Perri Draisey - Lewis Hybrids

Black Cutworms are Here

2011-05-23T21:01:00.003-05:00

Black cutworms have made their presence know to the Keota area. I found several fields today(5/23/2011) that have some cutting damage. All the cutting was done above the ground. The cutworms were at the third instar growth stage. This puts them at about 1/2 to 3/4 inch long. They are just beginning their feeding. The damage isn't severe at this time, but it won't take them long to feed on more plants. The economic thresholds have been lowered this year due to the price of corn and the cost of production. I saw approximately 1% damage today. The fields are still wet and it may be Wednesday before the sprayers can get rolling. If it rains Tuesday, then it could be Friday before spraying.

This could be a long cutworm season. The forecast is for cooler temperatures later this week. This does not promote corn seedling growth and the cutworms like cool damp soils. What a combination. ISU has also said that the trapping of moths in April peaked at two different times which indicates that there could be a longer cutting season.

Things look way too good to take these pests for granted. A 2% damage could reduce your stand by 700 plants per acre. This equates to about 5.5 bushels per acre. At $6 corn, you can do the math and compare to the cost of control. Also, you can do some paper work to recoup some of the cost of control. Sounds like a win, win to me. If you have a claim and it is on Lewis Hybrids seedcorn, give me a call and we can get the process going.

If you have any other questions, feel free to give me a call.

Perri

319-929-7851

Black Cutworm Report

2011-05-19T07:40:00.004-05:00

Real quickly, I want to let you know about a report of balck cutworm damage in the Fairfield area. I heard yesterday that a field near Fairfield had to be sprayed for cutworm. Supposedly, the damage was severe. I did not see any signs of damage yesterday when I was scouting. Just another reason to keep an eye out.

Remember to scout no-till fields, fields bordering with natural vegetation, and weedy fields. ISU has lowered the economic threshold to 2% damage. With the cost of production and the market price of corn, it pays to be vigilent.

If you have questions, give me a call.

Perri

Black Cutworm Here Again

2011-05-17T21:40:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note to put out. Iowa State University has put out a black cutworm alert for Iowa. Based on peak cutworm moth flights earlier this spring, cutting dates can be established. The flights lasted over an extended period of time this spring during mid April and the end of April. Because of this the cutting period may last longer and you will need to keep a vigilant watch on your corn fileds. The thresholds are lower now because of the market price of corn. 2% damage from cutworms smaller and 3/4 of an inch will justify spraying. This year has been a tremendous start and I would hate to see cutworms put a dent into the top end.

What you should look for are plants that are wilting, damaged, or missing. Dig around those plants and see if you can find the cutworm. Dingy cutworms can also be found, so it is improtant to know the difference. Dingys usually don't present any concerns. It is the black that can do a ton of damage. Fields that are poorly drained, weedy, reduced tilled, or are near natural vegetation should be the first scouted. Count 50 plants in five different locations and then do the math to calculate percent damage.

If you have any questions or concerns, give me a call and I can help. I will spread the word quickly if I find any damaged plants.

Perri

Planting Nears End

2011-05-11T20:33:00.000-05:00

Planting in the Keota area is starting to wind down. Most producers are done with their corn and are planting soybeans fast. A few are waiting for some rain, before going back to planting soybeans. These are the producers that fight SDS and aren"t worried about delaying soybean planting.

Talking about rain, it fell heavily west of us today. A customer around Creston told me he had 4" in a little over 30 minutes. Another customer in the same area received 2". The soil erosion was terrible as you would gues it to be. They will be out of the fields for a while. Here in Keota, we received a whole .05" this afternoon. It looked promising on the radar, but as soon as it hit the county line, it dried up.

The corn is really making progress. I have talked about the corn planted on April 6 near Eldon. Well it is up and going gangbusters. It emerged even and spacing is about perfect. I was worried about the corn planted April 12 and 13, but the photo included here tonight was taken Tuesday, May 10. You can see it didn't miss a beat either. The corn planted May 2 is spiking through and even corn planted May 5 is near the surface. The heat has really helped us out. We just need to get some rain at critical times and miss the really hot summer nights this summer.

I try to keep an eye on the ISU black cutworm updates and as of now, we don't have a problem. I will keep everyone posted on this pest.

I had a producer plant forty acres of the new RIB1009SS. It is the new Refuge In the Bag product from Lewis Hybrids. Throw it in the planter, and you are ready to go and don't have to worry about the refuge, because it is in the bag. I will be talking with this producer all summer and giving you updates on what he thinks of the new product.

Have a safe reainder of the spring. I will be talking to each of you this summer.

