By Kelly Rivard, May 10, 2013
Spring is always a dynamic time in agriculture, and especially so for an advertising agency that also runs farms! In addition to planning for summer projects and events while juggling spring promotions and wrapping up winter business, we’re also sitting in anxious excitement for planting to begin.
Well, that wait is finally coming to an end on our North Dakota farm. The seeds are in, and Farmer Fred is in the final stages of preparation before the tractor rolls.
You can learn more about Farmer Fred and his wife, Blogger Jane, over at GriggsDakota. There, they share their daily life as farmers on the North Dakota prairie — including some insight into the AdFarm North Dakota Farm! Click the image below to see the full post.
Join in on Fred and Jane's adventures by checking out GriggsDakota!
In addition to our North Dakota farm, we also have one in Vulcan, Alberta and a farm in Mankessim, Ghana. These farms are a great opportunity for our AdFarmers to stay connected to agriculture in a very real way, and also to help us nurture an understanding of global agriculture! It’s already been a great learning experience for me, and I look forward to continuing to learn more with Farmer Fred and the rest of our farm teams!
Posted in Aneta, ND, Farm Updates | No Comments »
Tags: AdFarm farm, Farm, Fred Lukens, GriggsDakota, North Dakota
By Kelly Rivard, April 26, 2013
Did you know…?
Some of the better known soybean products include:
- Soymeal for livestock feed
- Soymilk
- Tofu
- meat alternatives
- tempeh
- miso
- soy sauce
- soy cheese, soy cream cheese, soy flour, infant formula, biodiesel fuel and the list goes on and on
Knowing how versatile soy is, we’re very excited that we’ll be growing soybeans on our North Dakota farm this year. This farm is managed by Fred Lukens. “Farmer Fred” and his wife Jane share their adventures in North Dakota agriculture on their wonderful blog, GriggsDakota.
This particular crop of beans is being raised for seed. So, these beans will be harvested and then treated and packaged to be sold for planting next year. Then, the crop from that seed will be used to make the items listed above and more!
Our AdFarm farms are a great opportunity for the company. It’s a strong component in our mission to keep AdFarmers well-versed and involved in agriculture! AdFarmers are given the opportunity to buy shares in the farm, which means each AdFarmer who buys is an agricultural investor! We, as a company, get to spend the growing season getting a close-up, field-level view of what’s happening in the industry we love. We are privy to decisions regarding the crop’s growth, development, and marketing. We get to see many of the products we market in action, too!
Now that North Dakota is thawing out and spring is spreading cross the Midwest, we’re looking forward to a new growing season.
And, as this is my first full growing season as a full-time AdFarmer, I’m excited to have my first experience as a farm share-holder!
Happy planting, friends, and thanks to Farmer Fred for leading us in this adventure!
To learn more about GriggsDakota, you can check out the GriggsDakota Facebook page or follow GriggsDakota on Twitter.
Posted in Aneta, ND | No Comments »
Tags: AdFarm ND soybeans, farming, Fred Lukens, North Dakota, seed, soy, soybeans
By North Dakota Farm Boss, May 11, 2011
The N.D. AdFarm acres are back to soybeans this season. At a meeting last week, Cooperating Farmer Fred Lukens shared the 2011 farm plan. We’ll grow Pioneer 90Y42 seed soybeans, selected for these traits:
- O.4 maturity, which is medium/long for our area
- Roundup Ready®
- Seed production contract, which is extra work but offers good payback with seed grade
- Good yield potential: Average of 36 bu/acre last year on the Luken’s farm
Why seed soybeans?
We selected these seed soybeans as part of our crop rotation and herbicide plan. As a warm season broadleaf, these soybeans fit our rotation history of corn, pinto beans, winter wheat, barley. The chemical carryover of 20 oz. Atrazine applied in 2010 also fits our management plan. And, of course, we see potential for profits from soybeans this season.
A peek back
This is the 11th year of our N.D. AdFarm educational opportunity. We grow our crops on 70 acres in North Dakota’s Griggs County, SW Section 5 in Lenora Township. We last grew soybeans in 2006 and achieved a profit:
Why we farm
Our goals remain the same:
- Learn about the decision making involved in farming
- Understand the financial challenges
- Intensify our knowledge about regional crops
- See our clients’ products in action (seed, fertilizer, other inputs, plus weather, marketing and other advisors)
- Differentiate our agency
Will we profit this year?
As always, we promise shareholders will receive a one-of-a-kind education through their investment. Other factors for successful farm year depend on:
- Yield
- Length of growing season
- Planting our beans by May 28
- Heat units
- August rain
- Timely harvest
- Seed quality factors
- Marketing
Stay tuned…
Farmers, what’s your 2011 plan? What factors affected your selections? We’d like to hear about it.
Posted in Aneta, ND, Farm Insights, Farm Updates | No Comments »
Tags: AdFarm ND crop, AdFarm ND shareholders, AdFarm ND soybeans, AdFarm North Dakota shareholders, ND farm, ND seed soybean markets, ND seed soybean yield, ND seed soybeans, ND soybeans, North Dakota Soybeans, Pioneer 90Y42 seed soybeans, seed soybean markets, seed soybeans
By North Dakota Farm Boss, May 5, 2011
Learning pays. Sometimes learning pays big.
The 2010 growing season was fantastic for AdFarm North Dakota shareholders in terms of first-hand, vested experience in crop development, management and marketing. Shareholders and 2011 prospective shareholders learned the results of last year and this year’s plan during a meeting in Fargo last week. Highlights include:
Shareholders tune in to the 2010 farm report.
