THE DOGGIE BLOG Dates to Remember
Dates to Remember
THE DOGGIE BLOG
December 25– Merry Christmas! The Adventures of Brandi
It is with a very heavy heart that I report that my good buddies Milo and Otis, who usually write this column, were both victims of hit-and-runs in two separate incidences this fall. The Odens took the losses pretty hard, as did I. I have been staying pretty close to the farm and will often lay out by the office door when Mrs. Oden goes to work in the morning. I miss my buddies a lot, but the farm is still a good place to be. I’ll be taking over the writing of our doggie blog, and I’ll try to do it in a way that would make Milo and Otis proud! ~Brandi
January 1, 2014– Happy New Year! March 15, 2014– Spring-Planted Crop Insurance Deadline
Jon Oden
[email protected]
620-278-6410
Heather Oden [email protected]
620-204-0171
Jeff Pieplow
620-904-7067
[email protected]
Kenny Tucker [email protected] 620-257-8488
Kenny Tucker, Agronomy and Production Technology – “If you don’t like the weather, just stay for another day and it will change!” That is one of our typical comments to visitors from other states. Well it’s usually a just an exaggeration when we are “talking about the weather” to pass time. However it did seem to be a year of extremes at times. Heading in to summer we were short on deep soil moisture and that would have taken a toll on our spring-planted crops, especially on the non-irrigated fields. But then the late July and early August rains came, and boosted yields on soybeans and milo by helping with late season grain fill, even after significant stress in the vegetative stages. Even the corn yields were better than I expected, since we anticipated the rains being “too late” to help the corn, but kernel depth and test weight were improved towards the end of grain development. Last December I wrote about the onset of Roundupresistant weeds, primarily marestail and pigweed species that have developed in many of our fields. Well, that problem has become very evident now as we had significant issues with pigweeds surviving in our soybean fields this summer, following Roundup applications. Some fields were
rouged to make harvest easier, but we still had weed escapes that produced weed seed for next season. We have ordered more residual herbicides to be applied before crop emergence, to help keep weed pressure to a minimum, but we will still likely have escapes we will be unable to control with post-emerge Roundup applications. This doesn’t mean we cannot be profitable growing these Roundup Ready crops, but it does likely mean the days of “picture perfect” weed-free fields may be a thing of the past. In 2012 season we had several areas with marestail pressure, but we were successful controlling the marestail for the 2013 season with herbicide applied in the fall of 2012. The past few weeks, we have applied a similar herbicide program to fields that will be planted in the spring. The wheat that will be harvested for grain was all drilled the first 10 days of October which is typically the best time to plant for best grain yields. We also drilled wheat and rye for grazing in September and wheat for “cover crop” on most other open ground in late October and November. (Continued on Page 2.)
New Faces
BUSINESS LEADERSHIP TRAINING
In January, we look forward to the addition of Conrad Bates to our staff. Conrad brings several years of construction experience with him, as well and electrical and plumbing expertise. He is going to be a fantastic addition to our team! Look for more on Conrad in our Spring Issue.
3RD SESSION– IOWA CITY, IOWA Heather Oden– During the first week of December, Jon and I traveled to Iowa for the 3rd session of a two-year course called Business Leadership Training. This is a course offered by Family Farms Group that teaches best practices in agri-business.
based activity through long-lasting incremental changes over time. It begins with what is called a “kaisen” event, in which you follow a process from beginning to end. Then you evaluate the process to see where waste could be eliminated. One farming operation took their purchase order process from 2 During this most recent session we were able to days down to two hours. They also began using visit two farms. Both were large-scale farming op“Crash Carts” (which are mobile units with shadow erations. We toured their office and shop facilities boards for holding tools that can be rolled anyand were able to ask questions about topics related where in the shop). This one change alone saved to their processes and procedures. The farm visits this operation an estimated 80-120 dollars per day were very beneficial in that we were able to see in wasted down-time and wages. first-hand how these large-scale operations conduct themselves. It gave us use-able ideas that we could Additionally, the instructor of the course had recome back and implement in our own operation. cently visited our operation and was impressed with our process of incorporating our long-range While there, we also received training on LEAN/ 6 goals into our day-to-day activities. He asked if I Sigma. This management style, originally used by would make a presentation about how we go about Japanese companies but now used by most largedoing this, so while there I presented: Making Viscale companies world-wide, is a management style sion Happen: Incorporating Long-Range Goals into that encourages “LEAN” thinking. It’s based on the Weekly Staff Meetings to our class. idea of eliminating waste and increasing value-
Cont. from page 1- Our goal with the cover crop wheat is to help prevent blowing, make a firm seed bed to plant into next spring, and to help shade the ground and compete against weeds. With the earlier than normal onset of colder weather, the fall development of the wheat/rye has been limited; that is not a significant concern, but we will have fewer tillers develop before dormancy and grazed wheat may require more hay to be supplemented. Hopefully we have enough root system to prevent winterkill with the single digit temperatures we have experienced lately.
