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Women in #ag #farm Transition
Last week I attended the Women in Ag Conference in Kearney. It’s always a great conference to see many friends and meet 
new ones who live and work in agriculture! I also enjoyed teaching a very engaged group of women the second day about crop science investigation. It was fun for me to see them dig into the hands-on activities!
The first session I attended was by Dave Specht from the UNL Ag Economics Dept. He does a great job of relating to the audience and talked about “Woman’s Influence-the Key to Generational Business Transitions”. Dave has a consulting business on the side and as part of that business he meets with families to develop a farm transitional plan based on the Continuity Quotient he developed. The Quotient contains 7 parts and I’ll share some key highlights via questions he raised that stuck out to me. Perhaps they’ll raise more questions for you as well.
1-Business/Estate Planning: The goal of the business/estate plan is to reduce the number of surprises to the farm and family members upon death of the farm owner. Is your plan coordinated with all the advisers in the operation and does it consider the perspectives of all the generations involved in the operation? Is it even documented and has it been communicated to the entire family before the owner passes away?
2-Communication: Are family members able to openly discuss the farm and what it means to them?
3-Leadership Development: No one is ever “ready to take ownership”; it is learned along the way. Opportunities for the next generation to make decisions need to be allowed. Often we hear of exit plans, but is there an “entrance plan”-a strategy to invite the next generation back to the farm?
4-I didn’t catch the name of this point but essentially Dave was saying that if the next generation is always asking his/her parents for a bailout, that it delays the trust that the person can someday operate the farm. How the next generation handles personal finances is important in showing he/she can someday run the operation.
5-Personal Resilience: How does the next generation handle challenges? Does the person retreat and avoid them or does the person look for ways to overcome them and use it as a growing experience? If the person retreats, he/she may not be wired for ownership in the future.
6-Retirement/Investment Planning: When will the older generation plan to retire? How much will the farm support (meaning how many people)? Where will retirement cash flow come from? The goal is to not rely on the next generation to generate your entire retirement income.
7-Key non-family employees: Sometimes the most valuable family business asset goes by a different name! Is the vision for the family farm communicated to these employees? How you talk about employees to next generation and how you talk to next generation about the employees is important in dictating future partnerships; someday the employees and next generation will be partners.
I would recommend checking out Dave’s Web site at http://www.davespecht.com for more information. He provides communication and consultation about farm transition and financial planning. Life is so short! Make sure you have a plan in place that follows the keys Dave provided above!
This is a great blog post from Chris Chinn, a farmer in Missouri, who shares why her family raises pigs the way they do to protect them and keep them comfortable. You can read additional blog posts from her at http://chrischinn.wordpress.com
(Disclaimer: The intent of this blog is to help people outside of agriculture to understand why some farmers choose to raise their animals indoors. What works on my farm may not work for another farmer, each farm is different, as are the genetics of hogs. My intent with this post is to help people understand why some farmers use modern technology on their farm. Our family changed the type of hog we raise to be a leaner hog with less body fat because of consumer demand. With that change came additional challenges to raising this type of pig in harsh weather conditions. That is why we chose to move our animals inside of barns because the lean type of hogs we raise can not endure the weather as well as hogs with more body fat. This is not meant to be an indictment of farmers who choose to raise their hogs outdoors.)
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Today
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Cornhusker Economics Conference
The Cornhusker Economics Conference will focus on the ag outlook and management decisions for farmers and ranchers at 
Clay Center on February 29th at the Clay County Activities Building at the Clay County Fairgrounds. The program will run from 10:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. with registration beginning at 9:30 a.m. The conference will cover key topics affecting farm management and production decisions for 2012. It is offered by UNL Extension and the UNL Department of Agricultural Economics and is sponsored in part by funding from the Nebraska Soybean Board.
Dan O’Brien of Kansas State University will share his insight on grain and oilseed outlook and risk management decisions in today’s uncertain markets. While market volatility shows the need for sound hedging strategies, concerns about futures market performance and the recent MF Global bankruptcy affecting hedge margin accounts raise questions about the best path ahead for managing market risk. O’Brien will bring his experience and analysis of futures market performance to bear on the issues and discuss implications for producer decisions.
Shane Ellis, livestock marketing specialist at Iowa State University, will discuss the outlook for livestock markets and producer profitability. With outlook for meat demand and continued reductions in cattle supplies, the market fundamentals look strong, but must weigh against grain supplies and feed prices. Ellis will bring his expertise to the situation and provide guidance for producer marketing and production decisions in 2012.
