Farmers are fine-tuning planters ahead of the 2024 season

XtremeAg farmers are setting the stage for success as planters head to the shop for essential pre-planting tune-ups.

Kelly Garrett - Arion, Iowa

Kelly Garrett is a fifth-generation farmer in western Iowa. Garrett farms 4,000 acres of corn, over 1,800 acres of soybeans, and 170 acres of winter wheat.

The family and I just came back from Breckenridge, Colorado. My wife loves skiing, so we took the family out there for a vacation. Monday, Jan. 22 was the six-month anniversary of my son Collin’s accident. He is always prevalent in my thoughts, but more so this past week with the anniversary.

We have been getting a lot of snow. It is quite ironic that we traveled to Colorado to play in the snow but hate the snow we have in Iowa. It always creates a lot more work and is expensive to maintain around the farm. The cold weather and the snow fall in January has really made us appreciate the spring that we see coming.

The planters are in the shop and we are carefully going over them. We really believe in fine-tuning our planters as much as possible from the openers to the frogs, and any fertility changes we might make. We traded off our soybean planter because felt it was worn out. We had a 40-foot soybean planter on 15-inch rows that we traded for a “new to us” soybean planter that is also 40 feet, but on 20-inch rows. We feel that the skip rows, the push units and trailing units on the 15-inch planter made it hard for us to get through the no-till corn residue. We concluded that everything being on the same bar and the extra 5 inches should allow for a better planting experience and cut through the thick residue easier.

We utilize a variety of strategies to manage corn residue in our area, which is quite astounding. This includes using choppers attached to corn heads, specific techniques in our planting processes, adding breakdown products in our fertilization sprays, and grazing cattle on corn stalks to aid in carbon transfer and residue decomposition. Plus, now we’re transitioning from 15-inch to 20-inch row spacing in our soybean planters. All these efforts are geared towards effectively managing corn residue and promoting more sustainable agricultural practices.

Lee Lubbers - Gregory, South Dakota

Lee Lubbers is a fourth-generation farmer in Gregory, South Dakota. Lubbers Farms includes more than 17,000 acres of dryland soybeans, corn, and wheat. Lubbers says he is always trying to learn and challenge himself.

The first planter is getting finished up in the shop and we’re getting ready to bring in the second one. Before long it will be time to bring in the combine. Load limits will be coming on within two to three weeks on secondary roads. That will limit where we can pull grain from for about three months.

We are part way through a soybean contract. We got a push bid to move some in a short period of time for an inbound train.

I am still waiting for a few things to get finished in the offices. I’d like to say I am waiting patiently, but that’s not the case. It’s time to get the office project wrapped up. Since we got a bunch of snow, the girls are loving climbing the snow piles and sledding beside the offices. Stay safe and stay warm everyone.

Kevin Matthews - East Bend, North Carolina

Kevin Matthews and his wife, Cindy, are fourth-generation farmers in East Bend and Yadkinville, North Carolina. Matthews Family Farms, Deep Creek Grain, and Precision Nutrient Management farm corn, soybeans, wheat, and barley.

A rather wet and warm week kept us in shop and office last week and field work is non existent. Commodity prices have created sharp pencils to ensure a profit for 2024. This challenge has us looking at all cost analysis, especially juggling equipment cost. Fortunately fertilizer prices are down, but chemicals and seed are slightly increased, and equipment, parts, and repairs are at an all-time high. We have to raise a good crop and do an exceptional job marketing to stay in business!

They are many opportunities to bring extra income to the farm — some new, some old. Last week, we received our first payment for the regenerative practices that we do on our wheat acres. Wheat is one of the hardest crops to generate a profit from. The extra $20 per acre from Arva was nice. I’m looking forward to enrolling more crops and acres this year through XtremeAg, Arva, and Truterra. These programs are getting positioned to help that bottom line in these low commodity prices at no extra cost to our check book. These tough times create opportunities and excitement for better days ahead.

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