All in all we have been very pleased with the yields this season and it appears we have things off to a good start for the 2014 season. We will continue to do our best to manage the land for profitability for today and well into the future. Thanks for making us a part of your team! Kenny Tucker Agronomy & Production IT Specialist 620-257-8488 [email protected]
PROFITABLE FALL COLORS -Heather Oden Fall harvest was strong this year. Soybeans, irrigated
corn, and milo were above average. Dryland soybeans were variable but still above average. Dryland corn struggled due to drought pressure. However, we had a full soil profile for wheat planting and are encouraged by a more positive moisture outlook for next year’s crops. Two years of drought can really take a toll, especially in conventional tilling operations. We have been thankful, once again, for having made the decision to go no-till several years ago!
Corn, Avocado, & Tomato Salad
Kiddo Update
J.J. qualified for Novice State Debate. He is enjoying his freshman year and playing hard this basketball season. He is still singing in the youth worship team and plays trombone in the school band.
Between football and basketball Jacob has broken three fingers. He has a bit longer in his current cast and is hoping to re-enter basketball after the first of the year. In January he will be going to Lawrence for the Future City competition. He plays the tuba.
Cody has finished his first year of peewee football and is playing basketball now. He played a French tour guide in his school Christmas program and had a wonderful singing solo. He worked cattle for the first time this fall and fell in love with it!
Caitlin loves 1st grade. She reads like crazy and has moved up to intermediate gymnastics. She also had a beautiful solo in her school Christmas program. She continues to care for her imaginary horse herd.
Try this tasty salad as a healthy side dish at your holiday meal or get-together: Mix two cans of chipotle corn, one carton of cherry tomatoes (halved), and two scallions (chopped). Toss in 2 T of extra virgin olive oil, 4 T of lime juice, salt/ garlic salt & pepper to taste. This mixture can marinate overnight. However, this dish can also be prepared right at meal-time. Shortly before serving, add two avocadoes (chopped). This healthy salad can be served hot or cold making it a versatile side dish for any season of the year!
THE DOGGIE BLOG
December 25– Merry Christmas! The Adventures of Brandi
It is with a very heavy heart that I report that my good buddies Milo and Otis, who usually write this column, were both victims of hit-and-runs in two separate incidences this fall. The Odens took the losses pretty hard, as did I. I have been staying pretty close to the farm and will often lay out by the office door when Mrs. Oden goes to work in the morning. I miss my buddies a lot, but the farm is still a good place to be. I’ll be taking over the writing of our doggie blog, and I’ll try to do it in a way that would make Milo and Otis proud! ~Brandi
January 1, 2014– Happy New Year! March 15, 2014– Spring-Planted Crop Insurance Deadline
Jon Oden
[email protected]
620-278-6410
Heather Oden [email protected]
620-204-0171
Jeff Pieplow
620-904-7067
[email protected]
Kenny Tucker [email protected] 620-257-8488
Kenny Tucker, Agronomy and Production Technology – “If you don’t like the weather, just stay for another day and it will change!” That is one of our typical comments to visitors from other states. Well it’s usually a just an exaggeration when we are “talking about the weather” to pass time. However it did seem to be a year of extremes at times. Heading in to summer we were short on deep soil moisture and that would have taken a toll on our spring-planted crops, especially on the non-irrigated fields. But then the late July and early August rains came, and boosted yields on soybeans and milo by helping with late season grain fill, even after significant stress in the vegetative stages. Even the corn yields were better than I expected, since we anticipated the rains being “too late” to help the corn, but kernel depth and test weight were improved towards the end of grain development. Last December I wrote about the onset of Roundupresistant weeds, primarily marestail and pigweed species that have developed in many of our fields. Well, that problem has become very evident now as we had significant issues with pigweeds surviving in our soybean fields this summer, following Roundup applications. Some fields were
rouged to make harvest easier, but we still had weed escapes that produced weed seed for next season. We have ordered more residual herbicides to be applied before crop emergence, to help keep weed pressure to a minimum, but we will still likely have escapes we will be unable to control with post-emerge Roundup applications. This doesn’t mean we cannot be profitable growing these Roundup Ready crops, but it does likely mean the days of “picture perfect” weed-free fields may be a thing of the past. In 2012 season we had several areas with marestail pressure, but we were successful controlling the marestail for the 2013 season with herbicide applied in the fall of 2012. The past few weeks, we have applied a similar herbicide program to fields that will be planted in the spring. The wheat that will be harvested for grain was all drilled the first 10 days of October which is typically the best time to plant for best grain yields. We also drilled wheat and rye for grazing in September and wheat for “cover crop” on most other open ground in late October and November. (Continued on Page 2.)