Perri

Cold Weather in April

2011-04-20T20:40:00.004-05:00

Hello everybody,

It has been a long time since I have blogged. I guess, better late than never.

Last week was quite a week. the weather was nice and soil temperatures were in the mid 50's. I was getting quite a few questions about whether or not to start planting. At the time, I was recommending to plant if you were ready. My thinking was that conditions were good and if it did turn cold, it probably wouldn't last long. In the last 6 days we have accumulated 5 GDDs. The last three there have been no units collected. I scouted corn planted April 6 through April 13 and it looked good on Monday. I think that corn will be just fine. We are supposed to get warmer this weekend and next week back into the 60s. Rain is supposed come then also. If somebody didn't want to start until after the cold and rain, I didn't argue with them. You have to do what you think is best and go from there.

Monsanto had great news released last week. Refuse In Bag (RIB) was given approval to be grown. It is the FIRST true RIB. Pioneer says they have the first, BUT a producer is still required to plant a separate 20% refuge for above ground insects. The 10% refuge they talk about is for below ground insects and that 10% is protected by technology for above ground insects. This makes the whole field planted to above ground technology. Is this confusing? I agree. Why not plant Lewis Hybrids RIB product with 5% Refuge In Bag and not worry about refuge ever again?

Talk to you soon.

Perri

If You Are Bored, Wait a Week.........

2010-05-10T16:59:00.002-05:00

Boy, if you want change, wait a week in Iowa. Last Monday, I blogged about "what a spring" we are experiencing. It is quite a spring. The crop was progressing nicely and then on Tuesday the phone calls started coming in. I had written about uneven emergence and that is still a problem. The areas in fields that historically hold water are holding back crop progress as well. Soil temperatures seem to be the culprit. I have been recording daily soil temperatures since April 1. There have not been any days 60 degrees or higher, 12 days 57 to 59 degrees, 10 days 55 & 56 degrees, 12 days 50 -54 degrees and 3 days of 49 degrees. These are scattered over the whole period. It has been up and down but the last three days(Friday through Sunday) generated 12 GDUs. You may ask if that is good or not. Last Thursday, 11 GDUs were recorded. It has been cold and it is not benefiting the crop. I am not telling nay of you something you don't know, but if you are noticing problems with the crop, this is probably the reason.

We had some frost here in Keota on Sunday morning. It did nip some corn I saw this morning. I flagged the seedlings and took photos. I will go back next Monday and see what happens to those same seedlings. Some opinions say that they will be just fine. Others say that the dead plant tissue will get in the way of the growing point and not allow it to emerge. I guess we will find out in this situation. I would have more confidence if the weather would warm up and allow the plant to get to work.

I check Missouri Extension web page and ISU web page looking for black cutworm progress. NE Missouri had another intense capture on May 7. This projects cutting for May 28. If GDUs don't increase it may be august before cutting begins.

Tomorrow night is Al Kluis' webinar. I will not be available to watch but starting in June I will get them back on the schedule.

If you have any other questions, be sure to contact me.

Perri

319-929-7851

Great Spring

2010-05-03T19:30:00.004-05:00

What a wonderful spring we are experiencing. I walked several corn fields today and I must say the condition of the crop is very good. Sure there is yellow corn and uneven emergence. As compared to recent past springs, the corn is in the ground earlier, and has emerged rather quickly.

I want to talk about some of the situations I observed today. First thing was that I found some skips within the rows of corn. Not many by any means, but more in corn on corn. Scratching in the skip I found the seeding just preparing to poke through the soil surface. Sometimes those seeds were planted shallow. I have talked with many growers who commented that the ground did not freeze out and that made it difficult to place the seed uniformly. Down pressure on planters was a topic discussed all spring. Some said they had maximum down pressure and the rows set to plant two inches deep and still had a tough time getting the seed over 1.5" into the ground. I don't think the unevenness of stand will hurt yields. the seedlings are all small and the slow growing ones will catch up quickly. This week is going to be warm and I think you will see even stands soon. I may be wrong, but we will see soon enough.

Some of the corn seedlings are emerging with a yellow color to them. If we look at the weather from the past two weeks, we will see cooler temps and quite a bit of rain. The emerging seedlings last week were much more yellow than the ones this week. With warm temperatures and sunshine, the corn will green up quickly.

Stand counts have been very good with the emergence issues I have mentioned. I count stands when all the corn is emerged that is going to emerge. I counted six different populations today and they ranged from 33,333 to 35,500. I could write all day about the proper plant stands. They depend on soils, hybrids, environment and many other factors. In my opinion, and this is based on last year's population studies, 35,000 is right where the stands should be. I will count harvestable ears in August and calculate yields. We will see then where the populations are at that time.

