Representatives from Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds took to center court Saturday in James H. Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa, as we were one of three Iowa-based companies being recognized for supporting the Cyclone Charity Stripe. This promotion raises money for every free throw the Iowa State Cyclones Men’s Basketball team makes during the 2013-14 basketball season; donations benefit the American Cancer Society through Coaches vs. Cancer.
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds is proud to support the Cyclone Charity Stripe, which raises money for Coaches vs. Cancer with every free throw the ISU Men’s Basketball team makes during the 2013-14 season
Coaches vs. Cancer evolved from a concept championed by Norm Stewart, former head coach of the University of Missouri men’s basketball program. As a cancer survivor and member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), Coach Stewart challenged fans to pledge a dollar amount for points made by his team. The American Cancer Society and the NABC adopted that concept in 1993, transforming it into a nationwide effort “to provide help and hope to people facing cancer.”
Providing support for the American Cancer Society and helping raise awareness for cancer prevention and early detection is a cause that’s near and dear to our family. John’s mother and his paternal grandmother, Evelyn Latham, are both breast cancer survivors. John’s dad and our company’s past president, Bill Latham, is about to celebrate the four-year anniversary of his stem cell transplant.
ISU Men’s Head Basketball Coach Fred Hoiberg sports tennis shoes in support of Coaches vs. Cancer during Saturday’s game in Hilton Coliseum. Iowa State defeated #22 Kansas State, 81-75.
Because we know first-hand what a gift “hope” can be, we’re glad to help support the American Cancer Society and Iowa State University’s Cyclone Charity Stripe Promotion.
Free throws this season have net $17,000 for the American Cancer Society, and points in the charity stripe helped the Cyclones defeat the Kansas State Wildcats. Now that’s what I call a “win, win situation”! Click here to see video highlights of Saturday’s game in Hilton.
Scott and Cindy Rasmussen of Burt, Iowa, were high school sweethearts. Today they’re still teaming up and enjoying life on their North Iowa farm.
Super Bowl Sunday is a little more than a week away, but already good-natured ribbing and game day speculations are underway. Whether you’re planning to watch the big game (or just the commercials) with family and friends at their house or yours, the Rasmussens from Burt in North Central Iowa offer some tried and true hosting tips.
“Our approach is really to keep it simple. We do much of the food prep ahead of time, so we can enjoy more time with our friends and family when they arrive,” says Cindy, who works part-time off the farm for an attorney and also helps with field work during the spring and fall.
Scott, the other half of this husband-wife team, is quick to share one of their secrets. While I’m talking with Cindy, he walks over to the freezer and pulls out a Ziploc® freezer bag filled with Rye Bread Appetizers. Now that’s my idea of “fast food”!
Keeping food on hand that can be fixed quickly when company drops in unexpectedly makes entertaining fun and easy. Now that their three children have graduated college and are living on their own, Scott and Cindy look forward to their visits and also relish time reconnecting with their friends.
“All of our kids were very active in high school with sports and extracurricular activities like 4-H,” says Scott, who served as 4-H club leader for 11 years and coached their AAU basketball teams. Cindy was a Sunday School teacher and Scott served as a trustee. They both served as T-ball coaches when their kids were younger.
Adds Cindy, “It took some planning, especially during spring and fall, but we really wanted them to experience life outside of farming, choose their own paths, and earn a four-year degree.” That being said, now our kids come home during spring and fall to help during the busy season. They truly understand what a great life farming is and that it is the perfect setting for raising a family.”
The Rasmussen’s oldest son, Noah, graduated from Algona High School in 2000. He earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University and works for John Deere in Urbandale. His wife, Rachel, also graduated from ISU with a master’s in public administration. She works in human relations. The couple has three daughters ages 8, 4, and 3 months.
The Rasmussen’s second son, Drew, graduated from high school in 2005. He earned a degree in Industrial Systems Technology (Ag Systems Technology) from Iowa State University and is a shift foreman at the biodiesel plant in Algona. He also helps Scott and Cindy farm and is looking forward to farming on his own someday. Drew and his fiancée, Sierra, are planning an August wedding.
Daughter, Chelsie, graduated from high school in 2007. She earned a degree in psychology from the University of Iowa. She and her husband, Tom, make their home near Britt. They both work full time plus Chelsie is taking classes through North Iowa Community College (NIACC) to become a physical therapy assistant. They’re expecting their first child in June.
