View From the Cab

9 Sep 2015

By Richard Oswald
DTN Special Correspondent

LANGDON, Mo. (DTN) -- Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer when students return to school, football season begins, and seersucker is no longer part of wardrobes. View From the Cab farmer Lane Robinson takes a farmer's perspective on Labor Day milestones: "I assume this is the last hurrah for the heat," he said.

It was warm on Sunday when DTN spoke with Lane from his home outside of Cromwell, Indiana. "If we didn't hit 90 we came awfully close to it," he said. Pop-up showers accompanying heat offered little to aid crop development. "I ran the pivot on the sand hills on the beans, laid down a good three quarters of an inch. I don't know if they needed it but they seemed to appreciate it," he said.

Sunday evening is usually reserved for duck load out -- Lane grows more than 600,000 Pekin Ducks each year -- but the processing facility closed for Labor Day. "They'll start up again Tuesday," he said.

The Farm Progress Show was held last week in Decatur, Illinois. It was an anniversary of sorts for Lane. "I've attended 10 shows in a row. By far this was the lightest crowd. Usually Wednesday is the very best day, but there was plenty of room to walk around." Why did attendance seem down? "The heat didn't help, certainly it was warm," Lane said. And public expectations may have been lower. "Decatur is at the epicenter of cropping difficulties this year. In the area where the show is, crops are just terrible," he said.

"I think we're going to see better farm show concentration. Michigan has gone to every other year. I think Ohio will be next. They need to have Ohio when Farm Progress is in Boone, Iowa," Lane observed. That's because the Decatur show is within easy driving distance of other Eastern Corn Belt states. And farm shows are costly for promoters. "It always seems like we have record crowds. But they have free admission for FFA kids and seniors. Your cost per customer is pretty high."

Lane has extensive experience with farm machinery markets. He did territory work for three major manufacturers and managed a company dealership before returning to the farm. "In the late '90s there were about 600 new forage harvesters sold each year. You knew who those 600 customers were." Markets have contracted to even fewer customers today. Broad marketing efforts may be wasted on a limited clientele. "Your cost per impression is awfully high. It would be cheaper to send a Lear Jet down from Racine. We flew customers over to Germany where they (forage harvesters) are made ... two farmers with a factory rep."

In her article titled "Cash Rent Reset-3; Be an Open Book," DTN Executive Editor Marcia Zarley Taylor highlighted the farming operation of Leesburg, Indiana-farmer Kip Tom and his family. Lane took note. "Kip Tom is running for Congress. He just declared this week. I've met him a couple of times," he said.

Dairies around Lane's farm will begin forage chopping this week. Third or fourth cutting of hay should begin. "I've still got my 7 acres to go." Late group 2 soybeans are beginning to yellow. Longer maturities are still green and filling pods. Rock pickers are working in a few harvested wheat fields. Last week Lane was able to brush hog too-wet-to-mow areas around his duck barns for the first time this year. Gray leaf spot in susceptible corn varieties is visible from the road. Lower leaves are dying off. Plants remain mostly green. Kernels are in the dough stage.

"Harvest is a long way off. There won't be much corn picked in shorts and t-shirts," Lane said.

Meanwhile outside of Gurley, Nebraska, View From the Cab farmer Leon Kriesel is way ahead of the harvest-time game. "We started swathing millet on Thursday," Leon told DTN late Sunday. Swathing continued Sunday despite some electronic difficulties. "We had to force program the computer so it would recognize the head," he said.

Wheat and barley harvest is complete. Millet is at the halfway point. Millet under the center-pivot irrigator is harvested and the field has been fertilized for wheat. The field will either be tilled or sprayed to control weeds. Roughness caused by erosion from summer's heavy rains could make a difference. "The field is pretty smooth. I'm leaning toward spraying it," Leon said.

Millet yields have been in the area of mid-30 bushels per acre. Stands could have been better, but wet soils at planting created some germination problems.

Leon grows and sells certified seed from about 3,000 acres. Winter wheat seeding is underway in some places. Leon won't start until mid-month. "We already have a list started for loading customers Tuesday. We won't be loading on Labor Day," he said. Cleaning of Settler, a Clearfield herbicide-resistant variety raised on the farm, is finished. Contract growers will begin delivering their production for cleaning this week.

Seed for all the wheat varieties Leon raises has been sold out except for Settler. "We've had a pretty good run so far. We usually sell out, you don't want to sell out too quick, but you don't want to carry a lot over," Leon explained. Seed wheat sells for $11 to $12.50 per unit.

More than 4,000 feet above sea level, western Nebraska's short growing seasons and normally limited rainfall mean small grains do better than corn. Leon has been experimenting with milo as a substitute. "The milo looks pretty good, pretty uniform. Grain is in the milk stage. It doesn't need any frost before the middle of October but so far it looks encouraging," he said.

Irrigated dry beans in the area are being harvested. At one time they were swathed like millet or barley, but today's growers solid-seed (drill) and cut dry beans much the same as soybeans are harvested.

Ears of corn are starting to tip out from stalks, a sign of approaching maturity. And early sunflowers have lost their petals.

Another harvest has started, and Leon's cousins from eastern Nebraska have antelope in their sights. "(They're) bow hunters. It (temperatures) has been in the 90s since they got here. Sitting in a blind like that, I don't know if you can drink enough water." Hunters must conceal themselves to get within range. "Antelope have pretty good eyesight. They're difficult to stalk out here, but they're pretty good eating," he said.

Conditions have been warmer than normal. Lows at night dip into the 60s. Sunday's high at Sidney Nebraska, was 86. It's been dry with humidity ranging from 20% to 30%. "That's about normal for us, sometimes going down into the teens. We could use a half to an inch of rain".

There's a familiar sight on Leon's horizon these day, nothing out of the ordinary for farm country, but maybe slightly ahead of the game.

"You can look out over the countryside and see where all the combines are running by the great big clouds of dust in the air," he said.

Richard Oswald can be reached at [email protected]

Follow Richard Oswald on Twitter @RRoswald

(CZ/SK)