I have been fielding many questions about cutworms. Today, the University of Missouri reported an extensive outbreak in Knox County, NE Missouri. The way to monitor Black Cutworms is that 300GDUs after an outbreak, cutting will be noticed in corn fields. Iowa State is saying some hatching is happening in Iowa. I will keep track of the monitoring from the Universities and report when we all should be on alert. I will send a text message by cell phone.

If any other matters arise that should be reported, I will get that information to you.

Stay safe.

Perri

310-929-7851

Rain, Rain, Go Away.......

2010-04-26T19:21:00.003-05:00

We asked for it and we got it. On Friday we were looking forward to a rain, and now Monday, we want some dry weather. Here in Keota we received between 2.25" and 3" over the whole weekend. Our ground took it very well and it didn't cause much erosion. If we get this much rain again this weekend though, it may be a different story. I spoke with my mother in Cedar Rapids and she told me she didn't receive much rain at all. Some DSMs in south central Missouri received 6" of rain. Growers had a good run this month, and now there will be a bit of a break.

I was out in a lot of muddy fields today. It was fairly dry by 4:30 pm this afternoon. There is a lot of corn up and just shy of V1 growth stage. There is even more corn just below or right at the soil surface. It has good color and with warmer temperatures for this week, it should just pop and really take off. My greatest fear at this point is frost. If we can get past May 10, then I will feel more comfortable.

USDA Crop Progress report came out today showing nationally that 50% of the corn crop is planted. That compares to 20% planted this time last year. In Iowa, 68% of the corn crop is planted compared to 41% last year. What really stands out to me is that in one week, Iowa growers planted 50% of the cron crop. Amazing!

Starting on April 10, I have recorded 185 GDDs. I have really noticed how closely to 120 GDDs corn emerges. Soil temperatures today were 54 degrees and we have had 3.05" of rain for the whole month of April in Keota. If you are interested in GDDs since you have planted, give me a call or an e-mail and I can calculate that for you.

Good luck with the remaining spring and be safe.

Perri

2010-04-23T19:12:00.004-05:00

Wow, what a spring so far. Planting started here in the Keota area on April 10. I am in favor of the planting fever we have experienced in April. The soils temperature have been above 54 degrees most of the spring and evening temps have stayed warm. Even with all the good things, there are still some concerns out there. Emergence in places is uneven. I have bee taking many questions about if the late coming plants will be viable or not. There are many variables in that question. It takes approximately 100-120 GDDs for a corn plant to emerge. If you find a plant spiking through the soil and it's neighbor sitting in dry soil without a radicle emerged from the seed, then it will take that seed about 8-10 days to emerge. Under favorable conditions the emerged plant will be up and going and the slow coming plant will be unviable. If the seed has rooted and has a shorter coleoptile, then it will have a chance to compete.

We had 0.5" of rain here in Keota today. Every seed planted should have had a good soaking, and all that was planted this week should be emerging evenly. We have had very cloddy soil conditions here from Ottumwa through Keota. The rains will also help melt those down. Chemicals should be activated and we will be off to the races. I will be out inthe fields most of the time next week so I will be able to evaluate stands and report back.

Just a reminder, I now have a twitter account and I will report what I am finding on www.twitter.com/pdraisey.

I have been keeping a running total of GDDs for this spring. I started on 4/10 with the first planter running. I know not all the seed went into the ground on that day, so I have broke down the totals on a daily basis. I went back to the field planted on the 10th when the total GDDs first went over 100 units. The corn coleoptile was right at the soil surface. Each hybrid will be different but, you will see spikes when the GDDs are between 100-120 units. How does this help? If we were having problems with crusting, knowing the GDDs can help make the decision of whether to rotary hoe or not. That is a very simple example. You can make that decision by scratching in the soil. If you are ever interested on the total GDDs for your crop, please contact me and ask. I try to keep the running total with me daily.

Enjoy the wet weather. I can't believe I said that after the last two springs. Be safe.

Perri

319-929-7851

www.twitter.com/pdraisey

Spring Hot Topics

2010-04-08T20:57:00.002-05:00

This has really been an exciting spring already. I heard of 600 acres of corn planted around Webster. Hopefully each seed has a jacket. Time will tell whether it works or not.

Many questions have been raised this spring. What is the soil temperature? What effects will last year's compaction have on this year's crop? What will seed do in cold, water saturated soils? What herbicides can I use on the corn when I use organophosphate insecticides? I will try to address these questions tonight.