- Corn was the right crop in the right year:
• Excellent growing season
• Right genetics for our land
- Dramatic changes
• In July, China lifted their former policy banning corn imports. In October, the USDA lowered their estimated U.S. corn yield.
• As a result of these two factors and continued strong demand for corn, the corn market continued to move up, and we sold our final corn in February at $6.00/bushel
- Our corn yield was 9,105 bushels
• Yield: 130 bushels/acre
• Avg. selling price: $4.83/bushel
• Breakeven price
– 120 bushel/acre
– $3.15/bushel
- Our yield compared favorably:
| 2010 corn yield |
bu/acre |
| U.S. average |
152.8 |
| N.D. average |
132 |
| Griggs County(including irrigation) |
135.8 |
| Nelson County(no irrigation) |
112.2 |
| N.D. AdFarm |
130.1 |
This was the highest profit ever and the 10th year of the AdFarm N.D. experience
Loyal shareholders like AdFarm Fargo’s Jeff Reed were rewarded nicely, with the largest profit ever.
Check, please
Yes, that translates to a profit of $38/share. Plus the $25/share investment last spring, shareholders received checks for:
1 share at $25 + $38 = $63
2 shares at $50 + $76 = $126
3 shares at $75 + $114 = $189
Loyal shareholders were rewarded nicely. Those who took advantage of the buy 4, get 1 free offer received checks for $290.01. (And one penny!). An investment of $100 + $152 + $38 bonus share= $290.01
In the words of AdFarm Fargo’s Jeff Reed, “Last year was amazing for a few reasons. Everything went the way we always would hope it does from the weather to China opening up and importing corn. As a farmer you know that this just doesn’t happen every year, but when it does, it sure feels good. Kudos to Robbie Lukens for using his psychic powers and hard work getting all the corn in a day before we got 4 inches of rain. Now I can’t wait to see 2011 unfold.”
During the meeting, someone asked, “Why did we sell at $3.30 and $3.40 bu/acre?” Cooperating Farmer Fred Lukens answers: Our projected breakeven at a projected yield of 120 bu/acre was $3.20. The Marketing Committee agreed that both $3.30 and $3.40 were above our breakeven and were good selling prices for corn compared to the previous year’s corn selling prices.
Last year’s marketing committee was guided by Cooperating Farmer Fred Lukens and relied on Weatherplanner for help in crop selection, and Grain Marketing Advisor Mike Krueger of The Money Farm for in-season crop marketing information.
Next up: Our 2011 plan. Hint: Back to soybeans.
Farmers, how was your 2010 crop? What factors affected your yields and marketing strategies? What’s your 2011 plan? We’d like to hear about it.
Posted in Ag Events, Aneta, ND, Farm Insights, Farm Updates, Farm Updates, Farmer Interview, Food Production, Marketing, Perspectives | No Comments »
Tags: AdFarm ND corn, AdFarm ND corn crop, AdFarm ND shareholders, AdFarm North Dakota shareholders, china corn import, corn markets, ND corn, ND corn markets, ND corn yield, ND farm, North Dakota Corn, Pioneer 39D97 corn, Pioneer corn
By North Dakota Farm Boss, December 8, 2010
‘Tis the season for…patience
Corn prices have gone down in the last few weeks, from $5.15 locally to $4.35. No reason to worry for AdFarm North Dakota shareholders, however.
Since August, corn (and soybean) prices had been soaring on news that U.S. grain yields were down and supplies around the world were tighter than anticipated. Yet during a few weeks in November, corn prices dropped dramatically. Why?
This year’s marketing committee takes guidance from Grain Marketing Advisor Mike Krueger of The Money Farm. He, and other proven grain marketers, believe that this drop in corn prices is a result of:
- Increases in the price of the dollar
- Funds
- Computer trading
- Rumors that China had less corn than expected due to early frosts in its main grain-growing region and was threatening to raise domestic interest rates or implement price controls
Most believe market will come back
The marketing committee met on November 23. With input from Cooperating Farmer Fred Lukens, the group continues its patience guidance, which includes:
- Predicted stocks-to-use ratio is about half what it was three years ago when corn hit $6.50 locally
- We sold 4,000 bu of our corn at average price of $3.35
- We have the balance of our corn scheduled for January delivery with a locked in basis of 75¢
- December is not a market-moving month
- Our breakeven at the 145 bu yield level is around $2.90/bu
- We’ll make our final sale decisions in January
Still in the bin
This year’s crop of about 10,100 bushels of AdFarm corn, Pioneer 39D97, remains in the bin. Fred says: “The grain is in good shape. With the cold weather, we’ll shut off the fans soon.”
Patience = profits
Meanwhile, remain patient, AdFarm shareholders. And have a lovely holiday season!
Farmers, how is your grain marketing going? What’s your take on the markets? We’d like to hear about your grain marketing moves.
Posted in Ag Events, Agronomics, Aneta, ND, Culture, Farm Insights, Farm Updates, Farm Updates, Farmer Interview, Food Production, Marketing, Perspectives | No Comments »
Tags: AdFarm ND corn, AdFarm ND corn crop, AdFarm ND shareholders, AdFarm North Dakota shareholders, china corn rumors, corn futures, corn markets, ND corn, ND corn markets, ND corn yield, ND farm, North Dakota Corn, Pioneer 39D97 corn, Pioneer corn, when to sell corn
