P..

44

PLUS:
MUST-HAVE SHOP TOOLS YOU CAN BUILD P. 36

FARMERS GIVE BACK – AS FIREFIGHTERS P. 25

GET YOUR MARKETING HOUSE IN ORDER P. 14

For families who make farming and ranching their business® | January 2018 | Vol. 116 | No. 1 | Agriculture.com
99% singulation. Effortless maintenance.
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 Vol. 116 | No. 1

o t n s
JANUARY 2018 Successful Farming magazine serves the diverse business, production, and family information needs of families who make farming
and ranching their business. Our passion is to help you make money, save time, and grow your satisfaction in the farming business.
1
2 CONTENTS
3 SPECING OUT SEMI
4 ACROSS THE
5 EDITOR’S DESK® PRICES P. 28 Pre-Tier 4
6 GLEANINGS semitruck prices have subsided
7 in comparison with 2012
8 Q&A: TODD STUCKE models.
9
10 FIRST CUT
11
12
13
14 MANAGING YOUR FARM
15
16
17
18 CONNECTING
19 YOUR FARM
20 YOUR PROFIT DIY SHOP IMPLEMENTS
21
22
P. 36 Here are four of the best
23 farmer-built shop implements
24 COMMODITY CLASSIC you can construct.
25 FARMER GIVERS:
26 CALL ME CHIEF
27
28 MACHINERY INSIDER™
CONNECTED COWS P.58
29
Technology helps fine-tune
30 animal health management.
31
32
33
34
35
36 DIY SHOP IMPLEMENTS
37
38
39
40
41
42 IRRIGATION INSIDER CALL ME CHIEF! P. 25 Rural
43 communities only work because of
44 7 AG TECH START-UPS selfless volunteers like these three
45 farmers, who also happen to be
46
47
firefighters.
48
49
50 SOLAR PANELS ARE
51 GETTING BEE-FRIENDLY
52
53 Q&A WITH
BEEF INSIDER®

54 PUTTING AI TO BEST USE

55 TODD STUCKE
SECTION

56 P. 8 The VP
57 PRODUCTS: ALLEY TRICKS of Kubota
58 HEALTH:
59 CONNECTED COWS
shares how the
60 ROUNDUP: 4 QUESTIONS company is
61 ABOUT ANIMALS transforming
62 FAMILY to better serve
63 Midwest
64
65
farmers.
66
67
68 CAN THEIR
69 PROBLEM
70 BE SOLVED?
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
ALL AROUND THE
®
78
79
FARM P. 80 Drive bale
ALL AROUND spears into snow blade
80 THE FARM® from either direction.

2 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Cover illustration: Daniel Pelavin

ACROSS THE SUCCESSFUL FARMING ®

® EDITORIAL
e d i t o r’ s DESK Successful Farming Magazine, 1716 Locust Street/LS257,
Des Moines, IA 50309-3023 | Email: adminsf@meredith.com

EDITORIAL CONTENT DIRECTOR Dave Kurns

ART & PRODUCTION
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Matt Strelecki APPRENTICE Josie Carrabine

ALEXA, WHAT’S IN COPY & PRODUCTION MANAGER Janis Gandy

MACHINERY & TECHNOLOGY
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Dave Mowitz

THE NEWS? GET YOUR AG NEWS EACH

WEEKDAY MORNING JUST BY ASKING FOR IT.
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Laurie Bedord
CROPS
CROPS TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Gil Gullickson
AGRONOMY & CONSERVATION EDITOR Kacey Birchmier
BUSINESS, MARKETING, & RISK MANAGEMENT
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Betsy Freese

D
id you get an Amazon Echo for a Christmas gift? Or maybe
you’re just curious how these new devices work?
I’ve watched plenty of comedy skits and Internet memes of
people talking into their phones to get answers or directions,
such as Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa.
Now, farmers can talk to their Amazon home devices and get
updates directly from Successful Farming®. Just ask.
Each day, news, weather, and markets information is now available
on any Alexa-enabled device such as the
Amazon Echo. Alexa, a voice-activation
technology, is basically a smart speaker that
can read you news or weather, can create
personal shopping lists, or can allow you
to listen to music. It can even control your
other smart devices through your wireless
internet connection in your home.
Alexa is embedded in a number of
Amazon products: the Echo Dot, Amazon
Tap, Amazon Fire Stick, Amazon Fire
TV, and the Amazon Echo (more than 11
million have been sold since 2016).
MARKETING EDITOR Mike McGinnis
CONTENT EDITOR Paula Barbour
MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Jodi Henke
FAMILY & FARMSTEAD EDITOR Lisa Foust Prater
VIDEO
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Jason Meeker
PRODUCER, MULTIMEDIA & CUSTOM SOLUTIONS David Ekstrom
DIGITAL
DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER Jessie Scott
DIGITAL CONTENT EDITOR Natalina Sents
INTERACTIVE SERVICES EDITOR Christine Steinhauser
EDITORIAL OFFICE COORDINATOR Debbie Evans
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Gene Johnston, Al Kluis, Dan Looker,
Cheryl Tevis, John Walter
EDITORIAL APPRENTICES Josie Carrabine, Emma Wilson, Zoe Zuidema
PUBLISHING ADMINISTRATION / ADVERTISING SALES
DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING Sarah Miller
NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER Eric Marzen
NATIONAL ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Heather Gieseke, Tyler Smith
REGIONAL ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Brian Keane, Collin Coughlon
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Courtney Yuskis
CLIENT SERVICES MANAGER Katie Eggers
DIGITAL CAMPAIGN SPECIALIST Alyssa Dixon
CUSTOMER INSIGHTS ANALYST Lucy Hermann
SALES SUPPORT & MARKETING MANAGER Zach Quick
MANAGER OF AFFILIATES Karl Michael
SALES ASSISTANTS Diana Weesner, Alyssa Richardson
MEREDITH AGRIMEDIA CUSTOM STUDIO
EXECUTIVE ACCOUNT DIRECTOR Doug Stark
CONTENT DIRECTOR Justin Davey

You can find the Successful Farming Flash Briefing in the Alexa CONSUMER MARKETING MANAGER Rachel Black
BUSINESS MANAGER Darren Tollefson
app on your phone, under Skills. Try searching for “farming” or SENIOR PRODUCTION MANAGER Jim Nelson
“agriculture.” After you enable the app, you simple talk into the DIGITAL IMAGING SPECIALIST Steve Lause
DIRECTOR OF QUALITY Joseph Kohler
Echo device to trigger the news. Just say, “Alexa, what’s my Flash
Briefing” or “Alexa, what’s in the news?” and it will read today’s VICE PRESIDENT AND GROUP PUBLISHER Scott Mortimer

agricultural news from Successful Farming.

MEREDITH NATIONAL MEDIA GROUP
Will farmers use it? President JON WERTHER
Successful Farming has a history of launching innovative President and General Manager of Meredith Magazines DOUG OLSON
communications tools, having launched one of the first websites in President of Meredith Digital STAN PAVLOVSKY
President of Consumer Products THOMAS WITSCHI
agriculture, along with developing mobile websites, mobile apps, Chief Revenue Officer MICHAEL BROWNSTEIN
Chief Marketing and Data Officer ALYSIA BORSA
and more. This is another in a long line of innovations we have Marketing and Integrated Communications NANCY WEBER
introduced to farmers. SENIOR VICE PRESIDENTS
It’s not just a toy; it’s another tool for you. This is an example of Consumer Revenue ANDY WILSON
Research Solutions BRITTA CLEVELAND
Digital Sales MARLA NEWMAN
Digital Video MELINDA LEE
how voice-activation technology is permeating our lives. Think Siri Chief Digital Officer MATT MINOFF Human Resources DINA NATHANSON

on the smart phone. Some companies have embedded the Alexa VICE PRESIDENTS
Finance CHRIS SUSIL Business Planning & Analysis ROB SILVERSTONE
technology into other devices: phones, lamps, thermostats, TVs, Content Licensing LARRY SOMMERS Corporate Sales BRIAN KIGHTLINGER
Digital Sales MARLA NEWMAN Direct Media PATTI FOLLO
refrigerators, and more. Brand Licensing ELISE CONTARSY Consumer Marketing STEVE CROWE
Farm equipment may not be far behind. Strategic Sourcing, Newsstand, Production CHUCK HOWELL

Here’s to a successful January!

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer STEPHEN M. LACY
President and Chief Operating Officer TOM HARTY
President, Meredith Local Media Group PAUL KARPOWICZ
Chief Financial Officer JOSEPH CERYANEC
Chief Development Officer JOHN ZIESER
Vice Chairman MELL MEREDITH FRAZIER

FOR SUBSCRIPTION HELP: Visit Agriculture.com/myaccount;

Dave Kurns email sfgcustserv@cdsfulfillment.com; or call 800/374-3276
Editorial Content Director
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4 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Photography: David Ekstrom

 Products Use Notice for
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STAY CONNECTED: Rights Reserved.

Successful Farming @SuccessfulFarm successful_farming

MDIC-17064 SF-JAN-LC

Photography: Greg Smith

Illustration: Olha Kostiuk, iStockphoto.com January 2018 | Successful Farming at Agriculture.com 5
 l a i g
Compiled by Jessie Scott, Digital Content Manager

social
media
breakdown
by platform:
46% YouTube
41% Ag-specific
message boards
34% Facebook
52%OF FARMERS
USE MOBILE APPS.
10% Twitter
9% Snapchat

of farmers under age

45 use Snapchat daily. of
farmers
use
social
media.

24% of farmers stream audio,

including podcasts and music.
Source: Successful Farming Farmers’ Use of Media 2017
6 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Photography: Habman 18, Vladislav Klok, iStockphoto.com
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 q a THE SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEW
By Jessie Scott, Digital Content Manager
TODD STUCKE THE VP OF KUBOTA
SHARES HOW THE COMPANY IS TRANSFORMING
TO BETTER SERVE MIDWEST FARMERS.
S
ince Kubota came
to the U.S. in 1972,
the Japanese-based
company has been
known for quality
products that serve small
farms and acreage owners.
Today, to find the greatest
concentration of Kubota
dealers and products,
simply draw a horseshoe
on a U.S. map from the
Pacific Northwest down
through Texas and up to
Pennsylvania – that’s where
the majority of this core
audience lives.
Kubota plans to expand
its customer base to include
row-crop and livestock
farmers in the central U.S.
To make that vision a real-
ity, Kubota is transforming
with new product lines,
added dealer support, and
improved logistics and
corporate structure to better
meet the needs of Midwest
farmers.
BIO
NAME: Todd Stucke
TITLE: Senior vice president of
marketing, product support, and
strategic projects at Kubota
BACKGROUND: Stucke grew up
on a potato farm in St. Henry,
Ohio. Today, Stucke and his
brother, Dave, co-own a corn
and soybean farm, with Stucke
overseeing the books and Dave
managing the day-to-day
operations. Before joining
Kubota, Stucke worked at AGCO
for 23 years.
8 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
In 2013, Todd Stucke
joined Kubota to develop
strategies and action plans
for entering these new mar-
kets. Since he joined, Kubota
has launched its highest-
horsepower tractors, the M7
Series; added multiple lines
of hay tools; introduced the
company’s first skid steer;
extended its UTV line with
a crossover machine; and
purchased Great Plains.
SF: How do you evaluate
and decide which market
segments to enter?
TS: One method of enter-
ing new markets is through
product extensions. The
M7 Series is a good ex-
ample where we broadened
our product portfolio into
larger chassis sizes, allow-
ing Kubota to compete in
a different class of tractor
that met higher horsepower
customer needs.
Another strategy we
utilize to enter new markets
is acquisition. Kubota
purchased Kverneland in
Europe and brought its hay
tool products under the
Kubota umbrella before
introducing Kubota manu-
factured hay tools. In 2017,
the company completed an
acquisition of Great Plains
Manufacturing to expand
on our already successful
partnership with Land
Pride implements.
Regardless of whether it
is product extensions or ac-
quisitions, our evaluation of
strategic moves always starts
with the customer at the
forefront. We look to extend
our product lines if we are
confident that we can deliver
do what it takes to live up to
that promise.
value to the segment and SF: What other major
that our dealers can success- changes has Kubota made to
fully support the business. be better equipped to serve
Midwest farmers?
SF: How do you ensure that TS: The diversity of this
dealers can support new region demands local
products? attention, so one major
TS: For dealers to sell and change Kubota is mak-
support new products, ing to support the farming
we have to work closely community is adding a
together to ensure the fifth divisional office in the
proper training of dealer- Midwest. This new division
ship staff, the availability of allows us to focus on the
products and parts, and the local needs of our customers
sufficient infrastructure is and dealers in the Midwest,
in place. because we’ve been adding
dealers there.
SF: What steps does Kubota This past year, we also
take before a product launch moved our U.S. headquar-
to ensure a high-quality ters from Torrance,
product? California, to Grapevine,
TS: We are an engineering- Texas, to be closer to our
driven company with com- customers and our
prehensive product release dealers.
protocols. We test products
in a multitude of environ-
ments – both in the lab
and in the field.
We’ve been known
to delay product
launches because of
any issue. We don’t
release it unless it is
right. Our reputa-
tion has been built
on producing ex-
pertly engineered
products that de-
liver performance,
reliability, and true
value to our customers.
We are com-
mitted
to
Photography: Provided by Kubota
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U.S. Agricultural Trade Exports Imports Trade Surplus trade talks of eliminating
trade deficits and restoring
factory jobs. “I remind him
$160 every time,” says Perdue,
152.3*
that agriculture consistently
140.5 posts a surplus.
$140
As usual, China, Canada,
119.1* and Mexico are expected to
$120 be the top three customers in
2018, accounting for 45% of
$100 sales. “I remain optimistic
about the future of our
tri-national trading
Billion $

$80 relationship,” says Perdue,

referring to NAFTA
negotiations.
$60
43.1*
$40
Turning the Big 6
21.3 into a Big 3 will
$20 take a bit longer

$0
1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
B ayer and Monsanto may
have to wait a few months
for antitrust approval of their $66
* records billion merger. The initial target to
complete the deal was late 2017,

SIDEWAYS U.S. FARM EXPORTS REBOUNDED

STRONGLY IN 2017. WILL 2018 BE BETTER?
but EU regulators say they may
need until March 5 to complete
their review. The combined
company would be the final step

L
ike the rest of the farm economy, ag exports plunged the postharvest corn outlook. in consolidation of the seed and
with the 2013 collapse of the commodity boom. Sales All told, USDA says sales ag chemical sector into a Big 3
rebounded strongly to $140.5 billion last year, the third this year will be $140 billion, from a Big 6.
highest ever. Things aren’t expected to change much this No. 4 in the record books. State-owned ChemChina
year due, in part, to record-setting soybean exports. Trade is a priority for completed its $43 billion
USDA forecasts $24.1 billion in soybean exports in 2018. Agriculture Secretary acquisition of Swiss-based
“Export volumes continue to set records,” it says in pegging soy Sonny Perdue. “We want Syngenta, reportedly the largest
shipments at 61.4 million tonnes. Wheat exports are forecast more. I’m a grow it/sell it purchase ever made by a Chinese
to improve slightly, but corn sales would fall by more than $1 kind of guy,” Perdue told company, at the end of last June,
billion – 12% – although strengthening prices are brightening a Washington luncheon in roughly 16 months after the
declaring that 2018 is “right companies announced the deal.
on track with 2017.” Dow and DuPont closed their
Perdue says the new $130 billion merger last August
undersecretary for trade, 31, nearly two years after they
UPComing FEBRUARY Ted McKinney, logged agreed to combine. DowDuPont
JANUARY • 5: Deadline to reply to Census of
• 23-28: Sixth round of Agriculture 30,000 miles of travel in his says it would convert its three
negotiations to update NAFTA, • 7-9: National Council of Farmer first months on the job. divisions, including agriculture,
Montreal Cooperatives annual meeting, Farm groups have fretted into independent companies in
• 29: Farm Credit Council annual New Orleans that agriculture may be the ensuing 18 months.
meeting, San Antonio, Texas • 12-14: Renewable Fuels
• 31-Feb. 2: Cattle Industry Association annual ethanol overlooked because of Bayer, headquartered in
Conference, Phoenix. conference, San Antonio President Trump’s focus in Germany, agreed earlier to sell

10 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018

 E M A X
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some of its seed and herbicide businesses to BASF and may have to sell Global grain
other assets to win EU approval. The combined “Baysanto” would be the harvest sets
world’s largest seed and ag chemical company. Last month, the second record
companies said they had a green light from a U.S. panel that examines
mergers for national security implications. T he larger-than-expected
U.S. corn crop is helping
to drive world cereal grain
production to a record high
for the second year in a row,
Grassley says farm bill should end according to the FAO. Its
payments to nonfarmers Cereal Supply and Demand
H e came close to victory in 2014 and Senator Charles Grassley
(R-IA) says he’ll try again in the 2018 farm bill to tighten
USDA rules to end crop subsidy payments to city-dwellers and
Brief says the feed grain
harvest, dominated by corn,
will be 1.8% larger than
absentee investors who never set foot on the farm or take no last year’s record. “Higher
role in running it. “I’m not going to give up until we get this estimates for maize (corn)
limit,” he tells reporters. production in the U.S.” were
Grassley would limit subsidy payments to farmers, their the major reasons why FAO
spouses, and one additional person per farm as a manager. boosted its estimate of the
For years, there was no real definition of what counted as global feed-grain crop by 11
management, so some big operators have listed many relatives. million tonnes in December.
Grassley won Senate and House votes for his idea, but the Consumption is rising but
final version of the 2014 Farm Bill replaced the one-manager not as quickly as production,
limit with instructions to USDA to consider tougher rules for so global ending stocks
nonfamily farms, exempting 96% of U.S. farms. will be 3% larger at the
A 2015 USDA rule allows up to three people to collect end of 2017/2018 than in
payments as managers of farms organized as joint ventures or
limited partnerships if they record 500 hours of work or
perform 25% of management.
2016/2017. “At this level, the
world stocks-to-use ratio
is projected at 27.3%, up
slightly from 2016/2017 and
the highest since 2001/2002,”
says FAO.
Mammoth crops world-
Corn and Soybean Planted Acreage - USA wide and huge stockpiles held
Corn Soybeans cereal prices, including prices
100.0 for wheat and rice (the
leading food grains) in check
90.0 for most of 2017, says FAO.
Million Acres
80.0
70.0 Free-market think
tank calls for
60.0
mandatory on-farm
50.0 conservation
1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017
V oluntary conservation,
boosted by USDA’s cost-
share programs, has “proved
Soybeans to outshine corn as unable to achieve reduction in
No. 1 U.S. crop emissions large enough to meet
T he era of King Corn is ending and the reign of soybeans as the most
widely planted U.S. crop is dawning, according to USDA’s 10-year
agricultural baseline. USDA says soybeans will provide a higher return over
water (quality) goals,” says the
American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
The free-enterprise think tank
variable costs per acre than corn for years to come. Corn and soybean advocates “mandatory adoption
plantings are projected at 91 million acres each this spring, with soybeans of practices that reduce runoff.
taking the lead in following years, sometimes by as much as 4 million acres. Conservation programs in the
If the projections hold up, 2018 will be the third year in a row of farm bill could help farmers bear
record soybean plantings and would bring the third record harvest in a the regulatory burden in much the
row, 4.36 billion bushels. Corn barely topped soybeans last year, 90.4 same way that EPA grants help
million acres vs. 90.2 million. Only once have soybean plantings fund sewage treatment.”
exceeded corn. That was in 1983, when the Reagan administration’s The AEI says conservation
Payment In Kind program cut corn area by 30%. funding, which runs around $6
12 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
billion a year, “deserves to be
maintained if not increased” in
the 2018 farm bill and should be
targeted at gaining the largest
environmental benefit. Projects
should be ranked nationwide
based on each project’s aggregate
value in improving stewardship at
the watershed or landscape level.
At present, conservation funds
are divided at the county or state
level. “The culture of USDA as an
institution representing farm
interests suggests that reorienting
conservation spending toward
national environmental priorities
is unlikely without some pressure
from outside the farm
community,” says AEI.
green payment
program covers 8%
of U.S. farmland
S ome 72 million acres of
farmland are enrolled in
USDA’s first green payment
program, says a National
Sustainable Agriculture
Coalition report. The
Conservation Stewardship
Program (CSP) holds 8%
of all U.S. farmland and is
equal in size to Iowa and
Georgia combined. Unlike
the older CRP, producers are
required to enroll their entire
operation in CSP.
At least 10% of the
farmland in 16 states is in
CSP, including powerhouses
such as Nebraska, Minnesota,
South Dakota, North
Dakota, and Oklahoma.
Separately, USDA says
23% of CRP land has been
reenrolled at least two times,
and some 2.6 million acres
were idle since the program
was created in the mid-1980s.
Farm Bureau economist
John Newton says contracts
on 17.7 million acres expire
by 2028, so Congress, in
writing the 2018 farm bill,
may “consider which type of
cropland to prioritize (i.e.,
continuous or general
sign-up) and how long acres
should remain in CRP.”
This article was produced in collaboration with the Food & Environment
Reporting Network, an independent, nonprofit news organization producing
investigative reporting on food, agriculture, and environmental health.
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©2017 Bayer CropScience LP, 2 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. Always read and follow label instructions. Bayer, the Bayer Cross and
Corvus are registered trademarks of Bayer. Corvus is a Restricted Use Pesticide. Corvus is not registered in all states. For additional product information call toll-free
1-866-99-BAYER (1-866-992-2937) or visit our website at www.CropScience.Bayer.us
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 a a
By Mike McGinnis, Marketing Editor
GET YOUR MARKETING HOUSE IN ORDER
UNDERSTAND LOCAL GRAIN FLOW AND DEMAND.
T
his year has started
with plenty of
concern about low
commodity futures
prices and wide cash
basis prices. Carrie Johnson,
a Cargill Ag Marketing
Services (CAMS) product
line leader, offers six tips for
getting your grain market-
ing house in order for 2018.
1 Know what your true
break-even levels are
(your cost of production).
Remember to include costs
that often get overlooked,
like equipment payments,
taxes, and even your time.
Too often, you estimate your
cost of production, and being
off by just a few cents in these
tight markets can be the dif-
ference in breaking even or
making a profit.
Use those cost-of-produc-
14 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
tion numbers to determine
your price targets. Although
optimism is necessary to stay
in this business, be realistic
with price targets, given the
current carryouts.
Create a plan to sell into
the carry when neces-
sary to achieve your goals.
(The carry is the difference
between the current price
and the price you may get
six to 12 months from now.)
Holding on to grain until
those six to 12 months come
around typically results in
lower prices for you.
For instance, December
corn may be $3.30, whereas
July corn may be $3.65. If
you sell corn now on those
July numbers or sell into
the carry, you guarantee
that $3.65 price. If you wait
until July to make the sale,
history shows that prices fall
i g
during the summer, and you
may only receive $3.25 or
$3.30 for your grain by then.
Take advantage of what the
market is giving you now to
lock in suitable prices in the
near future.
2 Estimate profitability
projections for 2018 and
use the appropriate pricing
tool to achieve your goals.
When projecting profits,
evaluate the most profitable
crop rotation and yields.
Commodity carryouts are
likely here to stay, so plan to
sell into the carry. Establish
a delivery schedule for the
winter and spring months
that matches your cash-flow
needs.
3 Understand your risk
tolerance.
Risk tolerance is about the
YOUR FARM
willingness and ability to
assume risk. For you, this
comes down to your capac-
ity to stomach swings in
the market (volatility), as
well as the tools you use to
execute based on your grain
marketing plan. There are
different tools available
with varying levels of com-
plexity and risk, and you
should have a firm under-
standing of how a particu-
lar tool or strategy works
before taking a position.
4 Use offers to trigger
action.
Offers can help to trigger
action and keep yourself
accountable based on your
grain marketing plan.
Offers should be based on
your price targets. Even if
you only sell one truckload
at a certain price level, it
can work as a reminder to
take additional action in
the weeks or months ahead.
Once you establish a futures
or basis offer, do not lift
Photography: DarcyMaulsby, iStockphoto.com

The Power of REACTIVATION
CORVUS®
COMPETITOR
Burndown and
residual controls
early weeds.
A
s unpredictable as weather and weeds can be,
their challenge remains consistent. Growers
need a product that can withstand a variety
of weather conditions and persistent weeds. When
weather conditions become dry, residual control in
most herbicides stops working and doesn’t start
again, resulting in extra time and money invested to
control early season weeds. That’s why growers who
want to be tough on weeds rely on reactivation.
There is a scientific difference between residual
control and reactivation. It just takes a half-inch of
rain to initiate reactivation. Weeds that have emerged
will absorb the herbicide with soil moisture, and
once reactivated, it will go back and control any new
weeds that may have emerged. It will also prevent
new weed growth.
Grower Lowell Seagren of Ridott, Ill. understands
the benefit of reactivation. “It's important to have
reactivation because so many herbicides have a
short lifetime. If you have a problem, it's mandatory
to re-spray which is another added cost,“ he says.
And Corvus® offers just that—reactivation.
©2017 Bayer CropScience LP, 2 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. Always read and follow label instructions. Bayer, the Bayer Cross and Corvus are registered
trademarks of Bayer. Corvus is a Restricted Use Pesticide. Corvus is not registered in all states. For additional product information call toll-free 1-866-99-BAYER (1-866-992-2937) or
visit our website at www.CropScience.Bayer.us
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model, Corvus® offers burndown and residual
control in addition to its reactivation feature. With
almost 10 years of proven performance, Corvus®
is the No. 1 pre-emergence herbicide brand of
choice in the country.
Darin Keller, a grower in Wilber, Nebraska,
explained, “You’ll see little button weeds and grass
come up, and they start to brown instantly and turn
and go the other way. It’s been a good product.”
Grower Jerry Elder in Morganfield, Kentucky, feels
the same way. “Since we’ve been using Corvus®, I have
not seen any problem whether we get rain or not. There
might be some small weeds coming through the field
and when it rained then two or three days later, you’d
walk out there and they’re gone. So it’s been great.
The best chemical I’ve ever worked with since I’ve
been farming,” said Elder.
Contact your local Bayer representative to include
Corvus® Reactivation in your crop protection plan.
m a n a g i n g YOUR FARM Continued

Three-Year Historical Basis Levels By Region

Atwood, Illinois
20

10

0
9/4 10/4 1/4 3/4 4/4 5/4 6/4 7/4 8/4
Basis

-10

-20

-30

-40

Pipestone, Minnesota
20
10
0
-10 9/4 10/4 11/4 12/4 1/4 2/4 3/4 4/4 5/4 6/4 7/4 8/4
-20
Basis

-30
-40
-50
-60
-70
-80

While historical data can help to
show when basis levels typically
drop in your area, it is very
important to understand the local
influences.
it. If the market moves,
then sell more grain in the
deferred months.
5 Understand the grain flow
and demands in your area.
Grain marketing is best
described as cyclical, mean-
ing that historical data can
help to show when basis
levels typically drop in your
area. Work with your local
grain adviser to understand
the market highs and lows,
and use the data to establish
basis in those key times. It is
best to think about basis as a
separate pricing decision.
6 Establish a delivery
schedule that fits your
operation and stick with it.
Too often, delivery times
are delayed in hopes of a
last-minute market rally.
For example, in 2016, many
farmers delivered the bulk
of their bin bushels in July
and August when prices
were historically low. Aside
from capturing the worst
basis of the year, deliver-
ing in late summer can also
result in damaged bushels.
A rule of thumb:
Determine the number of
bushels you want to take
into the summer months
unpriced to sell during a
potential weather rally.
As grain marketing plans
begin to take shape, don’t
forget about the long-term
goals for your farm. Are
you looking to expand?
Is a succession in the near
future? Will you be invest-
ing in new technology?
Goal planning should not
just be done year to year.
Developing a three- to five-
year plan can help you lay
a foundation for long-term
success.
Finally, if all else fails,
consider investing money in
a grain marketing service.
There are people who follow
the markets and give
marketing advice for a
living. Marketing grain
successfully takes time and
commitment.
Disclaimer: Past results are not
necessarily indicative of future
results. The risk of loss in trad-
ing commodity interests can
be substantial. CAMS is offered
by Cargill Commodity Services
Inc., a registered commodity
trading advisor and wholly
owned subsidiary of Cargill,
Incorporated.

Data Source: GeoGrain Database. All Rights

16 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Reserved. Copyright ©1999-2016 GeoGrain
I’ve witnessed excellent emergence, especially on
our sandy soils. Their products have out-yielded
the competition in multiple side-by-side
trials I’ve conducted on my farm. Beck’s
definitely stands out in the field and
the overall performance has been
very impressive over the years.

Tom Zenz | Grass Lake, Michigan

BecksHybrids.com
 l i f e IN AG
By Natalina Sents, Digital Content Editor

Bonus Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018

waiting his turn

A young cowboy patiently waits his turn at the Iowa

State Fair mutton bustin’ event.

Behind the Camera

While taking in the action at the Pioneer Livestock
Pavilion, I was surrounded by myriad sights, sounds,
and smells. Amid all that hustle and bustle, I saw this
little guy clinging to the fence. I used my telephoto lens
to capture this candid shot without disrupting the
moment. Sometimes the best subjects are sitting quietly
off to the side.

January 2018 | Successful Farming at Agriculture.com Bonus

 q a THE SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEW
By Laurie Bedord, Advanced Technology Editor
DANIELLE NIERENBERG
CREATING AN OPEN DIALOGUE AMONG FOOD
INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS IS HER MISSION.
G
rowing up, Danielle
Nierenberg was a
city kid unwillingly
living the country
life.
“My parents wanted to
raise their kids in the fresh
country air, so I grew up in
a very small farming com-
munity in Missouri,” she
says. “I wanted nothing to
do with farmers, so I joined
animal and environmental
organizations that argued
against agriculture.”
In college, her convic-
tion to expose agriculture’s
villains continued as she
studied environmental
policy and government.
A stint as a Peace Corps
volunteer transformed her
thinking.
BIO
NAME: Danielle Nierenberg
TITLE: Cofounder of Food Tank
BACKGROUND: In 2013,
Nierenberg cofounded Food
Tank, a nonprofit organization
focused on building a global
community for safe, healthy,
and nourished eaters. Food
Tank is a global convener,
research organization, and
nonbiased creator of original
research impacting the food
system. Nierenberg has a
master’s in agriculture, food,
and environment from the Tufts
University Friedman School of
Nutrition Science and Policy.
She spent two years volunteer-
ing for the Peace Corps in the
Dominican Republic.
Bonus Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
Today, Nierenberg
champions for the food in-
dustry as she works to open
dialogues among the diverse
stakeholders.
SF: What happened in the
Peace Corps to change your
view of ag?
DN: On a journey to the
Dominican Republic, I
found myself working with
farmers. I saw firsthand
the connection between
farming and environmental
preservation. That experi-
ence made me realize that
food was where I wanted to
focus my efforts.
In graduate school, my
studies centered around
how to better communicate
complex scientific and nu-
trition issues in a way that
everyone could understand.
SF: How did the idea for Food
Tank come about?
DN: When I worked at the
World Watch Institute, I
spent about two years study-
ing agricultural innovation
across mostly sub-Saharan
Africa, as well as Asia and
Latin America. Like most
environmental think tanks,
it was very gloom and
doom. However, I was see-
ing a lot of hope and success
in really unexpected places
like Ethiopia, Rwanda,
and Nigeria. I knew that
if these success stories had
a little more attention and
investment, they could be
replicated and scaled out in
different ways.
In 2013, my partner,
Bernard Pollack, and I
founded Food Tank to
really highlight what was
working on the ground.
SF: How does the Food Tank
Summit build on your mis-
sion to showcase success
stories?
DN: The Food Tank
Summit lets us focus on
the solution rather than
on the problem. We bring
together individuals and
organizations from as
many sides of a debate or
an issue as we can.
For example, we had
two justice advocates share
the stage with represen-
tatives from Monsanto
and Cargill. We also
had Republicans and
Democrats, who may never
speak to one another on the
Hill, engage in a conver-
sation. It creates some
really honest dialogue and
forces people to interact.
They share their tactics on
how they solved a certain
problem so others can learn
from their experiences.
SF: What do you see as the
biggest challenge facing our
food system in the U.S.?
DN: We’re all going to
be facing the impacts
of climate change. The
urgency of addressing the
food system’s role in that
is greater than ever before.
Agriculture contributes 30%
to 50% of all greenhouse
gas emissions. This is not
something most consumers,
eaters, policy makers, or
businesses have taken a big
role in addressing.
While we need to highlight
what farmers are already
doing that they’re not being
recognized for, I believe we
also have a lot to learn about
the regenerative practices
others are using to deal with
the impacts of climate
change.
Photography: Provided by Danielle Nierenberg
 Matthew Fortner’s grandfather began farming the
Mississippi Delta near Sumner, Miss., in 1946. Now
Matthew, his brother, Jonathan, and father, Paul, are
farming it, too. Each year, the Fortners grow 3,000 acres of
irrigated soybeans, and the preemergence herbicide they use to stop pigweed, morningglories and
other tough broadleaf weeds is Authority® Elite herbicide. Learn more about the soybean growers
who farm with Authority herbicides at FMCAGUS.com/Authority.

