Looking Back At 2015, Ahead To 2016
December 2015 Field Report
A Wet Ending to 2015
Trent Brandenburg is happy to recall the excellent spring and harvest weather and work progress during 2015. Yields were “very good”, Trent observed, just not quite up to 2014 levels. Market prices, on the other hand, weren’t good. The unusually dry fall helped corn dry in the field, thus saving drying expenses at the grain elevator.
Looking ahead to 2016 after several days of record-breaking rainfall and record flood levels in Central Illinois, Trent recalls that warm, wet winters are often followed by hot, dry summers. Trent wryly speculated that a hot, dry summer might reduce yields so much that crop insurance would provide more revenue than the grain market. Trent thinks it’s good that the ground is not frozen.
He held off applying fertilizer in the fall because of the dry soil. Thus he escaped the leaching loss of that fertilizer from the heavy rain, ponding, and flooding of the past few days.
Wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year from Brandenburg Farms.
More from The Field Report
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Trent Brandenburg and his family wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! When asked what a farmer does in December, Trent replied "It's cold!!" Actually, Trent has been finalizing his seed and crop protection chemical orders [...]
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 [...]