What you can’t hear, reading this brief article, is the laughter.
In some cases the farmers attending this year’s Farm Journal Corn & Soybean College were laughing because the stories others in the room were telling were just downright funny.
In other cases, it was the laughter of commiseration – the ‘I understand-what-you-are-going-through’ kinds of chuckles.
Either way, the camaraderie was cathartic. It lifted spirits, gave encouragement and reminded this group of farmers they were with people who understood their worries but were doing their darnedest to press on and find silver linings in a year marked by dismal markets.
Below are comments from five different farmers who shared how their growing season is going. I hope you’ll be able to relate to some of their experiences:
East-central Iowa: “We’re just sitting in a pocket that’s had ample rain. Planting went well. The corn crop looked fabulous the moment it came out of the ground, and it just hasn’t looked back. I think it’s going to be a whopper.”
Northern Illinois: “I’ve got several neighbors coming up and saying mine’s the best crop they’ve seen, but we’ve been blessed with rain. I’ve got cattle in a (feedyard) so having extra rain isn’t always the greatest thing for that, but it is what it is.”
Southwestern Ontario, Canada: “It was a cool, wet spring. Most of our corn took at least three weeks to get out of the ground. We’re just starting to tassel now here (in late July). The crop is very uneven. There was a lot of burn, a lot of urea was put on 4-foot-tall corn. We ran out of 28% and 32% UAN. People bought it in October, and it never showed up.”
Eastern Oregon/central Washington. “We pretty much irrigate everything. If you’d look at the Google Earth map, everything you see brown is dryland wheat and everything you see that’s green is irrigation. I grow primarily fresh market potatoes. The corn’s our rotation. Everything we do, onions, alfalfa, etc., is irrigated. We don’t (have) rain. We’ll turn the switch on and start pumping. It’s costly. Hearing you guys talk about two, three inches of rain, I’d love to have it, but it never comes.”
Northeast Kansas: “Everything has been like perfect (conditions) for our corn all the way through, so far. We’ll see if that carries out to yield, but right now the corn looks fabulous. 2014 was our best crop ever, and we think we’re going to be right there this year, if things continue the way they have.”
Also, check out the brief video I did with two growers during the event. I appreciated their willingness to share their thoughts on what’s gone right for them this season. They did their best to share some words of encouragement for anyone who’s watching. My sincere thanks – Pat Gannon, Colfax, Iowa, and Doug Bontekoe, Marion, Michigan – for letting me talk with you between sessions.
Your next read: Ready For What’s Next: How An Iowa Farmer Survived the ‘80s Farm Crisis and Now Invests In Others
