Better planting equipment, improved soybean genetics and technology advancements such as seed treatments and weed control systems have moved soybean planting dates earlier in recent years. Last year 34% of Iowa’s soybean crop was planted by early May; this year only 1% of Iowa’s soybean acres are planted as of May 13.
Although there is a correlation to higher yield potential with earlier planting dates, it’s important to remember that soybeans respond favorably to early-planting datesif soil conditions are ideal for planting. Conditions weren’t fit for planting soybeans in late April or early May.
One silver lining in the delayed soybean planting is that soil temperatures have warmed. We recommend planting soybeans when soil temperatures are about 60 degrees, and soil temperatures were averaging only in the low 60s around May 15.
Planting into a field that is too wet or too cold early in the season will reduce emergence and plant population, which most often leads to reduced yield. Remember, planting soybeans in warm but wet soils can also have a detrimental impact on yield. Patience will continue to be key this planting season!
Last fall I wrote a series of blog posts, following a group of pigs from about 50 pounds to 290 pounds. The first post in the series began September 25, 2012, and ended a post on January 8, 2013.
Today I’ve decided to let my pictures “do the talking.” I’ve included a series of photos that show the “day-to-day” work of modern day hog production from disinfecting buildings to treating sick animals. As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Before a new group of hogs arrives, we power wash our buildings to disinfect them. Cleanliness is a primary way to prevent disease and to help reduce the amount of medication needed to treat sick animals.
May 3, 2013 – We’re on our way to the hog houses to receive new pigs.
With an indoor temperature of 75 degrees, our pigs are warm and toasty on May 3. They aren’t even aware of the record-breaking snowfall outside the building.
“Who let the hogs out?” My granddaughter Carlie is sporting her pink camo as she counts the number of pigs into each pen.
Inside one of the “hospital pens,” Carlie and Darin are enticing sick pigs to eat their feed.
Darin is climbing over the gates, getting out of the way so as not to scare the next group of pigs coming into the building.
Darin shows the pigs where to find water.
It’s critical to have the right amount of fresh water available for pigs. I’m putting on a new nipple to ensure these little pigs will receive the right amount of water.
While I was adding the new nipple, the pigs were trying to “help” by carrying around spare parts.
Other curious pigs were trying to chomp on my toes as I worked on the nipple.
This feeder must be adjusted so that about 30% of the bottom is covered with feed. That’s the “optimal setting” that provides the pigs with plenty to eat without them wasting any. Otherwise, excess feed falls into the waste pit – and that’s a waste of good feed!
Veterinarians have developed guidelines for properly using and administering medication when needed. We use a can of paint to identify which pigs have already received medicine.
The blue bottle in the center, which hangs upside down next to my waist, is the medicine. The green handle is what I use to administer the shots; the next dose is already in the syringe. The long tube is the exact amount of medication and will automatically refill after each shot. Since I gave about 2,000 shots on Saturday, this tool is a huge time saver!
After the pigs are unloaded from the livestock trailer into our building, Carlie and Darin decided celebrate by going outside and having a snowball fight.
To help provide “picket fence stands,” corn growers must make proper planter adjustments. It’s also important to match the planter speed to field conditions and to avoid planting seeds in extremely poor soil conditions.
Planting in soils that are too wet can lead to sidewall compaction. The under-developed root systems resulting from the compaction are often confined in a flat plane within the furrow trench. Planting in too wet of soil, especially with coulters, allows sticky soil to build up on gauge wheels resulting in planting depth differences.
Shallow planting places seed in differing soil moisture levels and can result in differing emergence dates. Shallow planting also can lead to a shallow secondary root system. “Rootless corn” may result, or plant development may be greatly delayed compared to neighboring plants.
Failure to close the furrow is usually caused by poor soil conditions, improper closing wheels for field conditions, incorrect down pressure, or planting in sod. Worn or improperly adjusted planter parts can cause or aggravate all the previously mentioned problems.
Make sure your planter does all its jobs properly: open the seed furrow without sidewall compaction; place seeds at a uniform depth; and close the seed slot without compaction. Stop the planter frequently and physically check to ensure you’re getting uniform seed depth and good seed-to-soil contact. Although it will take a few extra minutes in the spring, you’ll be glad you did when it’s time to harvest those extra bushels come fall!
Sweet & Sour: This Recipe Describes Our Spring Weather, Too!
You might say that farming is in Ben Rein’s blood. His great, great grandfather homesteaded around Highland, Minnesota, in 1884. Farming is a tradition that has continued throughout the generations.