Soil temperatures here in SE Iowa are remarkedly warm. Yesterday's was 56 degrees at 4" depth. They have been hovering around 49 to 56 degrees. I think that is great. Now if we could stop the rain. If you want to keep up on the soil temps, you can follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/pdraisey. I list rainfall and soil temperatures daily. I try daily anyway. If you are from outside the Keota area, ISU has a webpage you can go to see the temps in your county. That webpage is http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/NPKnowledge/soiltemphistory.html .

I have a couple customers that use an organophosphate insecticide along with VT3 corn seed. They see an addtional yield response that more than pays for the insecticide. There are secondary pests, or nematodes that will effect the young seedling on continuous corn fields. There are cautionary statements on the labels of the insecticides that warn agaisnt using certain herbicides following application of insecticides. If you are in this group of producers, please be sure to read and follow the labels. There is an extension publication from the University of Illinois that explains and covers all the factors that lead to seedling problems that arise from using the wrong herbicide with an insecticide. The main problem is that the plant takes in both the herbicide and insecticide and is unable to metablize both chemicals and injury usually follows. The webpage is http://ipm.illinois.edu/bulletin/print.php?id=1271 .

I hope these pages are of some help. If you have any questions, give me a call.

Thanks

Perri

319-929-7851

Spring N Assessment

2010-03-24T19:01:00.003-05:00

Well, here we go again. It seems like it is shaping up to be another wet spring. The last two wet springs have led to N loss, which has left behind other problems that can be corrected if caught soon enough. Simply, added N can be fed to the plant anytime before canopy. After that, N can be dribbled on but rain or irrigation must follow soon after. This conversation leads to a whole bunch of questions. Isn't liquid 28 or 32% N(UAN) costly and time consuming to apply? The short answer is yes, but shortage of N can lead to reduced yield, grain molds, and other problems. The extra cost of adding N far out weighs lack of N fertilizer.

How do we know if N fertilizer has been lost? There are several ways to help make the decision to sidedress. The first is the pre-sidedress nitrogen test(PSNT). This is a soil sample that is collected to a depth of one foot when the corn is between 6 and 12 inches tall. Another way is a calculation that is based on the amount of N applied, yield potential, 5 year yield average, days of soil water saturation, and previous crop. The final determining evaluation is common sense management decision making. If N was applied in the form of UAN more than 2 weeks before an excessive rain, then supplemental N is likely required. If the N was applied as NH3 more than 4 weeks before the excessive rain, then this is a situation to apply more N. Apply 60 to 120 units N per acre.

N fertilization is a moving target on trying to find the right amounts and timing of application. The correct answers depend on the manager, number of acres, availabel labor, crop rotation, ect. It is easier to make recommendations on a case by case basis.

I will start taking morning and evening soil temperatures on April 1. This year I am going to continue on a daily basis(when possible) through mid June. Starting again September 1 until the soil cools for good before winter. Last year the soil temps warmed up nicely in April and I quit because the temps were in the upper 60s. Then May hit and it plumeted, but for the life of me, I can not tell you the soil temperatures in May 2009. I will correct this mistake this spring.

It is about go time for spring work. Make sure all equipment is in working condition and most of all, be safe. Something new for me is a twitter account. Follow me this spring on the current conditions and planting progress at http://twitter.com/pdraisey.

Good night.

Perri

319-929-7851

New Releases

2010-03-17T21:41:00.003-05:00

Good evening. I have attended two hours of conference calls this week talking about new releases of corn hybrids for the year 2011 and 2012. That is next year and the crop hasn't even been planted this spring. The reason for talking about them now is that the new hybrids will be in test plots this spring. It is too early for me to talk about all the atrributes these hybrids bring to the table. I want to see them in action before I really speak. I also want you to see the new hybrids in test plots this summer. One big difference you will see immediately is the different plant structure. New germ plasm has been introduced into the hybirds. This new germ plasm comes from Europe and Asia. This brings unprecedented yield improvements for our industry along with longer stay green of the plant. Leaves will look different in that they may be broader and more upright. This will change how far we can go up in planting populations. With more upright leaves, plants can be place closer together. These plants will also be able to compete better with each other.

There will also be plenty of technology to go along with these hybrids. Remember that this technology is added for crop protection.

It is a very exciting time in the seed business. Each year brings improvements. This is important so that yields can be doubled by the year 2030. If you have heard the commercials from our competition, they hope to double yields by 2050. They are going to do this "One seed at a time", twenty years late.

Have a good week.

