US Farmers Already Looking To 2009 Planting Ideas
Even as he finished up harvesting corn and double-crop soybeans, Strasburg, Illinois farmer Tim Lenz said he’s looking ahead to 2009.
“I usually have 200 or 300 acres of corn on corn,” he said, but market conditions right now as far as grain prices are concerned might have Lenz put off some planting plans. “I might now make a decision until March. It’s kind of up in the air between now and then.”
Lenz said the market will have to make its case for corn over the next few months before he pledges all of his acres one way or another.
“I’ll definitely go corn on beans and some corn on corn,” he said. “It depends on market prices between now and March how I’ll go and how much tillage we get done this fall.”
He also feeds about 100 head of cattle and as a livestock producer, he’s optimistic for the livestock industry.
“I’m optimistic that maybe cattle will be profitable, if the general economics get set maybe cattle will be profitable again. We’ve always fed them out and figure if you just stay the course and not try to outguess it, you’ll hopefully be right,” he said and added a note of optimism for the hog industry too. “For the guys who feed hogs, now they’ve got a chance to buy some cheap corn.”
For right now, Lenz said he’s focusing on fertilizer and tillage practices as ways where he can economize.
“Nitrogen is the only thing in my mind that I’m concerned about,” he said.
To save on fuel, Lenz said he’ll be watching his tillage.
“We probably won’t do as much deep tillage, just to save on fuel,” he said. “We’ll do deep tillage on the ends but we’ll do a light vertical-type tillage everywhere else.”
This year, he had to replant acreage due to flooding and he said he’s pleased with yields even with that replanted acreage.
“We had to replant about 600 acres. That’s the first time in 20 years that I’ve been farming that we’ve just replanted wholesale fields,” he said. “We’re shelling that right now and it’s actually doing fairly well, the yields really aren’t much lower.”
Lenz also has branched out in varieties as prices have moved around and said that premiums on certain varieties might make those more attractive.
“As prices have come down, I grow some white corn and some seed beans and we’re maybe looking at some non-GMO beans next year,” he said.
As far as the general atmosphere, Lenz said he sees a return to more realistic thinking in terms of prices and profits.
“Just the psychology is not as optimistic,” he said. “It’s probably more realistic and now it gets back to being a little harder to make a profit.”
“I usually have 200 or 300 acres of corn on corn,” he said, but market conditions right now as far as grain prices are concerned might have Lenz put off some planting plans. “I might now make a decision until March. It’s kind of up in the air between now and then.”
Lenz said the market will have to make its case for corn over the next few months before he pledges all of his acres one way or another.
“I’ll definitely go corn on beans and some corn on corn,” he said. “It depends on market prices between now and March how I’ll go and how much tillage we get done this fall.”
He also feeds about 100 head of cattle and as a livestock producer, he’s optimistic for the livestock industry.
“I’m optimistic that maybe cattle will be profitable, if the general economics get set maybe cattle will be profitable again. We’ve always fed them out and figure if you just stay the course and not try to outguess it, you’ll hopefully be right,” he said and added a note of optimism for the hog industry too. “For the guys who feed hogs, now they’ve got a chance to buy some cheap corn.”
For right now, Lenz said he’s focusing on fertilizer and tillage practices as ways where he can economize.
“Nitrogen is the only thing in my mind that I’m concerned about,” he said.
To save on fuel, Lenz said he’ll be watching his tillage.
“We probably won’t do as much deep tillage, just to save on fuel,” he said. “We’ll do deep tillage on the ends but we’ll do a light vertical-type tillage everywhere else.”
This year, he had to replant acreage due to flooding and he said he’s pleased with yields even with that replanted acreage.
“We had to replant about 600 acres. That’s the first time in 20 years that I’ve been farming that we’ve just replanted wholesale fields,” he said. “We’re shelling that right now and it’s actually doing fairly well, the yields really aren’t much lower.”
Lenz also has branched out in varieties as prices have moved around and said that premiums on certain varieties might make those more attractive.
“As prices have come down, I grow some white corn and some seed beans and we’re maybe looking at some non-GMO beans next year,” he said.
As far as the general atmosphere, Lenz said he sees a return to more realistic thinking in terms of prices and profits.
“Just the psychology is not as optimistic,” he said. “It’s probably more realistic and now it gets back to being a little harder to make a profit.”