Authority Elite herbicide qualifies for the exclusive agronomic and economic
incentives of the FMC Freedom Pass program. Visit FMCAGUS.com/FMCFreedomPass
or your authorized retailer for more program details.
 u t v EVALUATION
By Derrek Sigler
POLARIS RANGER XP 1000
THE RANGER SCORES TOP MARKS IN THE 2017
SUCCESSFUL FARMING UTV EVALUATION.
W
hen we gathered up seven of the leading UTVs
for the 2017 Successful Farming Ultimate UTV
Evaluation, I had some notions going in on how
all the machines would do, having spent time in
them beforehand. While I was surprised at what
I learned from doing the side-by-side tests, I have to admit that I
wasn’t surprised with the newest Polaris Ranger – the XP 1000.
I’ve spent a lot of time in Rangers over the years, and Polaris is
definitely doing something right, which earned the Ranger top
marks in our evaluation.
There’s an old saying around the off-road press community
that there is no replacement for displacement. The Ranger
brings the heat with a 999-cc, 80-hp., twin-cylinder engine that
was easily the most powerful of the machines tested. However,
the power delivery was so smooth, it didn’t seem like it had
more power than the other models.
The deceptive power delivery is all part of the plan from
Polaris. The company used an all-new digital throttle assembly
for 2017 that has three modes: work, standard, and perfor-
mance. On the trails during the unloaded tests, the perfor-
mance mode earned the Polaris top scores. When we stomped
on the gas in performance mode, we felt every bit of those 80
ponies. The Ranger scored five out of five on acceleration and
ease of maintaining a constant speed, and an overall unloaded
score of 30.1 out of a possible 35. The only area the Ranger did
somewhat poorly in was ease of shifting. The shift lever takes
some time to break in.
Of course, you’re not just buying a UTV to go ripping down
the trails. So how does the Ranger XP 1000 handle work? This
is another place the Ranger shines, taking top scores for all of the
loaded tests.
To work the machine, we ran three separate tests, each
designed to test the limits. The half-loaded test ran half of the
maximum capacity in the cargo bed. Was there even 500 pounds
bonus Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
in the box? That’s half the Polaris’ 1,000-pound capacity, and
we didn’t know it was there. The fully independent suspension
soaked this up with no issues.
So what happened when we maxed the capacity out? Could
the 10 inches of suspension travel handle the load? The answer
was yes. We had to bump up the compression on the shock
springs in an effort to reduce the sag from the load. We noticed
the weight back there, but not overly so. The weight didn’t hurt
the 12 inches of ground clearance by much.
One of the major things in the Ranger’s favor is how quiet it
is. The engine noise is low, which is excellent considering how
much power is on tap.
Towing a trailer with the maximum amount of capacity on
it is easy, as well. Again, we had 80 hp., and the work mode of
the throttle let us have all of those ponies with the benefit of a
limited throttle and no wheel spin.
The power steering was light, even under a full load and with
the trailer. Engine braking was good as long as the rpms were
up some. The disc brakes held well and handled everything we
threw at them.
in the end
O verall, the machine was highly impressive, and it took
many top honors. The cab is the most comfortable, scoring
26 out of 30 points for general observations like comfort. All
of the controls were handy to use. The steering responsive-
ness will take some time to get used to if you’re accustomed
to a quick-handling machine. The steering is slow compared
with a sportier machine, like a RZR, but you’re not going to
use a RZR for working much. You can work the Ranger
hard and turn around and have a lot of fun with it, too. That
makes it a winner.
About the Author: Derrek Sigler is an ATV/UTV journalist and was one of
three evaluators during the UTV testing.
In 2017, Successful Farming magazine conducted its third extensive
UTV evaluation to provide you with information about how UTVs
perform in ag applications. During the evaluation, seven of the newest
utility vehicles were put through four rigorous tests. Learn more about
the evaluation at Agriculture.com/2017utvtest.
Fully Loaded Score Out of 5
(1 low, 5 high)
Steering responsiveness and vehicle 4.3
maneuverability
Acceleration 4.3
Ease of maintaining a constant speed 4.7
Braking 4.0
Noise level 5.0
22.3
Total score out of 25
First place for this test
Photography: David Ekstrom
 GET WITH THE
ALL-ACCESS,
ALL-SEASON
V.I.P. PROGRAM.

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FMC Corporation or an affiliate. ©2017 FMC Corporation. All rights reserved. 17-FMC-1560 11/17
 u t v EVALUATION
By Derrek Sigler
KAWASAKI MULE PRO-FX
THE MULE PROVED ITS POSITION AS A
WORKHORSE IN UTV EVALUATION.
K
awasaki brought the first Mule to market in 1988 after
a couple of engineers started doodling on a napkin
over lunch. Their idea for a Multi-Use-Lightweight-
Equipment vehicle (MULE) came to be the first of the
UTVs we know today. One of the first Mules off the
production line in Lincoln, Nebraska, is still in use around the
factory, with well over 1 million hours of use and going strong.
Today’s flagship of the Mule line is the PRO-FX, and as you
would expect, the Mule is ready to work as was shown during
Successful Farming magazine’s Ultimate UTV Evaluation.
powering up
K awasaki designed the PRO-FX to be capable of every job
you can come up with. To handle that, the company went
with an 812-cc, dual overhead cam, three-cylinder, four-stroke
engine that is closer to an automotive engine than a standard
UTV. Sound familiar? John Deere uses a similar engine in its
Gator 825i. The Kawasaki engine makes a ton of usable, low-
end power. Top speed is in the mid-40s, but the Mule wasn’t
designed for speed. It was made for work.
The Mule has a simple four-wheel-drive system with a
locking rear differential for maximum traction when you need
it. The transmission runs off the industry-standard CVT belt
system that most other manufacturers use in some form. The
engine has a healthy grumble.
the chassis
Let’s face it, the real star of the Mule is not the engine; it’s the
chassis. Kawasaki puts a lot of emphasis on the construction
bonus Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
of the frame, and to say it is sturdy is like saying a Ferrari is
fast. Kawasaki forms the frame from high-quality steel using
a ladder design for the initial frame. This makes for a stiff
chassis. Kawasaki compensates for this with softer shocks in
the suspension.
The cargo box is a massive 54.1 inches long and 53.3 inches
wide. You can put a full pallet back there with room to spare.
Capacity is 1,000 pounds and, fully loaded, you can’t tell a
difference in the handling. The Mule pulled in 19.6 points out
of 25 for this part of the Ultimate UTV Evaluation. The only
complaint was the same healthy grumble heard whenever the
machine starts. It gets a little loud when you’re working it.
In most regards, the Mule PRO-FX isn’t a trail machine.
You can drive it on trails and have fun, but it isn’t meant to
be a trail machine. The longer 92.3-inch wheelbase had it
scraping bottom over some of the trail obstacles, even with the
10.4-inch ground clearance. Still, the Mule scored a healthy 28
points out of a possible 35 on the trail tests.
fit and finish
I n the end, the Mule PRO-FX is what it is – a Kawasaki. The
fact that one of the original Mules from back in 1988 is still in
use is no accident. It isn’t like Kawasaki keeps it going for PR
purposes. It is being used day in and day out. That’s what
makes a Mule, a Mule. The overall fit and finish scored the
Mule high, with 26 points out of 30 by the evaluators. It’s well
thought out and designed to last for years of hard work.
About the Author: Derrek Sigler is an ATV/UTV journalist and was one of
three evaluators during the UTV testing.
In 2017, Successful Farming magazine conducted its third extensive
UTV evaluation to provide you with information about how UTVs
perform in ag applications. During the evaluation, we put seven of the
newest utility vehicles through four rigorous tests. Learn more about
the evaluation at Agriculture.com/2017utvtest.
General Observations Score Out of 5
Access to engine and
transmission
(1 low, 5 high)
4.3
Location of controls and gauges 4.7
Ease of shifting transmission 5
Overall rider comfort 3
Cargo and storage 4.7
General fit and finish 4.3
26
Total score out of 30 Third place for this test
Photography: David Ekstrom
 f a r m MANAGEMENT
By Betsy Freese, Executive Editor
duce in a very short period
of time.”
3. Ask for help.
“Keep learning! Review last
year’s crop performance.
Review last year’s market-
ing performance,” says Dick
Funt, professor emeritus in
the department of horti-
culture at the Ohio State
University. “Seek inputs (ask
TOP 6 NEW YEAR’S specific questions) from con-
sultants, crop advisers, and
RESOLUTIONS MEET THESE GOALS
TO MAKE MORE PROFIT IN 2018.
Extension specialists. Most
are glad to provide advice.
Triangulate your informa-
tion. This means if you hear
and read about the same
S
uccessful Farming magazine asked a handful of farm- answer from three different
ers, agribusiness experts, and Extension educators what sources, that information is
was on their 2018 list of goals. Here are their answers. most likely good.”
1. Get super serious about marketing. 4. Commit to con-
“We have been blessed with awesome crops, and I have to servation.
admit I have done a poor job of marketing,” says Osage, Iowa, “My goal in 2018 is to
farmer Al Witt. “My New Year’s resolution is to focus more on continue increasing my
the basics of marketing and locking in profits when the market conservation practices,” says
presents itself. We got lazy as farmers during the lucrative Jim Cuddeback, a farmer
years, and poor marketers were rewarded.” from Washington, Iowa. “I
Tim Meyer with Producers Livestock Credit Corporation, plant cereal rye cover crops
Omaha, Nebraska, adds, “My suggestion for farmers in 2018 on all of my cornstalk acres
would be to manage risk with a protective mentality that to capture any nitrogen
allows them to capture any upside potential the market may left and keep it out of the
offer. Profitable pricing opportunities do not come along often ground water and tile lines.
and must be rewarded when available. In these challenging I no-till corn and soybeans.
times, producers need to adopt a mentality of survive and ad- I have enrolled all but a few
vance. They need to take the necessary steps in their marketing acres of my HEL land in the
plans to ensure that they survive – one year at a time.” CRP.”
2. Cut costs. 5. Stay positive,
“I always tell beef producers to reduce expenses,” says Kable share positive.
Thurlow, Michigan State University Extension beef educator. “My New Year’s resolu-
“Profit = Income - Expenses. They have way more control tion is to challenge myself
over the expense side of that equation than the profit side. One and others to wade through
way to cut costs is to graze more days than they did last year. all the negativity that
Grazing is about half the cost of feeding stored forages, so any seems to easily come to the
day they can graze vs. feed stored mechanically harvested for- forefront,” says Makenze
ages is a plus.” Cortum, Nationwide
John Rigdon, a farmer in Jarrettsville, Maryland, says, “I Mutual Insurance Company
will be watching my debt load and new purchases very close- in Des Moines, Iowa. “See
ly, because the farm economy is in a downward trend and I and share the positive in our
don’t see things turning around any time soon. Remember, industry. There is so much
American farmers and ranchers have the ability to overpro- to be excited about when
Photography: natasaadzic, iStockphoto.com January 2018 | Successful Farming at Agriculture.com bonus
it comes to the future of agri-
culture! The more we focus
on the positive, bright future
of the industry, the more we
move the needle.”
Joe Parcell, interim direc-
tor of applied social science
at the University of Missouri,
says, “Farmers should speak
up and tell their story of how
great farming is for raising a
family, sustaining communi-
ty, and feeding people from
different cultures around the
globe. Every farmer must be
an advocate for agriculture.”
6. Follow the
basics.
Bruce Sherrick, professor of
agricultural economics at the
University of Illinois, gives
these six tips for 2018.
• Manage input costs; keep-
ing good records is key.
• Crop insurance decisions
are critical. Evaluate all
alternatives.
• Marketing matters. Manage
inventories and pricing op-
portunities.
• Evaluate new technologies
and practices carefully. Many
do improve productivity.
• Evaluate your financial
structure and make appropri-
ate financial decisions.
• Enjoy being part of agricul-
ture. Take pride in the fact
that you provide the most
plentiful, safest, and most
affordable food in the world,
and in the history of the
world.
Maryland farmer John
Rigdon adds to that last
basic. “Take more time to
enjoy the simple pleasures in
life like your family, friends,
and personal hobbies,” he
says. “We should plan on
being dead for a very long
time, so live every day to the
fullest.”
WHO’S
TOUGH
NOW?
STOP WEEDS. REDUCE
DRIFT AND VOLATILITY.
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 l a n d
By Betsy Freese, Executive Editor

Farmland Rent/Value conservative relative to the

capitalized value of recent
rents,” he says.
14% 10-Year Treasury
land prices will
12% Illinois Rent/Value make sense soon

10% Indiana Rent/Value I t appears that the land

market reflects an
expectation of slightly
8% higher longer-term income,
Iowa Rent/Value and/or continued moderate
6% cap rates, says Sherrick. This
could lead actual land prices
to recover somewhat. “In
4%
either case, land markets
still make sense,” he says.
2%
In Iowa, the inventory for
highly tillable tracts
0% available for purchase is
1995
1987
1989
1991
1993

1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
1975
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985

2013
2015
2017
1971
1973

historically low, and land

values for tillable row-crop
farms have trended upward

WHY ISN’T LAND CHEAPER?

AS 2018 TAKES OFF, A CONSISTENT QUESTION FROM FARMERS IS,
from 2016 through 2017,
says Hayes. “We look
forward to seeing if and
“WHY DO LAND PRICES CONTINUE TO REMAIN HIGH?” how the land market
fluctuates in 2018.”

A
griculture has They monitor land sale economist at the University Notable Land Sales
suffered through prices on a weekly basis, as of Illinois. • Guthrie County, Iowa
four years of lower well as the number of farms The graph above shows $14,100 per acre on 9/22/17
commodity prices that are publicly for sale in the implied cap rates for (208 acres)
and reduced profit- Iowa at any given time. Out farmland in Illinois, Indiana, • Wabash County, Indiana
ability in the farm sector. of those, they extract farms and Iowa along with the $10,750 per acre on 10/16/17
So why don’t land prices that have sold and have 85% 10-year constant maturity (60 acres)
reflect this? tillable acres or greater. Treasury yield. As the cap • Auglaize County, Ohio
The short answer: “This data set allows us rate declines, you pay more $8,203 per acre on 9/28/17
It’s because farmers and to hone in on land value per dollar for future income. (418 acres)
investors keep buying land. trends for highly tillable, • McClain County, Oklahoma
Farm operators continue row-crop production farms,” a look back $6,100 per acre on 6/21/17
to be the primary buyers
at land auctions, says Brad
Hayes, lead appraiser for
says Hayes. “According to
this data set, it appears that
land values bottomed out in
T he only period in history
when there appears to
be a substantial deviation in
(128 acres)
• Adams, Washington, and
Weld Counties, Colorado
Peoples Company, Clive, the first quarter of 2016 and that relationship occurs in $1,161 per acre on 10/19/17
Iowa. In addition, there have seen an upward trend the years leading up to the (735 acres)
are numerous investors through 2017.” 1980s Farm Crisis.
and individuals with 1031 Land values were NOTE:
exchange funds who are Compare land with substantially above their Successful Farming magazine
active participants at land investments fundamental values in the is a media sponsor for the Land
auctions, he explains.
Hayes and his team at
Peoples focus on agricultural
O ne way to examine the
current farmland market
is to compare it with alterna-
early 1980s, says Sherrick.
“It is also interesting to
note that near the end of the
Investment Expo, presented
by Peoples Company on
January 26, 2018, in West Des
real estate valuations tive investment opportuni- period shown, farmland Moines, Iowa. To register, visit
throughout the Midwest. ties, says Bruce Sherrick, ag values are actually slightly LandInvestmentExpo.com.

bonus Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Chart Source: USDA, Federal Reserve
 p o r k INSIDER
By Betsy Freese, Executive Editor
Comparison of Top 10 Swine Producers
# Sows
Chinese Company*
in China
Wens 740,000
Muyuan 140,000
COFCO 96,600
Chuying 87,000
CP 85,000
Zhengbang 73,000
New Hope 54,000
Tianzow 48,000
Jinluo 41,000
Riverstone 12,000
*Owned sows; does not include managed farms. **Pork Powerhouses® 2017, Successful Farming®
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CHINA
MUCH LIKE THE U.S. SWINE INDUSTRY 20 YEARS AGO, THE CHINESE
SWINE INDUSTRY IS RAPIDLY MODERNIZING AND RELOCATING.
S
wine veterinarian
John Kolb spent the
past two years work-
ing in China, calling
the experience “chal-
lenging, sometimes frustrat-
ing, but always interesting.”
The Chinese swine industry
produces as many pigs as
the rest of the countries in
the world combined, he
explains, so U.S. producers
need to watch what is hap-
pening there.
The changes to the
Chinese swine industry have
accelerated as the country
moves to become more food
self-sufficient, says Kolb, but
not every farm moves at the
same pace. “There is a broad
range of experience, skill,
and willingness to adapt and
improve among producers.”
Most traditional farms
have a factory look and have
buildings that were designed
for manufacturing purposes,
™
U.S.
Ranking
Company**
1 Smithfield Foods
2 Seaboard Foods
3 Pipestone System
4 The Maschhoffs
5 Iowa Select Farms
6 Carthage System
7 Prestage Farms
8 JBS
9 Christensen Farms
10 AMVC
making them very difficult
to ventilate. The layout was
simply copied from other
industrial facilities to save
costs. Larger and more pro-
fessional pork producers are
seeking out Western input.
Facilities and pig flow are
improving in the modern-
izing parts of the industry,
says Kolb.
river of dead pigs
T he election in 2013 of
the current president, Xi
Jinping, was, unfortunately,
accompanied by the discov-
ery of thousands of dead
pigs floating into Shanghai
in the Huangpu River, says
Kolb. The source of the pigs
is rumored to be from a farm
that had a PED or pseudora-
bies outbreak.
The dumped pigs helped
spur regulations exclud-
ing swine production in
special environmental zones.
PORK POWERHOUSES®
See the exclusive ranking of the 40 largest
U.S. pork producers at Agriculture.com/
livestock/pork-powerhouses.
# Sows in
U.S.
910,000
325,000
240,000
218,000
207,000
175,000
175,000
166,570
142,500
117,500
These regulations, called the
demolishing campaign, have
dropped the Chinese sow
inventory from 50 million to
about 38 million sows today,
but the largest integrated
farms are expanding at a
rapid rate. Of the top 10
farms (2016 estimates, in
table above), two have plans
for 50 million pigs as a 2025
target, says Kolb.
Pigs are moving away
from traditional production
areas near population centers
based on the wet market
sales model, Kolb explains.
Production is moving to ru-
ral provinces that are poorer
and less expensive for land
and labor, and are more will-
ing to support new indus-
tries. North and northeastern
provinces like Heilongjiang
and Inner Mongolia are see-
ing or predicted to see rapid
growth in livestock numbers
to combine with their grain
January 2018 | Successful Farming at Agriculture.com bonus
production and lower popu-
lations, he says.
With an expected long-
term pork demand growth
of 25%, China will continue
to need significant pork
imports. “U.S. producers
should be well positioned
to provide high-quality,
USDA-inspected pork at
a significant price advan-
tage over domestic Chinese
pork,” says Kolb.
costs higher
E conomic drivers will force
Chinese hog farms to
become more efficient and
productive, says Kolb. In
general, production costs are
double that of the U.S.
Grain prices are ex-
pected to remain high for
Chinese producers, with
both proposed increases in
supports for grain prices and
expanded use of bio-fuels.
“High feed costs and vari-
able feed-quality problems
do restrict the competitive-
ness of pork and poultry
producers in China com-
pared with North American
producers,” says Kolb.
Financial competitive-
ness, as in the U.S., varies
greatly from larger, inte-
grated producers to small
suppliers, he says. Biologic
performance likewise varies
greatly. Top-quality produc-
tion systems can achieve 25
pigs per sow per year (PSY)
or more on a system-wide
basis, making them com-
petitive in any marketplace.
However, the performance
is more variable than that in
the U.S. Middle- and lower-
quality farms in China often
produce less than 15 PSY.
“There are top-10 produc-
ers in China still struggling
to get to 20 PSY,” says
MEET THE
GUT
p o r k INSIDER
DOC
Kolb. “Similar to the late 1990s in the
U.S., more efficient Chinese producers
or those with access to land and capital
may be positioned to acquire systems
with poorer financial performance.”
diseases are big concern
A BIG-TIME GUT CHECK H ealth remains one of the top chal-
lenges for pork production in China,
says Kolb. The impacts of disease are
“TIME FOR THE BOTTOM LINE.” exacerbated by poor-quality facilities,
We’ve covered a lot of great gut traditional farrow-to-finish produc-
stuff, but I want to pause and revisit tion sites, and veterinarians without
why you, the producer, should care. professional-level training and access to
I’m talking money. What’s the direct diagnostic labs.
connection? Weight variation, of The infectious disease environment in
course. Gut disease is a major China is rightly a concern for producers
reason for it in swine herds, and in the U.S. and elsewhere, says Kolb.
starting your piglets off right is one
With the official exception of African
way to keep it in check.
swine fever, all major swine pathogens
Here’s the deal: Enteric diseases are present in China at some prevalence.
can cause lesions to form in the In 2011, a then-novel strain of porcine
pig’s intestinal lining, irritating epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus spread
the digestive tract, and resulting in through China from north to south.
reduced feed intake. That affects The strain hit U.S. herds hard in 2013.
uniformity, feed conversion and the Today, highly pathogenic porcine
big one: weight gain. Take ileitis, reproductive and respiratory syndrome
for example. It’s estimated to cost (hpPRRS) virus is the most talked about
the swine industry upward of $100
virus on Chinese farms, says Kolb. The
million each year.* That’s nearly
virus is causing disease and mortality in
$10 a head going down the drain
challenged, nonvaccinated animals.
due to lost weight.
There is no routine sampling to
Fortunately, you can protect your
bottom line from greedy predators
like ileitis. For one, you can
determine prevalence of different virus
types, nor any public or private labo-
ratories that routinely test new isolates
eliminate many health challenges to confirm virulence or protection by
early on with proper nourishment. current vaccines.
Chances are your herd-management Classical swine fever (CSF), or hog
budget is already going to feed cholera, is endemic in the Chinese swine
costs. But it’ll cost you more money
herd. Vaccination is widespread with
(and time) in the long run if you’re
domestic modified live vaccines. Foot-
not consistently meeting their
nutritional needs from the start.
and-mouth disease (FMD) virus is also
present, though it is mentioned much
What else can you do? more quietly than CSF, says Kolb. Very
Vaccinate. Vaccinate. little testing is done.
Vaccinate. I can’t stress that
enough. It’s the most effective way Bat virus
to prevent enteric diseases in your
herd, and in turn, minimize weight
variations in your pigs. Stay tuned
O ther viral infections of pigs in China
include Japanese encephalitis virus,
hepatitis E virus, and, recently, a new
for more gut stuff coming your way.
corona virus. Bat-associated corona
In the meantime, don’t forget to
virus was described in nursing piglets
keep your herd’s gut — and your
own gut — good and healthy.
in two cases from southern China, says
Kolb. The clinical signs and production
*1 McOrist S. Defining the full costs of endemic porcine proliferative enteropathy. impact were similar to a PED outbreak
Vet J2005;170(1):8-9
in a naïve herd. Material from affected
piglets was administered to suckling
©2017Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica,Inc.
POR-0523-BIO1017
bonus Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
™
Continued
piglets and the disease was re-created.
There are fundamental challenges for
the swine industry in China, explains
Kolb. These include the variability
in vaccine product quality and safety,
facilities ill-designed for pork produc-
tion, and limits in diagnostic resources.
Chinese veterinarians have outstanding
observation and postmortem skills, he
says, but they do not have access to the
full set of resources available in the U.S.
Antimicrobial resistance is a high-
profile concern, says Kolb. Widespread
access to low-cost antimicrobials, com-
bined with lack of complete diagnostics,
leads to overreliance on medication to
cover missed problems.
Misuse of antimicrobials is a pub-
lic health concern, both in creating
resistance but also as an environmental
contaminant, says Kolb. Researchers at
Fudan University suspected that drink-
ing water has been contaminated by
manure applied in fields that drain into
city water supplies, as well as wastewa-
ter from antimicrobial manufacturing
plants that drain into the Yangtze and
Huangpu rivers. The spread of these
resistance genes appears to be signifi-
cant, he says.
U.S. firms helping
C onsulting veterinarians, genetic
companies, and equipment suppliers
from the U.S. and other countries are
providing expert services and supplies
for those Chinese companies aggressive-
ly adapting new technology, says Kolb.
U.S. veterinary firms Pipestone System
and Carthage System have established
clinic efforts in China, for example.
Rapid improvements are occurring
in the top producers in China, yet these
still represent a small percentage of the
total pig production, says Kolb. The
competitive advantages for U.S. produc-
ers include high-quality, low-cost feed-
stuffs; the best veterinary education and
diagnostic resources; a trusted USDA
meat inspection service; and a willing-
ness of producers and veterinarians to
collaborate for mutual benefit.
“There will be systems in China that
will compete with the best producers in
the world biologically,” says Kolb. “But
the U.S. industry will maintain a cost
and quality advantage.”
 IT ALL
COMES
DOWN TO THE

GUT. swine enthusiast and gut

GET THE FACTS AT Dontforgetthegut.com

Do you know the enteric disease

MOST THREATENING
TO PIGS TODAY?
How many MILLIONS Hear the podcast
do ileitis-infected pigs cost DON’T FORGET
the industry each year? THE GUT.
©2017 Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc.
 p o r k INSIDER
By Betsy Freese, Executive Editor
PROTECTING THE U.S. SWINE HERD
RESEARCH FUNDED BY THE SWINE HEALTH INFORMATION CENTER
SHOWS VIRUSES CAN SURVIVE IN FEED INGREDIENTS FOR A LONG TIME.
A
fter the porcine epi-
demic diarrhea virus
(PEDV) devastated
U.S. swine herds in
2013, pork produc-
ers demanded preparedness
and response help from
the National Pork Board.
In 2015, the Swine Health
Information Center (SHIC)
was formed with a one-time
research grant from the Pork
Board. The SHIC mission is
to protect and enhance the
health of the U.S. swine herd
through global disease moni-
toring, research investments
that minimize the impact of
future disease threats, and
analysis of swine health data.
Hitching a ride
on Feed
P aul Sundberg, DVM, is
the executive director of
SHIC. He says one of the
first funded research projects
studied the potential for
viruses to contaminate and
survive in feed ingredients
under shipping conditions.
The research was con-
BonuS Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
®
ducted by Pipestone Applied
Research and South Dakota
State University.
Preliminary data indicate
the viruses Senecavirus A,
bovine herpesvirus-1, and
PRRSV, survived during the
37-day study period.
Feed ingredients support-
ing virus survival include
soybean meal, lysine, choline,
and vitamin D, and, in some
cases, dried distillers’ grains
(DDGs). None of the viruses
survived the 37-day incuba-
tion period in the absence of
a feed component matrix.
These results suggest that
contaminated feed ingredi-
ents could serve as vehicles
for foreign animal disease
into the U.S. and possibly
circulation of viruses within
the country.
Further research has
already begun. This process
will include testing of a
variety of feed additives that
might be able to neutralize
these pathogens when added
to feed during milling or
other processes that may
help mitigate risk.
Heat treatment during
corn processing into DDGs
and soybean conversion
into SBM should neutralize
pathogens present on the
corn kernel or bean prior
to processing. However,
research at Kansas State
University has shown the
potential for PED virus
contamination of feed dur-
ing the milling process if
PEDV is present within the
feed mill, emphasizing the
need for feed mill biosecu-
rity plans. More information
is needed about oral viral
infective doses to accurately
assess risk.
Near Real-time
Disease Monitoring
S HIC is also funding a
near real-time monitor-
ing system for swine diseases
around the world. This
will include identification
of potential hazards due
to new diseases or changes
in current disease status,
screening steps to evaluate
the information collected,
and informing the U.S. pork
industry through regular,
timely reporting.
Information sources may
be classified as soft or unof-
ficial (unconfirmed rumors
or data) and hard or official
(confirmed by national or
international agencies).
On a regular basis, data
will be evaluated by a group
of swine health experts,
including the USDA, and
a report will be generated.
The summary will include
interpretation from the
experts. The information
will be graded to reflect
a consensus of risk to the
U.S. pork industry, and
the report will help guide
preventive and preparedness
steps. The system will be
operational in 2018.
Rapid Response
corps
T he SHIC Rapid Response
Program will enable
investigations of emerging
swine disease outbreaks. A
Rapid Response Corps of
veterinarians, state and fed-
eral animal health officials,
and veterinary epidemi-
ologists are being trained
for deployment in several
regions of the U.S.
When a swine disease
investigation is requested by
a producer or veterinarian,
SHIC will engage Rapid
Response Corps members.
Within 72 hours of invita-
tion, a team will be on site to
conduct the epidemiological
investigation that could find
pathways of disease introduc-
tion and ways to limit the
outbreak.
LEARN MORE
swinehealth.org
Photography: RGtimeline, iStockphoto.com
 c o n n e c t i n g YOUR FARM
By Cheryl Tevis
PUT A FACE ON FARMING
AGVOCATE AMANDA FREUND COMBINES
HIGH TECH AND HIGH TOUCH TO ENGAGE
CONSUMERS.
W
henever
Amanda
Freund boards
a plane,
she wears a
T-shirt with a prominent
Cabot Cheese logo, bearing
this slogan: I’m a farmer.
I’m an owner.
“I want to engage,” she
says. “My intention is for
people to notice my shirt and
ask me about it. It’s like wear-
ing an A-frame sign with our
cooperative’s brand, Cabot. I
want people to remember the
farmer they met.”
The 33-year-old is a third-
generation member of an
East Canaan, Connecticut,
farm. The Freunds – her
parents, sister, brother, uncle,
and cousins – milk 300 cows.
Freund, a Cornell University
graduate, worked as a
18 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
Congressional staffer and
was in the Peace Corps.
She returned to the farm
in 2015. By that time, the di-
versified operation included
Freund’s Farm Market &
Bakery and CowPots, a
value-added, biodegradable
garden product made from
composted manure.
Freund is an ardent
agvocate who works to con-
nect her family’s farm with
consumers face to face and
via social media.
farm Mission
T he family crafted a farm
mission statement 30
years ago. “When the third
generation joined the opera-
tion, we looked at it again
to make sure it was still
relevant,” she says.
Their five goals are posted
on the barn wall:
1. Community engagement
2. Animal care
3. Environmental stewardship
4. Diversification
5. Profitability
It’s no coincidence that
community engagement tops
the list. “The average person
is three generations removed
from food production, so
providing a point of access to
an operating farm is critical,”
she says.
Freund, a member of the
American Farm Bureau’s
Grassroots Outreach Team,
has chaired the Connecticut
Farm Bureau’s Young
Farmers Committee. Her
aim is to decommoditize
her product.
“We’re a commercial
dairy farm, and milk is
a commodity – just like
soybeans and corn,” she says.
“It’s a faceless product.”
Farm tours play a pivotal
role. “People want to be con-
nected with their food,” she
says. “There is no
substitute for being
on the farm.”
Their tour focuses
on animal care. The
Freunds use five
robotic milkers.
“Our cows choose Amanda Freund hub panel in New
when and how often
to be milked,” she says.
“Rumination collars act like
a Fitbit to track activity and
chewing habits, so we can
be more proactive in caring
for them.”
Sustainable energy
also is a key part of their
environmental stewardship;
1,200 solar panels generate
electricity for the barn and
CowPots facility. A methane
digester produces biogas for
their house and hot water.
Freund’s biannual news-
letter, sent to 2,000 homes in
a defined zip code list (and
online), recently led to a re-
quest for their first farm tour
from a nearby campground.
Reaching Large
Audiences
D iversification also opens
the door to a nondairy
audience at national green-
house and ag trade shows
as well as international
views. In 2007, their farm
was featured on Discovery
Channel’s Dirty Jobs with
Mike Rowe. “The poo-pots
show has aired in 120 coun-
tries,” she says.
Freund has written June
Dairy Month features about
local farm women. She also
helped launch an Agri-Mark
Cooperative #farmlove
campaign that received 3.5
million impressions.
Connecting requires
time. “It’s a challenge to
justify time away from the
farm,” she says. “It can pay
dividends in con-
necting people to
our product who
otherwise wouldn’t be
connected.”
After Freund
participated in a food
York City, Forbes
magazine came to their farm
to shoot a video that drew
350,000 views.
However, she doesn’t
underestimate the value of
engaging people in her
community. Each fall, the
Freunds and a neighboring
family make macaroni and
cheese for the local fire
department. “Having
dinner with our volunteer
firefighters gives us an
opportunity to show our
gratitude,” she says.
Illustration: Beadyeyes
Photography: Provided by Amanda Freund
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YOUR p r o f i t
By Al Kluis

2017 Global Corn Production (in billions of bushels)

This chart shows how dominant the
16 U.S. is in global corn production.
The U.S. produces almost four times
more corn than Brazil, and Illinois
14 produces more corn than Argentina.

