In This Issue: Mark White, Grain Manager Charles Smith, Agronomy Manager Kristin Smith, Senior Office Manager Jason Jensen, Northwest Agronomy Sales Derrick Hoodjer, Agronomy Programs Director
Taylor Banks, Southern Agronomy Sales Scott Goetz, Feed Sales Manager Kent Watson, Southern Feed Sales
Market Updates Mark White Grain Manager, Knoxville Location Manager As we approach the mid-point of October, harvest in the northern part of our trade area is running at least a week ahead of normal. Meanwhile, the southern parts appear to be on a more normal pace. Yield reports have been very positive. I have not heard anyone complaining. Most of us expected the corn to be well above average as it was planted timely, and the rains came as needed. Beans were the unknown as they are always hard to guess. Most producers have been very pleased with their bean yields and they have exceeded their expectations. Fungicide applications have shown a big advantage again this year, particularly on beans. With higher prices this summer, more acres than normal had a treatment put on them and the check strips are telling us it was a wise decision. Yield information from other areas of the country have been more varied. Disease pressure in the corn fields of the eastern corn belt have reduced some yields by 20 to 30 bushels. This was an area that expected record yields. Bean yields from the fringe areas are also running below average in many cases. This all adds up to some swings in the national yield predictions. This summer the USDA revised last year’s yields lower. Most of us already knew this as basis levels had remained narrow while end users worked to maintain their supply
chain. We are still seeing some basis swings as the producer and end-user try find the middle ground. Heading into harvest, the feeling was farmers would be sellers across the scale this fall and that would provide ample processor supplies. Now it appears there may be more crop stored than we expected. An example would be northern Iowa where the bean harvest is finishing up and the basis levels are narrowing, which tells us the processor does not have enough beans bought. The river markets have continued to struggle as the shipping industry recovers from Hurricane Ida. Barges are still backed up and it is not only affecting the shipment of grain, but also the movement of fertilizer back up the river. This is compounding the higher cost of crop nutrients with the result being the farmer caught in the middle once again. And as always, China is a major player in our markets. They are not currently meeting their Phase One buying goals and there is mounting evidence they may not at all. This will be a negative pull on the market. As harvest moves forward, I want to ensure everyone that we plan to have plenty of storage room available for those that want to store their crop. We will adjust our unloading hours to meet the needs of our customers and speed their work up. We offer daily markets for contracting or spot purchasing grain. We also offer a deferred payment contract for those that want to sell right off the combine, but do not want the money until 2022. Please feel free to contact us for any marketing questions. Remember to work safe everyday so you can go home to your family each night.
Operations Update Charles Smith, Agronomy Manager
Fall has arrived, grain is starting to roll in, and our fall fertilizer and lime is starting to be applied. Today we are working on sending grid and soil samples. We couldn’t have asked for better working conditions for spreading lime. We have had an eventful summer with new projects being done. We are always looking to improve the company to suit the needs of our customers. At our Main location in Knoxville, we completely rebuilt our scale. We took off the old deck and replaced it. While working on the scale we serviced and repainted the frame underneath. At Centerville, we are putting in a new scale. It will be a 14ft x 80ft, located south of the existing office. It will have a scale/probe house separate from the office itself. Today they are using the original scales to keep grain moving but will switch once the new scale is completed. In Milo, we have new conveyors to fill the bean and corn storage. The existing legs are being reconditioned to allow us to get through the season. The plan was to add a new receiving
leg, but due to shipping and manufacturing issues we must make what we have useful. We are waiting on one receiving leg and 2 receiving conveyors. We hope to have these updated and done before next harvest season. The Pleasantville location has received a new 50,000gal fiberglass storage tank. This tank will allow us to receive more product to store for the deicing division.
At our location in the city of Knoxville, we are currently in the process of taking down the old feed mill. It stood north of the office and we plan to make what is left into a storage building. We have utilized this location throughout the summer to park cars and campers during the events at Knoxville Raceway. If you are thinking about spreading lime this year, be sure to contact us. If you are thinking ahead for any other fall needs, NH3 season will be coming before we know it. Give your local SFG salesman a call.
Tune into SFG Top Performance, our weekly podcast with all the information you need to increase your profitability and success! New episodes posted Monday mornings, resuming November 8! https://www.sfgiowa.com/news/sfg-topperformance
Office Update Kristin Smith
Please assist us in giving Kathy a warm welcome!
Senior Office Manager
There have been a couple office personnel changes for our Centerville location. Sharon Bolin has officially taken her retirement. We'll miss her energy, enthusiasm, and most of all, her unfailing dedication to helping this place function a little better every day. We wish her nothing but the best in her retirement!
Kathy Sutherland
Sharon Bolin’s shoes will be hard to fill but SFG is pleased to introduce Kathy Sutherland.
