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?

Canadian canola growers are expected to plant just under 17 million acres in 2010. The AdFarm Alberta Farm will be counted among those acres with our crop of InVigor® hybrid canola.

Our crop will be grown again this year on Graham Farms, located near Vulcan, Alberta. Last year’s crop of field peas yielded approximately 20 bushels/acre, which is considered average. The crop was just marketed and we’ll know the results in the next week.

Due to unfavorable conditions during the last two weeks of April, seeding has been delayed by at least two weeks.

“We were finally able to get the wheels turning this week,” says Ben Graham, who farms with his parents on their 100 year old farm. “We usually like to get the crop in the last week of April but with the snow we’ve had it’s been impossible to get into the fields.”

We’ve chosen to grow InVigor 5440 this year because of its strong agronomic characteristics – early germination, strong vigor and the ability to grow under severe environmental conditions. InVigor 5440 is the top yielding InVigor and is ideally suited the growing conditions on our farm.

Once again AdFarmers have the opportunity to experience a taste of farming by purchasing shares in the farm. So far, 34 AdFarmers have staked their claim.

“The investment is just $25 per share and there’s a maximum of four shares per investor,” explains farm boss Shannon Warren. “Some years we’ve made money, others just broken even. We’re hoping that this year will be on the profitable side.”

This year’s share offering was kicked off at a luncheon held on the AdFarm Calgary patio on Thursday, May 13, which turned out to be the first sunny day of the spring. Joining us was Simone Demers Collins,
Market Development & Promotions Coordinator with the Alberta Canola Producers Commission.

In her work with chefs and food service professionals across Canada and in the United States, Simone has been tirelessly promoting the nutritional value of using Canadian canola oil in cooking and deep frying.

“We’re seeing more restaurants recognizing the versatility and affordability of using canola oil but there’s still a lot of work to do to convince chefs that canola oil is a healthier alternative to the more expensive cooking oils,” says Simone.

Stay tuned for more information on seeding and the progress of our canola crop.

Did you know?  When you use canola oil to make a salad dressing or marinade, it won’t thicken or get cloudy when refrigerated.

Do you know of any other benefits of canola oil?

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 ?

Keywords: AdFarm, AdFarm North Dakota farm crop, AdFarm ND crop, AdFarm ND farm, North Dakota corn, ND corn, Pioneer 39D97 corn, Roundup Ready corn, Pioneer 39V05 corn, corn borer refuge

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?

We’re doing our part to make Canola Council’s Growing Great 2015 strategy a reality.

As more people discover the health benefits of canola oil for human consumption, animal feed and as biofuel source, the greater the demand on Canada’s canola industry to increased production. So we’re going to do our part and grow canola – varieties are yet to be determined – on our Alberta farm as part of the Canola Council of Canada’s Growing Great 2015 strategy. The Canola Council represents the entire Canadian canola industry – growers, crop development and protection companies, processors, and exporters.

According to the CCC, Growing Great 2015 is “an ambitious plan to take the Canadian canola industry to 15 million tonnes of sustained market demand and production. The industry will focus on those markets for which canola’s primary attributes – high oil yield and low saturated fat – will create superior value and benefit human and environmental health.”

So just how ambitious is the plan? By way of contrast, canola production in Canada in 2006 was 9 million tonnes and the anticipated 2009 yield is set to be in the neighborhood of 10.3 million tonnes. Ambitious, but definitely achievable.

Good for people:

Canola oil is the healthiest commodity oil available to consumers, the food service industry and food processors.

Canola oil contains the least amount of saturated fat (7%) of any common edible oil, with the remaining 93% healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

The polyunsaturated fats in canola oil are essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. The omega-3, alpha-linolenic acid, may help prevent heart attacks and strokes. The omega-6  linoleic acid is important for the brain and essential for the growth and development of infants.

Good for livestock

Canola meal is used as an animal feed for dairy cows, pigs and poultry.

Its unique characteristics are especially valuable in the dairy industry, where it has been shown that including 20% canola meal in a feed ration improves milk production by one litre per cow per day.

Good for the economy

Canola adds $14 billion annually to Canada’s economy.

Canada produces 15% of the world’s supply of canola/rapeseed, but it is responsible for 75% of its global trade.

Canola is the No. 1 cash crop for 50,000 Canadian farmers. And the canola industry employs more than 216,000 people across Canada in production, transportation, crushing, refining and food development, manufacturing, and service.

(Source: Canola Council of Canada)

Find out more about Canada’s canola industry, check out the Canola Council of Canada.

If you were planting canola on your farm, would you choose a hybrid like InVigor or an open pollinated variety?

Ron Wall crafts the perfect balance of strategic, creative and agronomic communications for AdFarm clients. He can be reached directly at Ron.Wall@adfarmonline.com

Once again, we will be growing field peas on our farm this year. Hail wiped out our crop last year but fortunately our farm partner, Graham Farms, had hail insurance so shareholders will get a return of approximately $20 per share.

Peas were planted in early May and we will be updating shareholders throughout the season on the progress of our crop.

Shares for Sale

Shares are $25 each or 5 for $100 and can be purchased by payroll deduction or cash/cheque. We will be selling shares for the remainder of the week so drop me a line and let me know how many you would like to purchase.

Payroll credits and deductions will take place on the June 15 payroll. We will be keeping track of shares sold on our Pea-Metre in the Calgary office and will send a photo update as the week rolls on!

Thank You!

Special thanks to Ben Graham, our Farm Partner and to the rest of the A-Team (Adrienne Peckitt, Amanda Kooy and Andrew Colvin) our Farm Committee for this year.

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