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Spring Renews Hope
for Agriculture Industry
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The warm winds of the past week renew my faith that spring is a possibility after a long cold winter with tons of snow. People are already rejoicing about the demise of insects due to a cold winter. However, the biological kingdom is a survivor. The Asian Lady Beetle in my house last night reminds me that they might be a nuisance again this year.
I know of few insect species that a cold winter can seriously inflict damage. The only one I am aware of is the Corn Leaf Flea Beetle and we probably won't be bothered by it this spring. The only thing in agriculture that we can be sure of is change. Grain markets can be up ten one day and down 11 the next. Everything in agriculture is changing rapidly. One of the major reasons is your farm is now a global business. Your major competition does not speak English. While acres of corn and soybeans remain constant in the U.S., South America has doubled soybean production since 1996. I always felt that China, with one billion population, would never export food. Wrong! China is now a net exporter of corn and owns the world's most livestock. After the North Carolina flood, Smithfield has moved some of its major production to Brazil since they plant corn the same day right behind the harvested soybeans. I don't believe I have ever witnessed a winter where so much leased land has changed hands as some producers exit farming and others decide to concentrate on expanding livestock operations or develop a new enterprise. I still believe the key to profitable grain farming is a total system utilizing manure from livestock to cut fertilizer bills and/or include high value crops like alfalfa in the rotation. Grain farmers partnering with large dairies make a lot of sense to me. If you're interested in these ventures, call me. For years now I have been writing about two agricultures: large generic commodity producers, and small niche marketers, many going directly to consumers. There are many new opportunities in agriculture because of change. We have seen several new farm markets in our area which allow small producers to go direct to consumers and capture the total consumer dollar. Our changing culture has created demand for new livestock enterprises. One of the most profitable livestock enterprises is now meat goats. We have producers in our area that are netting over one thousand dollars per acre with meat goats. Since I last introduced this topic, there is now a Southern Ohio Meat Goat Taskforce, which has identified two potential markets, which indicate they will need 43,000 goats a year. And this demand is just the tip of the "iceberg". Small farmers can also be successful by managing forages. Our big-ticket item in producing grain crops is land costs. With innovation and new technology Illinois farmers are double cropping corn and soybeans with forages by grazing livestock following harvest and before planting, and are grossing $800.00 an acre. Forages can be very profitable. Grain farming must be profitable for some as indicated by the continued demand for leased land. To me there are three keys to successful grain farming. The first is a lot of acres to spread fixed costs and generate enough income to live on and reinvest in machinery. Second is the ability to cut costs and still increase yields in order to cut the cost per bushel and produce. The third is being able to manage risk. The key point I want to focus on is cost per bushel. Global production forces us to strive to produce field crops for less. The major key in cost per bushel in production is yield. Earlier this month area producer, Larry Pfeifer, invited me to a seminar where Francis Childs of Manchester, Iowa was speaking. Childs has won the National Corn Growers Association yield contest six years in a row. I can remember when 100 bushels per acre was good and 300 bushels was impossible. The state of Ohio corn yield average is around 130 bushels per acre. The first year Childs won was 1997 with a non-irrigated yield of 332 bu./acre. In 2002, he set another record with a yield of 442 bu./acre. In his demonstration plots, which were too small for the contest, he had yields over 500 bu./acre. The first thing people will say is "Iowa soils have topsoil forty feet deep!" His farm is in Delaware County, Iowa. Their county average over they past ten years is 143 bu./acre. Clark County, Ohio's is 139, so we are not at a huge disadvantage. Granted you have to have rain, six percent organic matter and huge fertility to achieve this, but the key to high yields is change. I'm quoting Frances Childs: "The number one problem holding producers back is their unwillingness to change. You have to have a competitive edge." Childs listed twenty-two keys to his high yield. The first question or key he mentions is: "Do you have a positive attitude?" The last question or key was: "Are you willing to change?" In order to stay on top Francis Childs recognizes he must change his operation every year. It doesn't matter whether your yields have been 160 or 442 bu./acre. You must change by embracing new technology and have a positive attitude to boot! Neither is easy these days but a future in agriculture demands them. Spring gives us a renewed hope of tomorrow. Attitude these days is everything. Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Admin. and Director, OSU Extension TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868 Updated: April 2003 |