While their children were growing up, the Rasmussens had a farrow to finish operation in addition to their cropping operation. In 2000, hog prices went to $8, so Scott was determined to find a way to make up for lost income. With margins on the hog operation going from tight to negative, Scott went to work at Aluma Trailers in Bancroft. He appreciated that company’s flexibility, so he could work around his farming schedule. After a year of working at Aluma, Scott’s dad retired from farming. Scott was able to continue working part-time and farm additional acres. Then in 2008, they converted the barn into a heated shop where Scott enjoys maintaining his line of farm equipment and woodworking especially during the winter months.
“I really enjoyed working at Aluma and my boss was really good to me,” says Scott. “He was one person who really helped make a difference. Cindy and I have really been blessed by the people who have helped us along the way.” They mention the respect they have for the farm manager of the Stockwell Memorial Farm, who helped them start farming on their own, and for an elderly neighbor, who also chose Scott to farm his land when he decided to retire.
Click on the image to enlarge, then print.
“We’ve learned to surround ourselves with good people, and that’s one of the reasons we enjoy working with Latham Seeds,” says Scott. “The company is filled with good people. I know that I can call the office and be connected with someone who has the answer to my question. I really enjoy Latham’s personal service, plus Latham® products really perform well.”
In their spare time, the Rasmussens enjoy fishing, boating, spending time with family and friends, and spoiling their grandchildren. The couple also enjoys antiquing, refinishing and repurposing furniture. They had a cabinet built into a buffet to camouflage a dorm-sized refrigerator. They also put locking wheels on an island in their kitchen, which readily converts into a snack table for grandkids or extends their kitchen counter space if they want to set up a buffet line. Both items make entertaining easy.
So that you can spend more time with friends and less time in the kitchen, today the Rasmussens are sharing two of their favorite recipes on TheFieldPosition. Take it to the house next Sunday with Rye Bread Appetizers and Party Pretzels!
Super Bowl Sunday XLVII had us reaching for a tissue and wiping our eyes as the nation was overcome with emotion when Dodge Ram’s God Made a Farmer television spot aired. That commercial, featuring a poem recited by Paul Harvey during the 1978 FFA annual convention, paid tribute to Americans farmers.
Dodge’s “Year of the Farmer” commercial made those, who tend to livestock and nurture the land, feel rightfully proud. It made those who aren’t farmers wish they had such a noble calling.
We believe farmers deserve to be in the spotlight once again, so we’re proclaiming Super Bowl 2014 as “Year of the Felfie.”Join Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds as we host a virtual Super Bowl party! Enter for a chance to win freebies by participating in Felfies, Foodies & Football:
Between now and the kickoff on Sunday, Feb. 2, take time to take a #felfie. They say a photo is worth a thousand words. In this case, it could be worth a stadium blanket and chairs! Plus, your felfie could help non-farmers gain a better understanding how their food is produced.
Speaking of food… Everyone knows the key to hosting a good party is having ample quantities of wonderful food. That’s why, beginning tomorrow, we’ll post simple yet delicious “Game Day” recipes on our company’s Facebook page. We hope you’ll join us throughout the week as we prepare for Super Bowl 2014!
Many Midwest farmers are asking questions about the benefits of spraying foliar fungicides on their soybean fields. The simple truth is… there are a lot of opinions.
Be very leery when they are bombarded by claims of yield increases due to improved overall plant health. Do some of your own testing before deciding to make large-scale applications of these products. It may very well prove that fungicides of this type will pay great dividends on certain farms and pay zero dividends on others!
There is one very important thing to remember when conducting trials of this kind: leave some areas in the field unsprayed to “check” the actual value of the products. As you make plans for the 2014 crop, keep these three things in mind:
Be sure you’re making an apples-to-apples comparison. For example, I’ve received reports from farmers who advocate the use of foliar fungicides on soybeans. However, the fields they compared were several miles away and some were not even the same soybean variety!
There are people out there who want to sell you something, regardless of whether you need it.
If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
One of our brand promises at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds is to help farmers save time. Another promise is to help farmers reduce risk. That’s why I’m being as honest as possible by questioning the investment in foliar fungicide on soybeans. Seed treatments, on the other hand, are worth the investment. Seed treatments are one key to achieving higher soybean yields; click here for others.
Differentiating Between “Challenges” and “Problems”
My wife, Janice, and I were having a discussion last week about the time of our lives when we will no longer be working. With us being in our sixties, Janice thinks retirement planning is a problem that needs to be solved immediately. Feeling like I’m not much over 40, I believe retirement is a challenge that I still have time to address. After all, I’m still making career plans. I’m opening a seed dealership for Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds, and I’d like to actually build a new set of hog buildings for myself. I built hundreds of modern hog buildings when I operated my own construction business, but the last one I built on my own property was in the 1970s – and I haven’t used it in 20 years.