12

10

6 has become the largest wheat

exporter in the world, and
4 U.S. farmers are shifting
more acres over to corn and
2 soybeans each year. As a
result, the U.S. wheat crop
is now down to just 7.6% of
0 the global wheat crop.
U.S. Brazil Argentina Illinois Minnesota 2. The U.S. dominates global
corn production. The U.S.
produces almost four times
comparisons is total crop more corn than Brazil and
U.S. AND SOUTH AMERICAN size. Some of the production
reports are in millions of
more than double the com-
bined production of Brazil
CROP PRODUCTION ANALYSIS
MARCH IS THE KEY MONTH TO WATCH.
metric tons, while the U.S.
reports are in bushels. It took
and Argentina.
3. South America is now the
me a while to get used to, but largest producer and exporter
in the last five years, I have of soybeans in the world.

I
have enjoyed travelling to South America over the last started to think in metric Brazil is very close to pro-
10 years to tour farms. These visits give me a perspective tons as well as bushels. This ducing as many soybeans as
on the size and number of the facilities. I also study the helps me grasp the huge the U.S. When you combine
weather patterns in South America and try to project the scale of South American the soybean crops in Brazil
total crop size each year. That is not easy, because crops production. I am most fa- and Argentina, the total is
there are spread out over a huge geographic area – much miliar with the USDA Crop over 1 billion bushels larger
larger than in the U.S. Production Reports, and I than the U.S. soybean crop.
The cropping area in South America goes from north use those to try and put these
to south. In the U.S., it goes from east to west, basically huge numbers into perspec- weather concerns

South
Indiana to Nebraska. In
South America, crops are
stretched out over a dis-
America tance that would roughly
is now the equal the distance from
largest Winnipeg, Manitoba, to
Miami, Florida. This
producer and
exporter of
soybeans in
makes it much harder to
get a handle on South
American crops than it
the world. does to forecast U.S. crops.
Another factor that
makes it difficult to draw
tive. I always compare global
production numbers with
the total U.S. crop, the crop
in Illinois, and the crop in
my home state of Minnesota.
3 long-term trends
A fter studying the various
reports, here are three
long-term trends I see.
1. The U.S. has become only
a minor supplier of wheat into
the global marketplace. Russia
S ignificant weather
problems are developing
in southeastern Brazil and
Argentina. The month of
January in South America
is like July in the U.S. This
is a crucial month for the
corn crop in Brazil and
Argentina, as that crop
enters the critical pollination
stage. February there is like
our August and is the key
month for soybean crop

20 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018

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YOUR p r o f i t Continued

This chart shows how much

2017 Global Soybean Production (in billions of bushels) competition the U.S. now has from
South America. The combined
5 production of Brazil and Argentina
may exceed 6 billion bushels within
4.5 the next two years.

3.5

2.5

2 final thoughts

1.5 S ince no one can be certain

what the grain markets
will do over the next two
1 months, I suggest you have
two strategies ready to use,
.5 depending on what unfolds
during that time frame.
0 1. If the corn and soybean
U.S. Brazil Argentina Illinois Minnesota markets chop lower into
March, hold off on sales.
2. If the weather scare
rally develops, use a
development in Brazil and Argentina. Because of the huge above the long-term down disciplined marketing plan
amount of Safrinha (double-crop) corn in Brazil, you really trend line in September. to make cash sales and get
need to watch the weather and the impact on corn yields in Soybean prices have been additional new-crop hedges
Brazil during the month of February, as well. trending higher since the in place.
Right now, the trade consensus is for a total South American major low in August 2017.
corn and soybean crop that is down about 3% from last year’s 2. For the last several NOTE: Trading of futures and
record harvest. If the La Niña weather pattern continues, it can months, corn futures have options has substantial financial
spell bad news for corn and soybean producers in southeastern been trapped in a $3.35 to risk of loss and is not for
Brazil and Argentina. The forecasts for the La Niña are all $3.60 price channel. Now a all investors.
over the map. Several of the meteorologist that I know and weekly close above $3.60 on
respect say it is just too early to know for sure. the nearby corn contract will
confirm a major low in the
AL KLUIS
long-term corn market. Commodity
charts to the 3. March is a key change- Trader
When I get rescue of-trend month. That means Al Kluis has
been trading
conflicting
weather W hen I get con-
flicting weather
forecasts and uncer-
one of two scenarios will
develop:
• If crop conditions are ideal
grain futures
since 1974. Sign
forecasts and up for a free
tainty about crop in South America and prices trial to his
uncertainty sizes, I always bring trend lower, then March can daily morning email and weekly
about crop out my long-term often be an important low. “Al Kluis Report” by going to
charts. Following • If crop development alkluis.com.
size, I always
are three things my problems develop in South
bring out my charts are telling me. America and prices rally, Kluis Commodities
long-term 901 - 12 Oaks Center Drive
1. Soybeans prices then it can create a March Suite 907
charts. on my long-term high and be a good opportu- Wayzata, MN 55391
monthly soybean con- nity to make cash sales and 888/345-2855
tinuation chart broke place new-crop hedges. alkluis.com | al@alkluis.com

22 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018

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 c o m m o d i t y Commodity Classic
MAIN STAGE
SCHEDULE
CLASSIC By Zoe Zuidema
(All Times Pacific)
Tuesday, February 27
Al Kluis, commodity expert
12:15 - and Successful Farming
1 p.m. columnist: “Positioning for
Profit in 2018”

Agricultural Executive Panel:

1:15 -
“The Infrastructure for New
2 p.m.
Technology”
Learning Center Session:
with Kris Ehler of Ehler
Brothers Company and
2:15 -
JR Bollinger, farmer from
3:15 p.m.
Sikeston, Missouri: “Power
to the Plant: Set Record
Yields for Your Farm”

GROW BEYOND AT THE 2018 3:30 -

The Hefty Brothers:
“Soybean Weed Control:

COMMODITY CLASSIC FIND BIG IDEAS AT

THE NATION’S LARGEST FARMER-LED, FARMER-FOCUSED
4:30 p.m. Dicamba, Liberty & Why You
Can’t Skip the Pre”

Wednesday, February 28
CONVENTION AND TRADE SHOW.
Learning Center Session:
11:30 a.m.
“Harnessing the Power of

E
xplore emerging innovations and from The Hefty Brothers’ keynote - 12:15
Digital to Solve Agriculture’s
groundbreaking products that presentation on keeping fields weed-free p.m.
Most Complex Challenges”
may change the way you farm and clean for less money in 2018. Later,
at the 2018 Commodity Classic they’ll share “What Your Fertilizer Dave Mowitz, Successful
in Anaheim, California. From Dealer Won’t Tell You” and help you 12:30 - Farming executive editor:
1:15 p.m. “Key Design Features in
February 27 to March 1, you can be understand soil and plant tissue tests. Top Farm Shops”
among thousands of leading farmers from Successful Farming magazine editors
across the nation who share your passion will host multiple sessions, with Ray Bohacz, SF Engine Man:
1:30 - “Maximize Farm Profit
for agriculture. advice from Al Kluis, columnist and 2:15 p.m. by Minimizing Machinery
Created by farmers, for farmers, commodity marketing expert; Dave Failures”
the event hosts educational sessions Mowitz, executive editor of machinery
and presentations to help you get the and technology; and SF Engine Man Al Kluis, commodity expert
2:30 - and Successful Farming
answers, information, and inspiration Ray Bohacz. 3:15 p.m. columnist: “Successful
you’re looking for. The Commodity Kluis will take the stage twice: first to Marketing”
Classic Trade Show offers a showcase look back at 2017 markets and present
The Hefty Brothers:
of hundreds of booths from the nation’s his corn and soybean price outlook 3:30 -
“What Your Fertilizer Dealer
top farmers and ag companies. You’ll for 2018, and then to go over putting 4:30 p.m.
Won’t Tell You”
get a firsthand look at the latest together a successful marketing plan
equipment, converse with leading for your crops. Mowitz will offer some Thursday, March 1
agribusiness companies, and grow your key design features of farm shops and 8:45 - Commodity Classic Cooking
own knowledge. The trade show is tips on shop design – plus renovation 9:45 a.m. Demonstration
also home to the Commodity Classic recommendations for your own shop.
Learning Center Session:
Main Stage, presented by Successful In an exciting return to the Main 10:00 - “Take Action on Pesticide
Farming®, where speakers share more Stage, Marji Guyler-Alaniz will share 10:45 Resistance: Management
insights via educational sessions. her story of inspiration and passion for a.m. Strategies for 2018 and
The Commodity Classic Main FarmHer, and will tell of the strong Beyond”
Stage will feature panel discussions, and innovative women she has met Marji Guyler-Alaniz, founder
10:45 -
ag showcases, and expert speakers throughout her journey. 11:30 a.m.
of FarmHer: “Shining a Light
including radio and TV hosts The Hefty In Anaheim, you’ll gain the insight, on Women in Agriculture”
Brothers; Marji Guyler-Alaniz, founder education, and innovation you need to
live updates from
of FarmHer; and editors from Successful grow beyond and prepare for success.
Commodity Classic
Farming magazine. Main Stage sessions With hands-on experience, new
Agriculture.com
start on Tuesday afternoon and continue technology, and thought-provoking
/SuccessfulFarmingUSA
throughout the show. speakers, Commodity Classic will help
@SuccessfulFarm
Get some down-to-earth advice you “Grow Beyond” in 2018.

24 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018

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 G l o b A L AGRICULTURE
By Gil Gullickson, Crops Technology Editor

community of scientists.
He’s hoping it will be akin
to the Manhattan Project
during World War II, where
scores of physicists cooper-
ated on a large project.

Bananas

T hink you have shelled

Wageningen University scientists
are working on ways for banana
producers to battle Panama disease.
out the big bucks to spray
your corn with a fungicide
treatment? Try bananas.
They’re often sprayed 50 to
70 times during their grow-
ing season with fungicides,
says Gert Kema, who works
on banana disease research at
Wageningen.
Yet, that may not be

PRIMING THE PUMP HERE’S HOW WAGENINGEN

UNIVERSITY IN THE NETHERLANDS FUELS AN UNDER-THE-RADAR
enough.
Cavendish bananas –
originally developed in the
GLOBAL AGRICULTURAL POWERHOUSE. 1950s to fend off disease –
are now being threatened
by a new strain of Panama

A
t first glance, the U.S. and the Netherlands seem as • More production per square disease. This fungal malady
mismatched as ketchup topping on applesauce. The meter is threatening to wipe out
U.S. is vast in size; the Netherlands is tiny, with 1,300 • Less inputs Cavendish bananas, the pre-
inhabitants per square mile. The U.S. has huge swaths • Bettering factors like health dominant variety exported
of farmland growing corn, soybeans, and wheat. The food and food safety around the world.
Netherlands? Not so much. Instead, it has huge greenhouses “Technology and sustain- Wageningen research-
– some covering up to 175 acres – growing a wide variety of ability are linked,” says van ers are working on ways to
fruits and vegetables. den Ende. manage this disease.
One commonality exists, though. Both nations are agricul- One project WUR scien- “We are on a high state of
tural powerhouses. tists are leading is how to alert,” says Kama.
The Netherlands is the world’s second-largest exporter improve photosynthesis.
of food as measured by value, second only to the U.S. That’s “If we want to double Quinoa
amazing, considering the U.S. has 270 times the landmass of the
Netherlands.
“Even a lot of people in the Netherlands don’t realize that
yields in the next 35 years,
we need to crack this big
question,” says Eric Schranz,
Q uinoa seeds might seem
like something you find
in the hippie section of your
agriculture is that strong,” says Ernst van den Ende, managing a WUR professor of biosys- local grocery store. That
director of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) Plant tematics. section is likely worth visit-
Sciences Group. He notes there are only ing, though, because quinoa
So how do the Dutch do it? so many current techniques seeds are packed with es-
WUR, located 50 miles southeast of Amsterdam, has helped (like fertilizer application) sential amino acids vital for
to key the country’s agricultural success. that can be done when it human nutrition.
WUR has a huge footprint, says van den Ende. It has about comes to boosting yields. “Most quinoa is produced
12,000 students with a faculty and staff of approximately 6,000. “Global yields are going in South America, where it
It has 25 branch locations across the Netherlands, China, up, but not fast enough to is tolerant to abiotic stressors
Africa, and the Middle East, with 458 projects in 90 countries. provide the yield boost we (like drought),” says Gerard
Agricultural start-ups and global companies flock there, as need,” he says. van der Linden, a WUR
evidenced by Unilever’s building of a global foods innovation He notes a photosynthe- scientist.
center in Wageningen. van den Ende notes that goals at WUR sis project like this one has One interesting point is
revolve around: never been done by a large that quinoa can tolerate salty
Data Source: Wageningen University and Research
BONUS Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Photography: Gil Gullickson
 $105,580,000,000
The approximate value of food and flowers exported by the Netherlands in 2016.

ground. Quinoa can produce three times Eye-popping Organic Matter Levels
as much crop on salty soils as can wheat,
says van der Linden.
Farmers in states like Minnesota,
T he Dutch have farmland with organic matter levels that would make your eyes pop out
of their sockets. Frits van Everet, who works with precision agriculture at Wageningen
University, makes precision maps for potato production.
North Dakota, and South Dakota are “Here, the organic matter levels are 12.9% to 13.3%. So in those cases, we don’t have to
battling saline and sodic soils. In some apply a lot of nitrogen due to mineralization if conditions are wet enough to support and generate
cases, the surface salt levels mimic a light mineralization,” he says.
dusting of snow. Could quinoa be grown So why are organic matter levels that high? In many cases, a livestock history has teamed with
there and help those soils and farmers? plush soils to create these lofty levels.
van der Linden says quinoa could
have potential for North America, but
it is sensitive to mildew. Thus, high
humidity could hurt it. Still, it is grown
in pockets in Colorado, the Pacific
Northwest, Idaho, and California.

Potatoes, Climate Change

C limate change is a challenge that

WUR plant pathologists like Geert
Kessel face in working with potato
disease. He notes that the goal of provid-
ing food to the 10.5 billion people who
will reside on Earth by 2100 will need to
be done under pressure from society to
reduce chemical inputs and also climate
change.
Surprisingly, potatoes positively
respond to climate change. “Potato
production goes up when (atmospheric)
carbon dioxide levels and temperatures
rise,” Kessel says.
The bad news is that the weather ex-
tremes brought about by climate change
increase, too.
“When it is wet, it is difficult to con-
trol potato late blight in potatoes,” says
Kessel. (Potato late blight is the infamous
fungal disease that caused the Irish
Potato Famine of the 1840s.)
“Now, we can spray fungicides, but if
we cannot enter a wet field, we cannot
spray,” he says. “So, we are trying to
introduce host resistance as a first layer MKX 100 | MKX 130 | MKX 160
of defense.”
The MKX Series features over 75 proven performance enhancements including advanced
Host resistance includes multiple ease-of-use, serviceability and maximum capacity while providing you with everything you’ve
genes, in case resistance develops to just come to expect from your favorite auger.
one gene. The long-term goal is to have
resistance as the first line of defense, with MKX 100

t

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subsequent fungicide applications to MKX 130

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January 2018 | Successful Farming bonus

 c r o p s
By Gil Gullickson, Crops Technology Editor

mental conditions, Balance

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT BALANCE BEAN
THE BALANCE GT SOYBEAN PERFORMANCE SYSTEM.
Bean’s residual benefit lasts
six to eight weeks, he says.
A postemergence her-
bicide is recommended
with Balance Bean, says
Waddington.
Besides managing late-
emerging weeds, it also can
add additional modes of ac-
tion to forestall resistance, he
says. Balance Bean will have
a 2- to 3-ounce-per-acre use
rate, says Waddington.
“Farmers are used to
carrying around quarts and
pints (per acre),” he says. “A
2- to 3-ounce-per-acre use
rate is easier to handle.
“Another difference we
bring to market is the safety
IT’S THE HERBICIDE FOR
factor,” he continues. Since
isoxaflutole is a nonvolatile
compound, it won’t move off
target due to volatility.

I
f you want to plant Balance GT soybeans, you’ll likely have upon EPA registration. Initially, Balance GT
to wait. All import approvals for Balance GT soybeans have The application window soybeans will tolerate
been received. However, the herbicide component of the for Balance Bean doesn’t glyphosate and isoxaflu-
Balance GT Soybean Performance System – Balance Bean include postemergence. tole. Plans are for a triple
– still must be approved by the Environmental Protection Instead, applications can herbicide-tolerant stack of
Agency (EPA). So far, that hasn’t happened as the clock ticks be made for burndown or glyphosate, isoxaflutole,
toward the 2018 growing season. before planting (as much as and glufosinate (Liberty)
21 days prior to planting) up to debut after Balance GT
Dual Tolerance to emergence. soybean commercialization.

T he Balance GT Soybean Performance System is a collabora-

tion between MS Technologies, Bayer, and Mertec LLC.
Isoxaflutole, one of Balance Bean’s active ingredients, is also in
Other preemergence
residual herbicides may be
mixed with Balance Bean.
Bayer corn herbicides like Balance Flexx. “Like any residual herbicide,
The system is a competitor to Monsanto’s Roundup Ready it needs at least some amount
2 Xtend (dicamba and glyphosate tolerance) and Dow of moisture in the soil to acti-
AgroScience’s Enlist Weed Control Ssytem. Its Enlist soybeans
and Enlist E3 soybeans tolerate 2,4-D choline, glyphosate,
and glufosinate. Monsanto fully launched the Xtend system
vate,” says Waddington.
One plus for Balance
Bean, says Waddington, is its
in 2017. U.S. farmers may access Enlist E3 soybeans for 2018 reactivation property.
planting through an agreement between Dow and ADM. “When you hit a dry spell,
“One factor that separates Balance Bean from the 2,4-D- a traditional residual herbi-
and dicamba-tolerant systems is it has activity on both grasses cide will stop working, even
and broadleaves,” says Mark Waddington, Bayer CropScience if you get a rain a few weeks
product development manager. later. If you have two weeks
Bayer officials say Balance Bean testing demonstrates of a dry spell and then get
control of grasses like woolly cupgrass, as well as glyphosate-, rain (at least ½ inch), Balance
triazine-, PPO-, and ALS-resistant weeds such as resistant Bean then reactivates.”
marestail, common ragweed, waterhemp and Palmer ama- Depending on precipita-
ranth. The final list of controlled weeds will be determined tion and other environ-
Company officials are plan-
ning a commercial launch
in 2019, pending regulatory
approval.
Seed Component
B ayer and MS
Technologies plan to
license the seed technology
in the system in the U.S. and
Canada. So far, more than 45
seed companies have signed
on as soybean licensees in the
system once final approvals
are in place.
Officials for Bayer and
MS Technologies say they
plan to get the seed technol-
ogy in the hands of as many
farmers as possible.

BonuS Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Photography: Mark Kempf

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 q a THE SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEW
By Dave Kurns, Editorial Content Director
AJIT PAI CHAIRMAN OF THE FCC DRAWS
ON HIS RURAL ROOTS.
Y
ou might not
know that the
head of the Federal
Communications
Commission hails
from tiny Parsons, Kansas,
population 11,000.
Ajit Pai grew up outside
of town on 10 acres that his
family, who immigrated
from India, rented to a
local cattle farmer. Across
the street were corn and
soybean fields.
Today, Pai oversees the
federal government’s regula-
tion on television standards,
the wireless industry, and
broadband internet access to
the nation, including rural
towns like Parsons, Kansas.
Successful Farming magazine
sat down in the Washington,
D.C., headquarters last fall
for an exclusive interview.
SF: What was life like growing
up in a small town?
AP: It was a really good
place to grow up, in part
because you got a sense of
community. You knew your
BIO
NAME: Ajit Pai
TITLE: Chairman of the Federal
Communications Commission
HOMETOWN: Parsons, KS
CURRENT HOME: Arlington, VA
FAMILY: Wife, Janine; son,
Alexander; and daughter,
Annabelle.
EDUCATION: Graduated from
Harvard University in 1994, then
graduated from the University of
Chicago Law School in 1997.
Bonus Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
neighbors; you knew your
neighbors would be there in
a moment of need. That part
of it I’m really grateful for.
Having the chance to serve
in this position, of course, it
definitely informs virtually
everything I do – from our
work on the digital divide
to making sure we combat
illegal, unwanted robocalls.
I always try to have rural
America in the front of my
mind because those are the
folks I grew up with.
SF: How are you solving the
digital divide in the U.S.?
AP: My first full day as chair-
man, I addressed the FCC
staff and said, “We have a
lot of important things on
our plate, but to me there’s
nothing more important
than bridging the digital
divide.” I wanted to close the
gap between those who have
access to the Internet and
other advanced technologies,
and those who don’t.
Increasingly, as we’ve
found, it’s an urban-rural
divide. If you live in urban
America, some 98% of
Americans can have access
to high-speed internet. That
number goes down signifi-
cantly in rural areas. That is
something I want to change.
SF: Rural America is hit
hardest, including doctors,
hospitals, and schoolkids.
AP: Sadly, that story is all too
common, I think, in rural
America.
Trying to attract doctors
to come to a small rural
town, for example. If they
don’t have the connectiv- FCC map, it said I was cov-
ity to download electronic
medical records or to do
ered. I knew that wasn’t the
case. Those two programs
telemedicine, they’re less working in tandem, I hope
likely to come. Same thing over the next several years,
with education. If you don’t will make a serious impact
have broadband extended on the digital divide.
to schools and libraries, kids
in that community are less SF: The government can’t do
likely to become informed. this alone. How will you part-
I am convinced that if ner with private enterprise?
we get those challenges AP: It’s hard. We don’t have
solved, there’s no telling how the funding or the where-
much human capital we withal to build out these
can unleash and how much networks entirely on our
stronger rural communities own. We have to provide a
can become. regulatory framework that
gives them the ability to
SF: How will you get rural do good business but also
America connected? that makes sure they do the
AP: There are two differ- right thing.
ent programs, in particular. That’s what I’m excited
One is the $2 billion Connect about – about this position,
America fund, which will go about this agency, about this
to providing fixed broad- time. We stand on the brink
band – that’s the wires that of great breakthroughs for
provide broadband across the rural America. It just takes
country. That is going to be all of us working together to
over the next several years. be able to achieve them.
The second program
is a $4.5 billion program
called the Mobility Fund,
phase 2. Essentially, this
Mobility Fund will
provide $4.5 billion
over the next decade
to make sure every
part of this country
is covered by at least
4G LTE wireless
service.
This was inspired
by a trip I took last
October from Wichita,
Kansas, to Des Moines,
Iowa. I noticed along the
highway that quite often
my phone would be down
to one bar or no service
whatsoever. When I
looked at the
Photography: FCC
 TOUGH WEEDS REQUIRE A TOUGHER BATTLE PLAN
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 E D U C A T I O N
By Lisa Foust Prater, Family & Farmstead Editor
THE FUTURE OF RURAL SCHOOLS
DEPENDS ON INTERNET ACCESS
DISTRICTS LOOK TO THE FUTURE, ONE THING IS CLEAR: A HIGH-SPEED
CONNECTION IS KEY TO KEEPING UP WITH CITY SCHOOLS.
P
ublic schools around
the country are facing
all kinds of chal-
lenges these days.
Budgets are being
slashed, it’s hard to retain
quality educators, and kids
living at or below the poverty
level have difficulty perform-
ing well and graduating.
Rural districts also have to
deal with dwindling student
numbers, high transporta-
tion costs, and unavailable or
expensive internet access.
online access lags
I n 2013, the Federal
Communications
Commission (FCC) estab-
lished an internet access stan-
dard for public schools of 100
Kbps per student. Just over
three fourths of districts were
meeting the guideline by
2015. However, 41% of rural
districts still had no high-
BonuS Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
AS RURAL
speed connection available,
and those without fiber were
paying twice as much for
bandwidth as urban schools.
The FCC also says home
access is a challenge, with
39% of rural Americans
lacking 25 Mbps/3Mbps
internet. For students who
need to get online to turn in
assignments and take tests,
that can mean the difference
between success and failure.
Delane Galvin, super-
intendent of the Southeast
Warren Community School
District in south-central
Iowa, says internet access is a
big problem for many of his
district’s 487 rural students.
Southeast Warren Junior
and Senior High, located in
Liberty Center, Iowa, has a
high-speed fiber connection.
Without spending hundreds
of thousands of dollars, that
isn’t an option at the primary
and intermediate schools in
Milo and Lacona.
The internet budget in
Lacona has jumped from
a couple hundred dollars
a month to around $1,000
just to provide enough
bandwidth for students
to use their Chromebooks
without crashing the school’s
internet. That connection is
needed for state-mandated
online testing.
Since many of his students
lack high-speed internet at
home, Galvin says they are
allowed to come to school
early or to stay late to do
homework. “I’ve come in on
weekends and have seen stu-
dents sitting outside on the
benches working from the
school’s internet,” he says.
offering Options
G alvin says internet access is
important to his students
because it provides options.
Through the online
program Odysseyware,
high school students can
take any of 75 electives that
aren’t otherwise taught at the
school. “People may say they
want a bigger school for more
choices, but we have a ton of
choices for kids,” he says.
Getting to college
R ural students are less
likely to attend and com-
plete college than their urban
counterparts. According
to the USDA’s Economic
Research Service, 19% of
rural Americans age 25 and
older had a bachelor’s degree
or higher compared with
33% of the urban population.
One way Southeast
Warren is helping its stu-
dents buck that trend is by
allowing high schoolers to
take online and in-person
classes through Des Moines
Area Community College.
The school pays for classes
and materials, as long as the
students don’t drop the class
before a certain date and earn
a passing grade.
Galvin says the college
classes help students get a
jump start on their higher
education and the momen-
tum to keep going.
“I believe every high
school student should take at
least one college-level class,”
he says.
Three fourths of last year’s
Southeast Warren graduates
did just that.
Some students have taken
enough college classes to earn
a two-year degree while in
high school – for free. Galvin
says this opportunity helps
ensure a better future for the
students, thereby, benefiting
the entire community.
Photography: John Noltner
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 e n g i n e MAN
By Ray Bohacz

of the bore than others.

You should have your torque wrench
checked and calibrated at least once
a year for accuracy, particularly if it
has been dropped.
During engine development,
a special head gasket is used
that has integral pressure
transducers so that the
force against the head and
bolts can be measured in all
locations. On the farm, this
would be the equivalent of a
combine yield monitor map
being laid over a grid soil
sample map.
An engine head bolt
failure will result in coolant
entering the combustion
chamber, which puts the
engine out of service.
The best-case scenario
would be that a lot of white
smoke is emitted from the

HEAD BOLT FACTS AND FICTION

EXPERT SHARES LITTLE-KNOWN FACTS ABOUT HEAD BOLTS.
exhaust. A complete failure
of the gasket has the ability
to put enough coolant into
the cylinder to hydraulically
lock it, bending or breaking

O
n every farm, the day will come when some engine will transducers in the bore and the connecting rod and put-
need to have the cylinder head removed and rein- read as a metric of either ting a window in the side of
stalled. This may be due to a failed head gasket, a need brake mean effective pres- the block. Thus, you need
to perform a valve job, or a number of other reasons. sure or indicated mean effec- to respect the job of the
In many instances, the job is done to perfection – until tive pressure. By examining head bolts and the gasket
it comes to the head bolts. When this occurs, about 90% of the mean effective pressure as that completes the seal and
time there is a failure shortly after the engine is put back into a function of piston crown take this procedure very
service. The cause of this failure lies in a lack of understanding area, engines of all displace- seriously.
about how to properly work with head bolts. ments and fuel types can Following are the most
be accurately compared common mistakes when
head bolts are BUILT for compression for output. A 5-hp. Briggs installing head bolts.