The land market has also been moving in the past year and UNL Extension Educator Allan Vyhnalek will use his local knowledge and analysis to discuss land markets and leasing arrangements with implications for producer decisions. The closing session will feature a focus on agricultural policy and the direction for new farm programs. Brad Lubben, policy specialist, will discuss the policy outlook in Washington and the major policy developments that could affect agriculture in 2011. Then, Lubben will team with UNL Extension educators to discuss specific directions for the new farm bill and implications for farm programs, conservation programs, and risk management decisions.
There is a $25 registration fee to cover programming expenses for speakers, materials, and the noon meal. Please RSVP to Jenny Rees at the Clay County Extension Office at (402) 762-3644 or jrees2@unl.edu by Feb. 27 so we can obtain a meal count. Hope to see you at the excellent conference!
Crazy?
Crazy? Perhaps! Which according to one of my farmer friends is a little typical of me when I put my mind to figuring out
something. So I had been analyzing my crop water use data from my dryland corn, sorghum, soybean crop water use comparison study. It’s the one where we had coon problems this year and ended up trapping a skunk! I noticed how much the soil moisture profile had been depleted and knowing we’ve received minimal precip during fall and winter, I wondered what our soil moisture profile would be for dryland fields by planting. During a meeting yesterday I thought it would be good to install some watermark sensors to determine soil moisture profile recharge with the pending storm. Problem was I was at a meeting over 100 miles from my equipment and the pending storm was starting today. But I was still determined to get them in the ground as early as possible in order to measure the soil moisture status. So I woke up at 4:00 a.m. to heavy rain. Great! It was such a gorgeous day yesterday, and the past week…past month… The first thing my colleagues had asked me when I told them my idea was “Why didn’t you think of this sooner?” Answer: “Guess I needed a precipitation event!”
So I drive to the field in the rain, get the gear together and start installing the sensors. First foot went in easy with the rain that had soaked in. Then it seemed like I tried for 20 minutes (although probably not near that long) putting all my weight on the soil probe to get the 2nd foot in. Wind-driven rain soaked my jeans since I didn’t have rainpants on…fingers were numb from the cold. I 
kept telling myself this will still hopefully be worth it! On the research data from this field, the second foot was driest of all the crops (was depleted well above plant available water). I got the third foot in and John, the man who farmed the field appeared.
While he thought it was crazy he graciously volunteered to help as he always does. He put in the rest of the sensors while I
hooked everything up.
The last several years we have been blessed to have a fully charged profile going into planting. Even with this rain/snow event, I’m not sure we will have that in dryland fields in this area of Nebraska. So I thought it would be interesting to know 
where we stood before planting and figured the farmers may want to know that as well. Perhaps a little crazy regarding installing the sensors on such a bad weather day but hoping the data in the end will benefit our farmers and be worth it!
Cash Rent Questions
Cash rent questions continue to be the primary question I receive and it’s been hard for me to keep sharing numbers based on the UNL or USDA surveys as I question how useful the surveys alone really are. I caught up with Al Vyhnalek, Extension Educator in Platte Co. during the crop production clinics. Al’s specialty is risk management. He shared the following with me which may be helpful to you as well. This isn’t research-based or based on surveys; it’s based on land productivity and yield potential. But it’s another potential tool to reach a starting point for cash rent considerations. The numbers discussed below assume the landlord owns the irrigation equipment.
“Farmers and landowners alike want to know what they should offer or charge for farmland next year. The question is simple, while the answer is more complicated. There is no formula or equation available that will definitively provide an objective value for farm or pasture land. The caller wants to know what the UNL or USDA survey of cash rental rates says to help them determine the correct starting point for discussing cash rent for the following year. While I am glad to provide that information and do provide that information, I am more uncomfortable than ever in providing that information. Why am I not feeling good about that? Because the price of cash rent for a piece of farm ground should be based on the productivity of the ground. It is important to think about the value being tied to yield potential.
One quick way to do the calculation of productivity is to take the last 5 year average corn and/ or soybean yields for the farm you are renting times the local elevator price for 2012. This calculation equals the estimated gross income per acre. Take that number multiplied by 25-30% for corn or 30-33% for soybeans with the lower percentages for dry land crops and the higher ones for irrigated acres. It gets you to a starting point for that cash rent negotiation. Many want to set rent based on the 2011 high price of about $7.00 per bushel, but that price has never been available for the 2012 crop. Using the 2012 fall elevator price is more realistic of what might happen next year. Using this information as a starting point and combining it with the information from the surveys will help with fair negotiations of the cash lease. The example percentages were determined by working through UNL budgets when determining cost/acre.
