President’s Column – April

CCFB President, Doug Downs
Spring is upon us and I’m sure you’re all ready for longer days and warmer temperatures. As I write this, we just have had a real nice early March. I got anhydrous on, newly installed tile lines got worked down, and I’m installing what seems like 100 boxes worth of new parts on a “not new” planter and sprayer, trying to keep them “in the game” for a good while longer.
When I was thinking about spring and the upcoming growing season, I was also thinking about making my spray sheets and field seed diagrams and such…you know…laying out the best plan for the upcoming growing season. Since I was doing that, I also said a little prayer for 72–73-degree average days beginning April 15th, then increasing to an average of 78-80 starting May 5. And let’s just take 82 from June 1 to September 15. A nice gentle 8 tenths of an inch of soaking rain every Sunday morning with maybe another extra inch mid-July and mid-August. No windstorms or hail or anything silly like that was suggested in said prayer. There was also the subtle thought for a little western corn belt weather scare late May and I’d just go ahead and hedge a lot of $5.50 corn and some $12 beans when that happened. I didn’t think that was too much to ask, and it would make life a little less stressful. Since I plan for everything, I figured I’ll just plan on that and make my season go extra smooth. This farming thing isn’t so hard after all, right?
You all know that planning for a perfect growing season is completely bogus. I had the opportunity to explain this recently to an NPR reporter who contacted me about gulf hypoxia and asked why don’t all Illinois farm fields get cover crops. I explained the best I could that not all farming operations are the same, not all growing seasons are the same, nor can everyone plan on what it takes to handle said practices. Without getting into all the details of that lengthy conversation, I will say he admitted that our conversation led him to think differently about what we are doing. He didn’t realize there was a difference in corn varieties, differences in soil types, differences in chemical tolerances, as well as all the other variables we all deal with on a daily basis. It was an eye-opening experience for him to learn that there are real reasons why we don’t all do things exactly the same way and that we all don’t just start planting corn one specific day, put the same seed in the ground, and wait for it to mature in the fall. I’ve learned that very few around us truly have any clue how diverse and independent all of our operations locally can be.
So, I don’t expect you all to have a smooth spring, a perfect growing season, and an easy harvest. But I hope you do make the most of what you have so that you can have a good seedbed, even emergence, and a good stand….no matter what it took to get it. There might be a few more days to spend an extra couple hours staring at that planter to make sure everything looks perfect. The rest of the season will go a lot better given the best start possible.
Sincerely,
Doug Downs