AG Mag Central Iowa
A GOOD YEAR
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 440 Sterling, IL 61081
P.O. Box 967 Newton, IA 50208 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
Farmers remain cautious going into 2022, even with good harvest this year
RAISING THE ‘STEAKS’: 22-year-old female meat locker owner hopes her business makes the cut
STEP ON THE GAS: Ethanol industry hopeful Biden administration will see benefits of biofuels
SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES: Area farmers weather the storm but future looks uncertain
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PUBLICATION • FALL/WINTER 2021 AG Mag
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AG Mag
Index PAGE 4 — Harvest 2021
Publisher Dan Goetz Advertising Director Carrie Vander Weerdt Managing Editor Jamee A. Pierson Magazine Editor & Page Design Jamee A. Pierson Reporters & Photographers Christopher Braunschweig, Abby Knipfel, Sarah Scull and Jamee A. Pierson Cover Illustration Jamee A. Pierson Published by News Publishing Co. 200 First Ave. East Newton, IA 50208 641-792-3121
PAGE 7 —
Supply chain issues looming for ag industry
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Index PAGE 8 — 22-year-old woman meat locker owner hopes her business makes the cut
PAGE 11 Ethanol industry hopeful
PAGE 12 The value of ag land is on the rise AG Mag
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A good year Farmers still cautious going into 2022 even with good harvest this year
By Jamee A. Pierson Central Iowa Ag Mag
4 Fall 2021
As the weather turns cold and the ground is covered by a white blanket of snow, area farmers wrap up the 2021 season and begin to turn their attention to spring planting next year. This year’s harvest didn’t see a derecho or unpredictable weather, leading to a good year for those in the fields. “For us, the harvest went very well as we didn’t have any big breakdowns and were able to get our harvest done in a timely manner,” Jasper County farmer Eric Siebrecht said. “I was pleasantly surprised how well the yields were given how short we were on rainfall and the number of hot days we had during summer. Some of the bean yields were the best we have ever had.” Even with a couple of rain days, the time out of the field allowed Siebrecht and farmers like him the opportunity to address other areas that can take a back seat during harvest. “I would say everything went as planned,” Siebrecht said. “There wasn’t much rain during harvest to slow us down, so we were able to keep at it and get done before Halloween, which is always a good thing. However, there were days we would have liked a rainy day or two to catch up on some maintenance and livestock work.” Siebrecht was surprised by the yields. With the hot and dry weather
he saw during the growing season, the yields came out strong this season. “Our biggest challenge during harvest was that we were selling hogs, so I had to stop harvesting early on a lot of days to sort and load hogs out,” Siebrecht said. He also saw grain prices rising as the harvest went on, which he said is unusual given Iowa was recording higher yields than expected. “So with higher prices and good yields, farmers will have a good year,” Siebrecht said. According to Iowa Farm Bureau Director of Agriculture Analytics and Research Dr. Sam Funk, 2020 saw the country poised for record exports in corn and soybeans at the start of the 2020-21 market. Record purchases of United States corn and very strong demand for U.S. soy have resulted in tighter stocks of the grains and supported strong crop prices this year. “Last fall, we started to see a largescale pull internationally for our corn and soybeans, but it really took off this year. Soy exports started strong last fall and continued the entire 2020-21 marketing year setting a new record,” Funk said. “Corn exports began strong in the fall of 2020 but ramped-up even further midway through the 2020-21 marketing year to also set an all-time record level of exports.”
Looking forward, Siebrecht is working to apply hog manure to the fields before it gets too cold, a task he is about half done with. “Next, we will move on to applying anhydrous. We are on a deadline for that as we pre-purchased the anhydrous in August/September at a good price,” Siebrecht said. “However, the prices have nearly doubled for fertilizer during that time and if we don’t get the anhydrous applied before the end of the year, our pre-purchase contract will no longer be valid and we will have to pay a higher price.” Fertilizer prices are a growing concern for farmers. Even with better yields and good markets, when supplies increase the margins narrow. “We are fortunate to have most of our fertilizer needs for 2022 already booked. And because fertilizer prices have skyrocketed through harvest this year, break-even prices on the 2022 crop will significantly increase,” Siebrecht said. “My outlook for next year is cautious because input prices have gone up and it is going to take good grain prices and yields for the 2022 crop to stay above break-even cost. Another concern is farm equipment needs as used inventory is low and new equipment prices are going up. New equipment is also very hard to secure right now, as well.”
