teasing us with rain.  There were some pretty dark storm clouds just to the southeast of the farm, and the radar was hinting that we might get a good soaking -- but that was not to be.  About 6 pm, we did get a brief cloudburst that dropped about 3 tenths of an inch of rain, but it was not enough to even stop up from running the rotary mower in the CRP fields where we were clipping the weeds on the grass seedings.  It was a bit frustrating since I could see the rain falling a mile or so to the east of the farm.  I found out later that a farm just two miles east of mine received almost 3 inches of rain that night.  My crops sure could have used an inch or two.  But, as I said earlier, I should not complain too much since the crops still have a lot of potential and are in good shape as of the end of July.

Friday night was a bit frustrating.  After work I went down to the farm and started the evening by putting a new set of bearings in the wheels of the rotary cutter.  It was quite hot outside, and after about 2 hours of work, my shirt was completely soaked with sweat.  I headed out to the fields to continue clipping the CRP plantings and mowing down the weeds that are growing up in the new grass seedings.  Mowing was going well, although the airconditioning in the tractor cab felt quite cold with the wet shirt I was wearing.  About 11 pm, the main gearbox of the rotary cutter blew apart.  So that was the end of mowing that night.  On Saturday, we spent about 4 hours taking the gearbox off the cutter and taking the gearbox apart.  It appears that a retaining nut had come off the main input shaft into the gearbox and that allowed it to come apart.  Unfortunately, the input shaft appears to be damaged as well as the PTO shaft tubing was bent.  It will probably take $750 to repair the gearbox and the PTO shaft.. 

There are about 55 acres that still need to be clipped so, we used a smaller, 6ft rotary cutter to keep on clipping the CRP ground on Saturday.  We did about 15 acres and have about 40 acres to go.  The smaller cutter does a very nice job of clipping the CRP ground, but we can only cover about 3 acres per hour with it so it takes a lot longer than when we use the 14ft cutter. 

Saturday afternoon, I also did some bulldozing, cleaning out some drainage ditches and waterways.  With the ground as dry as it is, I can run over some areas taht are normally too wet even for a bulldozer to run across.

Let it Grow; Let it Grow

It is the Fourth of July; with bright blue skies, sunshine and warm temperatures today.  I am very glad to see some nice growing weather.  Saturday, we sprayed the soybeans with the second pass of Round-Up to control weeds.  Round-Up is environmentally quite benign and does an excellent job of controlling weeds and lets me grow soybeans with no-till technology.  I like no-till for my rolling hills in southern Iowa.  Leaving a lot of residue like corn stalks on the ground helps control erosion.


The crops are off to a good start, but June has been wet and a bit cool.  We had nearly 10 inches of rain in June, nearly 200% of normal.  And we are about 100 growing degree days behind.  The corn and soybeans do not need 95+ temps, but a string of mid to upper 80s would be nearly ideal.  I think you can actually hear the corn growing on a day like today.  It is stretching upward.  The old saying for a good corn crop was "knee-high by the 4th of July."  But now, I like to see the corn "head-high by the 4th of July."  Most of my corn is just a bit over waist high.  The color is a good dark green, but too much rain could leach out the nitrogen fertilizer and turn the corn yellowish.  I like it when the corn is a dark green.  That is evidence that the crop is using the nutrients that we put on the field.

Brent and I worked on the bulldozer on Saturday.  We put the main mud shield on the bottom of the dozer.  It is a steel "pan" that weighs about 500 pounds and protects the transmission and clutch assemblies from mud and other debris that could get shoved up from underneath when pushing dirt and other things.  After we got the dozer running, we did some clean up at the farmstead.  There was an old chassis from a mobile home that had been setting in the yard for several years.  We moved it to the junk pile and then did some re-shaping of the yard behind the grain bins so that it would be easier to mow.  We also swept out the machine shed and did a few other clean-up chores.  It seems there is always maintenance work to do.  but it feels good to do some hard work and then see the results of one's labors. 

The water has gone down in the bottom fields.  I don't know how much damage the water did, but I am sure that as high as it got, it had to do some silting in the east field and probably killed out some of the new grass seeding that we did in early June.  Hopefully with some hot, dry weather, the grass will come on and I will be able to see whether the $125 per acre of grass seed will take or whether it was all for nothing.  It is hard to do a wetlands restoration when it keeps flooding, but it is just more evidence that putting the bottom fields into the CRP is the right thing for that ground.