New Faces
BUSINESS LEADERSHIP TRAINING
In January, we look forward to the addition of Conrad Bates to our staff. Conrad brings several years of construction experience with him, as well and electrical and plumbing expertise. He is going to be a fantastic addition to our team! Look for more on Conrad in our Spring Issue.
3RD SESSION– IOWA CITY, IOWA Heather Oden– During the first week of December, Jon and I traveled to Iowa for the 3rd session of a two-year course called Business Leadership Training. This is a course offered by Family Farms Group that teaches best practices in agri-business.
based activity through long-lasting incremental changes over time. It begins with what is called a “kaisen” event, in which you follow a process from beginning to end. Then you evaluate the process to see where waste could be eliminated. One farming operation took their purchase order process from 2 During this most recent session we were able to days down to two hours. They also began using visit two farms. Both were large-scale farming op“Crash Carts” (which are mobile units with shadow erations. We toured their office and shop facilities boards for holding tools that can be rolled anyand were able to ask questions about topics related where in the shop). This one change alone saved to their processes and procedures. The farm visits this operation an estimated 80-120 dollars per day were very beneficial in that we were able to see in wasted down-time and wages. first-hand how these large-scale operations conduct themselves. It gave us use-able ideas that we could Additionally, the instructor of the course had recome back and implement in our own operation. cently visited our operation and was impressed with our process of incorporating our long-range While there, we also received training on LEAN/ 6 goals into our day-to-day activities. He asked if I Sigma. This management style, originally used by would make a presentation about how we go about Japanese companies but now used by most largedoing this, so while there I presented: Making Viscale companies world-wide, is a management style sion Happen: Incorporating Long-Range Goals into that encourages “LEAN” thinking. It’s based on the Weekly Staff Meetings to our class. idea of eliminating waste and increasing value-
Cont. from page 1- Our goal with the cover crop wheat is to help prevent blowing, make a firm seed bed to plant into next spring, and to help shade the ground and compete against weeds. With the earlier than normal onset of colder weather, the fall development of the wheat/rye has been limited; that is not a significant concern, but we will have fewer tillers develop before dormancy and grazed wheat may require more hay to be supplemented. Hopefully we have enough root system to prevent winterkill with the single digit temperatures we have experienced lately.
All in all we have been very pleased with the yields this season and it appears we have things off to a good start for the 2014 season. We will continue to do our best to manage the land for profitability for today and well into the future. Thanks for making us a part of your team! Kenny Tucker Agronomy & Production IT Specialist 620-257-8488 [email protected]
PROFITABLE FALL COLORS -Heather Oden Fall harvest was strong this year. Soybeans, irrigated
corn, and milo were above average. Dryland soybeans were variable but still above average. Dryland corn struggled due to drought pressure. However, we had a full soil profile for wheat planting and are encouraged by a more positive moisture outlook for next year’s crops. Two years of drought can really take a toll, especially in conventional tilling operations. We have been thankful, once again, for having made the decision to go no-till several years ago!
Corn, Avocado, & Tomato Salad
Kiddo Update
J.J. qualified for Novice State Debate. He is enjoying his freshman year and playing hard this basketball season. He is still singing in the youth worship team and plays trombone in the school band.
Between football and basketball Jacob has broken three fingers. He has a bit longer in his current cast and is hoping to re-enter basketball after the first of the year. In January he will be going to Lawrence for the Future City competition. He plays the tuba.
Cody has finished his first year of peewee football and is playing basketball now. He played a French tour guide in his school Christmas program and had a wonderful singing solo. He worked cattle for the first time this fall and fell in love with it!
Caitlin loves 1st grade. She reads like crazy and has moved up to intermediate gymnastics. She also had a beautiful solo in her school Christmas program. She continues to care for her imaginary horse herd.
Try this tasty salad as a healthy side dish at your holiday meal or get-together: Mix two cans of chipotle corn, one carton of cherry tomatoes (halved), and two scallions (chopped). Toss in 2 T of extra virgin olive oil, 4 T of lime juice, salt/ garlic salt & pepper to taste. This mixture can marinate overnight. However, this dish can also be prepared right at meal-time. Shortly before serving, add two avocadoes (chopped). This healthy salad can be served hot or cold making it a versatile side dish for any season of the year!