AG Mag
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Supply chain issues looming for ag industry Area farmers weather the storm but future looks uncertain By Jamee A. Pierson Central Iowa Ag Mag Supply chain issues have been coming to the forefront of the agriculture industry. Whether it be because of COVID-related fallout or because of the current John Deere strike, farmers in the area have felt the effects of supplies not reaching their destination. “Like much of the general public, farmers and ag businesses started noticing issues during the COVID shutdown,” Iowa State Extension Economist Chad Hart said. “Since then, supply chain issues have been popping up in several ag markets, some still related to COVID, but others are completely separate from COVID; an example: John Deere parts and the strike.” Hart said the specific areas most impacted by the delays include parts of ag machinery, ag chemicals and fertilizer. Those supplies and parts have seen the largest bottlenecks this year.
Jasper County farmer Eric Siebrecht said he hasn’t had too many issues due to supply chain problems, but he will have to address a piece of machinery later because the part was not available. “The one thing that affected us was when we needed a part for the bean head and there wasn’t one in the United States, but we were able to finish the bean harvest without and will put the part on when it comes in,” Siebrecht said. According to Iowa Soybean Association President Robb Ewoldt, while interruptions to the supply chain and workforce continue to hinder many commercial products, soy products remain plentiful. “Producers across the state remain eager and optimistic in continuing to meet the increasing demand for soy,” Ewoldt, who farms near Davenport, said. “Although there is no soy oil shortage, the uncertainty of accessing once dependably available products
like equipment parts and fertilizers continue to negatively impact Iowa farmers and rural communities across the state.” While most farmers and ag businesses were able to weather the first supply chain disruption, it doesn’t look like the problem is going to be fixed any time soon. Looking at the 2022 season, Hart said those in the business are already preparing for what might, or might not come. “It didn’t really impact ag production or income. But it has impacted the timing of ag processes and the plans for the 2022 growing season,” Hart said. “Farmers are adjusting to supply uncertainty for some ag inputs and some may shift acreage among crops to avoid planting a crop that uses inputs that are in short supply (and/or high cost). Many of the factors causing the supply chain issues (labor disputes, trade restrictions, etc.) are expected to carry through into next year.”
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RAISING THE ‘STEAKS’ 22-year-old woman meat locker owner hopes her business makes the cut By Abby Knipfel Central Iowa Ag Mag Julie Wanders, a blonde-haired, 22-year-old, is not what most would imagine of when they think of a meat locker owner. Heck, horror movie stereotypes suggest they look more like a 7-foot-tall, middle-aged creep with a bloody apron and a comedically oversized butcher knife. But this is reality. A reality where all kinds of people can own and operate meat lockers. Wanders’ name might be familiar with anyone who has farmed in eastern Iowa. Her family farm, located just outside Oskaloosa, goes back three generations and is currently co-owned and operated by Wanders and her father. Together, the two manage around 150 cattle. It’s these cattle that led Wanders to the wonderful world of the meat locker business. “During 2019, I was able to finally convince my dad to feed out our cattle, but then COVID hit and the price of meat tanked and packing plants closed,” Wanders said. “So our only two options were to either lose the investment we’ve made in these animals, or figure out how to slaughter them locally.” After considering her options, Wanders decided a small, local meat locker – which can both slaughter, butcher and store meat – was the answer. But then another problem presented itself, one that is now all too common for many farmers: an inability to find enough locker space. “I was selling a lot of my own beef directly to customers at the time and I just couldn’t reserve enough locker space to meet demand,” she said. Before the pandemic, Wanders said any farmer 8 Fall 2021
who wanted to reserve space could usually get a spot at their local meat locker within two weeks of making their reservation. But now, due to increased demand, nearly every meat locker throughout the county is booked solid. With demand far exceeding supply, Wanders decided to go the extreme route and build her own. “I was in the middle of drawing up plans to build my own locker when this place, for the grace of God, came up for sale,” she said. “Not wanting to spend over a million dollars setting up my own operation I decided to buy this place instead.” Wanders purchased Rietveld Meat for $200,000 in August 2020, smack dab in the middle of the pandemic. The new meat locker owner renamed the facility to Wanders Farms, 438 160th Pl, in Otley. “It is so much more work than I ever could’ve imagined,” Wanders said. BUSINESS IS BOOMING After more than a year or rebranding and reopening the place, business couldn’t be better. “We haven’t really slowed down since then,” she said. “We are fully booked to capacity until at least November 2022.” Currently, the locker employs three,
full-time workers and four, part-time workers, along with three full-time Wanders family members. And while COVID might have made starting the business much more difficult, it might also be just the thing that has boosted business to levels beyond what Wanders ever expected. “Once the meat packing plants shut down farmers had to figure out what to do with their herds, so a lot of them came here and haven’t left,” Wanders said. The locker has also seen a large increase in customers who are looking to bypass any supply chain issues and supermarket shortages. “A lot of people from all backgrounds want to know where their food is coming from (and) who’s handling the meat they feed to their families,” Wanders said. The number of farmers who have started selling directly to customers in the past year has grown massively since the pandemic, she added. “Selling directly to consumers is a new thing for a lot of these guys. It can be hard, especially for people who haven’t had to deal with customers directly before,” Wanders said. “But the appeal for a lot of farmers is that they can usually get around $300 more a head for their cattle.”