Rain Rain Go Away

Man it feels good to be done planting and seeding this spring.  Corn and soybeans were planted in late April, early May.  And after a bit of cool weather are now up and growing well.  Then, I was waiting on approval of my application to enroll some land in the Conservation Reserve Program.  In mid May, I received word from the USDA Farm Service Agency office that the enrollment was approved.  But in the meantime, it started to rain and about 2 weeks ago we received more than 4 inches of rain.The bottom land flooded, and now it was time to wait for it to dry out before it could be worked up and seeded.

Flooded ground dries out in unevenly.  It some areas it crusts over and the top inch dries out, but underneath it is very soft and mushy.  Or in some cases, the top layer dries out enough for a tractor to drive over it, but it gets very sticky or gummy.  And where the river overflowed on the land, there often are sand and silt deposits.  These act like quicksand.  They get crusty on top, but when you break through, a tractor can sink a foot or more very quickly.

But thanks to a couple 90+ degree days and some wind, the bottom fields dried out enough that I could start to work up those fields.  Brent and I did about 35 acres on Saturday (June 4). And we worked up about all that was dry enough to drive across.  On Monday (June 6) I disked about 40 acres and got those acres seeded.  That was not without some moments, though.  I was working around a wet spot and hit one of those silted/sandy spots.  I sink.  And the dual tires on the disk start pushing mud, making it even more of a load to try and pull out of the mud.  I worked the tractor back and forth about a dozen times, and finally I got enough traction to drive out of that spot.  I was sure glad I did not get stuck or have to unhitch the disk from the tractor and "chain" it out.

On Tuesday (June 7) I was able to disk the remaining 35 acres and get them seeded.  The last 14 acres had several wet spots and a number of places were the soil was very sticky and would plug up the seeder with mud balls.  About every other round I would have to clean at least one or two seed tubes.  Not a big deal, just another hassle of dealing with ground that was not "quite fit" but I wanted to get done before the next rain came.

And the rains have come.  By Wednesday night, a lot more rain was falling across Iowa.  Luckily, the farm has only received about 2 inches.  A few miles north of me, they had 6 to 8 inches of rain this week, and it is still raining.  Fields that were looking very good, now have large ponded areas.  Not good for the corn or soybeans in those fields.  But I am glad to be done seeding the bottom fields.  With the recent rain, it would likely be a week or two before I would get back into those fields. 

Thursday morning saw another weather adventure unfold.  Strong storms rolled across southern Iowa.  As I was getting out of bed, the TV weather guy reported that there was a strong thunderstorm with hail at the junction of US 65 and US 34 where Whitebreast creek turns north. That's just great I thought -- that is right over my farm.  Later Thursday afternoon, I went down to the farm and checked the crops.  Luckily, there was no damage to the corn or soybeans from whatever hail or storms that had passed through.  It is a long season ahead yet.  Many more times to look at the sky and wonder what will come next.

Dealing with weather -- Lessons in patience.

Rain is a necessary component of growing good crops in Iowa.  But, rain is also my nemesis when it comes to planting.  Last week, the farm received more than 4 inches of rain.  And Whitebreast Creek ran bankfull and more.  Needless to say, the bottom fields that I still have to seed to grass this year were inundated and I sit paitently (or not so patiently, in reality) waiting for a stretch of dry weather so that the land will dry out enough to till and plant.  Yesterday, I went down to the farm hoping that the fields would be dry enough since the last rain was on Sunday.  Unfortunately, dry is not the adjective I would use to describe those fields. 

I put the pick-up in 4-wheel drive, and drove out across the bottomlands.  I stopped and walked out across the field.  My shoes were making imprints in the field -- that is not a good sign in untilled ground.  I got back into the pickup to check the east side of the field.  About 2/3 of the way across the field, I could tell I was beginning to spin the wheels of the truck a bit.  Discretion being the greater part of valor (and not wanting to get stuck in the mud with no one to help pull me out) I turned around - or at least tried to turn around.  As I did so, the truck started to spin more and I was hitting 50 on the speedometer, but going about 10 miles per hour.  I cut some pretty deep tracks getting out of there, but thankfully, I did not get stuck. 


About this time, it began to rain -- I was really hoping for some 90 degree weather and clear skies, but that was not to be.  Received about a quarter inch of rain.  so for now, more patience.

Do I dare get my hopes up?  The forecast is calling for some nice warm, dry days on Friday and Saturday, before another chance of showers, and then a 3 or 4 day streak of dry weather.  Maybe I can finish seeding the grass next week.  I sure hope so since I have other commitments the following week which will prevent me from doing any farm work for at least 10 days.

Despite all these challenges, there is good news.  The corn and soybeans that were planted in early May look very good.  As with most crops in Iowa, they could use some heat units -- it has been quite cool for most of May.  But hope springs eternal, and "If the creek don't rise"  -- but wait, that was the problem -- the creek did rise -- and now I wait.

