The AdFarm crop was planted on Thursday, May 20.

Even better:

The acres received 2.4 inches of rain Saturday – Monday (much better than the 5+ inches less than 10 miles east)

Soil temp was about 62 degrees F at the time of planting, according to the state’s Agricultural Weather Network, NDAWN

This warm, wet soil is exactly what corn needs for a great start. The National Weather Service also predicts high temps in the 70’s this week.

The corn seed is Pioneer double stacked 39D97 with required 20% corn borer refuge (39D95). It was treated with Jumpstart and Torque, a product from EMD Bioscience, plus a fungicide. See photos of the smooth, level seed bed, which will help seeds germinate and, ultimately, impact crop yield at harvest time.

Meanwhile, the warm, wet soil and warm forecast points to optimism for the 2010 AdFarm N.D. crop. Stay tuned….

Your thoughts on our corn crop planting?

There’s nothing better than the scent of fresh soil. Except freshly fertilized soil.

You’re washing windows and moving the lawn mower to the front of the garage; snow blower to the back. If you’re a  vegetable gardener, you’re incorporating fertilizer into your soil to provide nutrients for your veggies as they grow.

On our AdFarm North Dakota acres, spring cleaning and field prep will soon be in high gear.

Last year’s crop, pinto beans, was harvested in November. As soon as the AdFarm field dries out, it will be time to prepare the soil for our 2010 crop: corn. Right now, the plan is to deep band the fertilizer in the week of May 3 with the Wil-Rich Q160 air drill.

As Cooperating Farmer Fred Lukens explains: “The process of cleaning up organic waste and applying it back to the soil has been a farming practice for hundreds of years. We’ve updated the equipment, but the principles are similar. When hauled onto a field fresh from a livestock pen, manure must first break down into usable fertilizer for a crop. It must also be dug into the existing soil to help it decompose into nutrients for future crops. See more pictures of spring clean up here.

“For our barley and canola, we do that by digging it in with our Wishek disk. The heavy discs cut the surface trash left from last year’s crop and incorporate that in with the top soil and manure. The harrow teeth behind the discs comb the surface to smooth it out.”

Fred is now seeding barley and canola into the prepared ground. Next up: Prep on AdFarm’s acres.

We’d love to hear about your spring cleanup, too.

What do you think about our spring 2010 field preparations — are you doing the same?

AdFarm N.D. Farm shareholders and prospective shareholders from all U.S. AdFarm offices participated in an online meeting to learn about their 2009 learning investment.

First course

AdFarm Farm Boss Les Kahl, who spoke from the St. Louis office, began by explaining the unique menu served at this meeting: homemade tater tot hotdish and ice cold milk to drink. “AdFarm N.D. Farm shareholders are like a family. When we win, we all win. When we lose, we all lose. Our pinto bean crop lost money in 2009.  In part to manage our costs and in the spirit of our family-like get together, we had volunteers from each office prepare tater tot hotdish.” Kahl noted that because the labor for preparation was donated, the meal cost was about one-third the cost of a catered fast food meal. “Just like any business, when times are tough, we have to manage our costs,” he said.

Shareholder reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Loyal AdFarm N.D. Farm shareholder Jeff Reed in Fargo said, “What a great idea. And the truth is, I think nearly all of us would rather eat tater tot hotdish every year at this meeting.”

Volunteer chefs were Erin Jarolimek and Susan Hogen in Fargo; Joni Butterfield in Grand Forks; Jason Laqua and Hilary Winn in St. Louis.

2009 recap

Kahl turned the 2009 and 2010 crop presentations over to participating farmer Fred Lukens, who presented from the Fargo office. Lukens thanked shareholders for record participation in 2009, when 129 shareholders purchased 566 shares in the 2009 AdFarm N.D. Farm educational project. Lukens explained the sequence of weather events and decision making leading to the late harvest of the 2009 pinto bean crop.

Kahl thanked N.D. Farm Coordinator Erin Jarolimek for leading the way to 57% total employee participation. Each share experienced a $4.63 loss in 2009.  Jarolimek reminded the shareholders that each share returned more than $15 in profit in 2008 saying, “Farming is long term. Like anything else, we average the good with the bad. Our farm profit history is more good than bad.  So we’ll keep moving forward.”