As an example – 200 bushel irrigated corn times $5 per bushel (2012 harvest price) is $1,000 gross per acre. 30% of 1000 is $300 per acre (corn acres). Soybeans: 60 bushel beans times $11 per bushel is $660 times 33% is $220 per acre – landlord’s share. If we have 1/2 acres beans and 1/2 acres corn then average the two rent numbers – or $260 per acre average for the farm. That is how I think we should arrive at a discussion point for cash rents in the upcoming year based on productivity.” For more information, please contact Allan Vyhnalek, 402-563-4901 or e-mail AVYHNALEK2@unl.edu.
Fall herbicides & Grazing Corn Stalks
With the increasing problem of controlling weeds such as marestail (horseweed), UNL has recommended using fall applied
herbicides to help control this in addition to winter annual weeds. This practice usually does help with weed control, but I hadn’t thought about the considerations when grazing corn stalks until I received a recent question on it. The farmer wanted to see if it was safe for his cattle to graze corn stalks after a fall herbicide had been applied. The label wasn’t clear so he gave me a call.
I won’t provide information for the various herbicides that can be applied in the fall, but I will recommend that if you are planning on having your cattle graze stalks, that you check to see if a fall herbicide was applied and check the pesticide label to determine if there are any grazing restrictions with that pesticide.
If the label doesn’t specify any restrictions, then it should be ok. If you want to be on the safe side, a rule of thumb many chemical reps use is to use the pre-harvest interval for the amount of time to wait before grazing stalks. Some labels will say that residue should not be grazed or baled and fed to livestock. Sometimes studies were actually conducted to know there is a safety concern. In other cases, the chemical company may not choose to conduct all the studies the EPA required for labeling due to high costs. If that’s the case, the EPA requires the strongest restrictive language be placed on the label. Regardless, if it says there’s a grazing restriction on the label, the label needs to be followed. Your cattle may not be affected by grazing stalks where a chemical with a grazing restriction is on the label, but there may be other concerns such as problems with the chemical affecting the calf or being retained in the cow’s milk.
I’m still recommending utilizing our corn stalks by grazing and utilizing fall-applied herbicides for weed control. I just also recommend you check the pesticide labels on fields where a fall herbicide has been applied to determine any grazing restrictions or safety concerns.
Farm Research
Every winter, producers in our Greater Quad County on-farm research group meet to discuss the past year’s results and to 
brainstorm which projects they wish to test the following year. Very popular studies from the past few years include soybean planting rates and planting dates and corn planting rate studies. These studies are randomized and replicated and conducted on full-length farmers’ fields.
Every year we share on-farm research results with our clientele. These results are often the highlight of many programs as the research is being conducted on your peers’ farms. Whether during pesticide trainings, crop production clinics, Extension news columns, Market Journal, or the Nebraska Farmer, these results have been presented and you as our clientele have preliminarily showed that you were interested in changing your farming practices as a result of what you learned.
Now, we’d like to see how many of you did change your practices as a result of this information. Please go to: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TPCJCGF and fill out a very short survey to let us know what you have changed in your farming operation. Your comments will help us in estimating the value of these on-farm research efforts to you and to our farmers who are faithfully conducting these studies. You can also find the direct link off the http://clay.unl.edu home page if you’d rather just click on it there. Please do take a few minutes to fill out this survey for us-it’s much appreciated!
Also, anyone interested in conducting on-farm research is welcome to attend our Greater Quad Co. results meeting on December 20 at 1:00 p.m. at the 4-H Building in York. We will also have some UNL researchers share results with the group. Please let me know if you plan to attend!
Thanksgiving Reflections
Thanksgiving is upon us and every day I’m reminded I have so much for which to be thankful! It seems like there’s such a rush to go from Halloween to Christmas and it’s sad to me that Thanksgiving seems to be lost in the shuffle. Today as I gather with my family, I’m thankful for so many things God has blessed me with: salvation, my wonderful family, all our men and women serving overseas, my home/career/dogs, wonderful food and our farmers who grow it, so many things! May you have a blessed 
Thanksgiving reflecting on the blessings in your life as well!
