Planning For A Year Of Low Prices
Trent Brandenburg does not foresee any big corn and soybean market moves upward in 2018. He believes careful management to maximize yields will provide enough cash flow to maintain most farm businesses. A combination of low yields and lower prices will be challenging for operators paying very high cash rents.
Trent plans to keep his 50-50 corn and soybean rotation. “There’s more money in beans right now,” he mused, but he’s sticking with the equal split because of cultural advantages. Since he has no control over prices, he will use offsets to protect himself. He will not cut back on fertilizer because he needs the highest possible yield due to the low prices. He will be very careful with crop protection chemical use, applying only if his field scouting shows enough economic damage to justify the expense.
Trent views crop insurance as a not very good safety net, because of the low market prices making the available insurance coverage lower. He sees it as providing some limited help in a major crop damage event.
More from The Field Report
From Drought To Ponding And Replanting
In barely months, Trent's challenges have gone from extreme drought to repeated ponding and replanting. Trent has replanted some corn and soybeans twice, only to have the ponding return yet again. "I don't think I will try to replant corn [...]
Corn And Soybean Planting Done, Some Germinated, More To Come
Trent Brandenburg is happy to have completed his corn and soybean planting by the 15th of May. "It's slow," he said, commenting on the germination delay by the recent cool temperatures. Moderately heavy rains the last few days have caused [...]
Worked Some Fields, With A Sunny Day Could Begin Planting
Trent Brandenburg has "worked a couple of fields, they're barely ready" after several days of rain last week. "If we get a sunny day tomorrow I could plant some," Trent continued. The long-standing extreme drought in central Illinois has been [...]