Because I’m making future plans for my farm, last week I attended the Coalition to Support Iowa Farmers’ annual “Farming for the Future” conference with the theme of “Doing Things Right.” We all know farming for the future can be a real challenge, especially given our current political and regulatory climate. The real problem, in my opinion, is the last few years have been profitable for farmers.
“Often, the worst decisions are made during the best of times,” said Dr. David Kohl, professor emeritus at Virginia Tech, who was serving as the keynote speaker at last week’s conference. “When you’re rolling along, you get complacent and forget about the basics. But always remember that you can’t simply grow your way to wealth.”
Dr. Kohl reminds us that farming has always been a game of cycles: Good weather, bad weather. Good prices, bad prices. The cycle will continue, he said. But for the farmers who can channel their emotions while managing their operations, there will be more opportunities than ever in the years ahead!
While farming is very competitive, capital intensive and risky, it’s also enjoyable. There is so much to be made… and long as you’re looking for a challenge and enjoy solving problems. Farming reminds me of this quote by Winston Churchill, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”The hope of future opportunities in agriculture led to a sold-out crowd last week inside the Scheman Building on the Iowa State University campus. Farmers packed the room to listen to a panel discussion on “Emerging Opportunities in Iowa Agriculture.” On-farm dairy processing, calving under roof and niche pork production. There was even talk about raising fish in Iowa. If you are interested in the content but weren’t able to attend, video from the conference will be available soon. You can also sign up for an e-newsletter.
Challenges keep me going. But as much I hate to admit it, Janice makes a good point about my age!
Guest blog post by Lindsay Pingel Communications Manager, Food Bank of Iowa
Recently, I was doing my weekly grocery run on a busy Saturday afternoon. I weaved my cart up and down the aisles, fought my way through the crowd and finally made it to the checkout line. As I was waiting in line and flipping through the latest magazine selections, something caught my eye.
The family in front of me was taking items out of the cart because they didn’t have enough money. “The car repair made us extra short this month,” said the man, red with embarrassment and shame, as he repeatedly ran his debit card through the machine until finally it worked.
When they left, the cashier was shaking her head and said to me, “I just wish there was something I could do to help them.” My thoughts exactly!
What I witnessed is not uncommon for many Iowans today. One in eight Iowans – approximately 400,000 – is food insecure, meaning they lack the resources to live an active and healthy lifestyle. One out of 5 Iowa children does not know where his next meal will come from. Many of these individuals have been faced with a job loss or unforeseen expense that has brought on the burden of wondering how they will put food on their tables.
During my time at the Food Bank of Iowa, I have wondered what more can be done to help those in need. What am I not doing to make this problem go away? Thankfully, I am reminded and inspired by the compassion and support I see each day. Individuals, businesses, organizations and civic groups show support through monetary donations and food drives; volunteers generously donate their time; and advocates speak about the issue of hunger and its impact on struggling Iowans.
Today especially I’m excited to announce a partnership with the Iowa National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) on the Cold Run for Warm Meals, a 2.5-mile run with all proceeds benefitting the Food Bank of Iowa. The fun begins at 9 AM on Saturday, March 29, when Confluence Brewery opens for non-runners. (That’s right! It’s just as fun to be part of the cheer squad!) The race beings at 9:30 with awards to be presented at 10:30 AM. Create a team or register individually.
Together, we can help their neighbors, colleagues, friends and family members struggling with food insecurity!
Preserving Her Family’s Legacy Led to “Wag’n Tales”
Val Wagner and her husband, Mark, at the North Dakota Stockman’s Convention on Dec. 26, 2013.
As a young girl growing up in rural North Dakota, Val Wagner dreamed of becoming a big-shot lawyer and living in a metropolis. Then she met a farmer (aka “Boss Man” on her Wag’n Tales blog) at the county fair, and well, her dreams changed.
Val and her husband, Mark, make their home in very rural southeast North Dakota on the land that has been in her husband’s family for more than 50 years. Together, they’re caring for the land and livestock, raising their four sons and ensuring that farming will be their legacy.
Helping ensure a farming legacy for their four sons is why Val Wagner started her Wag’n Tales blog. “One of the things I enjoy most about living on our farm is being able to show my boys nature first-hand,” she says. “They learn about life, have the chance to create their own theories and dream of the future.”
“These four boys are the reasons I do what I do,” says Val, while addressing a group of seed company executives Thursday during the 25th anniversary of the Independent Professional Seed Association (IPSA). “Their opportunity to farm this land isn’t going to be lost on my watch.”