Kathy has been a part of the ag industry for the past 20 years. It is my great pleasure to announce that she will be joining us in the capacity of Office Manager at the Centerville location. Apart from work, Kathy grew up on a small farm north of Lincoln, Nebraska with her parents and two older siblings. She was active in 4-H showing horses, worked on the family farm, and has continued working in the agriculture community. Kathy moved to Corydon, Iowa in the summer of 2021 with her husband, T.W. In her free time she enjoys hunting, riding horses, and hiking. She and her husband enjoy college football on Saturdays, going to baseball games, and playing golf.
Sharon Bolin
Northern Agronomy Update Jason Jensen Northern Agronomy Sales
Harvest reports so far indicate that we are in a garden spot this year. Most local farmers are reporting extremely good yields of corn and soybeans. With these good yields we must remember crop removal rates when planning next year’s fertilizer applications. Using the WinField United removal calculator, a 160 bushel/acre corn crop removes an x-61-43 on average. A 200 bushel/acre corn crop removes a X-76-54, and a 240 bushel/acre corn crop removes a x-91-65. As you can see, an additional 40 bushel/acre can pull a lot of nutrients out of our soil profile. Not spreading the full removal rate in your fertility program only cheats next year’s crop. We have many application options available for your needs and situation. We can use Variable Rate Technology (VRT) to apply a precise removal-rate amount to each acre using your yield monitor information. We can go a step further and perform even more complex VRT application by combining that yield monitor information with soil grid sampling. Or we can just blanket spread a fixed rate over your fields. VRT with grid sampling is the way to go if you want to be certain that you are placing the correct amount of fertilizer on each area of the
farm, optimizing the return on your investment. By doing this we do not over-fertilize low production areas, such as those with poor soil type, or other areas that won’t improve no matter how much fertilizer is spread on them. This method also places an adequate amount of fertilizer on the areas that are more productive to keep them kicking out profit. If you haven’t started planning for your 2022 crop needs, start doing so today. I am sure that all of you have heard either through radio, podcasts, publications, or whatever your favorite news source may be, that fertilizer prices have increased and supply is tight. This is a problem that SFG can help you work through to optimize profitability on your acres. We offer several tools that can help with these decisions. Planning now will help get inputs on your farm to keep you optimizing profits on your acres, while your neighbor may be stuck in the supply chain waiting on feed for their crop. Talk to your local SFG agronomist to line up your 2022 crop input needs today.
Central Agronomy Update Derrick Hoodjer Agronomy Program Director The start of harvest 2021 has been a shock to a lot of growers’ systems. Not because of issues out in the fields, but because of higher yields than most people have ever seen in South Central Iowa. The short answer for why is the weather. In the central part of our trade territory, excluding three weeks early in the season, the growing conditions were about perfect for high yielding corn and soybeans. Value added products and new technology also aided in increases in corn and soybean yields. High yield conditions and good fall weather this year have brought back some much deserved positivity and excitement to growers this year. Weather We’ve experienced unseasonably warm temperatures this fall with many days into October being in the 80degree area. This has aided in again another year with very fast drydown. Both corn and soybeans are drying quickly, and some corn hybrids need taken out of the field ASAP. Soybean moisture has been dropping quickly but the pods and stems have been very tough to combine this year. Everywhere I go I hear complaints about tough to cut soybeans, but the moisture can get to 12% or lower very quickly. Combines are having to slow down but areas of 65+ yield soybeans have made it worth it. Yields and Trials “This is the best yield I’ve ever had on my farm”, is a phrase I hear about daily this year. Some would think we are in northern Iowa with the yield numbers we have been seeing. The value-added products are also showing positive results in the high yield environment.
We have seen split application nitrogen show 30-40 bushels better than with preplant applied alone. Fungicides this year are also showing high responses and huge plant health benefits. I’ve been in multiple fields where fungicide applications have improved standability, and weighed check strips are showing consistent 15-20 bushels better on corn. These increased yields with more management are showing the best fields need to be pushed for higher yield. I focus on the best fields instead of the tough ones because it’s a lot more realistic to get 10-20% higher yield on the highly productive ground, rather than focusing on fixing tough ground. Technology Improvements in technology are also working in fields this year. New hybrids with more traits are doing well. For example, a new trait in Dekalb corn is Trecepta. It adds more protection against above ground insects. We are seeing 5-8 bushels better than current Dekalb offerings. This is exciting to see the new traits and hybrids are always striving for higher yield. Tissue Sampling was another way SFG added value on the farm this year. We are able to take measurements inseason to see if NPK are in check and then measure for micronutrients as well. I firmly believe that when we get into yield environments of 200+ we need to start looking at micronutrients to complete the package. Tissue sampling is a way to quantify fertility programs and see if nutrients are holding fields back. 2021 has been a year for the record books between the good growing conditions, favorable weather, and high yield potential. Warm weather and timely rains are the reason we have high yield conditions, but growers and agronomist can make a lot of differences out in the fields. Make sure to take what we have learned in 2021 to the future. I doubt we will get these high yields every year, but we can learn from them and maximize yield in years to come.