“I’ve been farming for as long as I can remember,” says Ben, who grew up on a family farm and started farming full time in 1997 by custom baling hay and renting 160 acres. He shared equipment with his dad and uncle, who were farming together at that time. They ran a 100-sow, farrow-to-finish operation. They also raised 200 registered Angus cows, selling bulls and heifers. In 2005, Ben’s dad went to work for him. Today they grow corn and alfalfa. They also milk 65 cows and finish fat cattle.
Ben said he wanted to try Latham® products because the company is independent and family owned. He’s stayed with the company because the corn really yields. “I’ve been planting Latham for two years and have had a great experience,” he says. “The people I work with are very knowledgeable and accessible. The seed corn I used last year yielded 200 to 230 bushels, and it was the only corn that stood against the wind and rootworm issues we dealt with.”
While Ben tends to the crops and livestock, his wife Amber stays busy on the home front. The couple lives on the farm Ben’s grandfather bought in 1952, and it’s where they’re raising their five children: Steven, 14; Jaime, 12; Nora, 10; Kimberly, 8; and Rachel, 4.
“Living on a family farm allows us to spend time together working and playing,” says Ben. “It’s the perfect place for kids to develop a good work ethic and to discover their interests. Some of our kids are interested in horses while others enjoy working with calves. There are just so many different things our kids can explore.”
The Rein children are also involved in a lot of activities at school. During the summer months, they enjoy camping. During the winter months, Ben enjoys restoring antique John Deere tractors.
Like most farmers, Ben enjoys promoting the products he raises. Today, in honor of May Beef Month, the Reins are sharing one of their family’s favorite recipes for Sweet and Sour Meatballs. Crock-pot recipes like this are perfect for the spring planting season, so give it a try and let us know what you think!
Among the thousand variables crops are subject to each growing season, planting is the most crucial. Corn Product Specialist, Nick Benson offers these tips for proper depth and spacing as planters hit the ground rolling this spring.
Bonin’s of North Iowa Live with Love of Agriculture
Joy & Dave Bonin
Warm weather means Joy Bonin can look through the patio window and take in her favorite view, watching black cattle grazing in the green pasture. Her husband, Dave, jokingly calls their cows and calves “lawn ornaments” because she comments so often about what a pretty picture the cattle make.
The Bonins raise Angus and Black Baldies bred to an Angus bull near Belmond in Wright County, Iowa. Their farm includes 40 acres of creek pasture where the cattle graze in the summer months. They also grow corn, and they’ve been contract Latham® soybean growers for approximately 35 years.
Dave and Joy began farming 46 years ago. For the past 44 years, they’ve lived on a farm that Joy’s grandparents purchased in 1950. Joy’s father purchased the farm in 1986, and ever since then she and Dave have farmed it. It is now owned by the Bonin’s and Joy’s four siblings. It’s also where they raised their two children, Michelle and David.
“The farm is a great place to raise a family because there are so many things to do and so many wide open spaces to roam,” says Joy. “Both of our children have a very good work ethic and we believe it’s because they learned to work alongside their parents.”
The Bonin’s daughter, Michelle, earned a bachelor’s degree from Drake University and a master’s degree from the University of Chicago. She works as a financial services consultant for Deloitte. Her husband, Mike, recently started his own business. They also stay busy with their two children, Madilyn, age 11½, and Matthew, age 8½.
Dave & David
The Bonin’s son, David, plays an active role in the family’s farming operation. He and his son Colton do cattle chores daily, as well as farm in partnership with Dave and Joy. David is an electrician and has his own business with three additional employees. His wife, Rachel, works part-time at Fareway and stays busy keeping up with their five active children. Mike & Colton work for David, Zach will be a senior at UNI majoring in accounting, Liberty is graduating from Belmond-Klemme this Spring and will be attending DMACC majoring in Entrepreneurship. Cole just completed his sophomore year at Belmond-Klemme.
With seven grandchildren, Dave and Joy have a busy calendar! They enjoy attending as many sporting events and recitals as possible. They also enjoy weekend visits to Glen Carbon, Illinois. In addition, they’re active in their community. Dave serves on the Belmond Community Housing board and the Art Council. He enjoys pencil drawing and riding motorcycle in his spare time. Joy serves as their church’s bookkeeper plus teaches Vacation Bible School. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, gardening and baking.
Because Joy has worked off-farm at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds for nearly 43 years, she values meals that are quick, easy and flavorful. Joy often relies on beef when she prepares supper and takes it to the field during planting and harvest.
Today Joy is sharing a couple of her favorite seasonal recipes with us, one for Rhubarb Crunch Cake and another for Beef & Rice Casserole. Enjoy!