CONT. 11
AG Mag
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CONT. 9 WHAT DOES A MEAT LOCKER DO? At any one time, Wanders’ locker is usually working on a few dozen cows and pigs in different stages of being processed. With meat lockers becoming more and more uncommon as the years go on, most people may not know what goes on inside a small, family-owned facility. Wanders said the process is similar to what happens at meat packing plants, just on a much smaller scale. The whole process begins with a farmer setting up an appointment and bringing in their livestock. The slaughtered livestock are then and butchered to remove skin, organs, blood and anything else that isn’t meat. The animal is then hung up to dry out in the carcass room. This process usually takes around seven to 10 days and helps the meat to stiffen and cool. During this time the weight of the animal can shrink almost 40 percent due to a loss of moisture. After this hanging period, the meat is then moved to the butchering room where employees cut and trim the meat into recognizable cuts. This step is usually where the meats customers usually specify what types of cuts they want from the animal. After being butchered, the cuts are either packed, sealed and moved to the locker’s industrial freezers to await pickup, moved to the smoking room to be treated or its put into a grinder to be made into ground meat. The whole butchering process usually takes around a one to two weeks from start to finish, depending on the size of the animal, Wanders said. LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE Even though operations are not slowing down at all, Wanders has began looking to the future. Her current focus has shifted to the more retail-focused side of the business. For the past few months, a wide variety of the locker’s own products have been made available for purchase. All the meat sold at the locker is grain-fed beef and pork, free of hormones and antibiotics. Wanders Farms offerings include high quality bacon, ground beef, beef sticks, dried meat and skinless bratwursts. Wanders’ current operation serves around 50-60 farmers, but she hopes those numbers will increase. She also recently finished an application to a state program for a grant that supports small businesses. If her grant application is successful, she hopes to increase her locker’s capacity by about 50 percent with the addition of another carcass cooler. She also wants to hire four more full-time employees. “I hope that by expanding the business we’ll be able to keep providing our same level of service to both customers and farmers, just on a larger scale,” Wanders said.
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STEP ON THE GAS By Christopher Braunschweig Central Iowa Ag Mag To maintain Iowa’s position as the No. 1 producer of ethanol in the United States, industry leaders are hoping President Joe Biden’s administration not only keeps its promise to farmers but also fully embraces biofuels as a long-term and affordable solution to cleaner energy. Grant Menke, director of market development at the Iowa Corn Growers Association, said there have been a lot of positive and negative impacts to the ethanol industry over the years. In addition to being a bit of a “mixed bag,” some of the benefits the biofuels industry enjoyed would not last long. Sometimes a big step forward for biofuels was lat-
12 Fall 2021
Ethanol industry hopeful Biden administration will see benefits of biofuels er met with a roadblock, such as the year-round sale of E15 ethanol blend presented by the Environmental Protection Agency during the Donald Trump administration. However, in July, the U.S. Court of Appeals reversed the rule and restricted the practice yet again. “So we are back in a position of trying to restore year-round access to E15 to continue to grow that vital market,” Menke said. Another devastating blow to the corn ethanol industry was the small refinery exemptions in the Renewable Fuel Standard. Menke said the industry is still fighting to come back from four billion gallons of demand destruction created by the Trump administration’s EPA abusing the small refinery exemption process. Coupled with the trade war issues, the ethanol industry had plenty to lament. But Menke also noted
the leaders at Washington, D.C. were conscientious of the impact of the pandemic and the trade wars on farmers, culminating in the approval of relief funds for some ethanol producers. It is not all bad news. The industry recently celebrated when a small refinery exemption request from 2019 was denied by the Biden administration. Menke said that was a very positive step and will hopefully be a signal in how the administration will treat the small refinery exemption process going forward. With the Biden administration now in charge, producers can only wonder or speculate what the outlook of the industry will be the next few years. Industry struggles, such as the certainty of the RFS, have been pervasive since the Barack Obama administration. Menke said the RFS is such an important policy for the biofuels industry and farmers by requiring fuels sold in the United States to contain a minimum amount of renewable fuels. “It’s been the most transformational biofuels policy in history, but some of its potential has been limited by the uncertainty in how it’s been implemented,” Menke said. “…When (Biden) was campaigning, he said the RFS marks our bond with our farmers and our commitment to a driving rural economy.” Menke is hopeful the administration will follow suit on that promise. Despite all of the challenges that come with policy and regulation and changes from cycling administrations, the ethanol industry is a “very resilient,” innovative and a constantly improving industry. Iowa currently has 42 ethanol plants capable of producing 4.5 billion gallons of ethanol per year at full capacity. To put that into perspective, Menke said Iowa’s demand for gas is about 1 billion gallons per year. The state can quite literally support its own fuel demands. Ethanol, too, is the lowest cost and cleanest source of fuel octane on the planet, Menke added. Adding ethanol to gas also lowers the price for