Sunday night was our 4-H Achievement program. Watching the youth receive their awards, I was thankful for the parents, grandparents, leaders, and volunteers who helped those youth achieve success in their projects. I’m thankful to work in a county with such wonderful people! Every organization or board our office works with understands that the 4-H program and fair are about the youth-developing life skills and successful young people for the future. I’m so thankful for these relationships and the fun we all have at 4-H activities and the fair! I’m also thankful for all the sponsors of our 4-H program and the youth and parents appreciate you as well! It was a great night with a great turnout and a nice conclusion to the 2011 4-H year.
Speaking of being thankful, IANR released a special feature entitled “Feeding the Future”. It shares a Thanksgiving message from Dr. Ronnie Green and how IANR’s research, teaching, and extension efforts are helping to ensure success in feeding the future throughout Nebraska and around the globe. Check it out here: http://www.unl.edu/ucomm/ucomm/special/20111115/
Upcoming Farming Workshops
Let the season of Workshops begin! Hope you are able to attend!
***Nov 30-Farmers and Ranchers College with Dr. David Kohl: “Global Economic Impacts on the Farm and Ranch” will be the topic of Dr. Kohl’s presentation on November 30th from 1:00-4:00 p.m. at the Bruning Opera House in Bruning, NE. There is no fee.
***Nov. 30-Specialty Crops Grants Available: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provided a grant to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) to administer a project that is designed to provide small, competitive grants, in amounts of up to $4,600, to a limited number of Nebraska specialty crop growers for the sole purpose of extending the growing season for specialty crops. Growers who want to be considered as a potential project applicant for the 2012 year can find more info. and complete the application by Nov. 30th at: http://www.agr.ne.gov/promotion/2011_specialty_crop_block_grant_program.pdf
Farmers wishing to apply and needing assistance with the application process and writing their proposal are welcome to contact NSAS through healthyfarms@gmail.com or the Nebraska Cooperative Development Center with Elaine Cranford at, ecranford2@unlnotes.unl.edu
***Dec. 2-Symposium to Feature Fruit and Vegetable Production, Marketing Strategies: Fruit and vegetable growers are invited to attend the Tri-State Fruit and Vegetable Growers Symposium Dec. 2 from noon to 5:15 p.m. at Stoney Creek Inn, 300 Third Street, in Sioux City, Iowa. Featured speakers include South Dakota State University Professor of Forestry John Ball with an overview of specialty crops and Tim Vala of Vala’s Pumpkin Patch near Omaha providing marketing tips. Growers can choose from a variety of fruit/vegetable production and marketing sessions led by university extension horticulture specialists and experienced local growers. Topics include fruit trees, aronia berries, grapes, ethnic vegetable varieties, organic insect and pest control, and community supported agriculture strategies. The symposium is planned in partnership with University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and South Dakota State University Extension. Cost is $25 for the first person and $15 for the second person participating from the same farm or business until Nov. 23. Cost at the door is $30. For more information or to register call ISU Extension in Woodbury County at 712-276-2157 or visit http://www.flavorsofnorthwestiowa.org.
***Dec. 3-Explore Farming Class Planned: Do you have dreams of self-sufficiency and living off the land? Are you a budding entrepreneur? If so, you may wish to attend the free Explore Farming Class at UNL Extension in Lancaster County on December 3, 2011 from 10 – noon. This two-hour seminar will help you think through the resources, skills, and time you will need to launch a successful farm business. Local farmers and participants in the Community CROPS Growing Farmers Training Program will be on hand to answer questions. Information about various training opportunities in the 2012 season will also be available. The class is free, but you must register to attend. To register, simply send your name and phone number to warren@communitycrops.org. For more information, check out this website: http://www.communitycrops.org/
***Dec. 5-Summit on the Proposed Revised 2011 P-Index: A Dec. 5 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Animal Manure Management team workshop will help those who work closely with livestock operations and their nutrient management plans. The “P-Index Summit” will be at the Nielsen Community Center, 200 Anna Stalp Ave. in West Point, Neb. The program will be from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Central Time. Topics include: the science and history of the P-Index, discussion on proposed revisions, case studies illustrating the differences between the 2007 and 2011 versions and discussion of livestock environmental issues of interest. CCA continuing education units will be available.
For more information and to register, contact Leslie Johnson at 402-584-3818, email ljohnson13@unl.edu. Registration is $20 per participant if sent with your registration or $25 at the door. The use of a computer with Microsoft Excel is necessary; please bring your laptop as there will only be a few extra computers. To save time the day of the event, old and new versions can be downloaded at http://go.unl.edu/847 These workshops are sponsored by the UNL Extension AMM team which is dedicated to helping livestock and crop producers better use the state’s manure resources for agronomic and environmental benefits. For additional information and other resources for managing manure nutrients, visit http://manure.unl.edu.