T he head bolts are used to attach the cylinder head to the

engine block with a gasket in between them. The main job
& Stratton can now be
compared accurately with a Reuse of bolts
of the head gasket is to keep the pressure from combustion in
the cylinder bore. Secondary functions are to prevent engine
coolant and oil from entering the combustion process. The
5,000-hp. 16-cylinder diesel
in a river tow boat. H ead bolts are designed to
be a consumable. Once
removed from service, they
gasket can only do its job if compressed sufficiently, and that is specific design should not be reinstalled.
the task of the head bolt.
During combustion, the pressure in the cylinder goes
extremely high. However, do not confuse combustion pressure
T he only thing that keeps
the cylinder head from
lifting up, especially with a
This is the most common
mistake made by mechanics.
The heavy-duty appear-
with compression ratio. The compression ratio of an engine turbocharged diesel, is the ance of the bolt would as-
is the difference in cylinder volume with the piston at bottom head bolt and rigidity of sume that it could be reused.
dead center vs. when the piston is at top dead center. the casting. For this reason, That is never the case.
Cylinder pressure during combustion is the result of the fuel the head bolt needs to be During the specified
and air mixture burning and expanding against and driving the designed to withstand the tightening procedure, the
piston down in the bore. When an engine uses forced induc- cylinder pressure along with bolt stretches and grows
tion via either a turbocharger (exhaust driven) or supercharger the area it needs to contain. slightly in size. Though the
(crankshaft driven), the combustion pressure is even higher. Some engines have more bolt may return to its origi-
As an aside, engineers measure cylinder pressure using bolts around the perimeter nal size once unloaded,

BonuS Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Photography: Manufacturers

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 e n g i n e MAN Continued
Do not use air tools to install head
bolts. Insert the right bolt in the right
hole (there is a difference) and don’t
use sealer on bolt threads.
when tightened for clamping, it will elongate with thermal If the head bolt goes into
cycles and relax its tension against the head gasket. When this a water jacket, it will need
happens, the head will lift up slightly during higher combus- to have nonhardening sealer
tion pressure (high engine torque load) and the flame can cut put on the threads so the
through the gasket. If the head gasket is violated once, it will coolant doesn’t work its
never seal again. way up and out. There are
many application-specific,
clean the threads but don’t use air tools excellent chemistries today
It is imperative that the threads for the head bolts in the
engine block are absolutely clean. Have the proper tap to run
the threads through by hand, then follow by washing. If the
from all of the major sealant
manufacturers.
Specific sealers may be
engine is still in the frame, the use of spray carburetor cleaner required with some of the
and an adjustable air gun will do an excellent job of cleaning. new organic acid technology
Dirt and corrosion in the threads will cause a false torque engine coolants. Always ref-
reading, as the resistance of the dirty threads will be interpret- erence the shop manual for
ed as clamping force on the torque wrench scale. the engine and heed what it
Never use air tools to run the tap in and out of the threads. recommends.
It is always a good idea to put some engine oil on the threads of
the tap. Work the tap back and forth so it can pull any debris lubrication
or violated thread material out.
Inserting Bolts in the wrong holes
U nless otherwise speci-
fied, dip the thread in
30-weight oil and squirt
S ome engines use a combination of lengths for the head
bolts. Always make sure you are installing the right bolt in
the hole as indicated by the installation sequence in the repair
some under the head of the
bolt where it rides on its mat-
ing surface. Excessive friction
manual. Often, the length difference may not be that notice- via the threads or under
able. When installed, the bolt will look seated but be bottomed the bolt head will skew the
out. When a bolt bottoms out, it will leave a scratch or a shiny torque when tightening.
mark on it below the last thread. I like to use moly lubricant
under the head of the bolt.
No sealer on threads Keep in mind that the in-
Know the engine you are working on and pay attention. Keep
in order the head bolts you removed for location reference.
dustry has developed charts
that may alter the clamping
BonuS Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
torque based on a certain
lubricant on the threads or
under the head.
Incorrect torque/
sequence
N ever use an impact gun to
first seat the head bolts.
Always work with hand
tools. Obtain the proper
tightening sequence and
torque steps and then ad-
here to them. The engineers
who established this pro-
cedure know exactly what
they are doing.
Use an accurate torque
wrench and, if applicable, a
bolt angle gauge for torque-
to-yield (TTY) bolts. TTY
bolts are first tightened to a
torque and then are turned a
specified number of degrees.
A TTY bolt will have a
slight hourglass shape to it.
The TTY gauge goes onto
the torque wrench and is
installed after the primary
torque reading is taken. For
example, the specification
may read: Tighten bolts in
50 foot-pound increments
until 150 foot-pounds is
reached in sequence. Then
turn bolt 37°.
Make sure your torque
wrench is calibrated
properly. Better brands of
torque wrenches offer a
very inexpensive calibration
service. You should have
your wrench checked and
calibrated once a year or if it
is ever dropped.
Again, although head bolts
may have been reused in the
past, this should not take
place with any engine built in
the past 30 years. Unless you
have nothing better to do
than keep pulling off
cylinder heads, please use
new and high-quality head
bolts each time.
 All the weather information you
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 c r o p s
By Raylene Nickel
Stacy Turgeon, NRCS district
conservationist, checks corn
roots. Steve Reimer (left) credits
a three-pronged strategy for
boosting soil health.
named Soil Health
Champions by the National
Association of Conservation
Districts.
Building Resilience
Y ields have increased for
the Reimers over time.
Perhaps more importantly,
so has the resilience of soils
and plants, letting crops
endure the region’s periodic
hot, dry winds and bouts of
drought.
A testing time came with
the severe drought on the
Northern Plains during
the 2017 growing season.
“Steve’s area only received 5
inches of rain from January
1 until the middle of August;
there was very little spring
moisture,” says Stacy
Turgeon, district conser-
vationist for the Natural
Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS) in
SAVING WATER INTEGRATING
NO-TILL, COVER CROPS, AND CATTLE HELP SOIL
Chamberlain, South Dakota.
“Despite receiving such a
small amount of moisture,
HOLD RAIN WHERE IT FALLS. Steve’s crops were more re-
silient than some area crops
receiving the same amount,”
S
toring water in the soil has been Steve Reimer’s mission she says. “The water that
for more than four decades. As a young farmer just falls on his soil stays where
starting out, he saw problems on his family’s farm near it is and infiltrates the soil
Chamberlain, South Dakota, that he hoped to correct. profile. His practices help
“Back in the 1970s, we grew corn and small grains, crops hold on longer during
and we also did tillage summer fallow,” says Reimer, who adverse conditions.”
farms with his wife, Elaine. “We were seeing water running Grassland pastures, too,
off the fields and taking topsoil with it. We wanted, instead, have increased resilience to
for the water to stay where it fell.” heat and drought after years
The Reimers transitioned slowly toward no-till and the of rotational grazing.
building of a more diverse rotation including cover crops. “In the middle of August,
They also intensified the integration of cattle into the cropping we had pretty good rains
system. The three components have worked together to help and very little runoff,” says
the Reimers build soil and to save water. Reimer. “Even though we
For their longtime soil-saving efforts, the Reimers were didn’t receive very much
BonuS Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
moisture overall, the soils
held a high percentage of
that much-needed moisture
where it fell, and we had a
real nice regrowth of grass in
the fall on our pastures.”
Three Components
T his is Reimer’s three-
pronged management
strategy for building soil and
conserving soil moisture.
1 Leave residue on the surface.
“Leaving a mulch on top
of the soil helps the soil re-
tain moisture,” says Reimer.
“The mulch keeps the soil
cool and doesn’t allow the
soil moisture to evaporate so
rapidly.” His long-term tran-
sition to no-till contributes to
the building of soil residue.
The crops he grows by no-
till include corn, soybeans,
winter wheat, and oats for
livestock feed.
“The sequence depends
on the year and the needs
of the cattle,” he says.
“Because we integrate our
cattle into the cropping sys-
tem, our planting decisions
are based on the tonnage of
fiber we expect to be avail-
able in the pastures for that
growing season.”
2 Incorporate cover crops
into the rotation. The
grazing of the cover crops
provides feed for livestock,
and the microorganisms that
feed on the roots and residue
of the cover crops further
build soil.
Reimer plants multispe-
cies cover crops in July after
harvesting winter wheat. The
diverse cover crop planting
might include species such as
oats, millet, red clover, brassi-
cas like radishes and turnips,
grazing sorghum, and annual
ryegrass.
“We seldom plant the
Photography: NRCS
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 c r o p s Continued

Soil Microbes Do
The Work

“I used to worry about

This corn last June 24 was growing
tall on winter wheat ground where a
fall cover crop mix was grazed.
same cover crop mix every year,” says Reimer. “We work with worms in the soil is increas-
our local NRCS office in developing the species mix for each ing,” he says. “Along with
year. It depends on the needs of the soil in various fields.” that, water-infiltration tests
leaving too much residue
on the soil,” says Steve Reimer.
“But two years ago, the Natural
Resources Conservation Service
set up a time-lapse camera in one
of my soybean fields to show the
rate of residue breakdown over the
growing season.”
Before spring planting, both
wheat residue and corn residue
from previous crops appeared
heavy enough to challenge the
process of no-till seeding the field
to soybeans.
“After the field was seeded and
over the course of the growing
season, the camera captured that
heavy layer of mulch just
shrinking into the ground,” says
Reimer. “In time, the beans grew
up, and their canopy covered the
camera. The soil microorganisms
were doing their work of recycling
the residue.”

3 Graze cow-calf pairs on cover crops. The Reimers’ R&R

Cattle Co. produces Simmental, SimAngus, and Angus
breeding stock for commercial producers. The cover crops are
done by our local NRCS
staff show that the water-
holding capacity of the soil
a source of high-quality feed intended to keep cattle perform- is improving.”
ing well late into the fall. Increasing levels of
“After planting the cover crops in July, they’re usually microbial activity in the soil
ready for grazing by the first to the middle of September,” were illustrated by on-farm
says Reimer. “If weather permits, we can graze the cover demonstrations done by
crops into December.” Turgeon.
The cattle help the production system to strike a balance “On multiple farms, we
between maintaining surface mulch and ensuring the eventual buried white underwear
breakdown and incorporation of residue into the soil profile. horizontally about 3 inches
“The cattle help manage residue,” he says. “Their hoof deep, though any kind
action helps break up residue, and after consuming plant mate- of cotton material would
rial, their digestive systems further break down the residue and work,” she says. “We buried
return the nutrients to the soil through manure and urine.” the material in mid-June
After years of practicing this integrated management pro- and left it for 10 weeks.
cess, soil organic matter has increased. “Our soils have gotten Typically, we advise leaving
healthier,” says Reimer. “When we first started, our soils were the materials buried for six
testing around 2% to eight weeks before dig-
organic matter. The ging them up, but we left
organic matter in the these longer because the soil
bial activity in the soil. The
crop residue feeds these soil
microbes, and they, in turn,
break down and recycle
residue into soil nutrients.
“Fields that have livestock
incorporated into their
system definitely show more
[microbial] activity than ones
that do not,” says Turgeon.
“Over time, we have
enhanced the productive
capacity of our soils, and that
has helped to enhance the
productive capacity of the
cowherd,” Reimer says. “It
all works hand in hand.”

2% TO 4%
The organic matter content increase that’s
soil has now increased
to about 4%.
“As the organic
matter increases, the
was so dry.”
The material buried in
Reimer’s fields showed a
high degree of breakdown,
Learn More
Steve Reimer
605/234-6111
rrcattle@midstatesd.net
occurred since Steve and Elaine Reimer
revamped their soil health strategy. number of earth- illustrating robust micro- rrcattleco.com

BonuS Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018

w e a t h e r
By Dave Mowitz, Executive Editor, Machinery & Technology
WHAT KIND OF WINTER IS
HEADING YOUR WAY?
THE NORTH WILL BE
WETTER, THE SOUTH WILL BE DRYER, AND OVERALL WILL BE
WARMER.
Y
ou will either be grateful for or
curse La Niña for this winter’s
weather. That’s because this
weather phenomena is going
to either bless some parts of the
country with ample moisture or short-
change other areas of rain.
The maps above provide a glimpse
into weather for the next several
months based on National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
predictions.
In short, expect winter to be:
• Wetter than normal for many northern
states.
• Dryer than normal for the entire South.
Those states in the central High Plains
as well as central and northern Pacific
states will get the same winter they
enjoyed last year.
the La Niña factor
“I f La Niña conditions develop
[NOAA considers that very likely],
we predict it will be weak and poten-
tially short-lived, but it could still shape
the character of the upcoming winter,”
predicts Mike Halpert of NOAA’s
Climate Prediction Center. “Typical La
Niña patterns during winter include
above-average precipitation
and colder-than-average
temperatures along the
northern tier of the U.S. and
below-normal precipitation
and drier conditions across
the South.”
Moisture-wise, part of
the North will receive more
snowfall. This increased
moisture will do little
to dampen the existing
drought in the northern
High Plains since “the
ground is frozen at this
time of year and can’t take
Map: NOAA January 2018 | Successful Farming at Agriculture.com bonus
up moisture despite the extra snowfall,”
says Halpert.
However, he says an existing drought
that extends from the northeast part of
Texas north into south Missouri will end.
Regarding temperatures, an area
from northern Minnesota to the Pacific
Northwest will get slammed with
below-average temperatures.
At this point in time, NOAA expects
temperatures in the vast majority of the
rest of the country to be “equal.” That
means this vast area will have an equal
chance for above-, near-, or below-nor-
mal temperatures.
Last winter, much of the East into
the South and Midwest had one of the
warmest winters. In fact, two of the top
10 warmest winters dating since 1895
occurred in back-to-back years.
Last winter was the seventh-warmest
winter season on record. The 2015-2016
period was the warmest winter record
holder.
You can access a video of the
winter weather prediction at
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/
videos/climate-prediction-centers-mike-
halpert-explains-noaas-2017-18-winter-
outlook.
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 s t a r t – u p SPOTLIGHT
By Laurie Bedord, Advanced Technology Editor

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helps growers and agronomists
optimize pesticide treatments
projected to grow globally to more than $80 billion by 2020. the link with the John Deere while increasing yields.
“Yet, farmers still see anywhere from a 20% to 40% crop Operations Center and the Developed hand-in-hand with
loss, which equates to around $500 billion annually,” says Liron benefit of getting all of the growers and agronomists, the
Brish, CEO and cofounder of Farm Dog. “The future will bring information into one central company has supported over
even more challenges – given the industry mergers as well as location. “They also like the 10,000 field visits and 200,000
social and regulatory pressures – to find improved methods of aspect of ranking the pest/ field observations to date. The
pest and disease management. It’s driving farmers to search for disease pressure and graph- team includes former USDA,
more effective tools to counter threats to their crops.” ing how this changes over Netafim, and crop-consulting
Brish believes that unleashing Farm Dog Scout will provide time,” he says. experts with experience across
farmers and agronomists with an easy and affordable mobile both specialty and commodity
application and the analytics to identify efficacy issues and no farm left behind crops in the U.S. and Canada.
outbreaks. The app is currently in use on fields supplying crops
to companies like Costco, Walmart, McDonald’s, and Subway.
“It is also one of a few companies to have integrated with
B rish says that from its
founding, the company’s
guiding mission has been
FUNDING: Farm Dog has raised
over $1 million from equity
investors, grower groups, and
John Deere,” he says. that no farm should be government grants.

BonuS Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Photography: Manufacturer

 f a r m e r GIVERS
By Gene Johnston

Jon Eller wears two hats. Pictured

left, he is a fire chief for the Shelby
(Nebraska) Rural Fire Department.
Pictured right, he is a grain farmer
with his father and brother-in-law.

CALL ME CHIEF! RURAL COMMUNITIES ONLY WORK

BECAUSE OF SELFLESS VOLUNTEERS LIKE THESE THREE
FARMERS, WHO ALSO HAPPEN TO BE FIREFIGHTERS.

Jon Eller, Farmer and Chief, Shelby Rural Fire Department say, ‘Hey, there’s the fire- run all kinds of equipment.

J
on Eller doesn’t do many things halfway, including his man!’ I love that. I tell them If I was trapped in a com-
volunteer fireman role. they can grow up to be one, bine, I’d want a farmer there
The 53-year-old Shelby, Nebraska, farmer joined too,” he says. to help me get out,” he says.
the fire department in 1990 when he was a beginning At the other end of the Being a fireman is not
farmer. “I was young, I was single, so I said, ‘Why not?’ spectrum, Eller recruits always easy, Eller admits.
I enjoyed serving the community,” he says. active and retired farm- For one, it takes time from
Ten years later, he was named chief, and the urge to go the ers to the department and his family and farmwork.
full distance kicked in. wishes more of them would “It’s a small town (780
“I decided to also go after the emergency medical technician volunteer. “They can drive people) and 80 square miles
(EMT) certificate. If I was going to be chief, I was going to be trucks and do other things of rural farmland. I know
the best one I could be. We’re a rescue service, and I wanted to that don’t involve spray- everyone. I’ve had to deal
be able to do rescue jobs,” Eller says. ing water or going into a with the loss of young people
“Unless you live here, I don’t think burning building,” he says. and elderly people I’ve
people understand the need for volunteers “In a small town, being a known my entire life. That’s
Farmers make and the good feeling that comes from fireman is not just a young really hard, but it’s part of
particularly
good emergency
serving in this way,” he says. person’s job.” this job,” he says.
responders, Jon Eller farms about 3,600 acres of irri- Farmers make par- He’s seen every kind of
Eller says. They gated corn and soybeans with his father ticularly good emergency emergency you can imagine
can often be and brother-in-law. responders, he thinks. They – from farm accidents to car
on-site quickly,
and they almost
One of his favorite jobs as fire chief is can often be on-site quickly, accidents to animal tram-
instinctively speaking at the local schools about fire and they almost instinctively plings. Some have ended
know what to do. prevention. “Kids see me in town and know what to do. “They can tragically.

Photography: Cory Hall January 2018 | Successful Farming at Agriculture.com 25

 f a r m e r GIVERS Continued

Ron Hampton also wears two hats.

Pictured left, he is chief of the Cassville
(Wisconsin) Volunteer Fire Department.
Pictured right, he grows corn and
soybeans with his brother and father.

Then there are other times. “I saved a woman who was “It is a Ford F350 4×4
in a car accident,” Eller says. “I was only 3 miles away, and crew cab with a 250-gallon
I got there quickly. Otherwise, she probably would have water tank, and it’s about the
died. That’s why it’s so important to recruit in all areas of only way to get off-road into
our district.” a cornfield, for instance, for
The Shelby Fire Department has 32 members, eight of a combine fire,” he says.
whom are women. Several are nurses and make up the core of The grant-writing success
the department’s emergency medical staff. Eller adds, “I’d take set Hampton up to be voted
recruits right now.” fire chief (still a volunteer
Some of the calls Eller gets are not as stressful as a fire. position) just a year ago.
“Sometimes, one of our elderly people will call me because a He continues to farm about
smoke detector is beeping,” he says. “I go and change the bat- 1,100 acres with his brother,
tery. That’s part of the job, too. I don’t mind.” Randy, and his dad, Stan.
The Cassville VFD has
Ron Hampton, Farmer and Chief, 38 members and serves
Cassville Volunteer Fire Department a 54-square-mile area,
community. About 95%
of volunteer services need
more people. It’s a very seri-
ous problem.”
Most days, he says, his
own department can barely
pull together enough drivers
for the rigs.
“A lot of our guys have
their gear with them at
work, so if we get a call, they
go straight to the fire. Then
we assess who we have and
go from there,” he says.
“That’s just the way it
works in rural America. I

I n 1999, three of Ron Hampton’s buddies in Cassville,

Wisconsin, asked him to ride along to a firefighter training
class. Sort of on a whim, he said, “Why not?”
including the 4,000 resi-
dents of Cassville along the
Mississippi River. “Our
don’t know of many places
where the population is
growing, so you deal with
The rest, as they say, is history. The next month, the friends roster is capped at 40, so it that as best you can,” he says.
talked the corn and soybean farmer into joining the Cassville would look like we’re in Five years ago, Hampton
Volunteer Fire Department. A couple years after that, he was pretty good shape,” says added to his personal résumé
voted secretary of the unit. Hampton. “The problem is, by becoming an emergency
“I started writing grant pro- a lot of them are getting a service first responder. “I’m
posals, and over the years since little older. They’d step out not an EMT, but I can ride
“Don’t assume there are
enough people serving
then, we have received close to $1 now if we had a replace- along with an EMT and be
in these volunteer roles million in grants for our depart- ment. As I look out 10 years, the assistant,” he says.
in your community. ment,” Hampton says proudly. it’s a little scary.” Since becoming chief,
About 95% of volunteer They’ve used the money to buy To other farmers, he says, Hampton says the hardest
services need more
people. It’s a very
firefighting gear, air packs, train- “Don’t assume there are thing he’s had to deal with
serious problem.” ing materials, rescue equipment, enough people serving in was not a fire but a flood just
– Ron Hampton and a brush truck. these volunteer roles in your last summer.

26 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018

 “We had a 14-inch rain one night, with Texas cotton farmer Billy
flooded homes, stranded cars, and propane Tidwell made firefighting a
priority after seeing his dad
tanks floating down the streets,” he says. die in a plane crash. Wife
“I was stranded on one side of town and Brandy and sons Hunter, 9
directed my volunteer team by radio. There (left), and Jaxson, 6, provide
were four homes completely flooded out, and moral support.
we rescued 15 people with boats, but there
was no loss of life.
“I’ve never been more proud of my guys.
They gave up many hours of their time help-
ing people get through it and the cleanup,”
he says.

Billy Tidwell, Farmer and Chief,

Ralls Volunteer Fire Department

B illy Tidwell joined the Ralls (Texas)

Volunteer Fire Department in 2001, but it
wasn’t until 2005 that the emergency work
became a more passionate calling for him.
That was when the young cotton farmer
watched his dad, a farmer and aerial crops
sprayer, experience a plane malfunction,
crash, and die in front of his eyes.
“I was the first one there, and that, of
course, impacted me greatly,” says Tidwell.
“We got out of the crop spraying business
and downsized the farm from 20,000 acres
to 1,200.”
His biggest response was to get a lot more
involved in emergency preparedness. “I
trained to be a firefighter and firefighter
teacher, and then to be an intermediate
EMT,” says Tidwell. “I’ve done all the train-
ing to be a paramedic, but I’ve chosen not to
get the actual certification.”
Eventually, he moved up to be fire chief
in the Ralls VFD, which has 17 members
and covers about 345 square miles east of
Lubbock. He’s so consumed by emergency
response activities that he now sits on several
Texas firefighter boards, helping to train and certify other “It was very hot and dry, and at one time it seemed like half
firefighters. of Texas was on fire. We lost over a million acres in my county
More than once over the last several years, Tidwell, now 39 and those around it,” he says.
years old, has put his own life on the line. “I’ve been in burning He averages 25 to 30 hours a week – all volunteer – fulfilling
buildings trying to get to the source of firefighter and emergency responder responsibilities.
a fire. I’ve also been on many wildfire “It gives me more opportunities and learning experiences
calls,” he says. “One time, a CRP field than anything else I’ve ever done,” Tidwell says in defense of
“You could be the not far from our farm caught fire. I the time commitment. “It’s a way to give something back to
first one on-site for
a fire or some other jumped on our big tractor and went the community that raised me.”
tragedy, and maybe over and started plowing a firebreak in Tidwell wishes more farmers would join local fire depart-
save a life. Save just front of the flames.” ments. “You see things out in the country before anyone else,”
one, and that’s worth While last spring was bad for he says. “You could be the first one on-site for a fire or some
more than all the
gold in the world!” wildfires across the Texas panhandle, other tragedy, and maybe save a life. Save just one, and that’s
– Billy Tidwell Tidwell remembers 2011 as worse. worth more than all the gold in the world!” he says.

Photography: Provided by Billy Tidwell January 2018 | Successful Farming at Agriculture.com 27

 m a c h i n e r y
By Dave Mowitz, Executive Editor, Machinery & Technology INSIDER ™

The price bonus being paid on trucks with pre-Tier 4

engines has settled out in the past year as you can see
in the Pocket Price Guide on page 31.

SPECING OUT SEMI PRICES

PRE-TIER 4 SEMITRUCK PRICES HAVE SUBSIDED
IN COMPARISON WITH 2012 MODELS.

T
he curious trend of older semitrucks bringing more
money at dealers’ lots or in auction yards has sub-
sided, observes Bill Nelson. “Around five years ago,
tractors running with a pre-Tier 4 diesel were highly
sought after,” explains Nelson of US Auctioneers
(usactioneers.com), a national truck and trailer sales house out
of Rock Island, Illinois. “There was a lot of discomfort in the
marketplace among buyers not wanting to handle diesel exhaust
fluid or having concerns that new emissions equipment would coming up on the successful Farming Show
cause additional repair and maintenance costs.”
A sale snapshot of recent transactions regarding Class 7 trucks
(found in the Pocket Price Guide on page 31) confirms Nelson’s
C atch Engine Man Ray Bohacz giving repair and maintenance tips on
the Successful Farming Show, which airs every Thursday at 9 p.m.,
Friday at 1 a.m., and Sunday at 10 p.m. (all times are Eastern).
observations that older, pre-Tier 4 vehicles are now generally The Engine Man segments will appear January 18, 19, and 21 after an
bringing lower values. “Of course, mileage always has a strong in-depth report reveals how to get more work and less compaction from
influence on values,” Nelson quickly points out. “There are still your tractor tires. The Engine Man is back on February 1, 2, and 4 after the
buyers out there who prefer a Tier 4 diesel in the truck they are television program takes a tour of the Clark family farm shop in eastern
buying, no doubt.” Ohio. For more information about the Successful Farming Show, go to
This edition of the Pocket Price Guide puts a focus on Agriculture.com/tv.

28 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Photography: Dave Mowitz

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m a c h i n e r y INSIDER™ Continued

upcoming auctions of note

JAN. 9: Cook Auction (cookauctionco.
com) holds its monthly consignment sale in
Clinton, Missouri.
JAN. 10: An absolute auction of
Black Creek Farms’ equipment will be held
by Sullivan Auctioneers (sullivanauctioneers.
com) in Van Buren, Indiana.
JAN. 10: The Weeks’
(weeksfarmmachinery.com) monthly farm
sale will be held in Moultrie, Georgia.
JAN. 18: The Four Star Ag Farms
auction in Oakes, North Dakota, will
be conducted by Steffes Auctioneers
(steffesgroup.com).
JAN. 30: Polk Auction’s (polkauction.com)
massive annual Late Model Ag & Construction
Equipment Auction will be held in New Paris,
Indiana.
FEB. 2: A monthly consignment sale of farm
equipment has been set in Monrovia, Indiana, by
Ted Everett Farm Equipment (tedeverett.com).

comparing prices given at auction for 2012 vs. 2007 model year
vehicles. Hundreds of transactions with the emphasis on higher
horsepower trucks were examined for this price comparison.
“Farmers will seek out a truck with more power, as they are
using the same tractor to haul grain out of the field as well as pull
a flatbed loaded with machinery,” Nelson says.

trucks more diverse in terms of features

B uying a tractor truck compared with, for example, a combine

or a tractor can be an exacting task, as similar model semis
can vary greatly by their features. For example, Freightliner
trucks can be running a Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit diesel, or
Mercedes Benz diesel engine. dig into a semi- Also ask for the maintenance
Even then, you can’t assume just because a truck has a truck’s history logs and check to see if they
Caterpillar engine that it turns out the same horsepower. You can before buying were kept up to date. These logs
find the same model International trucks with Cat engines that
range in power from 385 hp. up to 475 hp.
Further complicating the sorting process is that there are differ-
T he challenge with buying
used trucks is that they
were used for a huge variety
reveal how well the truck was
maintained and exposes any
major repairs it has received.
ences among semitrucks in regard to the following features. of jobs. This is reason enough Investigate whether the truck
• Wheelbase: Wheelbase spacing ranged from 161 out to 234 to dig deep into a truck’s past was involved in an accident,
inches among Peterbilt tractors that sold at a recent Ritchie Bros. before buying. what damage occurred to the
auction. There is an advantage to having a wider wheelbase when “A common mistake farmers vehicle, and whether it has a
it comes to meeting road limits or when crossing rural bridges. and the public, in general, make salvaged title assigned to it.
“A longer suspension does reduce your maneuverability in tight is not knowing everything there Research the truck’s engine
spaces when driving around farmyards or through country eleva- is to know about a particular track record online, looking for
tors,” Nelson points out. item,” says Bill Nelson of US owners’ comments regarding
• Suspension systems: Primarily, this is a difference between Auctioneers. “It starts with doing chronic problems that occurred
spring suspensions (which are becoming increasingly rare) vs. business with a reputable auc- with the power plant.
pneumatic (or air-ride) systems. tion company or dealership that Perform a personal inspection
• Transmissions: Beyond offering various speeds (from eight up will tell you the bad along with of the truck or hire a mechanic
to 18 speeds, with 10 speeds the most common), transmissions are the good about a truck.” to examine the truck. This should
made by a variety of makers (Eaton Fuller is the most common). Start your investigation by include driving the truck (if
They can be either manual or automatic. getting the name of the seller possible) and looking closely at
• Axle ratios: Rear axle ratios vary with 3.42, 3.55, 3.58, and 3.73 or previous owner. Call and its structure.
being the most common. ask how the semitruck was “Buyers usually ask about
• Additional features: These include a wet kit (hydraulic system); maintained, how it was used tires and brakes,” Nelson says.
aluminum steel vs. a combination of aluminum (outside) and steel (local transport vs. over-the-road “These can be replaced. Look
(inside) rims; and a variety of rear axle weight rating (a hauling, for example), and why closely at the frame. It can be
40,000-pound weight is, by far, the most common rating). it’s being sold. costly to correct if damaged.”

30 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018

 POCKET PRICE GUIDE: Sale Prices on Semitrucks with Day Cabs
2012 2007
Cut along this line

STATE* STATE*
MAKE & MODEL MILES HP. PRICE MAKE & MODEL MILES HP. PRICE
SOLD SOLD
FREIGHTLINER FREIGHTLINER
Cascadia 113 181,500 450 PA $25,800 Century 112 323,739 430 IA $25,100

Cascadia 125 616,700 450 IA $24,700 Century 112 415,944 430 IA $20,500

Cascadia 125 658,120 450 AL $22,700 Century 112 684,935 450 TX $7,300

Cascadia 125 655,000 450 MO $20,300 Century 112 648,451 450 TX $7,200

Cascadia 112 271,679 450 MO $23,800 Century 112 684,957 450 IN $6,300

Cascadia 113 387,849 435 WA $22,000 Columbia 112 902,348 450 IL $9,100

Cascadia 125 89,921 450 NE $31,000 Columbia 112 876,943 410 ND $5,900
INTERNATIONAL
Prostar 222,211 475 MN $18,200 INTERNATIONAL 9200i 717,920 500 NE $23,200

221,740 475 CA $17,250 9400i 457,500 450 NE $16,100

209,505 475 TX $17,550 9900i 574,018 475 MI $18,500

199,041 475 IL $28,100 9400i 339,270 450 SD $26,000

286,000 475 CO $26,300 9400i 304,683 435 IL $20,000

219,593 475 IN $18,750 9400i 237,025 450 TX $13,000

KENWORTH T800 226,190 455 IL $51,600 KENWORTH T800 340,103 430 LA $46,600

437,010 450 MN $35,750 491,000 475 IL $42,500

635,833 450 MN $32,700 720,160 430 MN $29,750

537,869 450 NY $30,000 840,551 475 WI $24,700

569,355 405 OH $25,100 734,498 450 IL $23,600

331,873 405 OK $23,100 842,510 450 IA $19,400

385,878 405 TX $27,500 827,809 450 OH $16,300

MACK CH613 650,314 430 OH $18,2000 MACK CHN613 301,000 460 OH $33,000

CH613 242,003 430 OK $14,900 CHN 613 463,882 410 MO $12,000

CH613 650,314 430 IA $18,200 CX613 841,040 410 MN $23,000

CXU613 517,175 445 PA $22,100 CX613 616,047 410 MN $17,750

CXU613 510,738 445 NE $22,050 CX613 749,546 410 WI $16,500

CXU613 156,984 445 MN $45,000 CX613 742,247 410 IL $16,250

CXU613 203,339 445 IL $27,000 CXN613 606,000 405 OH $16,400

PETERBILT 365 321,643 455 OH $44,500 PETERBILT 357 846,739 430 NE $35,200

384 431,707 455 PA $30,800 357 353,644 475 MI $29,100

388 160,660 525 ND $70,200 378 325,696 475 TN $41,100

388 173,574 525 ND $70,100 378 810,333 430 MN $28,250

388 365,448 455 MO $60,000 379 707,840 455 MO $35,400

389 195,514 485 NE $71,000 379 687,068 475 PA $39,100

Cut along this line

384 547,897 430 MN $26,260 385 741,018 475 WI $35,250

VOLVO VHD64F200 235,411 435 WI $29,000 VOLVO VNL64T300 757.342 475 OH $26,100

VHD64FT200 222,680 405 GA $30,100 VNL42T300 441,109 395 MN $15,500

VNL64T300 247,015 425 TX $22,900 VNL64T300 782,891 435 MN $14,500

VNL64T300 300,106 405 MN $25,000 VNL64T300 674,038 400 IL $14,100

VNL64T300 539,980 405 PA $19,700 VNL64T300 832,500 435 IL $13,750

* PA = Pennsylvania, etc. Data Sources: Auctiontime.com, rbauction.com, IronSearch.com
m a c h i n e r y
By Anna McConnell and Laurie Bedord

FULL-RECOVERY SYSTEM
THE ROGATOR CAN NOW BE COMPLETELY
CLEANED OUT IN ABOUT SIX MINUTES.

A
fter 25 years on the market, RoGator is expanding
with a new C Series Row Crop Applicator that offers
more consistent droplet size. The sprayer feeds liquid
fertilizer from the end and middle of the boom. It
also uses the LiquidLogic system to keep spraying at a
minimum pressure to achieve ±1 psi variation across the boom.
A unique feature is the sprayer’s ClearFlow recovery system
that pumps air through the boom to force product back into
the sprayer’s tank for reuse. This is the industry’s first full-re-
covery system offering complete cleanout in about six minutes.
Traction control; turn compensation sensors; a new ex-
ternal keypad on the side of the machine; and fast, safe stops
all highlight the new model. The RoGator’s AccuTerminal
touch screen controls cruise control, shuttle shift speed, driv-
ing sensitivities, headland control, AgControl rate and section The C Series sprayers range from 280 hp. to 339 hp., with an
control, spray pressures, auto agitation, boom cleanout, and estimated price of $321,372 for a RoGator equipped with the
product rinse and recovery. RoGator offers a number of pack- LiquidLogic application system, 20-inch nozzle spacing,
ages for this sprayer including the Raven Viper 4+, AccuBoom, Auto-Guide automatic steering, and AgControl rate and
AutoBoom, Raven Hawkeye, and AGCO’s AgControl.  section control for 36 sections.