2010 plan

Shareholders are now tuned in to the 2010 crop, Pioneer 39D97 corn, a 79-day double stacked variety (Round-up Ready and corn borer resistant) variety. 39D97 will be planted on 80% of the acres; Pioneer 39D95 corn will go on the required 20% corn borer refuge acres.

Need a recipe for never-fail comfort food? The tater tot hotdish recip, along with some great photos, is at www.griggsdakota.blogspot.com

We’d love to hear about your favorite hotdish, too.

Are you surprised on the results of our 2009 crop? Comments on our 2010 crop plan?

Corn it is. The AdFarm North Dakota farm will grow Pioneer 39D97 corn on its acres this year. Cooperating Farmer Fred Lukens told us, “This is a 78-day Roundup Ready/Corn Borer double stacked hybrid. I’d had it in my plot for two years and it’s performed well with above average yield and above average dry down.

Looking forward to a great start.

“Seventy-eight day corn is early maturing corn for our part of the world, where 82-85 day corn is more prevalent. It also has good yield potential: 39D97 did yield 190 bu/acre in a plot at Amenia, N.D., last year.” (The national average corn yield is around 156 bu/acre. Last year’s North Dakota average was around 115 bu/acre.)

Since 39D97 is a Bt corn, it will only go on 80% of the AdFarm acres.  The other 20% will be seeded with Pioneer 39V05 corn, a Roundup Ready only variety that will go on as corn borer refuge acres.

Refuge?

Planting refuge acres alongside Bt corn crops is required by law. A refuge is anything that is not Bt corn. So for every 80 acres you plant of the Bt you have to plant 20 acres of the refuge. The thought behind refuge is that some insects are never exposed to Bt, so they have no resistance to it. The only way insects develop resistance is by exposure. Refuge acres generate insects that are never exposed to Bt so that they will mate with insects that are exposed to Bt. The result? Dilute the chances of the offspring being resistant and protecting the corn crop.

Field prep

Last year’s AdFarm North Dakota crop, pinto beans, was harvested in November. Fred will apply fertilizer with his WilRich drill in the spring, ahead of seeding our corn.

What are your thoughts on our crop plan for 2010 ?

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With approval from the AdFarm North Dakota farm marketing committee, Cooperating Farmer Fred Lukens sold the remaining AdFarm pinto beans for 24 cents per pound on Monday morning, March 1st, 2010. Unfortunately, the break-even price on the remaining AdFarm pinto beans was 29 cents per pound.  The AdFarm N.D. farm marketing committee faced these realities:

1. Free storage from Larimore Bean, owner of Sharon Bean receiving station, ended on March 1, 2010.   Storage would be charged at .1¢/month after March
2. Despite apparently friendly market fundamentals, the pinto bean market did not have a significant post harvest rally.  The Larimore Bean price peaked at 27¢/lb. in early January.
3. 2011 new crop contracts were offered for a short time @ 23¢/lb. in late January.  These contracts sold out quickly.
4. Despite rumors to the contrary, potentially market moving USDA “food for peace” tenders expected in late February did not materialize.

Lukens projected an approximately $1,900 net loss ($27/acre) for the 2009 AdFarm N.D. crop. Exact per share values will be calculated at for the early April AdFarm N.D. farm annual meeting. Marketing Committee Member Carina Emil says, “It’s been a long time since our AdFarm N.D. farm has lost money. This is a learning experience for all of us, and we learn when we win and when we lose. To keep this in perspective, we should remember that if we average our AdFarm N.D. farm income and loss for the past two years, we show a $4,300 profit.  Pinto beans were the right crop to grow this year. This time, Mother Nature and the markets worked against us.”

The AdFarm N.D. farm an educational investment of AdFarm and its employees. In 2009, 130 employees purchased an average of slightly more than 4 shares at a price of $25 per share.  This year we experienced the down side of taking a risk.

Our North Dakota Farm Partner Fred Lukens and his family, have their own blog about farming on the prairies. Visit the Griggs Dakota Blog for pictures of the AdFarm pinto bean crop from seeding to harvest.

2009 is behind us and we’re looking ahead to 2010.

Your thoughts on our 2009 crop marketing decision?

Ideas for 2010?