Cherry Rhubarb Crunch by Joy Bonin
Crust:
2 ½ cups oatmeal
¾ cup flour
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup margarine
Filling:
1 cup sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1 cup water
1 can cherry pie filling
4 cups diced rhubarb
1 t. almond extract
Crust: Combine ingredients and cut together to make crumbs. Save ¾ c. crumbs for top; put rest of crumbs in a 9X13 in. pan
Filling: In sauce pan, combine sugar, cornstarch and water and cook until thick. Remove from heat and add pie filling, rhubarb, and almond extract. Pour over crumbs and sprinkle with remaining crumbs. Bake at 350° F. for 40 minutes.
Consider Traits & Chemistries in Your Crop Rotation
A soybean-corn crop rotation allows farmers to spread out spring and summer fieldwork and provides a larger window for harvest. Plus, a soybean-corn rotation can lead to energy savings during production and when handling, drying and conditioning of stored grain, according to recent issue of “Advance” published by the ISA On-Farm Network.
“Studies show us that corn yields are higher following soybeans. The advantage of a soybean-corn rotation still centers on yield. The positive impact is probably due to several factors,” says Ed Anderson, Iowa Soybean Association senior director of supply and production systems. “Soybeans break disease, insect and weed cycles and provide a nitrogen credit for corn the following year.
However, it’s no longer enough for farmers to merely rotate crops. Farmers also must rotate between herbicide chemistries, as well as hybrid/variety traits. Rotating between various herbicide traits is important from the standpoint of reducing weed resistance. It also has been proven that it helps in overall herbicide performance.
Rotating traits, especially insect resistance traits in corn, is especially important for the same reasons – to decrease the risk of insects becoming resistant to those traits and also to improve overall trait performance. As newer traits become commercially available in soybeans, the same will be true. We will need to be good stewards of these traits and rotate them whenever possible!
One advantage of working with family-owned and independent Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds is that we can help you select the trait packages needed to change up your modes of action. Latham offers the industry’s broadest, deepest seed lineup – which makes it more convenient for farmers to get all their seed needs met.
Iowa farmers had been protected for more than 40 years under the recreational use and immunity statute. It stated: “farmers are immune from liability of injuries that occur on their property aside from a farmer willfully injuring an individual.” That all changed on February 15 when the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the owners of a Northeast Iowa dairy farm could be sued by a chaperone, who was injured when she fell through a hole in a hayloft during a kindergarten class field trip.
“It is important that farmers reach out to the general public and show them what we are doing on our farms and why. Iowa agriculture has a tremendous story to tell, and it is important we make it easier for farmers to share what they are doing, not more difficult,” said Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey in a FarmWorld article posted Feb. 27. “It will be extremely unfortunate if the Iowa Supreme Court decision discourages farmers from opening up their farms for tours and other educational efforts.”
Secretary Northey said it well. The Supreme Court ruling, without corresponding state legislation to provide immunity, could cause many farmers to shut their doors. The Daily Iowan, on April 11, quoted me as follows: “It’s one of my passions to show people who don’t know a lot about a farm what a farm is.”
Harvest Tour 2012
I’ve been very involved with giving people, who are removed from farming, a porthole to view how modern farms operate. I believe in letting them watch as we go about our business of making food, fuel and fiber! I was – and still am – under the impression that we must do everything possible to protect visitors to our farms. Sometimes, however, things happen that are beyond a farmer’s control.
When I think back to the visit to my farm last fall by a group from Japanese Public TV, I believe there also has to be some personal responsibility. That camera man stood on top of anything he could climb to get the right angle! He stood on top of tractors, climbed into wagons of corn, and crawled all over my combine. I could tell him he wasn’t being safe, but he would choose to get the angle.
That same week, Fox News Network, was in my field as we harvested soybeans. The man with the camera hung on the outside of my combine as my son Corey drove across the field. Personally, I think these camera guys are nuts! If something had happened to one of these people, I would’ve been responsible!
I’ve been involved with the Franklin County Bloggers Harvest Tour. For the past two years, we’ve invited urban bloggers to spend a weekend in rural Franklin County where they tour historic sites and see firsthand how we harvest our crops. These tours have been highly successful because our guests are very active with their followers on Twitter and Facebook. They also post blogs to their vast readerships, spreading what they have witnessed far and wide. They share farming insights with literally thousands of folks across the country, who enjoy learning more about Iowa agriculture.
Consumers, our customers, want to see how their food is raised. I want them to see how their food is raised, too! There are too many misunderstandings being spread through the mainstream media and through social media networks. That’s why there is a need for our harvest blogger tour, on-farm visits and on-farm interviews. Hopefully, these will be able to continue. I encourage you to contact your elected officials if “transparency at the farm gate” is important to you!
Vanessa Kummer, Chairman United Soybean Board (USB)/Soy Checkoff , Blaine & Paul (Photo credit from Farm and Ranch Guide.)