Val saw how times were changing. Ag literacy is a real concern, so she started Wag’n Tales to help create a better understanding of modern agriculture. Her blog has allowed her to virtually “open the farm to everyone.” She believes the most important things she does is answer questions that non-farmers have like: What are cows fed? How are cattle taken care of during the winter? What is it like when a calf is born?
Recipes are another way Val connects with non-farm moms and others on her blog. In honor of January Soup Month and as a tribute to the German-Russian Country in which her family resides, today she’s sharing a recipe for Knephla Soup.
When Captain Charlie Plumb took the stage yesterday for the opening general session of the Independent Professional Seed Association 25th Annual Conference in St. Louis, the only noise in the room was the sound of a soldier’s footsteps in the dark. When he began to speak, you could have heard a pin drop.
“Today I want to take you back to a Prisoner of War camp in Vietnam where you can feel the intense heat baking on the tin roof of your 8 by 8 cell,” said the man, who lived as a POW from ages 24 to 30. Just five days before his tour of duty was to end, he was shot down and spent the next 2,103 days in a prison. “It’s important that you get a vivid mental picture. Try your best to smell the stench in the bucket I called my toilet, and taste the salt in the corners of my mouth from my sweat, my tears and my blood.
If I am effective in these few moments we spend together today, you’ll see that the same kind of challenges you face, are the same basic challenges I faced in a prison cell: feelings of fear, loneliness, failure and a breakdown of communication. More importantly, your response to those challenges will be the same response I had to have in the prison camp just to survive.”
“Even though I’m telling a story about myself, the real story is not about me,” he continued. “It’s about you… You won’t face the 8-foot walls that I did, but you will encounter the 8-inch ones. Those eight inches between your ears can become your biggest barrier. That’s why it’s important to remember that you can do anything you set your mind on.”
Captain Plumb went on to tell the room full of independent seed company executives how honored he was to be with us because, as the son of a Kansas farmer, he knows we’re the first link in the chain that produces the world’s safest and most abundant food supply.
“This great nation wasn’t built on fairness. It was built on independence,” he says. ‘As independent business owners, you have the freedom to go and be! You also have the freedom to fail.”
If you blame others for your problems, Captain Plumb says you’re giving them control over you– and your life. He shared tips on he prevented the enemy from having total control over him inside the POW Camp and made them relevant to our lives as civilians:
Believe. Tap into sources of strength that are larger than you.
Courage. Have courage to face the day and step up to the plate.
Integrity. Be honest. Have moral principles.
Humor. Have fun. Laugh. Prank.
Return with honor. Thanks to leadership inside the POW Camp, Plumb says this became their new mantra.
Life is about taking choices, taking risks. Captain Plumb’s time in the POW camp taught him that sometimes the solution is take another risk. “The last thing you want to do is get further outside your comfort zone, to get into deeper water, to hurt more,” he’s quoted as saying in a Juneau Empire article. “The human response is to fall back and seek safety.”
Captain Plumb said he learned in that POW camp that he could still control his attitude. He could choose to laugh or to cry; he could choose to be positive or negative… but choosing to be negative gave the enemy control over his destiny.
We can all chose to make a positive difference, whether we make a living as a farmer or a seed company owner. We’re Americans and we enjoy the freedom of independence!
Weather ranks as the most important factor affecting corn yield, says Dr. Fred Below, Professor of Plant Physiology at the University of Illinois. Research he’s conducted show that weather accounts for 70 bushels per acre, or 27 percent, of total yield!
Planting a portfolio of Latham® corn hybrids is one way to manage risk and improve your chances of achieving record-setting yields. Last season we saw how different genetics handle stress from drought and wind. That’s why genetic diversity is so important.
Nematodes are a growing problem across the Midwest, most likely due to trends of no-till farming. Nematodes are sensitive to soil disturbance, so they tend to thrive in no-till situations. Crop rotation isn’t an effective form of management, however, seed treatments can prevent nematodes from attaching to corn roots. Applied directly to the seed, these treatments help prevent damage to early-season seedlings and roots before pests can strike.
When finalizing your 2014 seed purchases, consider these Latham® Hi‑Tech Hybrids with Genuity® SmartStax® technology and the Poncho/VOTiVO plus Acceleron seed treatment:
Headlines are written to grab attention, as we all know. But the sensationalism of the headline, “Large-scale farming is Iowa’s ‘Breaking Bad’,” in The Des Moines Registerlast Sunday nearly caused me to spew my morning coffee. By the time I finished reading this Op-Ed by Kamyar Enshayan, I practically needed to breathe into a paper bag.