It wasn’t ideal, but the AdFarm pinto beans were harvested by an alternative method on Thursday, November 5.Cooperating Farmer Fred Lukens reported that he started harvesting the AdFarm fields at approximately 2:30 in the afternoon and finished at 11 p.m. with his 1688 self-propelled combine and 30-foot flex head. The total production for the AdFarm fields was 101,041 lbs. of grade #1 pinto beans. This is an average yield of 1,443 lbs. per acre.

Harvesting the pinto beans with the flex head is not the normal harvest procedure on the Lukens farm. He explains, “We usually run a Pickett one step ahead of the combine to cut, lift and windrow the pinto beans. Yet with our October snow and rain and the prediction for more rain on November 8 and 9, we didn’t want to risk losing the entire crop snow. I’m guessing that we left close to 500 lbs. of pinto beans per acre on the field by flexing the crop compared to our traditional harvest method. As always, Mother Nature holds the cards. Farmers try to play the hand we’re dealt as best we can.”

The average moisture of the AdFarm pinto beans was 18.2%. This is higher than the desired 16% moisture pinto bean processors require for long term storage. The higher moisture resulted in a 2.5% moisture dockage reduction. The beans earned #1 grade based on the low deductions for splits, unacceptable beans (pick) and foreign material. The AdFarm beans graded 1% splits, .15% pick and .2% foreign material for a total of 1.35% dockage deduction. This is an above average dockage deduction.

Mike Hallingstad of Sharon Bean said, “These might be the nicest looking beans we’ve seen all fall. Total dockage less than 2% is exceptional.” Dockage less than 5% makes the #1 bean status.Beans rated below number one are paid at a discounted rate.

Hallingstad expects pinto bean prices to continue moving higher. He says, “On November 1, we had about 50% of the pinto beans in North Dakota harvested. Normal is 95%. We had a short crop going into this year. With our weather this fall, I expect that 15-20% of this year’s crop will be abandoned and not harvested. Our pinto bean price now is 30¢ per pound. I expect 35¢ per pound soon.”

With the AdFarm yield, and the 25¢ per pound contract on the first 800 pounds of production, Lukens projects a 30¢ per pound on the remaining production will result in a break-even price. Stay tuned…

Follow the crop on Griggsdakota.blogspot.com

The AdFarm North Dakota Farm marketing committee met via conference call this morning to discuss and prepare their marketing plan for the 2009 AdFarm Pinto bean crop. Before agreeing on the plan, the group heard the following from Cooperating Farmer Fred Lukens:

1. First fields of pinto beans on Lukens farm have been harvested. AdFarm field will be harvested next.
2. Average yield on first fields is 1,800 lbs. per acre.
3. Centrol crop scout predicts that AdFarm field will exceed 2,000 lbs. per acre.
4. Pinto bean market appears to be in “harvest low” with prices at 24¢ and 25¢ per pound at Sharon Bean and Central Valley Bean respectively.
5. U.S. pinto bean planted acres are down 5% this year, carryover crop is small, and an “average” U.S. crop is predicted.
6. Mexico’s pinto bean crop has been hurt by drought and will be short.
7. Experienced pinto bean market watchers believe that market has upside potential to 30¢ or higher after January 1, 2010.
8. 800 lbs. per acre of the AdFarm crop was contracted @ 25¢ back in February 2009 with Sharon Bean.
9. Central Valley Bean is paying freight from Aneta to Buxton, ND (approximately 60 miles). Sharon Bean (10 miles from Aneta) is not paying freight.
10. Both Central Valley Bean and Sharon Bean offer free storage of pinto beans as follows: Central Valley Bean to February 1 and Sharon Bean to March 1.
11. At a yield of 1,800 lbs. and a price of 25¢ per pound, the AdFarm crop should earn a profit of approximately $50 per acre. (The 2008 AdFarm crop was a record $74 per acre net profit.)

A good time to roll the dice

The group agreed on the following plan:

1. Deliver the 800-pound per acre-contracted portion of the crop to Sharon Bean.
2. Deliver the balance of the crop to a combination of Sharon Bean and Central Valley Bean as logistics dictate.
3. Watch the post-harvest price trends with the intention of selling the balance of AdFarm pinto beans early 2010 for a price at 30¢ or higher.
4. Conduct a follow-up marketing committee call at an appropriate time.