Increasing the value of U.S. soy meal and oil, maintaining farmers’ freedom to operate, as well as meeting customers’ needs for high-quality soy products are strategic objectives of the United Soybean Board (USB). They’ve also been a personal mission for North Dakota farmer Vanessa Kummer, who has served on the USB board for the past decade.
“I really hope my involvement opens the door for more women and helps empower them to believe they deserve to have a seat at the table,” says Vanessa, who was the first woman to be elected as USB chairperson and the first North Dakotan elected to this position.
Thirty percent of U.S. farms are operated by women, and an even higher percentage of farming operations involve women along with other family members. Women’s roles in farming are changing as more women are earning business degrees and even MBAs before returning to their family farms. That’s why Vanessa believes it’s important for women to be active in the industry and represented in leadership positions.
When asked how more women can become involved in agricultural organizations, Vanessa said, “Show up to meetings regularly, ask questions and participate.” As one of three female panelists at the Top ProducersExecutive Women in Agriculture event last December in Chicago, she said the amount of misinformation being spread about farming is a real concern. She also said that more and more consumers are being misled by media.
Consumer outreach was one of Vanessa’s main focuses while serving as USB chair. She worked with leadership within the National Corn Growers Association to launch the CommonGroundTM program aimed at addressing consumers’ food concerns by sharing facts about farming and dispelling food myths. CommonGround focuses on women-to-women communications to bridge the gap between rural and urban areas. It involves a group of volunteer farmer participants, representing all sectors of agriculture.
“Food safety concerns can affect our freedom to farm,” says Vanessa. “That’s why U.S. farmers must connect with consumers. It’s important to share our stories and promote understanding. If we don’t give consumers the facts about U.S. agriculture, then who will?”
Vanessa recently finished serving her term as USB chair, but she remains active within the industry and in her community. But being active is nothing new to Vanessa. She’s held leadership positions within several organizations during the past 35 years that’s she’s been farming.
Vanessa has been active on the United Soybean Board for the past decade. Her service included four years on the USB executive committee including two as chair for the Communications Program. As USB Vice-Chair, she also served as chair for the Global Opportunities Program and as team lead for the USB Strategic Planning Team. She has termed off USB, but continues to serve as a director for the United States Soybean Export Council (USSEC), the international marketing arm for USB and the American Soybean Association (ASA).
On the state level, Vanessa has served the North Dakota Soybean Growers Association as a board member, treasurer and past president. She also has been active with the North Dakota Corn Growers. She served as a 4-H leader and as softball coach, plus she’s a member of the North Dakota State college of Science’s Athletic Hall of Fame. In addition, Vanessa is active in her local church.
Vanessa and her husband, Paul, continue to operate their family farm. Their daughter, Rachael, is a math teacher in Colorado. Their son and daughter-in-law, Blaine and Megan, farm with them south of Fargo where they raise sugar beets, corn and soybeans.
Seeing is Believing: See Why It’s So Important to Avoid Wet Soils!
After being cooped up for the better part of the past month, I’m as eager as any farmer is for the spring planting season to begin. Cold and wet weather in April has delayed planting, but we must remember that all of this moisture helped recharge the soil – and farmland across the Midwest desperately needed that!
The hardest part is going to be waiting to enter fields once the skies clear. Clear skies and sunshine don’t necessary mean that conditions are fit for planting. That’s why today I want to take a few minutes to remind you that it’s “worth the wait” to let fields dry before doing any work.
You’ll cause yourself headaches – and your crop problems – throughout the growing season if you try to plant in unfit conditions. The top 10 reasons to avoid soil compaction include, but are not limited to,: stunted plant growth; slow infiltration of water and/or ponding; high surface runoff and soil erosion under normal or light rainfall; poor root system establishment; and nutrient deficiency.
Compacted fields may experience yield losses of 10% to 20%, according to Iowa State University researchers.
It literally pays to understand and manage soil compaction. The #1 way to avoid soil compaction now is to wait for the fields to dry. In a video I made this week, you’ll see how to use a quick field test to check the soil moisture. You just mold a length of soil between your index finger and thumb, or roll it into a ball in your hand. Observe whether the soil breaks apart as you work it. If you toss the ball of soil into the air and it shatters or cracks upon falling to the ground, then conditions are likely suitable for tillage or planting.
For additional tips on how and why to avoid soil compaction, take a few minutes to read these related posts:
Better planting equipment, improved soybean genetics and technology advancements such as seed treatments and weed control systems have moved soybean planting dates earlier in recent years. Last year 34% of Iowa’s soybean crop was planted by early May; this year only 1% of Iowa’s soybean acres are planted as of May 13.