***Dec. 6-Landlord/Tenant lease workshop: I can’t stress enough for you to consider attending this workshop and it is recommended that the landlord and tenant attend together! Cash Rental rates for farmland has nearly doubled in the past 6 years. Volatility in the grain markets is wilder than ever. These and other land lease issues will be discussed Tuesday, Dec. 6th at the Adams Co. Fairgrounds in Hastings. The program begins with registration at 5:00 p.m. and concludes at 9:00 p.m. The main purpose of these workshops is to help with establishing and maintaining positive farm leasing relationships. A meal and handouts will be provided. The workshop is free to participants because it is sponsored by the Nebraska Soybean Board. Participation is limited, thus you will need to pre-register to reserve your spot. To pre-register, please contact the UNL Extension Office in Adams County at 402-461-7209.
***Dec. 9-10-Returning to the farm: If you are considering a family member returning to the farm in the future, please consider attending this returning to the farm program! It will be held Dec. 9-10 and Jan. 6-7 the Holiday Inn Downtown in Lincoln and it is required that you attend both weekends and that all members of the farm management team attend. Bringing a young person into a farm/ranch operation presents challenges. However, the business operation can accomplish numerous goals by helping the young person get a solid start in the operation, keeping the farm/ranch in the family, and ensuring a comfortable retirement for all involved. Blending a variety of talents and personalities into one farming or ranching operation takes planning, communication, and management. The Returning to the Farm program is designed to assist families and operations in developing a financial plan and successful working arrangements that will meet the needs of multiple families. For more information call 800-472-1742 or check out: http://agecon.unl.edu/rtf.
2011 Corn Yield Predictions
Harvest is nearly complete! In early August, I shared a post regarding in-season yield predictions from the Hybrid Maize
model. At that time, I showed how 2011 predicted yields had been tracking with the 30 year long term average yields up until early August. At that point, the 2011 predicted yields took a steep drop due to high night time temperatures. High night time temperatures don’t allow for the corn plant to shut down at night. The plant engages in respiration, essentially burning sugars that should be converted into yield.
Some interesting things happened with the weather this year to make yields more favorable than what once was predicted. While silking to beginning dent occurred in 20 days or less in several Nebraska fields this year, the weather cooled off during the filling process. Some fields stayed at ¼ starch for nearly three weeks. Looking at fields, kernels continued to get deeper, heavier, and expand to help cover some of the pollination problems observed earlier in the year. During this time, yield predictions from the Hybrid Maize model showed that yields had the potential of returning close to the long-term median
yields and it was interesting watching the trendlines move back up toward normal. This seemed to be truer for 113 day hybrids vs. 110 day hybrids.
For example, a 110 day hybrid planted April 15 at 32,000 seeds/acre showed a predicted yield of 227 bu/acre compared to 240 bu/acre long-term median. But a 113 day hybrid planted the same day showed a predicted yield of 244 bu/acre compared to a 248 bu/acre long term median yield.
So what happened in your fields? While yields have been decent, on average, I’m not seeing the trend towards the long-term median yields in our area in general. Dryland yields I think have been better than expected but irrigated yields potentially not as good as anticipated by many. 
Hybrid Maize predicts yields based on perfect conditions-nothing limiting and no pest/disease issues. In many fields, corn was planted then sat in cool, wet soils. We had stand losses due to Pythium in some fields or due to loose residue that was piled in areas of fields after heavy rains. We also had varying degrees of pollination problems and the high night temperature stresses which reduced yields. Regardless, yields are still very good in spite of another interesting growing season! Please share what you’ve been seeing for yields in your fields!
Table 1: Hybrid Maize 2011 Predictions from Simulations (through Oct. 30, 2011)
Date RM Population Long-Term Median Yield 2011 Predicted Yield
Apr. 15 110dy 32,000 240 bu/acre 227 bu/acre
Apr. 15 113 dy 32,000 248 bu/acre 244 bu/acre
May 1 110dy 32,000 241 bu/acre 234 bu/acre
May 1 113dy 32,000 260 bu/acre 245 bu/acre
May 10 110dy 32,000 244 bu/acre 235 bu/acre
May 10 113dy 32,000 258 bu/acre 258 bu/acre
JenResources 