As Marketing committee member Jason Laqua summarized the plan: “Seems like a good time to roll the dice.”

Rain and cold weather have delayed the AdFarm pinto bean harvest. With current weather forecasts, Lukens expects harvest to resume the week of October 19.

Follow the crop at: GriggsDakota.blogspot.com

The AdFarm North Dakota pinto beans are now turning golden from lush summer green. (That’s a good thing.) Cooperating Farmer Fred Lukens says: “These beans are now above average. There are lots of pods, including plenty of big pods with six more beans each.

“There’s no frost predicted for the next two weeks, so the crop should finish strong. Our Central Crop Scout, Patrick Estvold, looked at the crop on September 1 and predicted 2,000 pounds per acre potential for this field. The county average is about 1,300 pounds per acre.”

Scout for yourself

Look at the AdFarm pinto beans, including what’s inside most pods and a reminder of what mature pinto beans look like—and what these beans ought to look like off the combine in two weeks without a frost.

It’s all at http://griggsdakota.blogspot.com (scroll down to Thurs, Sept. 3 post)

Recent rains have created excellent growing conditions for edible beans–and white mold–in eastern and northeastern North Dakota. As a result, AdFarm Cooperating Farmer Fred Lukens decided on Saturday morning, August 22, to spray the AdFarm pinto bean field as well as all of his remaining pinto bean fields for white mold. He explains, “Left unchecked, white mold can decimate beautiful edible bean fields. Several years ago, before modern fungicides, we saw pinto bean fields on our farm that had 2,500 lbs. per acre potential turn to 1,200 lbs. per acre as a result of severe infestations of white mold.”

The decision to spray for white mold is complicated in that the fungicide is preventative, not curative. This means fungicide must be applied to the plant while the pinto bean plant is still healthy. A second complication is the cost of the fungicide and application. Fred expects the cost in the $30/per acre range. He explains, “We’ll use the highest labeled rate of Proline fungicide, 5.8 oz. per acre. With adjuvants, the cost of the fungicide will be nearly $24 per acre. With the heavy crop canopy, we’ll save beans applying the fungicide by plane. Air application is more expensive, but does no damage to the standing crop.”

Another complicating factor in the decision to spray this year is timing. Normal frost dates for the Aneta area are around September 20. Early killing frosts have come in late August. Late killing frosts have come in early October. “With this late season spray application, we’re gambling on at least an average killing frost date. We have a potential for a big yield with conditions conducive to white mold. Our call is that in this situation, the fungicide application is worth investment,” Fred says.

He concludes: “We’ll know in about a month if this was a good decision.”

To see the airplane applying the fungicide, go to GriggsDakota.blogspot.com.

AdFarm North Dakota Cooperating Farmer Fred Lukens reports: “Our AdFarm pinto beans have had about three inches of rain in two major rain events with a couple of smaller rains from August 7 through today August 20. Area meteorologists say the faucet is supposed to turn off for awhile now.”

He continues: “To keep the white mold at bay, we could use two weeks of dry, sunny weather. ”

Rain also brings disease threats

Also addressing disease potential, Northarvest Bean Growers Association President Jon Ewy says the light red and dark red kidney bean crop, grown under irrigation in central Minnesota, looks good, but they are having some white mold issues. He says white mold is quite difficult to control. “We’ll just have to see what Mother Nature gives us in the next few weeks as to how much damage we do get from the white mold,” Jon says.

In other news from Northarvest, a minimum of 30 fields will be scouted throughout the dry bean growing areas in North Dakota. The goals of the survey are to assess the impacts of different diseases on edible beans, detect any new diseases, and collect any diseases that attract the pathologists’ attention. It was during this survey last year that the new race of rust was collected and identified, thanks in large part to several consultants and growers who pointed researchers to several suspect fields or sent in samples. The data generated in the survey helps plant pathologists develop management strategies and determine future pathology needs.

As for AdFarm North Dakota’s pinto beans, Fred says: “Disease issues (white mold and rust) and early frost are now the biggest threats to our pinto bean crop, yet the current yield potential of our crop is very good.”

Follow the crop more closely at http://griggsdakota.blogspot.com