REDESIGNED WORKHORSE
THE LATEST VERSION OF THE KODIAK 450 IS
EASIER TO MAINTAIN.

B
ack in 2003, Yamaha
launched its work-
horse ATV, the
Kodiak 450. Fast
forward to 2017, and
Yamaha has upgraded the
450 to a more maintenance-
friendly machine. The ma-
chine looks and feels large,
but it handles like a smaller
ATV. The new 450’s tread
width is roughly 3 inches
wider, the seat has been
elongated and the machine’s
base has gotten more slender.
The original 450’s engine
(the 21-cc Yamaha fuel-
injected engine) remains,
but it is teamed up with an
improved CVT transmis-
sion. The 450 snagged a
new chassis, too, which is
protected by a full-length
skid plate.
Also new are rear wet
brakes that are completely
sealed to minimize mainte-
nance. The vehicle’s throttle
lever was also redesigned,
and the meter and handlebar
area was reconfigured for
convenience and comfort.
Speaking of comfort,
switching between two-
wheel and four-wheel drive
is simple, operating vibration
discomfort isn’t a factor, and manure-friendly fenders. ing to run fences, herd cattle,
larger footwell areas accom- Yamaha reps say this ATV run parts or food out to the
modate boots of all shapes is the one farmers should fields during harvest, scout
and sizes. buy in bulk to build up the fields, and countless other
As for accessories, you operation’s fleet. It’s durable ag-related tasks.
may be interested in outfit- and flexible for many tasks, The new Kodiak 450 is
ting the new Kodiak 450 and it’s not challenging to available now at prices
with rack extensions, pre- operate. starting at $5,999. All of the
wired winches, rack backs, This is the machine reps Kodiak 450s are assembled
2-inch receiver hitches, and see ranchers and farmers us- in the U.S.

32 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Photography: Manufacturers

 ®
HERBICIDE DECISIONS 2018: Proven Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System
Offers Effective Weed Control and Flexibility
Going into the 2018 planting season, farmers and when they use XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technology
dealers are faced with a number of options when it on their Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans along with
comes to herbicide systems. other endorsed herbicides in the program.
Those looking for high yield potential and a better weed A complete herbicide program in Roundup Ready
management system can turn to proven Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans will include preplant residual prod-
2 Xtend® soybeans in 2018. ucts and overlapping chemistries for best weed
The Roundup Ready® Xtend Crop System provides farmers management and resistance management purposes.
and applicators more flexibility, better weed control and For best management practices and herbicide
more added value than any other weed control system on recommendations, farmers and dealers are urged
the market. By combining innovative trait technologies to visit the Roundup Ready PLUS Crop Management
and herbicide options, the Roundup Ready Xtend Crop Solutions website, www.RoundupReadyPLUS.com,
System can help maximize weed control and increase developed by Monsanto in conjunction with leading
yield potential. academics and industry partners to help farmers
and dealers improve weed control. The website
“The vast majority of farmers using also provides weed management recommendations
for Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans by geography.
our low-volatility dicamba product have had
tremendous success in 2017, both with on-target
applications and good weed control.”
Built on the high-yielding Roundup Ready 2 Yield®
soybean technology, Roundup Ready 2 Xtend
soybeans contain dicamba and glyphosate herbicide
tolerance, providing additional tools to help control
glyphosate-resistant broadleaf weeds such as Palmer
amaranth, waterhemp and marestail, along with
other tough-to-control broadleaf weeds such as
lambsquarters and velvetleaf.
An integral component of the Roundup Ready Xtend “The vast majority of farmers using our low-
Crop System is XtendiMax® herbicide with VaporGrip® volatility dicamba product have had tremendous
Technology, a restricted use pesticide, a low-volatility success in 2017, both with on-target applications and
dicamba formulation labeled for in-crop use in Roundup good weed control,” says Ty Vaughn, Monsanto’s Global
Ready 2 Xtend soybeans. XtendiMax with VaporGrip Regulatory Lead. “The product was extensively tested
Technology controls over 270 species of weeds and for volatility and other forms of off-target movement
can have moderate residual control on small-seeded before it was made available to farmers this season.
broadleaf weeds, including waterhemp, lambsquarters We are confident XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technology
and Palmer pigweed, depending on rainfall and soil type. can continue to be used successfully in the system
Through Roundup Ready PLUS® Crop Management next season.”
Solutions, farmers can earn an additional $6 per acre To learn more visit: RoundupReadyXtend.com

Restricted Use Pesticide

XtendiMax® herbicide with VaporGrip® Technology is part of the Roundup Ready® Xtend Crop System and is a restricted use pesticide for retail sale to and use only by Certified Applicators or persons under their direct supervision.
ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW DIRECTIONS FOR USE ON PESTICIDE LABELING. IT IS A VIOLATION OF FEDERAL AND STATE LAW to use any pesticide product other than in accordance with its labeling. XtendiMax® herbicide with VaporGrip®
Technology may not be approved in all states and may be subject to use restrictions in some states. Check with your local Monsanto dealer or representative or U.S. EPA and your state pesticide regulatory agency for the product registration status
and additional restrictions in your state. For approved tank-mix products and nozzles visit XtendiMaxApplicationRequirements.com.
NOT ALL formulations of dicamba or glyphosate are approved for in-crop use with Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® soybeans. ONLY USE FORMULATIONS THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY LABELED FOR SUCH USES AND APPROVED FOR SUCH USE IN THE STATE
OF APPLICATION.
Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® soybeans contain genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate and dicamba. Glyphosate will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate. Dicamba will kill crops that are not tolerant to dicamba. Contact your Monsanto
dealer or refer to Monsanto’s Technology Use Guide for recommended weed control programs.
Individual results may vary, and performance may vary from location to location and from year to year. This result may not be an indicator of results you may obtain as local growing, soil and weather conditions may vary. Growers should evaluate
data from multiple locations and years whenever possible.
Always read and follow IRM, where applicable, grain marketing and all other stewardship practices and pesticide label directions. Roundup Ready 2 Xtend®, Roundup Ready®, Roundup Ready PLUS®, Roundup Ready 2 Yield®, VaporGrip®
and XtendiMax® are registered trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2018 Monsanto Company. All Rights Reserved. MDIC-18001 SF-JAN
 f a r m MANAGEMENT
By Raylene Nickel

Illustration: aurielaki, iStockphoto.com

11 STEPS TO A
WHOLE-FARM PLAN
A BROAD-BASED OPERATING PLAN
HELPS YOUR FAMILY STAY ON
COURSE.

I
t’s no insurance against setbacks, but having a whole-farm writing of the plan begins, unit should also be deter-
plan in place can help your family stay on course when dif- the topics of the meetings mined. While these values
ficulties unfold. might facilitate a process of and goals often remain
“It’s often tough to communicate as a family because you taking stock of the family, unspoken, they have a large
tend to focus so much on the day-to-day business operations individual assets and goals, impact on how family mem-
of producing a commodity,” says David Marrison, Ohio State and resources and goals of bers treat each other and
University agriculture-natural resources Extension educator. the business. employees, and how they
“Having a whole-farm business plan in place helps you stay Marrison suggests taking make business decisions.”
true to your vision and the mission of the operation,” he says. the following 11 steps to
“It helps you stay on course and not get lost in the weeds of not write a whole-farm plan. Assess individuals’ goals,
having a plan, especially when you’re facing big stressors like
crop failures or tractor engines going down.” Take stock of the family.
2 strengths, and also weak-
nesses. “Each member of
A whole-farm plan encompasses the breadth and width of
your farm family’s business. “You might say it gives a perspec-
1 Look at the history of your
family and its farm, and
the farm business should
conduct a self-assessment of
tive of the operation from a distance of 30,000 feet, as opposed identify family values and his or her communication,
to a view from 10 feet away,” says Marrison. family goals. financial, production, mar-
A whole-farm plan addresses a broad spectrum of compo- “It is valuable for the keting, and management
nents, such as family values and goals, a business analysis and business to begin the plan- skills,” says Marrison. “This
business goals, a business plan, retirement plan, transition plan, ning process by reflecting on is particularly important
estate plan, and investment plan. family and farm history,” he when bringing generations
“The parts of the whole-farm plan are like spokes in a says. “Valuable lessons can be back to the farm.”
wheel. All need to work together in harmony for the long- learned by all the genera- This process helps your
term success of the operation, and all play a role in keeping it tions involved by examining family determine the areas
operating into the future,” he says. past successes and disap- of responsibility to be allo-
The writing of a broad-based plan begins, of course, with pointments. The underlying cated to each person. A lack
the holding of family business meetings. Before the actual values and goals of the family of skill or experience in

While only active for five months a year, corn rootworms
(CRW) cost U.S. corn farmers a billion dollars annually per the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. The time between hatching to pupating
into a CRW adult is a mere 27-40 days; then from late July until the
first frost, a female adult beetle can lay 500-1,000 eggs.
Adult CRW beetles are strong fliers. Throughout the summer,
beetles migrate between corn fields to feed on green silks and
pollen. With favorable winds, beetles can travel several miles.
Newly hatched larvae are only 1/8-inch long but can move up to Reference: February 1991, Naranjo, Movement of Corn Rootworm
20 inches searching for corn roots. Sniffing out carbon dioxide emitted Beetles at Field Boundaries, Northern Grain Insects Research Laboratory,
from root tips, the larvae feed for three weeks and burrow deep into USDA-ARS, Brookings, SD.
root tissues. The damage to the roots inhibits water and nutrient
uptake by the plant, causes stalk lodging and reduces corn crop yields.
Farmers with fields at risk for CRW have control options,
including highly effective trait technology. Ask your local seed
Find your local dealer at
dealer about SmartStax® technology.

Monsanto Company is a member of Excellence Through Stewardship® (ETS). Monsanto products are commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with Monsanto’s Policy for Commercialization of Biotechnology-Derived Plant Products in
Commodity Crops. This product has been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop or material produced from this product can only be exported to, or used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It
is a violation of national and international law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is not permitted. Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their buying position for this product. Excellence Through Stewardship® is a
registered trademark of Excellence Through Stewardship.
)[WYVK\J[Z may not yet be registered in all states. Check with your Monsanto representative for the registration status in your state.
(3>(@:9,(+(5+-6336>7,:;0*0+,3(),3+09,*;065:9V\UK\W9LHK` technology contains genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, an active ingredient
in Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides. RIB Complete®, Roundup Ready®, Roundup® and SmartStax® are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC.
IMPORTANT IRM INFORMATION: RIB Complete® corn blend products do not require the planting of a structured refuge except in the Cotton-Growing Area where
corn earworm is a significant pest. SmartStax® RIB Complete® corn blend is not allowed to be sold for planting in the Cotton-Growing Area. See the IRM/Grower
Guide for additional information. Always read and follow IRM requirements. Agricultural herbicides containing glyphosate will kill crops that are not tolerant to
glyphosate. Roundup Ready®, Roundup® and SmartStax® are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. LibertyLink® and the Water Droplet Design® is a registered
trademark of Bayer. Herculex® is a registered trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC. Respect the Refuge and Corn Design® and Respect the Refuge® are registered
trademarks of National Corn Growers Association. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
©2017 Monsanto Company All Rights Reserved traits8417c3-P214CHR1
 Choose the yield advantage of DroughtGard® Hybrids technology corn products,
and be prepared for drought when it happens.
There’s no need to sacrifice yield potential for drought tolerance with DroughtGard®
Hybrids, which contain the first and only drought-tolerant biotech trait.

See how the science works at DroughtGard.com/Video

Growing conditions can be defined as those in which temperature, light and water, among other inputs, are suitable for plant growth.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS MAY VARY. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW IRM, WHERE APPLICABLE, GRAIN MARKETING AND ALL OTHER STEWARDSHIP
PRACTICES AND PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS.
Details of these practices can be found in the Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers printed in this publication.
©2017 Monsanto Company All Rights Reserved drogrd7475c1-P214AR1
Follow us @ GenuityTraits
 Trait and Stewardship Responsibilities
Notice to Farmers
Monsanto Company is a member of
Excellence Through Stewardship ® (ETS).
Monsanto products are commercialized in
accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship
Guidance, and in compliance with Monsanto’s
Policy for Commercialization of Biotechnology-
Derived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. This
product has been approved for import into key export
markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any
crop or material produced from this product can
only be exported to, or used, processed or sold in
countries where all necessary regulatory approvals
have been granted. It is a violation of national and
international law to move material containing
biotech traits across boundaries into nations where
import is not permitted. Growers should talk to
their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm
their buying position for this product. Excellence
Through Stewardship® is a registered trademark of
Excellence Through Stewardship.
B.t. products may not yet be registered in all states.
Check with your Monsanto representative for the
registration status in your state.
IMPORTANT IRM INFORMATION: RIB Complete®
corn blend products do not require the planting of
a structured refuge except in the Cotton-Growing
Area where corn earworm is a significant pest.
SmartStax® RIB Complete ® corn blend is not
allowed to be sold for planting in the Cotton-
Growing Area. See the IRM/Grower Guide for
additional information. Always read and follow
IRM requirements.
Individual results may vary, and performance
may vary from location to location and from year to
year. This result may not be an indicator of results
you may obtain as local growing, soil and weather
conditions may vary. Growers should evaluate data
from multiple locations and years whenever possible.
ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL
DIRECTIONS. Roundup Ready technology contains
genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, an active
ingredient in Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides.
Agricultural herbicides containing glyphosate will
kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate.
DroughtGard®, RIB Complete and Design®, RIB
Complete®, Roundup Ready 2 Technology and
Design®, Roundup Ready®, Roundup®, SmartStax®
and VT Double PRO® are trademarks of Monsanto
Technology LLC. LibertyLink® and the Water Droplet
Design® is a registered trademark of Bayer. Herculex®
is a registered trademark of Dow AgroSciences
LLC. Respect the Refuge and Corn Design® and
Respect the Refuge® are registered trademarks
of National Corn Growers Association. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective
owners. ©2017 Monsanto Company All Rights
Reserved. crntrt7681c1-P214SR1
f a r m MANAGEMENT
certain areas could suggest outsourcing
some jobs. Or, it could suggest a need for
additional education or training.
“You should always be looking at ways
to help family members and employees
improve their skills and strengths,” says
Marrison.
Analyze the business and set business
3 goals. A business analysis takes stock
of available land, labor, capital, manage-
ment resources, profitability, business
structure, operating procedures, and
employee management.
“After taking a snapshot of where the
farm business is currently, the family
business team should develop key goals
for the future,” says Marrison. “It is
important that each individual share his
or her individual goals and skill-set as-
sessments with the other members of the
business during this process. Members
can then work together to determine the
responsibilities of each team member
and to develop goals.”
Write a mission statement. “A mission
4 statement is a short statement describ-
ing the fundamental reason for the busi-
ness to exist,” he says. “It identifies the
underlying values that are going to push
your family and the business forward.”
Write a business plan. The previous
5 steps comprise an internal analysis
that can be used to develop plans encom-
passing the diverse areas of your farm’s
operation.
“A business plan helps your family de-
velop a plan of action for production and
operation practices,” says Marrison. “It
also helps develop plans for the financial,
marketing, personnel, and risk-manage-
ment sectors of the business.”
This analysis could also examine the
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats in each of these areas.
Plan for retirement. This plan identi-
6 fies retirees’ needs and the role the
farm plays in meeting these. “Retirement
plans should be established early for all
members of the business,” says Marrison.
“The profitability of your farm should be
bonus Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
Continued
such that a family member can retire and
not adversely affect the financial position
of the business.”
Plan a transition strategy. This
7 describes how your farm will be trans-
ferred to the next generation. It encom-
passes both the transfer of assets and the
transfer of managerial control. It de-
scribes how the retiring generation will
transfer their knowledge to the younger
generation, and how and when manage-
rial responsibilities will be transferred.
Make an estate plan. “Farm estate
8 planning determines how your farm’s
assets will be distributed upon the death
of the principal operators,” he says.
Outline an investment plan.
9 Investments vary widely by family
and farm, typically comprising land, ma-
chinery, and livestock. Others have off-
farm investments also. Determine how
these investments affect future needs.
Set goals in all areas. “Setting goals
10 establishes a plan of action for each
area of business activity,” says Marrison.
“Set measurable goals that are short,
mid, and long term. At monthly family
meetings, you can look back at the goals
you set in each major area of planning.
Reviewing goals keeps them in focus,
even though you might not be able to act
on them until a future date.”
Plan for the unexpected. In each plan-
11 ning area, work into the plan a what-
if scenario. “Look at what unexpected
things could happen,” he says. “Having
conversations about those what-if cir-
cumstances no one wants to think about
could help you stay on target and not get
stressed when bad things happen.”
In sum, says Marrison, “By imple-
menting a whole-farm approach to
business planning, your farm family can
be ready to face the future with confi-
dence.”
LEARN MORE
David Marrison | 440/576-9008
marrison.2@osu.edu
W H E A T
By Raylene Nickel

Holly Lerwick, 4, now sees

sunflowers on her grandfather’s
farm that used to grow just wheat.

now with his own sons,

Dean and Grant, they grow
four crops in a continuous-
cropping rotation. Behind
winter wheat comes corn,
then confectionary sunflow-
ers, and finally, proso millet.
While running out of soil
moisture might have been a
concern in the early years of
Lerwick’s experiment with
no-till and continuous crop-
ping, the system has proven
instead to actually improve
efficiencies of moisture stor-
age and use.
Following are three con-
tributing factors.

1. Surface residue
CROPPING EVERY ACRE COMBINING NO-TILL traps moisture
WITH CONTINUOUS CROPPING TO ELIMINATE FALLOW STOPS
EROSION AND CONSERVES MOISTURE. “S nowfall contributes a
significant amount to
our annual moisture,” says
Lerwick. “The stubble fills

I
n the semiarid high plains of western Nebraska, moisture nated tillage completely by up with snow, and then a
is as good as gold. Thirteen to 15 inches of precipitation going to a no-till system. chinook wind comes along
is the best that wheat growers can expect to get in a year. “By 1997, I was convinced and melts it. That gives the
Hoping to store skimpy moisture in the soil, many grow- I could grow a crop on stubble an opportunity to
ers continue to rotate winter wheat with summer fallow every acre,” says Lerwick. fill back up when another
– either tilled or chemical. “Having that as a goal forced snowfall comes.
Given such dry growing conditions, straying from the sum- the need to find other crops The surface residue holds
mer fallow takes some courage and a willingness to risk crop that would grow well for the snowmelt from running
failure. Wheat grower Alton Lerwick, Harrisburg, Nebraska, us and then build a diverse off, and increasing water
had both back in 1974 when he came home from college to rotation from these. The infiltration in the soil per-
start farming with his father, Melvin. system we have since devised mits moisture to percolate
“Like other farmers around us, we alternated winter wheat has worked well, and it has downward.
with tilled summer fallow,” says Alton Lerwick. “We had a lot eliminated wind erosion.”
of wind erosion, though, and I couldn’t tolerate it. I couldn’t On top of that, soil health 2. organic matter
stand to see that topsoil blowing away. In the summer, we had has improved, and both has increased
water erosion.”
Melvin gave his son the freedom to experiment with
alternatives. The first
yields and profitability have
increased. Wheat yields
have surpassed the county
“I n our previous wheat-
fallow rotation, we
were mining the soil or-
change they made was average, and overall land ganic matter for the release

1 TO 2.5
The percentage increase in
organic matter on some of Alton
Lerwick’s fields due to no-till and
continuous cropping.
to switch to reduced
tillage, which kept
more residue on the soil
surface.
productivity has more than
doubled in comparison
with what it was with a
wheat-fallow rotation. (See
of nitrogen,” says Lerwick.
“Back then, we had some
soils that tested less than
1% in organic matter. Over
Then, in the 1990s accompanying story.) a period of 10 years of
the Lerwicks elimi- Today, as Lerwick farms no-till and continuous

BonuS Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Photography: Alton Lerwick

Continue to next page
w h e a t Continued
Feeding the overall crop-
ping system with sufficient
crop residue is an ongo-
ing challenge. As the soils
become more biologically
active, the breakdown of
residue speeds up. Because
of that, Lerwick will grow
only one low-residue crop
in four years.
While sunflowers are a
highly profitable crop for
the family, they consider the
sunflowers to be low-residue
producers. Because of that,
the Lerwicks will grow them
only once in four years.
For that same reason,
they have not yet worked
a legume into the rotation.
“A legume would benefit
the soil microbiology, and
we’re experimenting with
growing field peas, lentils,
and garbanzo beans,” says
Lerwick. “They tend to be
low residue, though, so we’re
above, top: Converting to no-till and continuous cropping on Alton
Lerwick’s farm now means crops like proso millet are produced.
considering carefully how
above: Continuous cropping has more than doubled land productivity we might work them into
of Alton Lerwick’s farm from when he used to grow mainly wheat. the rotation.”
To conserve as much
residue as possible, the
cropping, some of our soil tests show organic matter levels Lerwicks harvest crops with
as high as 2.5%.” stripper headers. They leave
Lerwick’s testing of organic matter (OM) in native sod also all wheat stubble standing
shows levels of 2% and 2.5%. This could suggest his soils may rather than harvesting some
be approaching their native capacity for OM. as straw bales.
The higher levels of OM in Lerwick’s soils result from con- Lerwick never counted
tinuous cropping paired with no-till. “With just no-till alone, on the multiple benefits of
we didn’t see the increases in soil quality until we started grow- building a diverse no-till
ing a crop on every acre every year,” he says. “By growing a system. “We started out
crop, we produce more root material and more surface residue, simply trying to stop wind
and that breaks down and becomes more organic matter.” erosion,” he says. “We didn’t
realize we would end up
3. Soil structure enhances water here – with improved prof-
infiltration itability, better soil quality,
A s OM increases, soil becomes more biologically alive. Root
channels and stable soil aggregates enhance soil porosity,
permitting improved water infiltration. Stable soil aggregates
and habitat for wildlife.”
Quality of life has
improved, as well. “I used to
also are effective at storing water. spend the summer tilling
“Visually, the soil structure is improving,” says Lerwick. fields to fight weeds,” he
“The soils are crumbly and don’t have the plating that’s says. “Now, I spend much of
characteristic of a layer of compaction. The soil is also full of my time in the summer
earthworms.” walking the fields, scouting
BonuS Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
more than
doubling
productivity
W hen Alton Lerwick began
growing a crop on every
acre, productivity automatically
increased. It grew even more as
soil health improved, generating
higher yields.
Randy Anderson, agronomist
at the USDA-ARS North Central
Agricultural Research Laboratory
at Brookings, South Dakota,
compiled just how much
productivity had improved.
“To compare land productivity
between continuous cropping on
the Lerwick farm and a winter
wheat-fallow [rotation in his
county], we calculated annualized
yield by adding yields of all crops
in a rotation for a given year, and
dividing by the number of years in
the rotation,” he says.
During the period of 2008-
2015, average yields in Lerwick’s
continuous cropping system tallied
29 bushels per acre for winter
wheat, 51 bushels for corn, 1,320
pounds per acre for sunflower,
and 33 bushels for proso millet.
Winter wheat yield after fallow in
Lerwick’s county was 24 bushels.
“Continuous cropping produced
1,770 pounds per acre of grain
product per year, while only 660
pounds of grain product was
harvested from winter wheat-
fallow,” says Anderson.
“Continuous cropping increased
productivity 2.7 times compared
with winter wheat-fallow.”
for problems. It’s more pleas-
ant to simply watch things
grow, rather than stop things
from growing.”
LEARN MORE
Alton Lerwick
308/247-3139
lerwicka@gmail.com
Photography: Alton Lerwick
 Ready when you are.
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 f i n a n c i a l TIPS
By Julie Spiegel

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT TAX CREDIT

THIS LITTLE-KNOWN AND UNDERUSED FINANCIAL TOOL
an operation is currently
reporting a farm loss and
no income taxes are being
COULD HELP YOUR FARM’S BOTTOM LINE. paid, the R&D credit may
still be advantageous if any
of the prior three years
reported taxable income
(as these tax years could be
amended). Or, the credit
could be used to offset
payroll taxes paid or carried
forward up to 20 years to
offset future income.
If it is determined that
the tax credit is applicable
to your operation, your
CPA should work with an
in-house tax specialist (who
understands the intricacies

J
ust how innovative of a farmer or rancher are you? If entire agriculture industry. of the R&D tax credit) or an
you can answer yes to any of the following questions re- Along with becoming outside tax specialty firm.
garding your farm operation, you might consider learn- a permanent piece of tax Most firms provide free
ing more about the little-known, underused Research & legislation, there are two consultative services to help
Development (R&D) tax credit. other key changes to make identify your operation’s
• Have you experimented with new or different fertilizers? the tax credit more taxpayer- innovative practices and
• Have you planted cover crops? friendly. These include can determine whether the
• Have you developed new feeds/feeding techniques for livestock? allowing the credit to offset operation meets the R&D
• Have you implemented new ways to protect crops from disease? alternative minimum tax, tax credit requirements by
• Have you improved harvesting practices? and allowing smaller start- performing some simple
These are a few examples available to you that reward for up businesses that may not testing. Discuss the costs of
innovative efforts, but there are many more possibilities. In pay federal income tax to compiling and calculating
years when cash flows are constricted by lower commodity offset this credit against the information to make
prices, you should seek techniques and practices to keep payroll taxes. sure they don’t outweigh the
additional dollars in your pocket. The R&D tax credit may be The beauty of a tax financial benefits. At the end
the tool that does just that. credit, compared with a of the day, the taxpayer has
What is the R&D tax credit? Dating back to the early tax deduction, is that while the burden of supporting the
1980s, the R&D tax credit was created in response to an tax deductions reduce a tax credit taken.
economic slowdown during a time when the U.S. had lost its taxpayer’s taxable income, Don’t wait to find out if
competitive mojo. Near the end of the Cold War, Congress tax credits reduce dollar-for- you are missing out. Contact
implemented this tax credit as a mechanism to increase dollar taxes owed. More to your accountant and start
American companies’ innovation through research and come on this. asking questions today. You
experimentation. For years, it has predominantly been used might find an innovative
by manufacturing companies. How farmers and way to save on taxes this year
Made permanent in late 2015, this credit rewards ranchers benefit and for years to come.
businesses with innovation that is only required to be “new
to you” – not “new to the world.” The credit has largely
been ignored by the ag industry, according
A s a producer, you make
myriad decisions each
day that may seem routine
about the author
Julie Spiegel is a certified
to Mike Johanns, former U.S. Secretary of in nature and not innovative. public accountant for Varney
Agriculture. Johanns is a strategic advisory As Johanns says, “It doesn’t and Associates of Manhattan,
board member of alliantgroup, a tax firm hurt to ask.” Kansas. She specializes in
that specializes in the R&D tax credit for Contact your CPA and agricultural tax planning,
the agriculture industry. alliantgroup is one inquire whether the R&D preparation, financial analysis,
of several large, national tax specialty firms tax credit could be applied and consulting.
Julie Spiegel spotlighting the R&D tax credit across the to your farm. In the event Email: jspiegel@varney.com

bonus Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Illustration: Dmitrii Guzhanin, iStockphoto.com
Continue to next page
 a g e l e s s IRON®
By Dave Mowitz, Executive Editor, Machinery & Technology
ALL-PURPOSE PIONEER
THE FARMALL WAS BORN OUT OF AN IOWA
FARM BOY’S PRACTICAL SENSE OF TILLAGE.
T
he Farmall was not the first tractor to feature a
tri-cycle design. Nor was it the first attempt at an
all-purpose tractor – a machine as accustomed to
cultivating row crops as it was to plowing or power-
ing a thresher.
Rather, Farmall was the tractor that put both concepts to
practical application and commercial success. For its impact
on tractor engineering – let alone the improvement in quality
of life for farmers – the Farmall stands atop the pile of the
world’s greatest tractors. The way it came to prominence was
not so illustrious, however.
The Farmall wasn’t the first choice of IHC management
when it desperately sought to stem sales losses to the Fordson.
In the 1910s, IHC owned the tractor market led by its triple
crown – the Titan 10-20, International 8-16, and McCormick
15-30. Ford knocked down all three kingpins with one roll in
1918 by introducing the Fordson. Within five years, the trac-
tor came to claim 76% of the horsepower market.
IHC management sat stunned in Chicago looking at its
market share shrink to 9%. The company knew a change was
needed. Enter an unlikely hero in Bert Benjamin.
Ageless Iron
almanac
Tap into similar tractor histories
plus restoration tips, collector
stories, antique tractor values,
and more in every issue of
Ageless Iron Almanac. A one-
year subscription is just $20.
To order, call 855/218-8153.
BonuS Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
This Iowa farm boy was a whiz with implements but had
little experience with tractors. Benjamin knew what farmers
needed, however. He had spent a lot of time studying farm-
ing methods and implement design. Benjamin, one of IHC’s
implement engineers, had been assigned to Ford’s facilities
in an effort to adapt International implements to Fordson
tractors. While he was in Detroit, Benjamin created a kit that
transformed Fordsons into cultivating tractors.
multipurpose tractor
T hat trip did more than inspire an adaptation. It led
Benjamin to dream of a machine that would serve all the
needs of farmers. Such a product was not available at the time.
Most farmers who owned a tractor used it to power stationary
implements from a belt pulley or to pull tillage implements.
Such tractors couldn’t readily cultivate growing crops.
That job required a separate tractor that could straddle rows,
be highly maneuverable, and sit lighter on its wheels. IHC’s
answer to this need was its Motor Cultivator. In the late 1910s,
such machines were all the rage with over a dozen companies
selling motor cultivator variations. The innovative Moline
Universal was born during this period.
IHC’s Motor Cultivator was unique in that its engine was
positioned at the rear of its frame and directly above two small
drive wheels spaced on either side of a steering pedestal. The
driver sat ahead of the engine. Implements were suspended
from a frame supported by two steel wheels.
Benjamin liked the simplicity of the Motor Cultivator but
not its high cost. He envisioned a combined tractor truck that
would utilize IHC’s Triple Power Plan of a belt pulley, draw-
bar, and newfangled PTO. This latter innovation had been
introduced to farmers by IHC on its 15-30 Gear Drive.
Eventually, Benjamin and an engineering crew set out to
create such a tractor.
the farmall is born
D esign began in 1919, with the first prototype appearing
in 1921. By this time, the Farmall, as it was being called
by its engineers, gained new allies in Cyrus and Harold
McCormick, who tried out the tractor on their farms. They
liked what they saw and encouraged further design work.
Benjamin and crew made several improvements to the
Farmall’s basic design by making it more rugged while
reducing its weight. By 1923, the first 100 Farmalls were built
for field testing. The reviews were so favorable that IHC
management committed to full-scale production. That effort
would take place in the Moline Plow Work facility in Rock
Island, Illinois. IHC had purchased the plant in 1924 and later
renamed it the Farmall Works.
Production on the Farmall began in September 1924. By
1927, output grew to over 9,500. In 1930, over 42,000 Farmalls
exited the plant’s doors to eager farmers. When the Farmall
Regular was replaced by the F-20 in 1932, over 131,000 of the
tractors had been built.
Photography: Dave Mowitz
Greg Crawford
Grasshopper Customer
7 years and counting

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DIY SHOP
IMPLEMENTS
Here are four of the best farmer-built shop implements you can construct.
By Dave Mowitz, Executive Editor, Machinery & Technology

ENCLOSED LUBRICATION CENTER

ver the years, Successful Farming magazine has provides strength to hold two bulk storage containers for diesel

O shown you dozens of different approaches to

storing lubricants in farm shops. The best overall
design was designed and built by Lance Rezac,
who farms with his brother, Tom, and their
families near Onaga, Kansas.
“This started out as a 300-gallon fuel tank that I cut in half
and topped off with a grate to catch oil drips,” Rezac explains.
“Then I got to thinking that I could construct cabinets above
that tank to hold bulk oil, oil barrels, and jugs, and then put in
shelves to store funnels and fill cans, as well.”
Rezac set about building cabinets from ¹∕8-inch sheet metal
to enclose not only the area above the drain tank but also the
storage cabinets on either side of the drain tank. The frame
for the cabinets was made from 2×2-inch square tubing and
engine and hydraulic oil accessed through two drain lines. The
cabinet to the right provides storage for two 55-gallon barrels
of specialized lubricant. The cabinet to the left holds small
containers of lubricants, coolant, and other tools.
“I wanted everything that is oily or greasy to go in here,” says
Rezac, referring to his cabinets. “Grease guns, used oil filters,
funnels. We turn them all upside down and let them drain.
Everything stays dust-free behind the cabinet’s piano-hinge
doors. They are easy to open, easy to close, and don’t require any
latches. That’s because the fronts of cabinets lean back at about a
5° angle. When the doors are closed, they stay closed.”
Anything that drips lubricant stored in any of the cabinets is
caught by pans and flows into the grate-topped fuel tank, which
holds waste oil to be pumped outside to a storage tank.