consumers. “What it is displacing are the dirtiest elements of gasoline, the toxic aromatics like benzene, toluene and xylene,” Menke said, noting benzene is a known to cause cancer while the others can cause respiratory issues. “…Through all of this, we have grown the market for higher blends in Iowa and around the country.” The momentum for biofuels is building, as evidenced by the growing availability of E15 blends. Even during a pandemic Iowa set a record for E15 sales with 60 million gallons, Menke said. Fuel retailers are also continuing to embrace ethanol. Ethanol is also presenting itself as another solution to climate change. “This is where we would really love to see this administration embrace biofuels as the fastest, most cost-effective solution to reducing carbon and combating climate change in the transportation/fuel sector,” Menke said. However, Menke also noted the Biden administration’s focus on electric vehicles. There is a place for electric vehicles in the future’s vehicle fleet, but Menke said there are concerns surrounding affordability, range limitations and charging infrastructure hurdles. More than 200 million cars are on the road in the United States, Menke claimed. Within the next seven to eight years, regardless of policy or the use of electric vehicles, Menke estimated the United States will utilize a trillion gallons of gasoline. Biofuel industry supporters say to make an impact now, it requires something to be done to affect the trillion gallons of gasoline being used in the next seven to eight years. Menke suggested ethanol could be the answer, noting it could not only be a carbon-reducing fuel but possibly a carbon-neutral fuel. “The most aggressive steps, we can become a carbon-negative fuel — which is something that an electric vehicle will never be able to do,” Menke said. AG Mag
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What goes up? The value of ag land is on the rise. But for how long? land substantially over the past year in Iowa and across the nation. But how long will the hot market for ag land continue? Steve Bruere, president of People’s Company, a nation-wide land brokerage and auction business based
By Sarah Scull Central Iowa Ag Mag The demand for productive agricultural land has increased at a pace not seen in years driving up real estate values for farm, crop and pasture
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“Remember, remember is the highest form of honor. And forgetting is the lowest.” Marvin Morris, the chaplain of the American Legion Post 111 in Newton, said those words in benediction of the Veterans Day the ceremony, and he meant them. So much so he thanked guest speaker, retired Lt. Col. John Cunningham, for using the word “remembered” so many times in his speech.
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The Jasper County Engineer’s Office is seeking a new assistant engineer to help the department keep most secondary road work in-house. of its “When we have to contract work to outside firms it costs the department and county a huge amount of money,” Jasper County Engineer Mike Frietsch said during the Nov. 9 board of supervisors meeting. According to documents provided by the engineer’s office, outsourcing work can cost the county more than $300,000. The tasks and costs can vary, from signing a new bridge for $30,000, deinitial road assessments for $125,000, road design per mile for $10,000, utility permit work for $80,000 and pipeline inspection for $72,000. “A lot of this work we can’t do
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Post 111 and member of Guard, salutes during Veterans It was the reason Morris and the Honor Day ceremonies held Nov. 11 in Newton. eryone else was gathered inside evthe Olsthorn to honor veterans American Legion that day, past and the stars and stripes to a symbol of member. And remember they re- present. pride for one’s country and, did. Organized by the American Wreaths were hung for confl Le- who served, that motivationfor those icts gion and VFW 1655, in their fought by the United States, the hall of the pursuits of freedom. and American Legion for guests were led into song by Veterans Day Sandy was filled to the ceiling with flags; VETERANS | 2A
Retailers the target in city’s ‘shop local’ promotions By Christopher Braunschweig Newton News
To help bring visitors to Newton and promote its retail stores, the city put together a “shop local” marketing strategy advertising businesses and the community. During its Nov. 1 meeting, the city council approved a resolution authorizing the marketing campaign by the City of Newton and Liebl Marketing Group, using radio, targeted streaming radio and over-the-top/mobile video. City documents say the campaign will complement other advertising from partner agencies. The campaign will spotlight retail-
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ers until Dec. 23. In total, the advertising campaign will cost $7,500. The city wants initiative to increase awareness this of the impact “staying local” with holiday shopping can have, as well as increase the amount of regional visitors and transactions from nearby communities. The campaign overview stated: “While it is tough to compete with online shopping and the furry of a crowded mall’s Black Friday deals, it is critical to promote the great shopping options and retailers in Newton to both residents of our community and those who live outside Newton SHOP LOCAL | 3A
Dozens of shoppers participated in Newton Main Street’s Shop Abby Knipfel/Newton News Nov. 13 at the Hotel Maytag Small Local Market on Ballroom.
