Looking Back And Looking Ahead
January 2014
During the mid-winter, farm operators look back on the previous crop year and look ahead to the coming year. It’s a good time to step back from the rush of everyday farming operations and try for a long view. Trent said, “Last year was good because the yields were good.” The lower market prices reduced profitability and put a damper on near-term equipment spending. Looking forward to the new crop year, Trent is reserved, seeing prices continuing down and crop insurance expenses significantly up.
The drought is a continuing problem. All of Piatt, DeWitt, and Macon Counties are indicated in moderate or severe drought according to the Drought Monitor and the size of the area has changed very little over the winter.
The ground is now frozen very deeply due to the near-record cold temperatures from the polar vortices invading the lower midwest. Snowmelt and rainfall will run off instead of recharging the ground-water supply, which is the supply that gets crops through periods of less rainfall.
Like many farm operators with recent memories of near-$8 corn, Trent is reluctant to sell in today’s $4.30 market, so he is holding, hoping for a market increase.
More from The Field Report
Dry Weather Hastens Harvest
September in central Illinois was one-to-three-inches short of average rainfall. Trent Brandenburg took full advantage of the natural drydown and good field conditions to get his crops from the field to the bin. Trent has completed his soybean harvest. He [...]
Not Quite Harvest Time Just Yet
Trent Brandenburg's earliest-planted corn is "about a week away" from drying below 25% moisture. At that level, he could lower his drying expense at the grain elevator. "Now, if there's an incentive..., " Trent indicated that an elevator offering a [...]
Replanting Done, Corn and Beans Look Good
Trent Brandenburg has replanted his few ponded field "wet spots" as many as three times. The replanted areas are "thin," Trent observed, because "It has been too wet. But at least [replanting] will keep the weeds down." Trent is now [...]