Southern Agronomy Update Taylor Banks Southern Agronomy Sales
Last week in Centerville was a busy week of harvest. As I am typing this we are getting some rain and I think most were looking forward to a short break this week. I have been out riding in a few combines the past few weeks and it seems that corn and bean yields are above average from what I have seen in the area. So far everyone I have talked to has been pleased with the yields this harvest. The new scale is nearing completion and with this rain out hopefully this week we can make a switch over and start using it when it dries up again. It will be a great improvement to our location and will hopefully speed up the flow of traffic to the pits some as well. Last week we had a fairly busy week putting fertilizer on and as more harvest gets done I look for that to get busier. The dry weather we have had has made for near perfect conditions in the fields for spreading lime and fertilizer, and if that continues it will be nice to have some of that out of the way for next spring. Call us today to schedule your applications!
Southern Feed Update Kent Watson Southern Feed Sales
Fall is here and it won’t be long till the snow starts flying. I have put together a few planning ideas that might help keep you ahead of some issues no matter what curves mother nature throws at you. For calves born in the spring, it’s weaning time. If you haven’t already been feeding creep, you might consider using creep 30 days before weaning. If you are planning on back rounding the calves, it gives them time to adjust to feed and keeps their gut healthy and immune system strong. This helps shorten or eliminate that lag period after weaning. If you are planning on selling the calves sooner than later, feeding creep can help pack on some extra pounds before they go to market. For spring calving cows, get them preg-checked and market all open cows. Turn cows out onto crop residue, making sure to provide adequate protein and mineral supplementation for the crop residue being fed. Within 30 days, make sure to monitor and rotate cows grazing on crop residue and adjust mineral and protein supplementation accordingly. That cow is now entering her 2nd trimester of gestation and her nutrition needs are increasing. Also, Body Condition Score all the cows to make sure they
are maintaining good condition. It is a lot easier and cheaper to make changes now than closer to calving time. Select and identify replacement heifers and feed accordingly. For fall calving cows, not only are we in peak lactation, but cows also need to be getting back in shape for getting bred. For cows and bulls, consider feeding a Blueprint mineral program that includes organic trace minerals which are highly digestible and available to the animal. Test all stored forages to ensure that the highest quality forages are being fed and balance with protein as needed. The feed specialists at SFG are here to help you any way we can, so give us a call.
Northern Feed Update Scott Goetz Feed Manager
Harvest is rolling right along now. With good weather I think it will go fast. Next up for most producers is weaning and getting cows out on stalks. Now is a great time to start thinking about next year, so take a good look at your cows. What is their body condition score? You want to shoot for a 5.5-6 BCS by spring calving. This is a good time to put weight back on cows, especially if your cows have been pulled down in the late summer. If you calve in the spring your cows should be approaching or in their second trimester. During this time calves are developing muscle and fat. The muscle fiber that develops at this time is all the muscle they will ever have. It will grow in size, but they will never add any more. Fat begins to develop now, including fat between the muscle fibers which makes up marbling. A cow’s nutrition at this point greatly influences how much muscle fiber and fat develops. During the third trimester the calf grows, gaining up to a pound a day. This growth requires extra energy from the cow to sustain this growth. For this reason maintaining an
acceptable BCS through the winter is important for calf development. Research has shown that calves from cows supplemented with protein and mineral have a better rate of gain and heavier carcass weight. In addition, they were more tender and had better marbling. In contrast, calves from supplement restricted mothers had decreased growth and smaller carcass weight. Also, mineral and vitamin restriction were shown to have a negative effect on development and metabolism making them poor-doing calves. Whether they are on cornstalks, stockpiled forage, or just baled hay, your cows and next year’s calves will benefit from supplemented protein and mineral. It is a lot easier to put condition on them early and maintain them now, than to try and put it on in the winter.
Let Smith Fertilizer & Grain help you with your winter feed needs. Whether it is protein tubs or if they need a little extra feed, we can help you. We can find the supplement to fit your needs and get next year’s calf crop off to a healthy start.
Knoxville Main Office
Pleasantville Location
Centerville Location
Albia Location
1650 Quebec St
702 E. Jasper
1605 S. 24th St
805 Hwy 5 North
Knoxville, IA 50138
Pleasantville, IA 50228
Centerville, IA 52544
Albia, IA 52531
Office: 641-828-8500
Office: 515-848-5000
Office: 641-856-2828
Office: 641-932-2100
Knoxville City Location
Melcher-Dallas Location
Milo Location
Columbia Fuel Station
601 N. Sherman St
126 2nd St SE
101 1st St
2441 Hwy 14
Knoxville, IA 50138
Melcher-Dallas, IA 50163
Milo, IA 50166
Columbia, IA 50057
Office: 641-842-5511
Office: 641-947-2000
Office: 641-942-6223
Cell: 641-218-4035