Lance Rezac (shown far right)

enclosed his operation’s
storage center to keep dust
from contaminating tools and
containers.

36 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Photography: Dave Mowitz; Cory Hall; Marty Baldwin
 All hand and power tools roll to work on this portable bench created by
Dustin Harrison (shown left in the top, right photo) and Michael Blake.
“This comprises two pieces
of ¾-inch-thick plywood

SUPER-SIZE TOOL BENCH screwed back to back,” says

Blake.
The bottom of the wall is
he need to make both tools and benchtop space A bottom shelf was added nestled between angle irons

T more accessible and close to work projects has

grown with the size of farm shops. This has
inspired farmers to build a wide variety of work
and tool benches on wheels.
One of the most extensive and most complete of such rolling
work and tool benches featured in Successful Farming maga-
zine was the creation of the engineering genius of Michael
using tube steel and old hog
floor grates. The bottom
shelf strengthens the frame,
and the hog grates are
strong enough to hold heavy
tools such as floor jacks and
large boxes of tools.
(located on both sides of the
bottom of the wall) that were
welded to the benchtop.
Bolts passing through the
angle iron hold the bottom
of the tool wall in place.
For extra strength, the
Blake and Dustin Harrison, who farm near Aurelia, Iowa. The hog floor grating was farm team welded the bot-
“We got tired of walking back and forth across the shop to get welded to the bottom of the tom of a piece of strap iron
tools when working on big projects,” Blake says to explain the 2×2-inch tube shelf frame. to the benchtop. This verti-
need that inspired the rolling bench. “We had kept our tools This created a lip that pre- cal support is located on one
on a typical stationary work and tool bench before, which was vents tools or toolboxes from side of the wall and at either
along the wall in our old shop.” sliding on the bottom shelf. end. That strap iron runs at
The project to create this 4-foot-wide by 16-foot-long stor- The tool wall for the an angle up to the tool wall
age implement began with the welding of a bench frame made portable bench was sal- where it is bolted in place.
of 2-inch square tubing. “The worktop is 3∕16-inch steel plating vaged from the tool wall The unit rides to work on
welded to that frame,” Blake points out. that hung in their old shop. 4-inch-diameter castering
wheels. “The whole rack
was built for a fraction of
DETAILED PLANS OF THESE the cost of buying a rolling
SHOP IMPLEMENTS ARE commercial toolbox,” Blake
AVAILABLE AT AGRICULTURE.COM says. “With it, all our hand
tools are in the open for fast
identification. I believe it has
Y ou can download detailed blueprints
and construction instructions for all of
the shop implements featured on these pages
encouraged us to put tools
away, too.”
by going to Agriculture.com/shopplans. Also, Besides being able to move
other farm shop inventions, implements, and tools where they are needed,
repair tips are available at the All Around The the bench does provide some
Farm® page of Agriculture.com. work space to handle smaller
repair items.

January 2018 | Successful Farming at Agriculture.com 37

 The entire weight of the rack and its content
is borne by the floor in Doug Repp’s vertical
storage design.

stability. The surface of the rack is tipped back at roughly a 10°

VERTICAL RACK angle. The rear struts extend up roughly 10 feet to the back of
the rack. This triangle works to

SAVES SPACE extend the weight of the racks

and its steel to the floor. “I store
heavy steel on the bottom half
“ALL MY STEEL
of the rack to concentrate the SUPPLY IS
uccessful Farming magazine has illustrated a fleet weight lower to the floor,” Repp

S of metal storage racks in all sizes and configura-

tions. While all those farmer-built storage frames
have merit, one of the most convenient – if not
the largest – rack to be featured was a creation by
Doug Repp. What differentiates the Minburn, Iowan’s inven-
tion is that it offers hundreds of feet of storage while taking up
around 60 feet of floor space.
Overall, the rack is more than 16 feet tall (nearly reaching
the 16-foot sidewall of Repp’s shop), and it stretches out 22 feet
to readily accommodate long lengths of fabricating steel.
With this design, the entire weight of the rack and its
contents are placed on
Dave Mowitz covers
the floor, Repp points
machinery, shops, out. True, the top of the
irrigation, and rack is attached in two
maintenance topics locations to the shop
for Successful Farming
magazine. Email Dave. wall, but these attach-
Mowitz@meredith.com. ments primarily provide
says. “The rack was designed
so a forklift can place and take
pieces of steel from the higher
levels of rack. I can easily store
steel that I don’t use often in the
upper levels of the rack. Plus, all
my steel supply is visible, so I can
VISIBLE, SO I
CAN READILY
ACCOUNT FOR
INVENTORY.”
– Doug Repp
readily account for inventory.”
The rack was fabricated from
2×4-inch tubing with ¼-inch sidewalls. The storage shelves
were created from pieces of 1×2-inch C-channel that are
approximately 11 inches long. Repp welded cross supports
between the front and rear frames to create additional inte-
rior storage space for steel-length odds and ends. “If there is
something light on the top, I can crawl up shelves like ladder
rungs and also pick up light pipe or flat irons,” Repp adds.
Download a detailed plan of Repp’s vertical storage rack by
going to Agriculture.com/shopplans.

38 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018

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 The Nelson brothers farm team
includes (from left) David, Joe
Sample (employee), Neal, and Dennis.
of the table under the work
top. A stick welder and an
oxygen-acetylene cutting
torch are stored at the other
end of the work center.

METAL CENTER ON WHEELS Nelson created a unique

slide-out cord and welding
lead rack located behind
the stick welder and cutting
hen the Nelson brothers – Neal, David, and provides space for a metal torch. Under the chop saw,

W Dennis – finished out their 80×80-foot shop

several years ago, they considered the size-
able floor space it offered and realized they
had to make as many of the implements
used in the building as portable as possible. That was certainly
the case with the metalworking center created by Neal Nelson.
Prior to farming, Nelson had worked in a factory and
chop saw positioned so its
cutting platform is flush
with the welding table’s top.
Two large rollers, salvaged
from an old square baler
thrower, are positioned on
either side of that chop saw.
he is building a cabinet that
will hold all welding sup-
plies and tools. All clamps
hang from a rod added next
to the plasma cutter.
“With the center, we can
roll everything needed for
learned a lot about reducing setup time on projects. “We Additional rollers are found metal fabrication right up
decided to put all but our MIG welder (which was already on at either end of the tabletop. to the job, which saves us
wheels) on a portable bench that we could roll up next to weld- These rollers work in concert considerable time either
ing repairs or major fabrication projects,” he says. to position steel for precise positioning machinery near
Nelson used salvaged 3-inch square tubing to create the cutting by the saw. “This is a a permanent welding table
welding table. In fact, most of the materials for the table came nice feature, as we can easily or walking back and forth to
from the salvage yard on the brothers’ Belmond, Iowa, farm. move steel back and forth for and from a repair,” he notes.
The table’s top and bottom shelves were decked out with precise and repeatable cut- Enhancements for the
¹∕8-inch-thick steel plating. ting,” Nelson adds. work center include hard-
One of the handiest innovations in the do-it-all portable The brothers’ plasma cut- wiring it for 220-volt access.
welding center is a well in the center of the tabletop. This ter is stored on the right side This allows the brothers to
plug in tools like grinders
at the work center rather
WATCH ONLINE VIDEOS FEATURING ALL THE than having to use a wall
SHOWCASED SHOP IMPLEMENTS plug. Nelson is considering
adding a fold-out downdraft
air-handling unit to remove
V iew videos of all the shop implements showcased on these pages
by going to Agriculture.com/topshops.
Similar shop implements and inventions are also showcased on the
welding fumes.
Download a plan of the
Successful Farming Show appearing on RFD-TV Thursdays at 9 p.m., Nelsons’ metal-welding
Fridays at 1 a.m., or Sundays at 10 p.m. (all times are Eastern). center at Agriculture.com/
shopplans.

40 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018

 TAKE CONTROL OF
YOUR TIME
Get connected anytime, anywhere.
Don’t you often wish you had more time? The number of hours in a day isn’t
always enough to get everything done. That’s why we’ve made it easy to collect,
view and share machine and agronomic data, wherever you are. When you’re on
the go, the MyOperations™* App allows you to connect to in-cab displays,
HYDOXDWHSHUIRUPDQFHGXULQJDQGDIWHUHOGZRUNDQGHIFLHQWO\PDQDJHHOG
ORJLVWLFV7KH0\$QDO\]HU $SSKHOSVWDNHHOGDQDO\VLVWRWKHQH[WOHYHOE\
providing mobile access to documented map layers and farm summaries
wherever you are.

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dealer, then with support tools to remotely diagnose problems to get you up
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* Available for iOS and Android devices from the John Deere App Center or the iTunes or Google Play store. JohnDeere.com/PrecisionAg
 i r r i g a t i o n INSIDER
By Tharran Gaines
IRRIGATION TECHNICIAN
TRAINING NOW AVAILABLE
THE NEBRASKA COLLEGE OF TECHNICAL
AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM PIONEERS TRAINING
FOR CENTER PIVOT DIAGNOSTICS AND REPAIR.
N
ewer, techno-
logically advanced
center pivot systems
certainly have their
benefits, including
easier control and more ef-
ficient water use. However,
the downside is that, as
farmers replace older pivots
with new systems and such
sprinklers replace furrow
systems, there’s more need
for technicians who can
repair them.
Fortunately, there’s train-
ing available, whether you
want to pursue a career
with an irrigation equip-
ment company or simply
want to learn how to repair
the systems on your own
farm. One of those training
opportunities is available at
the University of Nebraska
NCTA (Nebraska College
of Technical Agriculture) in
Curtis, Nebraska.
partnership
D eveloped through a
partnership with Reinke
Manufacturing Company
about five years ago, the
Irrigation Technician
Concentration curriculum
is a 34-credit, two-semester
program that incorporates
courses specifically related
to pivot and lateral irriga-
tion systems. They include
AC and DC circuit analy-
sis, industrial electricity,
introduction to electrical
codes, mechanized irriga-
tion systems, and industrial
42 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
safety, to name a few.
The course also includes
five hours of adviser-guided
electives. Consequently,
if you plan to work on
hydraulic-driven pivots, you
may be directed to an extra
class or two on hydraulics to
round out your education.
Huge demand for
technicians
A ccording to Dan Stehlik,
instructor and director of
the program, about half of
the students are sponsored
by an irrigation dealership;
the other half are comprised
of young people who have
intentions of going back to
the farm. He says there are
also a couple of “free agents”
in class this year who are
taking the course in hopes of
finding a job. That shouldn’t
be hard, because Stehlik
already has a list of irrigation
equipment dealers looking
for help.
“Due to our partnership
with Reinke, we have a wide
range of teaching tools avail-
able to us,” Stehlik explains.
“Those include gearboxes
mounted on benches, an out-
door crop-production pivot,
and a three-tower, 40-foot
model pivot inside our shop.
In addition, the towers on
the indoor unit include one
each of the primary tower
control boxes,” he adds, not-
ing that the pivot is mounted
on short towers for safer,
easier access.
Dan Stehlik (shown left), director of the
irrigation technician concentration program,
is seeing a huge demand for pivot technicians.
“Consequently, I can
switch wires or even cut a
wire as part of the trouble-
shooting curriculum. Of
course, each of the manu-
facturers has its own wiring
diagrams and controls, so we
try to cover all the basics.”
With the growing use of
chemigation, Stehlik says
there are a few sessions
on chemical injection and
calibration.
Precision Ag
“W e’re trying to keep up
as best we can with
things like GPS guidance
and remote monitoring, as
well,” he adds. “However,
that technology continues to
expand every year.”
Stehlik says the good news
for potential students is that
the tuition for the irrigation
technician concentration
degree is the same for both
in-state and out-of-state stu-
dents. There is no admission
prerequisite, either, such as a
minimum SAT score.
For those who don’t want
to travel to south-central
Nebraska, there are other
colleges that offer irriga-
tion technology degrees.
They include Walla Walla
Community College in
Walla Walla, Washington;
Utah State University in
Logan, Utah; and Modesto
Junior College in Modesto,
California.
However, while some of
the curricula include addi-
tional courses of value
on fluid dynamics, water
management, and pump
applications, they also cover
things like drip irrigation
and turf irrigation, which
may not be of value to
Midwest farmers.
“I like to think of our
course as Irrigation CSI,”
Stehlik says. “If a center
pivot stops, it’s our job to
figure out why and what we
need to do to solve the
problem.”
Photography: University of Nebraska
TAKE CONTROL OF
YOUR TEAM
(ETEVERYONEONTHESAMEPAGE
You don’t farm alone. Your team includes an agronomist, banker, insurance
AGENT
 ELDIMAGERYPROVIDERANDMORE8ITHMORETHANCONNECTEDSOFTWARE
TOOLSAVAILABLEINTHE+OHN%EERE0PERATIONS$ENTER
YOUCANFARMWITHAS
MANYPARTNERSASYOUCHOOSE8ITHTHESECONNECTEDSOFTWARETOOLS
INCLUDING
THEMAJORFARMMANAGEMENTSYSTEMSUSEDBYAGRONOMISTS
0PERATIONS$ENTER
ENSURESYOUCANCHOOSETOTRANSFERYOURDATATOWHOYOUWANTANDWHEN
YOUWANT

5HESETOOLSCANHELPTURNYOURDATAINTOINFORMATIONTHATWILLMAKENEXTYEAR
EVENBETTER4O WHATDIRECTIONWILLYOURDATATAKEYOUTODAY 5OLEARNMORE
ABOUTOURCONNECTEDSOFTWARETOOLS VISIT+OHN%EERECOM0PERATIONS$ENTER
Nothing Runs like a Deere.

JohnDeere.com/PrecisionAg
 Ag tech start-ups look to FARM TECH
SPOTLIGHT
revolutionize the future of agriculture. 2017
By Laurie Bedord, Advanced Technology Editor (JANUARY-JUNE)
Illustration by Daniel Pelavin

f you build it, he will come. While that

message may have worked for Ray Kinsella in
Field of Dreams, the advice can prove disastrous
Ames, Iowa. “Growing
key relationships, find-
ing the right mentors
$1.1 Billion
Invested
for a start-up. at the right time, and
“In many cases, ag tech starts with a technol- finding the right capital
ogy searching for a problem rather than starting
with a problem that needs a solution,” says Jonah Kolb, vice
president and managing member, Moore & Warner Ag Group
in Illinois. “When you’re working on a white board in a confer-
at the right time are the
main challenges. The
Ag Startup Engine is
building a platform for
138 Deals
ence room, it’s easy to say that a farmer is going to love this, but overcoming those chal-

335
it’s much harder to actually go out and do the market research.” lenges.”
Nadilia Gomez agrees. Founded in 2016,
“Customer focus drives innovation,” says the research scien- the program delivers
tist with DuPont Pioneer. funding, mentorship,
As a recent mentor to the start-ups in the Iowa AgriTech and support to entre- Unique Investors
Accelerator, she encourages entrepreneurs to become deeply preneurs with promis- Source: AgFunder Agrifood Tech
connected with their customers and ask themselves often how ing early-stage ag tech Investing Report Midyear 2017

well they understand the challenges their customers face. businesses.

“When you talk to customers, are you listening – truly lis-
tening – to what they need? Customer focus is a key factor for
success,” says Gomez.
Unlike Kinsella, entrepreneurs must fight the urge to
plow up the cornfield and build a baseball field without
first engaging the end user for vital feedback and guidance.
“Instead, they must continually ask who they are building the
solution for and whether they have enough information to
back up their product theories and use cases,” says Kolb.
It also needs to be farmer-tested as early as possible. “Often-
times, start-ups wait too long before they put their innovation
into the hands of farmers. It needs to be tested while the compa-
ny is still going through the ideation phase so it can understand
some of the practical constraints around farming,” he says.
Similar to Terence Mann’s belief that visitors to the Field
of Dreams “will pass over the money without even thinking
about it,” some start-ups and venture capital communities
also think that, no matter what, farmers should be willing to
pay for more data.
“The reality is what will resonate with farmers is the actual
value realized in the field, which translates to cash this season
or next,” Kolb explains. “There is a limited amount of value
that basic additional data brings, in part, because farmers
wear a lot of different hats, and most operations are not
staffed with an analytics department.”
ACCELERATING INNOVATION
“It is developing a
process unique to itself,
to the Iowa State University Research Park, and to agriculture
in the Midwest,” he explains. “Our aim is to provide a rich array
of relationships, connections, ideas, and alternatives to portfolio
businesses so that good choices are made in those key moments.”
To date, the program’s portfolio includes Smart Ag,
Performance Livestock Analytics, Gross-Wen Technologies,
Terva, and Nebullam.
Also launched in 2016, the Iowa AgriTech Accelerator is
advancing innovation by connecting leading ag businesses and
farm groups in the region to start-ups working with cutting-
edge technology. Farrpro, WISRAN, Hintech Ag, Phenomics
Labs, and Rabbit Tractors graduated from the 100-day program
in October 2017 and each received $40,000 in seed funding.
“We hope the five start-ups have found great value in the ac-
celerator and can take the knowledge they’ve gained from their
mentors and from the experts they’ve worked with and apply it
to their businesses going forward,” says Megan Vollstedt, Iowa
AgriTech Accelerator executive director. “We look forward to
seeing their products in the field, on the farm, and at the fore-
front of the ag tech revolution.”
The Pearse Lyons Accelerator combines Alltech’s leader-
ship and expertise in agricultural and nutritional science
with the tech ecosystem and start-up network of Dogpatch
Labs. Launched in 2017, it received 183 applications from 38
countries across six continents in its first year. Of those, 10 were

A
ccording to industry statistics, 71% of new businesses go
bust within 10 years. While the odds look bad for aspir-
ing entrepreneurs, there is a growing trend to reduce
that number by offering ag tech start-ups the support neces-
sary to be successful.
“There are a particular set of challenges for developing and
successfully launching new agricultural technologies into the
marketplace,” says Kevin Kimle, Ag Startup Engine director,
selected to travel to Dogpatch Labs in Dublin, Ireland, for a
three-month, cohort-based program that offered workspace,
mentoring, and investment possibilities.
“As a global industry leader, we are well positioned to open
doors for the next generation of industry disruptors,” says
Pearse Lyons, Alltech’s founder and president. “It is essential to
empower the next generation of ag tech entrepreneurs who are
pioneering for a sustainable future.”

January 2018 | Successful Farming at Agriculture.com 45


ONES TO WATCH
There is a wealth of technological breakthroughs being made
today in areas like robotics and drones, data collection and
predictive analysis, disease prevention, and alternative farm-
ing methods. The following seven start-ups are among those
innovators, and they’re also the ones that experts say are worth
keeping an eye on in 2018 and beyond.
1. PERFORMANCE LIVESTOCK
ANALYTICS, INC.
FOUNDERS: Dustin Balsley and
Dane Kuper
HEADQUARTERS: Osage, Iowa
WEB: performancelivestockanalytics.
com
BACKGROUND: Precision Beef
and Cattle Krush combine
cloud-based technology
with on-farm information
to bring big-data solutions
to cattle producers.
“Our Performance Beef
app maximizes production
efficiencies,” says Dustin
Balsley. “Our Cattle Krush
app puts the key data
already custom analyzed
to the farmer’s unique
situation into an easy-to-
understand format on a
smartphone or tablet.”
2. SMART AG LLC
FOUNDER: Colin Hurd
HEADQUARTERS: Ames, Iowa
WEB: smart-ag.com
BACKGROUND: The Smart Ag
platform enables a machine
to run autonomously, and it
includes four components.
SmartHP is a simple plug-
and-play kit to automate
46 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
tractors. SmartNX is the
hardware to connect a com-
bine or any other machine
to the cloud and any tractor
with SmartHP. AutoCart is
the interface used in the com-
bine to control the grain cart
tractor. AAVI Autonomous
Farming is the overall farm,
field, and machinery man-
agement platform.
“We focus on solving one
simple problem: controlling
a tractor,” says Hurd. “Smart
Ag uses affordable technol-
ogy already on the market to
reliably and safely accom-
plish that.”
FUNDING: The company has raised
$475,000 to date.
3. APTIMMUNE
FOUNDER: Federico Zuckermann
HEADQUARTERS: St. Louis, Missouri
WEB: aptimmune.com
BACKGROUND: Aptimmune
focuses solely on swine vac-
cines and the prevention of
two major diseases: porcine
reproductive and respiratory
syndrome virus (PRRSV)
and influenza.
“The autogenous, or
inactivated, vaccines on the
market today are adminis-
tered intramuscularly,” says
Steve Berger, development
director for Aptimmune.
AN EYE ON TRENDS
here are clear trends taking place in the ag tech
T space. Jonah Kolb, Moore & Warner Ag Group,
shares his predictions on what we can expect to
see in the coming years.
Industry Shakeout. “There are currently a lot of
companies running at discrete technologies rather than
focusing on holistic solutions,” says Kolb. “We’re going
to see a shakeout within the ag tech sector and a clear
delineation of winners and losers from a start-up and
technology standpoint.”
Acquisitive Behavior by Industry Incumbents.
“In the last half of 2017, DuPont Pioneer bought Granular.
John Deere purchased Blue River Technology,” he says.
“We’re going to continue to see industry incumbents
adding to their existing technology portfolios by acquiring
start-ups, because it’s a way for those companies to stay
relevant. It’s also a way for them to bring innovation – that
is sometimes hard to foster in-house – under their corpo-
rate umbrellas.”
While selling a start-up or a piece of technology to an
incumbent agribusiness is a very logical and potentially
attractive exit for an investment, Kolb says, “There really is
value and strategic importance long term that some of
these tools and knowledge – especially when we talk about
big data – remain in the hands of independent companies
that aren’t selling seed, chemicals, or equipment.”
“Our vaccine is administered an operation’s efficiency.
intranasally because we The start-up’s initial target
believe the mucosal surfaces is worker productivity and
of the respiratory tract, which machinery logistics.
is where this virus actually “If farmers can’t see
infects and affects an animal, where they’re losing money,
are the most important they can’t do anything about
locations to develop an ap- it,” says Lodhi. “WISRAN is
propriate immune response. all about identifying logistics
Our proprietary formula- inefficiencies.”
tion stimulates the immune FUNDING: The company has raised
response in those surfaces to $200,000 to date.
prevent spread of the virus
and to shut down the disease.”
FUNDING: The company has raised $7.5
million to date.
5. MAGGROW
FOUNDERS: Gary Wickham and
David Moore
HEADQUARTERS: Dublin, Ireland
4. WISRAN WEB: MagGrow.com
FOUNDER: Arsalan Lodhi BACKGROUND: MagGrow is a
HEADQUARTERS: Sunnyvale, California patented technology that uses
WEB: wisran.com permanent, rare Earth mag-
BACKGROUND: WISRAN has nets as part of an integrated,
developed a software-as-a- proprietary system for droplet
service platform to increase formation that yields supe-
 COMBO
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 Laurie Bedord, Advanced Technology Editor, will be
featuring a variety of companies entering the ag tech
marketplace in her Start-Up Spotlight series on our
website. Throughout 2018, find in-depth profiles of a
variety of start-ups at Agriculture.com.
Email: Laurie.Bedord@meredith.com

rior drift reduction and spray
coverage performance.
“Our customers are seeing
two core benefits – 80% drift
reduction and at least 30%
to 40% improved coverage
depending on the crop,” says
Gary Wickham.
FUNDING: The company has raised
over $10 million to date.
6. INDIGO AG
FOUNDERS: Geoffrey von Maltzahn,
Noubar Afeyan, and David Berry
HEADQUARTERS: Boston,
Massachusetts
WEB: Indigoag.com
BACKGROUND: Indigo’s micro-
biome-based seed treatment
technology complements
a plant’s natural processes
to improve the health and
development of the plant
while increasing yield. The
company is currently focusing
on cotton, corn, rice, soybeans,
and wheat.
“We are also tackling the
challenges of environmental
sustainability. Our product
pipeline directed at water
stress allows for higher yields
without increased chemical or
water use,” says Geoffrey von
Maltzahn. “We are focusing
on microbial products that
address nitrogen limitation,
which allows for less synthetic
fertilizer to be applied.”
FUNDING: The company has raised
over $400 million and is the top-
funded ag tech start-up to date.
7. INTELINAIR
FOUNDERS: Al Eisaian, Greg Rose,
Ara Nefian, and Naira Hovakimyan
HEADQUARTERS: San Jose, California
and Champaign, Illinois
WEB: Intelinair.com
BACKGROUND: IntelinAir’s pro-
prietary technology, AgMRI,
delivers actionable, in-season
insights through real-time
automated analysis of aerial
imagery, which is validated by
its expert agronomists.
“The strength of farmer
know-how combined with
frequent and powerful high-
resolution imagery analytics is
the future of agriculture,” says
Al Eisaian. “AgMRI provides
farmers the bird’s- and bug’s-
eye views simultaneously to
make critical decisions in a
timely manner.”
FUNDING: The company has raised $6
million to date.

FARMER FEEDBACK worst thing that can happen

s the ultimate end
A user, it may seem
obvious that farmers
should be involved in the
development of ag tech. Yet,
there has been a disconnect
between farmers and the
companies launching new
innovations.
“Farmer feedback is critical
to product development
when moving from concept
to commercial,” says Kevin
Heikes, COO of IN10T. “We
often see concepts that make
sense, but when implemented
across a wide range of farm
operations, we learn about
critical issues that limit
adoption or success such
as complexity, reliability,
equipment requirements, use
pattern, logistics, etc. Any
one touchpoint will limit or
halt adoption. However, early
identification of the issue
allows the innovator to address
the concern by improving the
technology and removing the
pain point limiting adoption.”
Heikes, along with CEO
Randy Barker, created IN10T to
help close the adoption gap.
“At IN10T, we have created
processes, analytics, and tools
to better understand product
performance and customer
perceptions,” says Barker.
They know that farmer
adoption depends on both
performance and perception
on each farm. That’s why they
focus on large-scale field
trials and the farmer who does
the trial. They also know that
scientific, high-quality data and
specific farmer feedback unlock
the path to successful adoption.
“In the beginning, our
IN10T team reached out to
our farmer network to share
current projects,” explains
Heikes. “Farmers began asking
for an automated system
where they could view and
apply for projects. Based on
farmer feedback, we developed
FarmerTrials.com.”
The online tool allows
farmers to register their email
and receive alerts when trials
are available in their areas.
Farmers can then select which
projects they want to apply for
as trials are added.
PAY TO PLAY
Both Heikes and Barker know
that any given trial requires
farmers to plan, execute, and
manage multiple tasks over the
season. Therefore, they believe
farmers can and should be paid
to execute valuable research
on their farms.
“As we listened to farmers,
we heard that payment is not
about revenue generation;
it’s more about valuable time
invested in the innovation
cycle,” says Barker.
Since farmers are
continually trying new things,
Barker and Heikes say, “The
is that they get paid for a field
trial. The best thing that could
happen is that they rapidly
grow their knowledge about
their farm to drive profits and
join a community of like-
minded farmers!”
Projects vary in duration
depending on what is being
evaluated and the data being
collected. In many cases,
Heikes says a product or
practice evaluation may
take an entire season up to
12 months from planning to
analytics.
“Some ag tech, such as
software or hardware, may be a
shorter cycle depending on the
project design and objectives,”
he explains. “The reality is that
the crop cycle from planning
through harvest happens only
once a year. To fully understand
the benefits of any technology,
it has to be tracked over a
whole season – and more likely
multiple seasons – as well as
to convince farmers to adopt it
into their operations.”

48 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018

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 c r o p s
By Gil Gullickson, Crops Technology Editor
Deep, rich soils have plenty of
perks, but their abuse cannot be
immediately detected.
cuss the rocks that glaciers
deposited thousands of
years ago. On the plus side,
these glaciers also helped
create some of the best soils
in the world.
“Up here, it is amazing
how black and deep the
soils are,” Daigh says. He
compared that with the
bright red soil of western
Arkansas (where he grew
up) that had just 1 to 2
inches of topsoil.
2 There’s a downside,
though, to farming deep
and rich soils.
“You can abuse these soils,
but you won’t be able to see
the effects right away,” says
DeJong-Hughes. One way
to check whether soils are
being battered is to fly over
them during the growing
season.
“If the crop is doing bet-
ter in the wheel tracks of
the tractor and planter, you
5 SOIL FACTS WHAT’S BEHIND HAZY
DAYS AND OTHER SOIL FACTORS.
are doing too much till-
age,” she says. “It’s making
the rest of the soil in the
field fluffy. She’s coined the
J
ethro Tull isn’t just a 1960s and 1970s rock band. An term fluffy soil syndrome for
English agriculturalist by the same name lived in the this scenario.
1600s and 1700s. He loved to till the soil. And till.
And till some more.
“He believed the more you tilled, the better the
soil,” says Aaron Daigh, a North Dakota State University
3 Hazy day? Blame the clay.
Ever notice how windy
days often have a hazy hue
(NDSU) soil scientist. Tull reasoned that the tiny soil par- to them?
ticles caused by tillage pulverizing the soil would be easier That effect is due to the
for plants to suck up as they grew. clay particles that have
Fortunately, farmers and soil scientists have come a long become detached from the
way since those days in understanding soils. Still, there are soil, says DeJong-Hughes.
some soil facts that often fly under the radar. Here are a These particles travel far.
few to keep in mind from Daigh and Jodi DeJong-Hughes, Some particles have trav-
University of Minnesota (U of M) Extension crops educator. eled from Minnesota and
North Dakota to as far east
1 Rocky soils are a pain. But it could be worse.
Farmers in states like Minnesota and the Dakotas may
as New York City, she says.
Meanwhile, detached
BonuS Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
Watch Spring Soil
Temperatures
S oil temperatures are a
huge factor in determining
what to do when rain, snow, and
bone-chilling temperatures sweep
across your fields.
Jay Zielske, an account
manager for DuPont Pioneer in
southern Minnesota, noted in a
newsletter last year to customers
that cold weather brings with
it concerns about imbibitional
chilling injury. Damage from the
seed imbibing cold water runs
the gamut – from seed death to
maladies like corkscrews or fused
coleoptiles.
“It definitely is a phenomenon
that can occur,” he says.
“However, its occurrence isn’t
always predictable, as numerous
factors come into play.”
The magic number when it
comes to imbibitional water
uptake is 50°F., note University
of Nebraska (U of N) agronomists
and Extension educators.
Once planted, corn seeds need
a 48-hour window when the soil
temperature at planting depth
does not drop much below 50°F.
Below 50°F., potential exists
for chilling injury to affect seed
germination and seedling growth.
Soil temperature decreases after
this time are less likely to affect
seed germination.
The U of N scientists note that
debate exists about what specific
temperature and timing cause
imbibitional chilling. If
temperatures dip down to the low
40s in the first 48 hours after
planting, seed chilling risk is high.
Some scientists suggest that corn
will not be injured at soil
temperatures as low as 41°F.
However, injury risk from
imbibitional chilling at those low
temperatures still exists.
Photography: Gil Gullickson
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 c r o p s Continued

left: Cover crops are one way to build soil structure for annual crops.
right: CT scans of soil have detected damage decades earlier, notes
Aaron Daigh, a North Dakota State University soil scientist.

sand and silt particles tillage used in no-till to After nearly three decades winter. Fortunately, Upper
gravitate to ditches. make way for the seed. later, the soil structure of Midwest farmers have a soil
So what do you do? After the areas through which the compaction buster better

4 Well-structured soils are

chock-full of benefits.
“Roots move through them
quickly,” says DeJong
Hughes. “They like the
path of least resistance.”
Meanwhile, soils with ex-
cellent soil structure contain
plentiful pores that promote
excellent water and gas
exchanges.
So how do you build soil
structure? “Cover crops
help,” DeJong-Hughes says.
“So do more intense crop
rotations. Adding manure is
fantastic for the soil.”
all, you still need to farm.
One way you can prevent
tillage from worsening soil
structure is by staying off
fields when they are wet.
Field operations performed
on excessively wet soils can
have decade-long soil struc-
ture consequences.
DeJong-Hughes and
Daigh cite a 1981 trial in
Finland where a tractor-
trailer combo drove over
excessively wet plot areas.
Twenty-nine years later,
Nordic researchers per-
formed a computerized
topography (CT) scan of soil
tractor-trailer drove was still
damaged. The researchers
noted the damage would
than any deep ripper.
“Around here, there are
extreme winter lows and
have been worse today, as summer highs, the biggest
equipment is larger. spread in continental North
Realistically, farmers are America,” says Daigh.
sometimes backed into a cor- “When our soils crack when
ner during wet falls. They it is dry, it can easily go 8 to 9
face a tough choice between feet below the ground. That
harvesting on wet soils or is the best form of deep
letting corn linger over tillage.”
Soil Health Helps Feed the World
T alk to any agricultural company, and you’ll hear that its products
are needed to feed a growing global population estimated to hit

5 Unfortunately, tillage
will break down soil
structure with whatever form
of tillage you choose.
This even includes the slight
samples pulled at a 0.9 to 1.2
foot depth. CT scans were
compared with a control soil
that dried before field traffic
passed over it.
9.7 billion by 2050. Still, products alone won’t be able to do it. Improving
soil health will also be necessary, says Annie Dee, president of Dee River
Ranch in Aliceville, Alabama.
“My dad bought property in Florida in the 1950s, and when I got out of
college, I went to work on that farm,” she says. “In the late 1980s, I moved
to Alabama. I started farming in sandy soils (in Florida) and then farmed
heavy soils in Alabama. Some of the greatest opportunities I’ve had are to
improve soil health, to build organic matter, and to improve the CEC (cation

29 The number of years compaction damage lingered

after field operations were performed on wet soils
in a study in Finland.
exchange capacity) of soils. Improving the soil is a real way to feed 9.7
billion people by 2050.”