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Wesley Justus, left, serves Christopher Braunschweig/Newton a slice of cake using a sword News bration Nov. 10 at the Newton during the U.S. Marine Corps’ American Legion. 246th birthday cele-
By Christopher Braunschweig goals the district can more Newton News directly measure with concrete School board members such numbers and data, as the results of the on Nov. 8 reviewed their Iowa Statewide Assessment new district goals and the of Student Progress. But different ways staff could others may require schools measure those priorities to have certain compothroughout the year. nents in The newly proposed fessional place, such as prolearning commugoals — brainstormed by nities. the school board at a past To measure school culmeeting — say the Newture in the high school, for ton Community School example, the district says it District will provide each can look at survey results, learner a safe, supportive, behavior trends and attencollaborative and inclusive dance rates, among other culture; effective and enthings. gaging teaching for all; and “The goals that you guys a challenging and relevant set and what you’re wantlearning experience. ing to do with it, really has Superintendent Tom Messinger said there are GOALS | 2A
in Iowa, said the sudden spike in ag land values scares him but there’s ultimately a lot of strength in the market to support it. “I don’t sense there’s any weakness out there in terms of values coming down anytime soon,” he said.
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According to the National Agricultural Statistical Survey (NASS) Land Values 2021 Summary, farm real estate values across the U.S. averaged $3,380 per acre in 2021. That’s up $220 per acre (7 percent) from 2020. In Iowa farm land values have increased 18.8 percent from March to September, according to a Sept. 29 survey report from the Iowa Chapter of the Realtors Land Institute (RLI). In September, RLI showed the average for high-quality crop land in Iowa averaging $12,182 per acre, a 17.5 percent jump from its March report. Bruere said farm land in Iowa is up 30 to 40 percent from a year ago at this time. “The surveys haven’t really caught that yet. When we look at auctions on a weekly basis, the market is actually much stronger than those surveys are showing,” he said. “It’s pretty impressive. Back in 2006, 2007, farm land values increased pretty dramatically. Traditionally when farm land go up, it moves pretty slow. You’ll see 2, 3, 4 percent type swings in values, so this is pretty impressive.” Bruere said some activity related to the buying and selling of ag land is due to some land owners putting their land on the market this fall to beat potential changes to the tax code and capital gains rates in the new year. Factors contributing to a sudden rise in ag land values include a change in monetary policy, low interest rates, funding from COVID-19 relief and stimulus packages, strong commodity prices and good yields. “Usually you have good yields and poor prices or high prices and poor yields, but this year in Iowa we’re go-
ing to have strong yields and great prices,” said Bruere. “So you have really great farmer profitability and low interest rates and it’s just this perfect storm for high farm land values right now.” Bruere said there is also a real fear of inflation among the ag community and investors. “Investors like farm land as an inflation hedge,” he said. “In times of inflation, farm land performs very well. That’s kind of a function of food prices going up and ultimately that gets capitalized on your farm land value.” Bruere said he’s seeing strong farmer and inventory buying at the moment because of market conditions, which causes a lot of competition to snap up the limited amount of available real estate. “Farmers, because they have good profitability and investors because they are in fear of inflation and need an inflation hedge,” he said. “When you think of all the capital that wants to buy farm land and that lack of inventory, there’s just a lot of money chasing very few deals and that’s ultimately bullish for farm land values.” With less than 2 percent of farm land in the U.S. turning over, Bruere doesn’t see it changing in 2022. While the shortage of available farm land for sale keeps them valuable, he also sees some potential issues. “If commodity prices level off that will be bad for farm land values,” he said. “If interest rates go up, that will be a negative for farm land values. Those are your two headwinds, but I don’t see those coming in to play this year.”
AG Mag
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