“The TV series ‘Breaking Bad’ has ended, but the real thing goes on in Iowa just as bad or much worse,” writes Enshayagn. At this point, I google “Breaking Bad” and learn it’s a about a struggling high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. To secure his family’s financial future before he dies, the teacher begins producing and selling methamphetamine.
Now I’m curious to learn how Enshayagn relates this to farming, so I go on to read: “Meth is indeed uniquely suited to Middle America, though this is only tangentially related to the idea that it can be made in the sink. Meth’s basic components lie equally in the action of government lobbyists, long-term trends in agricultural and pharmaceutical industries, and the effects of globalization and free trade.”
I read this statement a second time, trying to gain a better understanding. I know he’s making the connection between agriculture and meth but I can’t quite understand it. Is Enshayan really making the connection that large farming is the same as manufacturing an illegal drug? WOW!
It’s time to stop reading and start googling “Kamyar.” I learn that he’s director for the University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Energy and Environmental Education. This tells me he is a major influence on a significant amount of young people in our state… Anybody see a problem?
Without further ado, Enshayan outlines what he believes is bad with “Industrial Commodity Agriculture.” He cleverly uses key words for emotion as he write, “Industrial commodity agriculture is entirely based on acres. It does not need stable communities. All that is needed are land, machinery, energy and chemical inputs to produce one or two products for distant markets. Civic organizations, schools, churches, libraries, rural businesses are all unnecessary to “feed the world” or to fuel ethanol plants. Long-term anthropological studies in many rural communities in the U.S. have confirmed these realities.”
Enshayan goes on to explain that this has set up our rural areas as desperate situations that are the habitat for meth! He shares many more of his “ideas” on why modern farming is ruining Iowa and gives credit to those Iowans, who are striving to change, like those who are producing for small niche markets or selling produce at Farmers Markets.
Honestly, I have nothing against these types of operations as I believe we should relish our food choices. However, I have a problem when advocates for these production practices attack how I farm! I am a conventional, and conventional farming is the main type because it’s successful. Conventional farming has evolved to where we are today because it works! Conventional farming today does do a good job of taking care of the environment and our soil, using less inputs and energy to produce more crops. Conventional is sustainable. Conventional uses new technology(yes, GMOs) to get even better!
Yet so many folks, who don’t live near farms feel, entitled to advise farmers – especially on environmental matters. “There is a romantic notion of environmentalism, and then there is actual environmentalism,” Walter De Jong, a potato breeder and geneticist at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, is quoted as saying in an article entitled, “GMOs May Feed the World Using Fewer Pesticides.” He continues by saying, “Farmers are very conscious of the environment. They want to hand off their operation to their kids and their kids’ kids, so they maintain the land the best they can while doing what they need to do in order to sell their harvest. My guess is that the majority of people who are anti-GMO live in cities and have no idea what stewardship of the land entails.”
Most farmers I know are very proud of their local communities, including their schools and churches. In fact, farmers very much are a part of helping local to keep going. The loss of business on Main Street, I believe has more to do with the loss of manufacturing and the consolidation of retail business and more cheap imports. Smaller margins and stiff competition make it tough for stores on Main Street to survive without having some niche type of market.
Naysayers need to get off the university campus and find out what’s happening out here on the farm. There is a revival going on right now with the huge demand in agriculture for young people to fill jobs that require training and pay a very good “starting” wage. The need for more brains than brawn is also prompting more women than ever to return to farming.
In Iowa, we have much more demand for skilled labor than we have people. Agricultural colleges and high school FFA programs are experiencing record enrollment. If we can keep our government from ruining business with regulations that stifle jobs (ethanol), we can have a bright future!
Representatives from Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds took to center court Saturday in James H. Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa, as we were one of three Iowa-based companies being recognized for supporting the Cyclone Charity Stripe. This promotion raises money for every free throw the Iowa State Cyclones Men’s Basketball team makes during the 2013-14 basketball season; donations benefit the American Cancer Society through Coaches vs. Cancer.
While farming is very competitive, capital intensive and risky, it’s also enjoyable. There is so much to be made… and long as you’re looking for a challenge and enjoy solving problems. Farming reminds me of this quote by Winston Churchill, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”The hope of future opportunities in agriculture led to a sold-out crowd last week inside the Scheman Building on the Iowa State University campus. Farmers packed the room to listen to a panel discussion on “Emerging Opportunities in Iowa Agriculture.” On-farm dairy processing, calving under roof and niche pork production. There was even talk about raising fish in Iowa. If you are interested in the content but weren’t able to attend, 