BonuS Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018

All the agricultural news you need,
delivered where you want it.

News
• Business
• Crops
• Livestock
• Machinery
• Reuters Newswire
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 w o m e n IN AG
Photography by Marji Guyler-Alaniz

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 Study time

J olene Ebersole, 14, sits on sacks of feed

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family runs Ebersole Cattle Co., which
raises grass-fed beef, manages a herd
of hundreds of mustangs, and shows
livestock.

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Guyler-Alaniz’s love of photography
and her passion for promoting women
in agriculture. “FarmHer started as a
photography project to show that women
are an important part of ag,” she says. “I
realized that people in urban areas may
not know that.”
The idea was to photograph women
doing their work and to share those
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 l i v e s t o c k
By Gene Johnston
WHERE’S THE MEAT?
VEGGIE BURGERS COME CLOSER TO TASTING LIKE REAL
HAMBURGERS, AND LAB-GROWN MEAT HAS LAUNCHED.
C
ompanies looking
to change the way
meat is produced
are gaining trac-
tion. Here are two
relatively new start-ups
producing meat substitutes
that come closer to mimick-
ing the real thing than any
previous veggie burgers.
Impossible Foods
Web: impossiblefoods.com
T he company calls its
signature product the
Impossible Burger, and its
website says its scientists,
farmers, and chefs spent the
last five years studying burg-
ers from cow to bun. “Then
we identified methods and
ingredients to naturally
re-create everything – the
sights, sounds, aromas, tex-
tures, and flavors.”
The Impossible Burger
is now crafted from wheat,
coconut oil, potatoes, and
heme. It’s that last one –
BonuS Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
NEW GOURMET
heme – that is the magic
ingredient. It contributes to
the characteristic color and
taste of meat, and “catalyzes
all the other flavors when
meat is cooked. Heme is
exceptionally abundant in
animal muscle, and it’s a
basic building block of life
in all organisms, including
plants,” the company says.
“We discovered how to
take heme from plants and
produce it using fermenta-
tion. Adding heme to the
Impossible Burger makes it
a carnivore’s delight,” says
the company.
Its marketing tack is to
take the Impossible Burger
to restaurants first. You
can’t buy it in grocery stores
now, although that may
change. Forty restaurants in
California and New York
offer the Impossible Burger,
as well as the Texas burger
chain Hopdoddy.
A new production facility
The Impossible Burger is
made from wheat, coconut
oil, potatoes, and heme.
opening soon in California
will take production to 1.4
million pounds a month.
Memphis Meats
Web: memphismeats.com
T his start-up company,
based in San Francisco, is
producing real meat – with-
out the animals.
“We start by harvesting
meat cells from the highest-
quality livestock,” says the
company’s website. “Then,
we identify cells that are
capable of self-renewal.
We’ve learned which cells
give us the flavor, textures,
and aromas we want. We
grow those cells into meat in
a clean, safe, and nutritious
environment. After four to
six weeks, depending on the
cut, we harvest the meat,
cook it, and enjoy it!”
In February 2016,
Memphis Meats unveiled
a lab-produced meatball
at a press event. Then in
March 2017, it showcased
both chicken and duck meat
grown in its laboratories.
“We have many other excit-
ing things cooking in our
kitchen,” says the company.
These products are real
meat, the company says.
“Many consumers who don’t
eat conventionally pro-
duced meat today, including
vegetarians and vegans, will
consider Memphis Meats.
We are firmly focused on
bringing meat to the table
for meat lovers everywhere.
“We expect our products
to be better for the environ-
ment, requiring up to 90%
less land and water than con-
ventionally produced meat,”
the company says.
In announcing a recent
round of investment capital,
which includes an invest-
ment from Cargill, Memphis
Meats says its cost to grow
meat in a laboratory will
continue to come down. It
will use investment funds
for product development,
and “to reduce production
costs to levels comparable
to – and ultimately below –
conventional meat costs,” the
company says.
“We’re going to bring
meat to the plate in a more
sustainable, affordable, and
delicious way,” explains Uma
Valeti, cofounder and CEO
of Memphis Meats.
“The world loves to eat
meat, and it is core to many
of our cultures and tradi-
tions. Meat demand is
growing rapidly around the
world. We want the world to
keep eating what it loves,”
Valeti says.
Photography: Impossible Burger
 All the agricultural market news
you need, delivered where you want it.

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• Marketing Talk
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• Markets Analysis
• Markets Newswire
• Video Updates
• Local Grain Bids

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 Y I E L D QUEST
By Gil Gullickson, Crops Technology Editor

“It’s amazing how many simple

things like planter adjustment
can help grow better corn,” says
Craig Kesteloot.

that farmers have,” he says.

Soil differences are the
reason you should check
down pressure as you move
between fields, he adds.
“Hydraulic downforce is
awesome,” says Kesteloot. It
helps ensure optimal down
pressure at all times across
the field.
It can be an expensive
investment, though, costing
around $2,000 per row unit,
he says. If dollars are tight,
some simple adjustments
can help determine the
desired down pressure.
“Walk behind the planter

SET YOUR PLANTER FOR SUCCESS TWEAKS

TO CORN PLANTERS CAN SET THE STAGE FOR SUPERIOR STANDS.
and kick the depth press
wheel with your foot,” he
says. The wheel should have
enough pressure on it so it
will not turn freely.

P
icket-fence corn stands not only look great but also set “Your soil is different than Down pressure can
the stage for bumper yields come fall. that of your neighbors,” he be overdone in wet soils,
“If you plant corn at 34,000 plants per acre and says. “What works for them though. “If you see a track
aim for 200-bushel-per-acre yields, every ear of corn may not work for you.” following the closing
is worth .0058 of a bushel,” says Craig Kesteloot, co- wheels, you need to make
owner and general manager of Sterling Equipment & Repair Level the toolbar an adjustment,” he says.
in Cottonwood, Minnesota. “Say you walk through a field
and see 300 to 400 plants per acre that are planted so close L eveling the toolbar from
front to back is crucial for Adjust depth
together that they won’t make an ear. It’s surprising how
quickly that adds up.”
The good news is that farmers can nix skips, doubles, and
the row units to function
properly. That’s not always
so easy, says Kesteloot.
E very year without fail,
you should make a
zero adjustment to the
other planting sins by making several simple planter adjust- “Sometimes, you can’t get depth gauge press wheels,
ments. In many cases, the only cost is time. it perfectly level, but you Kesteloot says.
“When you listen to yield contest winners, they have some always want the front end Optimal seeding depth
simple goals,” says Kesteloot. “They all shoot for consistent of the planter higher than can vary between years,
depth and seed trench closure. They also want corn emerging the back,” he says. so it’s wise to make the
in a 12- to 24-hour time frame. This is not out of the realm adjustment prior to the
for other farmers to do if they set their planters correctly. Set down pressure planting season. “This will
They can make changes without spending a lot of money.”

Define the problem

P lanter down pressure
settings may vary from
40 to 500 pounds per square
help ensure all row units are
working properly,” he says.
To do so, consult your

A ll the planter adjustments or planter replacement com-

ponents in the world won’t fix matters if they aren’t the
problem. The corners of many farm shops are littered with
inch per planter, says
Kesteloot.
“The range is wide
planter manual. “All manu-
als give a definite way to
adjust the depth and ensure
closing wheels, trash whippers, or other planter additions because of all the different every row is set to the
that were bought to fix problems but didn’t, says Kesteloot. soil types and soil conditions proper depth,” he says.

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 Y I E L D QUEST Continued

clear residue, not soil seed out of the ground or left: Down pressure adjustment for
corn planters is critical.
R ow cleaners and trash whippers have those names for a
reason.“Row cleaners and trash whippers use a sweeping
motion to clear trash in front of the row unit,” says Kesteloot.
disturb where you planted.”

don’t speed
right: Set row cleaners to move
residue, not soil.

“Trash wheels should turn residue – not dirt.”

Aggressively setting row cleaners to churn soil can
particularly cause problems on sloping farmland. “If you
P lanter speed can affect
seeding depth dramati-
cally, says Kesteloot. That’s
have to deal with. Your
planter is a precise form of
create a valley with a row cleaner, water following a rain why it’s a good idea to still equipment. Hitting rocks
can run down that valley and undo the planting job you get out and check seeding and excessive trash is detri-
did,” he says. depth and to make sure mental to planter accuracy,”
Excessive residue can block the seedbed and cause hair- the seed trench is closing he says.
pinning. “If you see this happening, you can tweak the row properly.
cleaners a bit to prevent this,” he says. “Outside of that, you “Drive the speed you’d check soils
don’t want to get too aggressive with them. They only should
turn one half to two thirds of the time in conventional or
strip-till systems. In no-till, they will turn more frequently
normally plant and check
the planter settings,” he says.
Rocky soils prove an extra
E ven the shiniest new corn
planter or one on which
adjustments have been
because there is more residue to clear.” challenge. “Rocky soils are made won’t make the cut if
just that,” says Kesteloot. used in sopping wet soils.
seed firmers and closing wheels “There’s not much you can “If field conditions are

S eed firmers can help ensure proper seed-to-soil contact.

One word of caution, though. “They work great in dry
soils, but wet soil can stick to them,” he says. “This can move
do about them. Row clean-
ers can move stones in front
of the row unit, but for
seed out of the seed trench.” rocks underneath, you need
True to their name, closing wheels close the seed trench to slow down.”
behind the planting Slowing planter speed
units. “They need to also applies to convention-
line up exactly behind ally tilled fields.
too wet to plant, go find a
hobby,” jests Kesteloot. “Go
fishing, go golfing, go to the
coffee shop and visit with
the guys. Your planter is not
designed to overcome
Mother’s Nature obstacles.
If the ground is not fit for

12 TO 24
The number of hours that all plants
should jointly emerge in a field.
the row unit to func-
tion properly,” he says.
“Improper adjustment
“When it comes time to
plant, there is a lot of debris
in that top 2-inch zone that
planting, give Mother
Nature time to work, or else
you’ll have to accept a lower
can actually pull the your planter’s row units yield.”

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 C O O L TOOLS
By Dave Mowitz, Executive Editor, Machinery & Technology

POWER TOOL PARADE

Antivibration
reciprocating
saw

palm driver
with
variable
speeds
T he handle of Ryobi’s 18V One+ reciprocating saw is
designed to reduce operating vibration. The saw’s tool-
less blade clamp lets you change blades with one hand. The
saw offers a 11∕8-inch stroke length for fast cutting at speeds

T he Push-To-Drive feature of Ridgid’s 12V Palm Driver

uses a pressure-sensitive variable-speed switch that controls
the speed of operation by pushing down on the tool. Offering
up to 2,900 strokes per minute. Suggested price on the
model P516 is $79, which includes a three-year warranty.
Go to ryobi.com.
400 inch-pounds of maximum torque, the driver works at
speeds up to 2,000 rpm delivering up to 2,900 impacts per
minute. The retail price of the low-profile tool is $99, which
includes a charger, battery, and lifetime service agreement.
Go to ridgid.com.

cordless
polisher
weighs just
D elivering up to
460 foot-pounds of
tightening torque, Hitachi’s
6 pounds high-power
¾-inch impact wrench impact
employs a brushless motor that wrench
provides longer life.
Offering speeds up to 1,400

M ilwaukee Tool’s M18 Fuel polisher operates at variable

speeds up to 2,200 rpm powered by a battery that can fin-
ish an entire vehicle in one charge. Weighing under 6 pounds
rpm, the brushless motor
allows for the use of
extra-long extension cords
(with battery), features include a variable speed and dial without power loss. Its electric
trigger, lock-on or lock-off switch, and 7-inch wheel capacity. brake stops tool rotation within
The retail price for the model 2738-20 polisher only (no bat- seconds. List price for the
tery or charger) is $249, which includes a five-year warranty. model WR22SE is $499.
Go to milwaukeetool.com. Go to hitachipowertools.com.

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 q a THE SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEW
By Dave Kurns, Editorial Content Director
ANAND MAHINDRA
GRANDSON OF THE FOUNDER DESCRIBES THE
TRACTOR COMPANY AS A DISRUPTER.
T
he largest tractor
manufacturer in the
world, Mahindra,
has aggressive plans
for the U.S. market.
The India-based company
plans to double employ-
ment and revenue in the
U.S. in the next five years.
Mahindra specializes in low-
er horsepower equipment
and is really a federation of
many companies, including
automotive, IT, hospitality,
and more.
It employs 3,000 people
(hoping to grow to 7,000)
and wants to boost revenues
from $2.5 billion today to
more than $5 billion.
“The game tomorrow is
about brand,” says Anand
Mahindra, chairman of the
Mahindra Group and grand-
son of the cofounder. “We
intend to be disrupters.”
SF: Will Mahindra move into
higher horsepower tractors?
AM: We have to do what
customers want. What’s
my perspective on what
customers want? First of
all, I think this very large
(rig) tractor market is not
the high-growth segment.
The high-growth
segment is actually
where we are – for a
variety of reasons.
It’s about the
changing nature
of agriculture
itself. If you look
at things like
organic farming,
for example,
which is
BonuS Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
booming. I used to ask
our team when we started
supplying to hobby farmers
how long that trend could
continue. Will yuppies want
to go back to the land?
When will that be? It’s just
actually increased.
The more people find
urban life to be sucking the
soul out of them, they look
more for returning to their
roots, but they don’t buy big
farms. So there is a huge
high-growth area that we
are already smack in the
middle of, and I suspect that
will remain a focus.
My view is that as we an-
swer the needs of customers
who want higher horse-
power tractors, we must do
things differently.
SF: What is the advantage of
the federated companies?
AM: We are organized as a
federation of many indepen-
dent businesses. The way we
create synergy and leverage
that is by the collision of
these different verticals. The
collision here, for example,
could be Tech Mahindra,
our IT company, and the ag
company.
When you look at autono-
mous tractors, for example,
when you look at connected
tractors, I would argue that,
more than anyone else in
the ag equipment landscape,
Mahindra is better posi-
tioned to address the needs
of high-tech-connected trac-
tors because of the compe-
tencies in the group.
SF: Do you have autonomous
vehicles now?
AM: We have autonomous
vehicles under trial right
now via our associate com-
pany, Mitsubishi Tractors in
Japan. So there’s an effort
going on in our entire R&D
network, which is together
collating all the individual
activities of our various
R&D units. So Mitsubishi
Tractors is well ahead of the
game, and we’re going to
leverage on that experience.
Our R&D center in India is
already engaged in this.
We fully intend to be out
in front of the pack when it
comes to autonomous trac-
tors. Two years ago at our
annual shareholder meet-
ing, when everyone
was clamoring
for autonomous
cars and
asking what
our opinion
was, I said,
“Look, the
first things
that will go
autonomous will be tractors.
They don’t face the kind of
problems in terms of need-
ing data to build a truly safe
autonomous car out on the
street. Since tractors are in a
much safer environment, it’s
much easier to make them
autonomous.
SF: How do you use social
media?
AM: To me, it’s a business
tool. I think any CEO who
doesn’t understand the
power of social media as a
device to communicate, as a
device to learn, is, frankly,
stupid. You have to work
at this.
The key is that you have to
have followers. So you have
to do more stuff. Followers
are not going to follow you
if all you are doing is being a
billboard for your company.
They get bored very quickly,
so you have to share about
your life and what you’re do-
ing. You have to be sharing
amusing things.
When you do that, you
get followers. When you
get followers, you get infor-
mation. And it comes free.
You don’t have to pay a
thing for it.
BIO
NAME: Anand Mahindra
BORN: May 1, 1955, in Mumbai,
India
TITLE: Chairman of the
Mahindra Group
BACKGROUND: He is the
grandson of the cofounder of
Mahindra & Mahindra.
FAMILY: Wife Anuradha is the
editor and publisher of Verve
magazine and The Indian
Quarterly.
Photography: Mahindra
 The Commodity Classic
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 c o n s e r v a t i o n
By Kacey Birchmier, Agronomy & Conservation Editor

Leaders
in the field

Solar arrays and pollinator habitats
are becoming a common sight
together.
“M innesota and
Maryland have state
laws regarding the term
beneficial for pollinators,” says
Davis. “The form it takes is
a scorecard.”
If your state doesn’t
have a pollinator-friendly
scorecard, you can use one
developed from Minnesota
or Maryland – whichever
has geography most similar
to your location.
“The important thing is
to use a standard,” Davis
says. “It ensures that solar
companies are doing the
right things. That’s why we
helped to get these standards

SOLAR PANELS ARE GETTING in place. We want to rely on

people who have experience

BEE-FRIENDLY CONSIDERING THE INSTALLATION OF A

SOLAR ARRAY? DON’T FORGET THE POLLINATOR HABITAT.
in this area.”
The solar arrays typically
have a 20- to 25-year lease,
says Colleen Hollinger,
public relations and business

Y
ou are used to harvesting corn, soybeans, and fallen by 58% since 2012 development for Minnesota-
wheat, but what about harvesting sunlight? and by 16% in 2016. In based Prairie Restorations.
“More and more farmers are looking to be more 2016, solar made up 39% of “Farmers considering
sophisticated in how they think about on-farm elec- all new electric generating leasing acres for solar can
tricity,” says Rob Davis, director, Fresh Energy, an capacity. positively impact native
independent nonprofit organization working to speed the This made up 1.4% of habitat, because they can
transition to a clean energy economy. “Other farmers are U.S. electrical generation. require that it’s planted to a
thinking about how to diversify farm revenue.” By 2020, this level is slated pollinator-friendly stan-
One option, for both scenarios, is to determine what per- to surpass 3% of total U.S. dard. By planting a native
centage of your ground could be used for a solar array, the electrical generation. By pollinator habitat, we’re not
area with connected solar panels. 2022, this level is expected only helping crops but also
The catch? It needs to be within a couple miles of an elec- to hit 5%. Currently, there improving the soil and filter-
trical substation. “If you have land adjacent to a substation, are 1.5 million solar instal- ing water,” she says.
you have an opportunity to rent out your land to a solar lations in the U.S. “The beauty of solar is it
developer,” Davis says. So, what do these sta- performs under all the con-
That ground rental can bring $800 to $1,500 per acre tistics mean? For starters, ditions corn and beans do,”
annually for the duration of the lease, he says. “It’s a great solar arrays will become says Davis.
way to provide stability. As a a more common sight However, it’s not depen-
landowner, you’re locking in throughout the countryside. dent on nitrogen, rainfall,
By the numbers that income,” he says. There has been an effort or heat. Better yet, there’s
When pollinator habitats are to engage and educate solar no need for solar arrays to
adjacent to soybean fields,
yields increase by
Solar is Growing companies to make solar be placed on highly pro-

A ccording to the Solar arrays, usually varying in ductive soil. “For farmers

18% Energy Industries

Association, commercial
prices to install solar have

50 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018

size from 5 to 100 acres,
pollinator friendly, says
Davis.
contemplating land with
high-quality soils, there are
careful considerations,”

Photography: Rob Davis, Center for Pollinators in Energy

 Successful seasons start long before seed ever meets soil. You have a vision for
your crops with the foresight to prepare for anything Mother Nature might throw
your way. That’s why we invest time and resources into research and development,
to make sure you get the best-in-class solutions you need for lasting success.
Science for a better life.
Follow us on Twitter @Bayer4CropsUS

©2017 Bayer CropScience LP, 2 TW Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. Always read and follow label instructions. Bayer and the Bayer Cross are
registered trademarks of Bayer. For additional product information, call toll-free 1-866-99-BAYER (1-866-992-2937) or visit our website at www.CropScience.Bayer.us
CO0917MULTI1C426V00R0 J-28864-2
 c o n s e r v a t i o n Continued

says Davis. “You want to use the land productively. That’s with prairie establishment,”
where our campaign with pollinator-friendly solar comes says Hollinger.
in. Pollinator habitat, in and of itself, should be considered The financing is built
productive use of farmland.” in to maintain the habitats
throughout the lease.
pollinator habitat Establishment “It costs approximately
are documented,” says
Davis. “Native plants have
superior performance in
storm water infiltration rates
compared with turfgrass.
They break up compacted

F irst, the soil has to be free of weeds. Field history will

factor into how the area is prepared. “If it was previ-
ously a pasture, we spray herbicide to eliminate weeds,” says
$200 more per acre to
establish a diverse pollina-
tor habitat compared with
soils and add organic matter,
which results in more water-
holding capacity.”
Hollinger. “If it was production ag ground, we usually do commonly used turfgrass,” Not surprisingly, the
minimum disking.” says Hollinger. “These yields of adjacent orchards
Proper seed selection is next. “We determine what the plant leases often have a 25-year increase due to pollinator
population was pre-European settlement,” she says. “If we renewal. The farmer who is habitats. There’s another
can’t use our own seed, we source native, pollinator-friendly leasing the land can create a crop that also garners a
seed that is indigenous for the area.” pollinator-friendly legacy.” yield bump.
The first year of establishment entails the most work on the Pollinator habitats help to “The Maryland
habitat. During the manage wild bee popula- Department of Agriculture
second and third tions and significantly ben- shows soybean yields have a
years, visits are lim- efit soil and water quality yield increase of 18% when
“These leases ited to two to three due to deep-rooted plants, adjacent to pollinator habi-
often have times for mowing says Davis. tats,” says Davis.
a 25-year and spot-spraying, if It’s not just pollinators that An adjacent solar array
renewal.The necessary. will benefit from the native also ensures you will have a
planting. Other wildlife, silent neighbor for 25 years,
farmer who Cost and such as ground-running reminds Hollinger.
is leasing Benefits animals and birds like pheas- For those concerned about
the land
can create a T he cost for the
pollinator habitat
falls to the solar de-
ants, also utilize the solar
array. Hollinger encourages
companies fencing the area
urban sprawl, it’s a bonus.
“If you are looking to
lease land for a solar array,
pollinator- velopment company. to leave space between the make sure you have in the
friendly “The arrangement ground and fence to allow contract that the project will
legacy.” is that the solar com- the animals to come and go. be developed and main-
pany pays the lease “The key benefit areas tained in a way that is
– Colleen Hollinger
and the taxes along that we’ve seen and know beneficial to pollinators.”

52 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Photography: Rob Davis, Center for Pollinators in Energy

Why AgVocacy
Matters Today
Who should tell the story of U.S. agriculture and its amazing
technological advances? You should.
ithout question, the
agricultural industry
is facing an uphill
battle. In addition to
challenges in the field,
a burgeoning consum-
er mistrust of science
used in food production adds more
pressure. Because of this, consumers
want to hear from you, the grower,
about the reality of life on the farm.
All you need is an opportunity to
engage consumers and, at times, a
partner to help you do it.
Bayer offers that help with a
program called AgVocacy – agri-
cultural advocacy. Cory Wight-
man, director of communications,
says the AgVocacy program enables
those who are passionate about
agriculture to discuss the innova-
tions needed to sustainably grow
50 percent more food by 2050.*
There are many ways for you to
AgVocate, and you are able to do it
in a way that is most comfortable
for you. Resources found at
cropscience.bayer.us/agvocate
include a list of 10 ways to AgVo-
cate as well as many facts to use in
conversations.
Making a Difference
“AgVocacy helps bridge the gap
to consumers who want to know
more about their food and how it
got to them,” Wightman says. So
far, the program has directly helped
*Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, How Close Are We to #ZeroHunger?, The State of Food Insecurity and Nutrition in the World, 2017
©2018 Bayer CropScience LP, 2 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. Always read and follow label instructions. Bayer and the Bayer Cross
are trademarks of Bayer. For additional product information call toll-free 1-866-99-BAYER (1-866-992-2937) or visit our website at www.CropScience.Bayer.us
ADVERTORIAL
Brian and Nicole Scott, farmers from
Delphi, Indiana, say most people just
want to know what it’s like on a farm.
more than a thousand ag
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voices, and it intends to add
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One such farmer is Brian
Scott, who grows corn,
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wheat with his father, John,
Daniel and
near Delphi, Indiana. He Danielle Hayden
posts stories and videos at of Owensboro,
thefarmerslife.com and on Kentucky, invite
visitors to view
social media.
their poultry
“Many people just want operation.
to know what it’s like on
a farm,” Scott says. “The
little things that we think
are mundane or boring can
blow their minds.”
For instance, when
he tells people that he
grows corn and popcorn,
he sometimes gets the
question “What’s the
difference?” Then he gets
to explain. good, but some people need to
Photos: (top) Brian Scott; (bottom) Danielle and Daniel Hayden
Danielle Hayden and her see with their own eyes,” she says.
husband, Daniel, operate cattle “There’s nothing to hide here.”
and chicken grower houses near The Haydens invite influencer
Owensboro, Kentucky. She handles groups, such as teachers, business
social media and online blogging groups and government officials,
at danisquared.com. She, too, has to the farm to show and edu-
used Bayer’s AgVocacy resources. cate them about modern farm
This farm is taking AgVocacy technology. “If teachers want to
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viewing room in a new chicken go online to find information,”
house where visitors look through the Haydens say. “Too often, it
a picture window directly into a doesn’t tell agriculture’s story. We
30,000-bird facility. “Blogging is want to change that.”
 e f
INSIDER ®
By Raylene Nickel

Bruce and Tena Ketchum, Plevna,

Montana, have used artificial
insemination in their Red Angus
herds for over 25 years.

the effort at calving, because

most of the calves are born in
a short period of time.”
Another major benefit
of breeding yearling heifers
by AI is the opportunity it
affords to screen sires for
calving ease. “We’re able to
breed heifers to bulls that
are proven for calving ease,”
he says. “That really reduces
labor during the calving
season because we have fewer
calving problems.”
The Ketchums also use
AI as a tool to impose selec-
tion pressure on heifers.
Heifers that don’t conceive

PUTTING AI TO BEST USE ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION

HELPS IMPROVE HERD GENETICS AND REDUCES LABOR AT CALVING.
during the 35-day breeding
season are sold.
“We want heifers as well
as bulls to do their jobs,” says
Ketchum. “Though industry

A
rtificial insemination (AI) is a critical herd-management sires that’ll work in our envi- recommendations call for
tool for Bruce and Tena Ketchum, Plevna, Montana. ronment, where cattle have running more clean-up bulls,
For more than 25 years, they’ve used AI in both their to do well living under range- we run just one bull per 100
commercial and purebred herds of Red Angus. They land conditions on a limited head of heifers for clean-
depend on it to provide genetic improvement as well as diet. We market to clientele ing up after AI. Through
labor savings at calving time. who want working cattle.” this process, there are many
Affordability of top genetics is a key benefit of AI. “We can Of their 300 head of pure- risks that we face, but we’re
use a $40,000 bull or bred cows, the Ketchums AI willing to face those risks
spend $20 a unit of some 220 head annually. “We in order to put the selection
semen,” says Bruce. don’t AI first-calf heifers pressure on the cattle.”
“Every step of “It’s hard to justify or any cows that calve after
going out and spending April 1,” he notes. custom breeders
the AI process
is critical.
If you start
$40,000 on a bull.”
When selecting AI
sires, the Ketchums
They also AI 200 head of
registered and commercial
yearling replacement heifers.
B esides AI’ing their own
cattle, the Ketchums and
their AI teams custom-breed
cutting look beyond a bull’s Breeding the yearlings by thousands of head of cattle
expected progeny dif- AI is a way for the couple to every year for other beef
corners, ferences. shorten the heifers’ calving producers. Most of these are
you’ll “The type of cattle period, which is typically commercial operators who
lower your we’re trying to raise are labor-intensive. depend upon synchronized
not mainstream-type “We synchronize the heifers AI programs to get consis-
conception cattle,” says Ketchum. and time-breed on one day,” tent, uniform calf crops.
rate.” “We select AI bulls says Ketchum. “Then we bull- “These calves will all be
from operations we’ve breed the yearlings for 30 to 35 related, and they’ll be born
– Bruce Ketchum visited. We look for days. That lets us concentrate within a short window of

54 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Photography: Layn Mudder

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 b e e f INSIDER ®
Continued
When removing a straw from the
canister, the Ketchums make sure
not to lift the canister too high
within the neck of the tank.
the protocol are given at the
proper time,” says Ketchum.
“If timed breeding is part of
the protocol, we consider that
the timing of the breeding is
critical, and we calculate it all
out as we’re setting up facili-
ties and crew members for the
processing of the cattle.”
• Heat Detection. When visu-
ally detecting heat is a part
of the breeding program, the
Ketchums pay special atten-
tion to the early-morning
and late-evening periods of
detection.
“Because the largest per-
centage of cattle will come
into heat in early morning
and late evening, we’re out
there early and we stay out
late,” says Ketchum.
When heat-detecting aids
like a tail-head patch are
used, they watch for other
behaviors to verify estrus
in animals whose patch has
turned color. “With heifers,
for instance, the patch could
time,” says Ketchum. have turned pink just because
These uniform groups of calves tend to command price pre- one heifer happened to be
miums at marketing time. riding another,” he says. “We
The opportunity to breed cows to bulls of proven carcass merit is watch for other behaviors.”
another reason many of the Ketchums’ customers choose to breed • Semen Handling. When
their cows by AI. removing straws from the
Conception rates on the Ketchums’ timed-breeding AI canister, they make sure
program average 65%. Given today’s synchronization proto- not to lift the canister too
cols, a 65% conception rate is normal, says high within the neck of the
Ketchum. A few of their custom-AI clients, nitrogen tank. This would
who use more labor-intensive programs expose all of the semen to
Conception involving heat detection, sometimes get 80% warm temperatures, which
rates on the conception rates. can damage the semen that is
Ketchums’
timed-breeding Despite the time pressures presented by to remain in the tank.
AI program processing thousands of cattle every spring Because water can kill
average 65%. and summer, the Ketchums never take semen, they carefully wipe
Given today’s shortcuts. They focus on doing the best job all moisture from the straw
synchronization
protocols, a possible at these four stages of the process. after removing it from the
65% conception • Synchronization. For whatever protocol warm-water bath and before
rate is normal. they select as a synchronization tool, they opening the sealed end.
follow the steps to a tee. They also take precautions
“We make sure that all the shots needed in to block sunlight from hitting
56 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
THE AI Barn
K eeping cattle quiet
while handling and
inseminating is critical to AI
success. Restraining and AI’ing
the cattle in a darkened area
seem to encourage calmness.
That’s why Bruce and Tena
Ketchum breed cattle in an
enclosed barn. Commercial
models are available, but the
Ketchums’ AI barn is a two-stall
trailer measuring 6×16 feet.
A gap at the front gives enough
light to encourage cattle to enter.
A bar drops down behind them,
but their heads are not restrained.
Canvases can be pulled down at
the back to block their view of
rearward activity.
The AI barn offers the added
benefit of preventing sunlight
from hitting the insemination
gun. It also shelters technicians
from bad weather.
the straw, since sunlight also
can kill semen.
• Insemination Procedure.
Depositing semen just inside
the uterus gives it the best
chance of entering both
uterine horns. Semen place-
ment too far forward in the
uterus may result in most of
the semen entering only one
uterine horn, while ovulation
is actually occurring in the
opposite horn.
“Cleanliness in prepping
and entering the cow with the
insemination gun also affects
conception,” says Ketchum.
“Every step of the AI
process is critical. If you start
cutting corners, you’ll lower
the conception rate,”
Ketchum says.
LEARN MORE
Bruce and Tena Ketchum
406/778-3819
ketchum@midrivers.com
 b e e f INSIDER PRODUCTS
By Gene Johnston
1 3
ALLEY TRICKS HERE ARE THREE PRODUCTS THAT CAN
MAKE WORKING CATTLE EASIER AND SAFER.
No backups
1 Priefert’s Universal Alley Stop prevents
cattle from backing up in an alley.
Designed for use with any Priefert sys-
tem (and other alley panel systems), two
chain connectors on the frame secure
the Alley Stop to the alley panels. With
no tools required, the effective height of
the unit can be quickly set to prevent the
backing of bulls, cows, and calves.
Priefert recommends the chain stops
be set just high enough to not deter cattle
from passing underneath. Then, the
Alley Stop should fall just below the top
of the livestock’s tail head so they won’t
be able to back up. Suggested retail price
is $165.
800/527-8616 | priefert.com
No slips
2 Weather-resistant Double D Cattle
Mats can be used inside or outside to
provide sure footing for cattle and people
on slippery alleyways or in chute areas.
The mats are made of recycled tire tread
that is woven, then secured on both ends
and fastened with stainless steel bolts.
The woven pattern catches and stops
hooves from slipping under the lower
edges of snake alleys, pens, and gates,
says the company, and this can prevent
injuries. The softer surface has a calming
effect and also absorbs noise. When cattle
land on the mat at the release end of the
chute, they can get a grip on the surface
and trot out easily.
The mats can either be moved or kept
in place for washing down with a hose.
Photography: Manufacturers
®
Great cattle.
Great salt.
Great beef.
Champion’s
2
Choice®
Salt.
The woven pattern allows water to get
through the mat.
The company also makes lighter-duty
baler belt mats for covering scale plat-
forms for better traction.
Standard sizes are 3×6 feet up to 4×12
feet and cost $12 per square foot. Custom
sizes are priced slightly higher.
888/377-2879 | Ddfamilymats.net
Alley weigh
3 Alley weighing cattle can be conve-
nient and portable, says the cattle scale
company Tru-Test. By simply attaching
two of its MP600 load bars (4,400-pound
weight capacity) to a platform also from
Tru-Test and then plugging the wires into
its entry-level EziWeigh5 scale indicator,
you can be installed and working in a few
minutes, the company says.
Portability enables you to move your
scale system to multiple locations in the
back of a truck or trailer; no heavy equip-
ment is needed.
The components of the system include
the 24-inch platform with a ½-inch rubber
mat for traction and noise reduction; the
load bars that mount under the platform;
and the EziWeigh5 entry-level scale
indicator that collects weights only.
There are no data or analysis require-
ments. The indicator runs up to 20
hours on a full charge.
The complete unit costs $2,535 plus
shipping. Upgraded Tru-Test indicators
can be tied to electronic ID and addi-
tional details besides weight.
800/722-5395 | cattlescales.com ©2017 Cargill, Incorporated
January 2018 | Successful Farming at Agriculture.com 57
 b e e f INSIDER HEALTH ®

By Laurie Bedord, Advanced Technology Editor

Body temperature
5 is measured to
keep health on track.