Planting time 2011

Spring has finally arrived.  I can tell because I see tractor lights rolling across fields all across Iowa well into the night.  Occasionally, I join them in this springtime ritual.  Weather is a fickle thing.  There were a few warm, dry days around the 10th of April, but then the weather turned cold and damp.  It is hard on the nerves waiting for Mother Nature to cooperate and provide enough war, dry weather that the ground can be prepared and planted. 
This year in Iowa, the weather finally improved in late April.  I was able to start planting corn on April 30th.  I purchased a "new to me" used planter this year.  It is an 8-row, John Deere 7100 semi-mounted, integral style.  It is set up for no-till and has row cleaners, something that my previous planter did not have.  I set the planter for about 30,500 seeds per acre for corn.  It worked well.  In fact, with some of my land going into the Conservation Reserve Program this year, I was able to plant all of my corn in a single, long day.  After some planter-preparations, we started about 11 am and finished planting 67 acres of corn about 11 pm that day.  We probably would have finished a bit earlier, but I had to stop planting for a couple hours to clean out a clogged fuel line on the tractor that Brent was using to pull a field cultivator.  And we had to run into town to get some diesel fuel. I really like the results we got using this planter this year.  The corn has emerged and the stand is very even and very nicely spaced.
I did not go down to the farm on Sunday -- spent the day at church and with the family.  But on Monday, May 2, I switched the planter over to soybeans -- I have a set of seedboxes for the planter with soybean meters -- so I removed the corn seedboxes and mounted the ones with soybean meters.  In addition, the planter drive gears for the planter need to be reset for soybeans.  I got all this done, and then started to plant soybeans.  My goal is to plant about 140,000 soybean seeds per acre.  I set the planter according to the operator's manual recommendations, but that was planting only about 110,000 seeds per acre.  Each time I refilled the planter -- about every 15 acres, I increased the drive speed of the planter.  By the time I got down planting, I think I finally had the planter putting in the desired population.  Even with these issues, it appears that the soybeans have germinated well and I have a pretty good stand of soybeans.
I enjoy planting time.  I like it when the weather warms up.  I like it when it is greening up and the world seems to return to life after a long winter.  Spring is about new hopes and optimism.  I like the feeling of accomplishment that is associated with moving across a field.  Yes, it can seem slow and repetitive, but each pass across the field moves one closer to the finish line.  Most of life is like that.  Not a big rush, or a flurry of activity -- but slow, steady progress.  I finished planting soybeans on May 4th this year.  I have about 150 acres of land to seed to grass. But that is another story for another day.

Introduction to the Adventures of a Lucas County Land Baron

Welcome to Lucas County Land Baron.  That is a name given to me by some co-workers when I bought some farm land in Lucas County Iowa a few years ago.We joke and jest about the title, but becoming a "young farmer" at the age of 52 has been an interesting experience.  It is now 8 years later and the adventure is still going.  I hope to use this blog to share some thoughts about farming and the experiences that I have had while working full time and farming on nights, weekends and on an occasional "day off".

My adventure as a Lucas County Land Baron began in 2003 with the purchase of 416 acres of land in Lucas County in partnership with my brother.  The farm consists of 315 acres of farm land, about equally divided between uplands and river bottom. The balance is wooded areas, roads and such.  It is located only a few miles outside of the town of Lucas, Iowa and is bordered by Whitebreast Creek on the south and the east.  Whitebreast Creek has been an integral part of the adventure as it has a penchant for overflowing if the area receives more than 3 inches of rain in a 36 hour period.  And this has been happening more frequently than I would care to count.

Over the past couple of years, we have purchased a couple more parcels of land, bringing the total to 650 acres with about 500 tillable.

The foray into farming was something that I eased into.  It began with the purchase of a tractor and mower (an IH 1066 and a brushhog) to clear the cedar trees that had grown on the land while it was in the CRP program.  I intended to rent the farm out after clearing it, but then bought a no-till planter and the adventure took a new turn.  From there, I added a combine, some wagons, a truck, and several more items.  And voila', I was into farming.

I justified the move by saying that I was doing it to give the boys something to do.  But in reality, I think I really got into it to give me a diversion from the everyday grind.  I find spending some time on the tractor or combine quite relaxing in an "exhausting" way.

Farming can be fun, but it can also be frustrating, exciting, dangerous and tedious.  It requires brain and brawn, but most of all it requires fortitude -- sticking to it despite the weather, the markets and the emotional rollercoaster that accompanies the experiences.

So welcome to my blog -- I hope you find this interesting.