Missing a Million Acres per Year ?

[Stocker Steve]

Lots of buzz on reduced SB and corn planting estimates. One article even got into why - - some producers do not expect to be able to recover direct costs on marginal grain growing acres. I assume these acres are going into trees or forage. We see some of this here on ground that is rocky and/or can not be irrigated.

 

[Aaron]

Don't tell my neighbor that. He sprayed all his acreage last fall, killed all his grass for hay. I am betting he is going all in on no-till soybeans, or at least I hope so. That would make for a good summer season of comedy as the last couple of years were pretty stale.

 

[Stocker Steve]

He sprayed all his acreage last fall, killed all his grass for hay. I am betting he is going all in on no-till soybeans, or at least I hope so. That would make for a good summer season of comedy as the last couple of years were pretty stale.

I think we are still making ice on the lakes. Looks like a late wet spring here. Is this well drained ground, or do folks just try to float over the dead sod?

 

[mwj]

Lots of buzz on reduced SB and corn planting estimates. One article even got into why - - some producers do not expect to be able to recover direct costs on marginal grain growing acres. I assume these acres are going into trees or forage. We see some of this here on ground that is rocky and/or can not be irrigated.

Acres could go to spring wheat, oats, cotton,milo or one of many other things. We tend to think of corn and beans but there are a huge variety of things raised in this country!

 

[Stocker Steve]

Acres could go to spring wheat, oats, cotton,milo or one of many other things. We tend to think of corn and beans but there are a huge variety of things raised in this country!

Yes, small grain and cotton acres are both up in 2018, but the total acres in major crops is still going down by more than a million.

Could there be a lot of acres going into hemp?
,

 

[Bigfoot]

The old joke goes........A man was driving to Florida, and buying watermelons for a dollar apiece. He was bringing them, and selling them for a dollar apiece. When he realized he wasn't making any money, he went out and bought a bigger truck.

Agriculture can be guilty of this same thought process from time.

 

[Aaron]

He sprayed all his acreage last fall, killed all his grass for hay. I am betting he is going all in on no-till soybeans, or at least I hope so. That would make for a good summer season of comedy as the last couple of years were pretty stale.

I think we are still making ice on the lakes. Looks like a late wet spring here. Is this well drained ground, or do folks just try to float over the dead sod?

A little from column A and a little from column B.

 

[Aaron]

The old joke goes........A man was driving to Florida, and buying watermelons for a dollar apiece. He was bringing them, and selling them for a dollar apiece. When he realized he wasn't making any money, he went out and bought a bigger truck.

Agriculture can be guilty of this same thought process from time.

I think there are quite a few around here that had him as a mentor.

 

[Stocker Steve]

On paper, warm season annuals can produce a lot of tons/acre. The costs can be low if you manure for fertility and don't go crazy on seed technology fees. So then it comes down to how much drainage and tractor time and risk tolerance you have. I think there is a place for annual forages harvested by livestock. Are there any folks grazing corn during the fall or winter in the Rainy River district?

 

[Aaron]

On paper, warm season annuals can produce a lot of tons/acre. The costs can be low if you manure for fertility and don't go crazy on seed technology fees. So then it comes down to how much drainage and tractor time and risk tolerance you have. I think there is a place for annual forages harvested by livestock. Are there any folks grazing corn during the fall or winter in the Rainy River district?

A few have contemplated it, but no one has done so. One neighbor figured the cows would waste too much in the field, so he rather make it into silage - he doesn't rotate, so cows would have access to entire fields at once. I like the idea, but I am not setup to start aggressively turning over and fertilizing crops. Rather invest those funds into buying more property - landlord sent me written notice last week that he is considering selling his 160 acre pasture property to me this year. Only took 22 years to convince them to sell.

 

[Stocker Steve]

One neighbor figured the cows would waste too much in the field, so he rather make it into silage - he doesn't rotate, so cows would have access to entire fields at once. I like the idea, but I am not setup to start aggressively turning over and fertilizing crops. Rather invest those funds into buying more property

Easy to cross fence standing corn in early fall. Deer and grounding can be challenges after freeze up.

High value of gain can make annuals really payoff for calves. Cheap hay makes it a longer term soil building exercise, at best, for cows. Your tradeoffs are different than most due to much lower land prices. Ideal use may be to to pop your yearlings before selling them.

A wise man once told me that if it works at low (selling) prices, than it is a good idea.

 

[Aaron]

One neighbor figured the cows would waste too much in the field, so he rather make it into silage - he doesn't rotate, so cows would have access to entire fields at once. I like the idea, but I am not setup to start aggressively turning over and fertilizing crops. Rather invest those funds into buying more property

Easy to cross fence standing corn in early fall. Deer and grounding can be challenges after freeze up.

High value of gain can make annuals really payoff for calves. Cheap hay makes it a longer term soil building exercise, at best, for cows. Your tradeoffs are different than most due to much lower land prices. Ideal use may be to to pop your yearlings before selling them.

A wise man once told me that if it works at low (selling) prices, than it is a good idea.

Yes, with cheap land it is hard to justify most of these high productivity concepts that float around in the industry. Low cost is how I survive. Oldest field hasn't been turned over in 45+ years and many haven't been touched in over 35 years. Little splash of fertilizer every couple years and continually get over 2 tons to the acre.