123

ID is assigned
1 to create
individual
animal profile.
Feed bunk or

3 Walking activity
is measured to
4 feeder sensors
(BovControl)
Animal head
2 placement
is monitored to
determine daily
movement.
measure grain
intake to help
detect early signs manage a
of sickness. nutritious diet.

CONNECTED COWS TECHNOLOGY

HELPS FINE-TUNE ANIMAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT.

A
s you look across your cattle herd, how soon are you To see the most benefit pleted for feedyard custom-
able to identify cows that aren’t well? Early diagnosis from the system, feedlot ers, I think there might be an
reduces not only your risk of mortality but also the owners and managers need opportunity to tweak it and
number of times you may have to treat a sick animal. tags to last for six to eight make it applicable to other
“Depending on the year, there are 22.5 to 24 million months. While the sensors concentrated industries like
cattle on feed annually, and 1 out of every 5 of those animals have that ability, research is hogs,” notes Uden.
display symptoms of illness,” notes Andrew Uden, Quantified being done to increase the The Quantified Ag system
Ag. “Connected technology can help reduce that number and life of the battery. will include a biometric
transform the way the industry identifies sick animals.” “The range between the sensing ear tag and a data
Based in Lincoln, Nebraska, Uden, along with Vishal Singh tag and the receiver is about analysis tool set that is sub-
and Brian Schupbach, developed a proactive system to track an one to two miles, which scription based and applied
animal’s biometrics through an ear tag equipped with sensors. is why we focused on the on a per-animal basis.
“Our work actually started in thermal imaging with cattle confined space of a feedlot,” The tool set includes a
and drones,” notes Singh. “As we learned more about the cattle explains Uden. “Hopefully, private and secure customer
industry and what its pain points were, we dropped the idea of 10 years down the road, portal to see detailed reports
drones – for now – and focused on sensors for ear tags.” range will be a different and analysis of live or his-
Whether on foot, four-wheeler, or horseback, you spend issue. We will continue to torical data. A smartphone
valuable hours monitoring your herd’s health. Oftentimes adapt our product to make and tablet app are available
symptoms aren’t recognized for at least two to three days after it better.” to round out the system,
an animal becomes ill. With the Quantified Ag system, sick providing herd health access
animals are detected sooner. evolving product and alerts from anywhere.

sensing sickness A s the technology con-

tinues to evolve, the
The technology is cur-
rently being tested and the

I nitially developed for the feedlot industry, tags fastened to

an animal’s ear collect and perform analysis of an animal’s
biometric and behavioral data. Proprietary algorithms flag
company will look to include
other aspects of health like
pregnancy. It will also evalu-
company has begun putting
it in the hands of beta testers.
It hopes to bring the product
any animal showing signs of illness or disease and alert you ate applications for different to market later in 2018.
through a smartphone, tablet, email, SMS, or a secure website. types of livestock. Learn more by visiting
An LED light on the tag flashes to easily identify the sick cow. “Once we have this com- quantifiedag.com.
Illustration: © istock lustra_frisk.
58 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Infographic Source: Windstream
Worry about equipment.
Worry about weather.
Don’t worry about SDS
and nematodes.
ILeVO® seed treatment from Bayer is the first and only seed treatment that offers effective protection
against Sudden Death Syndrome and nematodes, including Soybean Cyst Nematode.
That means growers get early-season protection for stronger profit potential at harvest. So protect
your soybeans with ILeVO, and you’ll have less to worry about.
To learn more, contact your Bayer representative or visit ILeVO.Bayer.com
 b e e f INSIDER ROUNDUP ®
By Gene Johnston
They’re all well organized
and well funded, and they
want to dictate the animal
welfare agenda.
Who gets their attention?
2A few years ago, veal
calves were on their radar.
Confinement sow gestation
crates followed and then
caged laying hens.
Now, they’re giving a lot
of attention to meat chick-
ens. They’re demanding
more space in grower hous-
es, more natural light, and
slower-growing chickens.
Yes, slower-growing
chickens. They propose that
45 grams per day (rather
than 60) is more humane.
That’s because fast-growing
chickens outgrow their bone
structure and cardiovascular
systems, resulting in high
4 QUESTIONS ABOUT mortality.
Yet, counter chicken
ANIMAL WELFARE STATUS
FARM ANIMAL ACTIVISTS TARGET SEVERAL
scientists, two decades
of production data and
INDUSTRY SEGMENTS; YOU CAN ASSUME research don’t support this.
THEY’RE WATCHING YOU, TOO. Chicken survivability in
grower houses is quite high
– around 97%.
S
omebody’s always watching. Drive through an inter- Don’t dismiss this as a
section, walk into the bank, or fill up the gas tank, and chicken-only issue. Consider
there’s a camera running. the dairy industry. Cows are
While there might not be one in your back pasture, constantly bred and fed to
it’s still wise to apply the security camera mentality to produce even more milk;
your animal-care practices: Assume they see you. they’re milked by automa-
At the Animal Agriculture Alliance Summit meeting this tion several times a day; feet
year, that was a take-home point. This organization of farms, and legs are major health
businesses, and commodity groups was formed to counter issues. It doesn’t mean the
some of the negative chat about animal welfare. “If you pro- cows are abused, but could
duce food, you’re a potential target of food activists,” one of the the activists exploit it?
summit speakers concluded.
Here are four questions and answers on the status of animal
welfare activism.
What should you do?
3Transparency is first.
Many meat industry observ-
ers subscribe to the 10-10-80
Who are the activist groups?
1While PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals) might be the best known, several others have similar
rule: 10% of people are meat
lovers; 10% don’t eat meat
agendas – less meat, vegetarian, or full vegan. They include and can’t be swayed; 80%
the Humane Society of the United States (humanesociety. in the moveable middle
org), Mercy for Animals (mercyforanimals.org), The Humane like meat but want to know
League (thehumaneleague.com), Compassion Over Killing farm animals are treated
(cok.net), and Animal Equality (animalequality.net). humanely.
60 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
You may not be able to
open your pastures and
barns to tourists, but you
can expose your operation to
a third-party audit. An ac-
credited consultant visits and
verifies that your practices
meet or exceed industry
standards.
American Humane
(americanhuman.org) is one
such organization. “You can
take our certification to con-
sumers and say, ‘We’re doing
things in the right and hu-
mane way,’ ” says American
Humane’s Jack Hubbard.
The organization certifies
that your animals have ad-
equate air, water, and feed;
sufficient space to prevent
injuries; effective health care;
and sensible handling to
avoid suffering.
4 What other points can
counter the activists?
One is sustainable food
production. Slower-growing
animals, for example, will
have increased water and
feed use, and even increased
trucking demands.
More important may be
the cost of food, particularly
to low-income consumers.
Diane Sullivan is a former
homeless Boston resident
who now advocates for the
rights of low-income people.
She came to the summit to
argue that many animal wel-
fare demands unfairly drive
up the cost of food. Slow
growth, for instance, may
add 30% to retail prices.
“I don’t want to be cruel
to animals, but I refuse to be
cruel to people,” she says.
She supports sensible farm
technologies that keep food
affordable, and she now
shares that sentiment
frequently with consumer
and legislative audiences.
Photography: Ivandzyuba, iStockphoto.com
 Where what’s next in
agriculture happens.
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Networking with like-minded farmers
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fun and relaxation
Be in Anaheim for the 2018 Commodity
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farmer-focused convention and trade show.

Sign up for email updates at: CommodityClassic.com

©2017 Commodity Classic
 a i y
By Lisa Foust Prater, Family & Farmstead Editor

better than – a large group

of acquaintances.
Chen agrees. “Casual
friendships can help, but one
very close friend can do so
much to help relieve stress
and depression,” she says.
“Close friendship provides
emotional support as friends
comfort, help, share, and
inform each other.”
When it comes to online
friends, experts agree these
relationships can be valuable,
but it’s more beneficial to use
social media and the internet
to nurture real-life friend-
ships when face-to-face com-
munication isn’t possible.

Put yourself out

FRIENDSHIP ON THE FARM TAKING TIME TO there
DEVELOP AND NURTURE FRIENDSHIPS CAN REDUCE FEELINGS OF
ISOLATION AND CONTRIBUTE TO IMPROVED MENTAL HEALTH. S ome people seem to make
friends wherever they
go. Others find it difficult to
strike up a conversation with

M
ake new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and human contact,” Chen says. a stranger. “If you don’t have
the other gold. This nursery rhyme has stood the That can be easier said a friend, take the initiative to
test of time because it’s true. New friends bring than done in rural areas. be a friend to someone else,”
excitement into our lives, but there’s nothing like the Neighbors are the low-hang- Chen advises. Reaching out
comfort of an old friend you’ve known forever. ing fruit. Invite them over for may feel awkward, but if it
Nina Chen, a former human development specialist with dinner or coffee and get to results in a new friendship,
the University of Missouri Extension, says, in many cases, know them, or host a potluck it’s worth it. Here are a few
friends are as important as families. “Many people turn to their for the whole neighborhood. ways to break the ice.
friends first when they encounter crisis because of the distance Offer to lend tools, be a • Community events. Go
of their family,” she says. sounding board for ideas, or to the fire department’s
While being with friends is fun, there’s more to it than that. help with projects. Deliver pancake breakfast, cheer
According to a report from the Mayo Clinic, friends play a freezer meals if a neighbor is on the local kids at a high
significant role in promoting overall health. Adults with strong ill. A good neighbor is price- school basketball game, or
friendships have a reduced risk of depression, high blood less, and you can be that to participate in bingo night at
pressure, and unhealthy body mass index. The report also says your neighbors. the community center. Strike
friends can increase your sense of belonging, boost happiness, up a conversation with the
reduce stress, improve self-confidence, discourage unhealthy quality matters person sitting next to you.
habits, and help in coping with traumas.

OLDER ADULTS NEED FRIENDS

T he Mayo Clinic report
says the quality of the
friendship is more impor-
• Volunteer opportunities.
Offer to help at the local
food pantry, deliver meals

O ne in three American women over the age of 65 lives alone,

as does one in seven men. Chen says about two thirds
of older men report they don’t have a close friend; 16% of
tant than the quantity of
friends. Having a small
number of close friends
to shut-ins, or lend your
expertise to 4-H or FFA kids
in your area.
widows say they have no friends. “Older adults living alone who will really be there for • Ag organizations. Getting
need to reach out to friends for companionship, support, and you is just as good as – if not involved with farm groups

62 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Photography: diego_cervo, iStockphoto.com

 f a m i l y
is a great way to meet friends
who share your agricultural
background. Go to the coun-
ty cattle producers’ meeting
and offer to help with an
upcoming event, or book
a weekend at a women in
agriculture conference. (See
page 61 of the December
issue of Successful Farming
magazine for a list of events.)
• Groups and classes. If you
love to read, join or start
a book club at the library.
Enroll in a fitness class,
join a group of genealogy
enthusiasts, or sign up for an
art class. You’ll automatically
have something in common
with other attendees.
• Church. If your church of-
fers coffee after the service,
stay and chat instead of
leaving right away. Take
part in group activities
like Bible studies or adult
Sunday school.
• Invitations. If someone
invites you to lunch or
coffee, say yes. If you’re
having a nice conversation
with someone, invite them
to get together.
Be interesting and
interested
W hen you attend an event,
Chen says, “Have some-
thing to say. Be informed by
watching the news and read-
ing magazines and books.
Find opportunities to speak
to others without waiting for
them to initiate.”
Of course, it takes more
than talking to a new person
to make a friend. “It’s very
important to listen to what
the person says,” Chen says.
“If you want to have a friend,
you must be a friend.”
64 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
Continued
FRIENDSHIP LINE
OFFERS SENIORS A
CARING EAR
F riendship is just a phone call
away for Americans age 60
and over and for adults living with
disabilities.
The Friendship Line is offered
24 hours a day, 365 days a year
by the nonprofit Institute on Aging
at 800/971-0016. It is both a
crisis intervention hotline and a
“warmline” for nonurgent calls.
The confidential service offers
active suicide intervention,
emotional support, elder abuse
prevention and counseling, grief
support, and information and
referrals for isolated older adults.
The Friendship Line also offers
outreach, calling on those who
suffer from depression, loneliness,
isolation, anxiousness, or who may
be contemplating suicide. The goal
of these well-being checks is to
prevent suicide by improving the
quality of life and connectedness
of isolated older adults.
The service, founded by Patrick
Arbore, director of the Institute
on Aging’s Center for Elderly
Suicide Prevention, is accredited
by the American Association of
Suicidology. Arbore began taking
calls in 1973, and today, a staff
of trained volunteers makes and
receives 10,000 calls per month.
“We provide a lifeline whenever
it’s needed,” Arbore says. Learn
more at ioaging.org.
FRIENDLY ENCOURAGEMENT
Gus was both coach and
cheerleader, a gentle guiding hand
and a fountainhead of scholarly
advice. He would praise my work
and somehow make me want to do
better.
– Jerry Nelson
Agriculture.com/family/farmhumor
THE COFFEE GIRLS
MY GRANDMOTHER AND HER FRIENDS MADE
EACH OTHER A PRIORITY ALL OF THEIR LIVES.
B eing a wife and mom –
especially on the farm
– means you put your own needs
last more often than not. It’s
easy to let friendships go once
you get married and have kids,
but I've worked hard to keep my
friendships strong, inspired by my
grandmother, Helen Foust (front
and center in the photo on
the left), and her friends.
When Grandma passed
away, I was given a
tote full of photographs,
which I prize. Some of my
favorites are in a small
Lisa
album marked “Coffee Foust Prater
Girls.” These photos span
her entire adult life, and
all images feature the group
above, with additional friends in
some pictures.
I have always loved looking at
these photos, even when I was a
little girl. Grandma would point out
her friends and tell me about their
adventures. It’s extraordinary that
this collection of dozens of photos
that document their everyday lives
even exists. I am so thankful.
The Coffee Girls supported each
other as they became wives and
mothers. They looked after each
other’s kids. They held each other
up when some lost children, and
when parents and husbands died.
A support system of friends
is priceless, but it can be hard
to achieve and even harder to
maintain. I can imagine that in the
1930s, it was even harder.
My grandma and her friends
couldn’t group text to set up
coffee dates like my friends and
I do. They couldn’t hop online to
book tickets for a girls’ weekend.
They had to really work at their
friendship and make it a
priority. And they did.
My best friends from
high school are scattered
around the country. Now
that our kids are a little
older, we have made a
commitment to spend
at least one weekend a
year together. Last fall,
we rented a big house in Omaha
and spent the whole weekend
talking, laughing, cooking, and
reconnecting. This year, we’re
heading to Denver.
I have met most of my local
friends because we have kids
the same age. We have grown
from moms sitting next to each
other on the bleachers to true
sisters who are there for each
other no matter what. I value their
friendship so much.
Someday, I hope to share
stories and photos of my friends
with my grandchildren. Maybe I’ll
convince them to give me a ride
to meet my girls for a cup of
coffee.
Photography: Provided by the Helen Foust family
THE BUSY YEARS
EVEN WHEN SCHEDULES ARE FULL, TAKE TIME
FOR FRIENDS WHO MAKE YOU A BETTER YOU.
T hese are the busy years
of my life. The years filled
with soccer games and football;
the years of building a business
and running at my dreams; the
years of being a wife, daughter,
manager, and just all-around
frantic person. These are the
years when it seems
like a chore to find the
extra time to do much of
anything, including see
my friends.
I am blessed to be
able to do what I love
Marji
with FarmHer while being
Guyler-Alaniz
surrounded by a team
of women who are not
only my coworkers, but also my
friends. Carly Cummings is the
FarmHer events and merchandise
manager; Lexi Marek is the
communications and marketing
coordinator.
In November, that team and
I set off on a road trip to host a
series of “Grow” events to inspire
young women in agriculture
around the Midwest. We were
joined by keynote speakers Carrie
Mess, author of the Dairy Carrie
blog; Cristen Clark, editor of
Lexi Marek, Marji Guyler-Alaniz, and Carly Cummings are FarmHer friends.
Photography: Marji Guyler-Alaniz, Jason Donnelly
FoodandSwine.com; and Natalina
Sents, author of the Roots
Journey blog.
We knew each other before
the trip, but hundreds of miles,
too much food, not quite enough
sleep, a few bottles of wine, and
a whole lot of laughs later, we
came out as friends.
We’re friends who can
share embarrassing or
sad stories with each
other and know that we
won’t be judged. We’re
friends who can laugh at
what a mess our hair is in
the morning and who can
recognize when one of us
is out of steam and needs a break.
Reflecting on our fun trip and
my new tribe of amazing women
that I now call friends, I am
reminded how important it is to
keep up with the relationships in
my life. Friends like these aren’t
just a luxury to fit in when I have
spare time. They are a necessity.
They make me a better version of
me – a version with a few less
stress wrinkles and a few more
laugh lines.
– By Marji Guyler-Alaniz, FarmHer
ESPRESSO MONKEY ROLLS
POP THESE IN THE OVEN AND INVITE YOUR
FRIENDS FOR COFFEE AND CONVERSATION.
1 cup packed brown sugar Espresso Icing: Stir together 2
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon
1 teaspoon instant espresso
instant espresso powder, and 1
coffee powder
teaspoon vanilla until dissolved.
½ cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla Stir in 1½ cups powdered sugar.
3 11-ounce packages Add more milk as needed to
refrigerated breadsticks reach drizzling consistency.
(12 each)
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease 18 2½-inch muffin
cups.
2 In a bowl stir together brown sugar, cinnamon, and espresso
powder. In another bowl stir together butter and vanilla.
3 Unroll breadstick dough and separate into 36 strips. Roll
each strip into a spiral, starting from a short side. Dip
each dough spiral into the butter mixture; then roll in the
brown sugar mixture to coat. Arrange two spirals in each cup.
Sprinkle any remaining brown sugar mixture over the tops.
Drizzle any remaining butter over tops.
4 Place an extra-large baking sheet on the baking rack below
the muffin cups. Bake rolls 18 minutes or until puffed and
brown. (If needed, cover rolls loosely with foil to prevent
overbrowning). Cool on a wire rack 3 minutes. Remove rolls
from cups. Drizzle any melted sugar mixture remaining in
muffin cups over the rolls. Drizzle rolls with Espresso Icing
(recipe above); serve warm.
Make-ahead directions: Wrap baked and completely cooled rolls tightly in foil. Store
at room temperature up to two days. To reheat, preheat oven to 350°F. Leave rolls in
foil; heat 5 to 10 minutes or until warm.
Nutritional information: 265 calories, 7 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 14 mg cholesterol,
49 g carbohydrates, 425 mg sodium, 1 g fiber, 25 g sugar, 4 g protein
For recipe questions, contact lisa.foustprater@meredith.com.
January 2018 | Successful Farming at Agriculture.com 65
CAN THEIR p r o b l e m BE SOLVED?
By Jolene Brown

your daughter-in-law wishes

– stay away. If you accidently
cross paths, be pleasant and
Understand this is
polite. Invite them to family not for you to solve
gatherings, but do not expect unless invited. Their
participation. When your position is based
son is at work, talk about on their reality, not
yours.
work, not your sadness or
frustration or anything about
his wife. Do not talk about
this problem with anyone
other than a professional or
with each other. – Jolene Brown
Do honor your son’s wish-
es to resolve things with his of appreciation. Remember,
wife – without you. They’ve you cannot buy acceptance,
not been married long, and appreciation, or communica-
this might take some time. tion by gifting.

THE PROBLEM: PARENTS HAVE NO

IDEA WHY THEIR NEW DAUGHTER-IN-LAW HAS
You can let him know you
care and will be glad to listen
and learn if or when they are
BEGUN TO AVOID THEM. ready to share. Understand
this is not for you to solve
unless invited. Their posi-
submitted by Y.N. via email tion is based on their reality,
If your son continues to
try to please his wife and
you, then his health, work
performance, or relation-
ships may suffer. You and
your husband, as owners,
may decide this is too much

O
ur son graduated from college and has been farming not yours. tension for a positive and
with us for two years. He got married a few months productive business. As
ago. We provided them a house, vehicle, and some the business side owners, you then may make
land. During their dating and start to the marriage,
his wife was warm and friendly but now has turned
cold and distant. We’ve asked her and our son for a time to
A re the house, vehicle,
and land you provided
fringe benefits for full-time
a business decision that it
is better for all to end his
employment.
hear them out or time with a family counselor, but she wants employees or are they a You will always love him
nothing to do with us. Our son asked that we not talk to her as gift with legal titles trans- as a son. Please respect his
he wants to try to work things through with her. We honestly ferred? If fringe benefits, new family unit. It’s time to
have done nothing to her and don’t understand this hostility the business can decide to distance yourself from their
toward us. We’re baffled, and we’re feeling upset, disrespected, continue or end the benefits personal decisions. This may
and unappreciated. Can you help us? based on contract and work improve his marriage, your
performance. If a gift, it’s family relationships, and the
given without expectation working environment.
THE SOLUTION: YOUR TRANSITION TEAM MEMBERS
Y.N., one side of a story is not the story, and I understand
you’re in the deep dark hole of wondering and
wishing. Without participation and insight from your son and
Jolene Brown Dr. Donald J. Jonovic is founder
is a professional of Family Business Management
daughter-in-law, imagination, speculation, and emotions will speaker, author, Services in Cleveland, Ohio. He
plunge you deeper. There are productive things you can do, farmer, and focuses on management, growth,
and addressing this question requires a look from the family family business and ownership transition issues.
and the business sides. consultant. familybusinessmgt.com
She shares her
passion, experience, and fun-filled Myron Friesen is co-owner of
The Family side
spirit with farmers and ranchers Farm Financial Strategies in Osage,

Y ou and your husband might gain valuable insight from

counseling to help cope with the problem. You may learn
about roles, what you can or can’t control, and ways to im-
across North America. Her tested
business tools provide leadership
Iowa. During the past 17 years, he
has worked exclusively with farm
families across the Midwest to
and management solutions for the
prove a sensitive relationship. people who feed, clothe, and fuel develop farm transition strategies.
If you have already sincerely reached out, you will now do as the world. jolenebrown.com farmestate.com

68 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018 Illustration: Matt Wood

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 a l l a r o u n d THE FARM ®

One page written by our readers. Compiled by Paula Barbour, Content Editor

flatbed toolbox swivels safety notice

and locks in place
I needed to be able to secure
my toolbox to the flatbed
of my truck yet still have
room for gooseneck
trailers. The swivel-
latch system I developed
lets me slide the toolbox
to the back edge of the
truck for access. Or, it
will slide out of the way
when it’s not needed or when
I’m attaching a trailer. The spring
latch makes it easy to lock in place.
Preston Jeuneman
Hanover, Kansas
prestonjueneman@gmail.com
Editor’s Note: A number of our
readers reacted to an All Around
the Farm® idea that appeared
in the November 2017 issue of
Successful Farming magazine
(“Downforce for Posthole Digger,”
p. 75). They point out that it’s
never advisable to work in close
proximity to a PTO shaft without
proper guarding. In fact, the prac-
tice ought to be avoided altogether
whenever possible.

protect trash bags from dogs

Recalled metal cribs are no place for babies, but they make
great outdoor holders for trash cans. Since the side rail can be
raised and lowered, the mattress platform is low enough to
lift the cans onto yet high enough to keep dogs out, especially
when the crib’s side rail is returned to the upright position.
Gerald Anderson | Britton, South Dakota
aaga1940@gmail.com

oh no you don’t, mr. mouse

Mice love to crawl in the hole under a UTV or ATV seat,
chew out a section of foam, and make a nice little home.
So I took some small pieces of aluminum flashing and
punched in several small holes for air to come through.
Then I used self-tapping screws to attach the flashing to
the underside of the seat over the original, larger hole.
David Barrett | Leesburg, Ohio | dwbarrett62@yahoo.com

Send us your ideas

two bolts cost much less than $642
Front fender isolators deteriorate over time. Then the front fenders
wobble and eventually fall off – usually out in the field. They are
pricey to replace. For an incredibly easy and inexpensive repair
option, pull off the isolator and place a ¾×3-inch hardened bolt
through the hole down the middle. Once tightened, it will mount
as normal. It will still look original and be even more stable.
Jim Bontrager | McPherson, Kansas | jimmybontrager@yahoo.com
Successful Farming magazine invites you to share ideas with our readers.
Submissions should be precise. Include a sketch or photograph when
needed. If your idea is used in print, we pay $400 for the Idea of the
Month, $200 for ideas that appear with drawings, and $100 for
unillustrated ideas. All material submitted becomes the property of
Meredith Corporation. If your idea is used, you give Meredith the right
to use it in any manner. Enter idea(s), a daytime phone number, email
address, and complete mailing address at Agriculture.com/ideaentry or
mail to Successful Farming Magazine, All Around The Farm, 1716
Locust Street/LS257, Des Moines, IA 50309-3023.

Illustrations: Lant Elrod January 2018 | Successful Farming at Agriculture.com 79

 a l l a r o u n d ®

By Paula Barbour, Content Editor THE FARM

IDEA OF THE MONTH

Moines, Iowa, and at additional mailing offices. Successful Farming reserves the right to refuse nonqualified subscriptions. Subscription orders must show farm or ranch connections as owner, operator, or related occupation to subscribe at basic price: $15.95 per year in the U.S.; $27.95 (U.S. dollars) in
Canada; $27.95 (U.S. dollars) overseas. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 707.4.12.5); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: Send address corrections to Successful Farming, P.O. Box 37508, Boone, IA 50037-0508. In Canada: Mailed under Publications Mail Sales Product
Successful Farming (ISSN-0039-4432); January 2018, Volume 116, No. 1, is published monthly except for two issues in February, March, August, and November, and a combined June/July issue by Meredith Corporation, 1716 Locust Street, Des Moines, IA 50309-3023. Periodicals postage paid at Des
DRIVE
BALE SPEARS INTO SNOW BLADE FROM
EITHER DIRECTION.

FLIP AROUND TO

Agreement No. 40069223; Canadian BN 12348 2887 RT. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Successful Farming, 2835 Kew Drive, Windsor, ON, N8T 3B7. © Meredith Corporation 2018. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
CLEAR SNOW
Push snow to the side for
clearing farm lanes or the
areas where bales are stored.

NO NEED TO LEAVE
THE CAB
Instead of switching repeatedly
from a bucket to a spear, hook up
to an implement that has both.

CRAIG SCHNOOR

T
he versatile snow pusher to haul around. It won’t scalp the
built by Craig Schnoor, gravel like a bucket, either, he says, Career: A semiretired veterinarian who still fills in at
Maquoketa, Iowa, has a dis- which keeps rocks out of the yard. local clinics, Schnoor has taken over his folks’ farm in
tinct look. “I have christenedHis wife likes that. Maquoketa, Iowa. His, dad, Allen, is on hand to help.
it the Mad Max because of Since the steel tubes have a 3-inch They raise cattle and grow corn, beans, and hay.
the way it looks going down the road. diameter, spears go right in and stay Family: Wife Katie, a chiropractor, stays home right
People who see it say it looks like a on perfectly even if the spears are now with son Quinn, 11, and daughter Avery, 8.
tank,” he says. slightly off or bent, Schnoor says. Fresh to the field: Schnoor acknowledges he is an
The wings are at 45° angles, so Two friends helped him bring his atypical farmer. Instead of doing
the blade stays upright when it’s set idea to fruition: Dan Davis, the all the work himself, he hires his
down. At 9 feet wide and 30 inches owner of a metal fabrication com- planting and harvesting done. He
high, the snow pusher is the same pany, and John Schroeder, a retired equates it to referring a patient to a
size as a loader bucket, yet it’s lighter
career welder. “I couldn’t have done specialist and says it ends up being
it without them since I’m still more economical, too.
learning to use my new welder,” Email: craigschnoor@hotmail.
More ideas from readers on page 79.
says Schnoor. com

Photography: Katie Schnoor

80 Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | January 2018
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