Perri

319-929-7851

Federal Crop Insurance

2010-03-07T18:22:00.002-06:00

March 15 is approaching quickly. Many of you have already taken care of your Federal Crop Insurance needs. There is time for making adjustments. Normally I don't get involved in this decision making. I have been made aware of a management tool that can enhance the insurance and save you some input dollars. The Lewis DSMs had a conference call with Al Kluis last week and he wanted us to think of using the 70% insurance level and a $3.80 put option instead of only using the 80% level. Friday's close on a Dec. 2010, $3.80 put option was $0.325. Lets walk through an example for here is Keokuk County. If you have a established yield of 165 bushels per acre, an 80% guarntee level will cost you approximately $13.50 per acre. That gives you an insurable yield of 128 bushels per acre. At a 70% level the premium is approximately $7.50 per acre for an insurable yield of 112 bushels per acre. The cost difference is $6.00 per acre on the 16 bushel difference. That is $0.375 per bushels cost for the added level of insurance. The put option will cost you $0.325 per bushel. You will save a nickel and have the downside protected for those bushels on the market and all the upside available to you. If the cash market goes up then you have the added value on your cash crop and to make sure your option doesn't expire worthless, you can role it over into another management level to protect yourself more.

I want to make it perfectly clear that this is a suggestion not a recommendation. I want to work hard to help you out as much as possible. To get recommendations, I will be hosting another of Al Kluis' webinars on Monday evening. This will cover the Crop Insurance topic exclusively . It will begin at 8:00 PM and I will make sure to have treats to eat. So come and learn and eat to your fill.

Planting is about 35 days away for a normal year. We all know that this in not a normal year and many things must fall into place to make it a normal year. Hopefully, the weather will straighten out soon.

Perri

Growing Profits in 2010

2010-02-03T19:27:00.002-06:00

As you know, Lewis Hybrids has a close working relationship with broker, Al Kluis. We sponsor morning and weekly updates along with hosting webinars two times a month. I have followed Al and kept a small score card for the last year. Al is right on with many of his recommendations. Cargil rates him as one of their top brokers. This guy is worth taking stock in.

At a recent seminar, Al spoke about 10 ways to grow profits in 2010. I have looked at that presentation and want to review it on this blog. This is all Al's presentation and his opinion. I hope to present it from Al's viewpoint.

1. Think and Plan for the Long Term

Watch different markets. Gold is up 300%, US Stock Market is up considerably since the low last winter.

2. Be Aware of Key Economic Factors

Where is the dollar priced and how does this affect you and your farming enterprise? How do grain markets react to the Dow Jones? Why does corn markets follow the crude oil market so closely? If you look at charts of the dollar, Dow Jones, crude oil and grain markets, there is a lot of similarities. It is important to know the relationships between them so that you can understand the finer points of marketing.

3. Invest in Technology to Maximize Yield

What does Al include in the category of technology? He lists seed, grid sampling, drainage tile, and fertilizer. Why invest in these technologies? From 1970 until 2004 gross revenue on the farm per corn acre ranged from $200 to $300. Before that revenue averaged below $100 per acre. Since 2004 revenues have doubled. This is a welcomed development. Al projects that by 2019 gross revenue per acre of corn will reach $1800. Increases in yield and timely marketing will contribute to these increases. Expenses have, and will continue to rise also. Investing in the technologies will help keep the acre profitalbe. I can speak for the technologies in corn. Drought tolerant and N utilitzing corn will boost yeilds. The areas of greatest increase will come from the more arid parts of the country.

4. Have a Written Marketing Plan

To start a written marketing plan you need to ask yourself several questions and answer them. Write the answers down so that you can evaluate your progress throughout the year.

1. What is your cost of production?

2. What is your profit goal?

3. How many bushels do you have to sell?

4. Where is your grain stored?

5. When do you need the money?

6. What are the historic basis patterns in your area?

5. Make Crop Revenue Insurance Part of Your Plan

Al suggests selecting the right policy for your farm. During the year sell the insured bushels (A bushels) ahead. Cover the uninsured bushels (B bushels) with puts.

This covers 5 of the 10 ways to grow profits. The next 5 go more into marketing of your crop. I will follow up with these another time. This fits right in with what I have been blogging about previously. This is the time of year to do this kind of paper work. I wish you luck with the planning process. If you need any assistance, feel free to contact me.

Perri Draisey

319-929-7851

Setting a Yield Goal

2010-01-17T20:00:00.003-06:00

Setting a yield goal can be tricky. This year can make it even harder. With the USDA reporting record yields the other day, it leaves us scratching our heads. Do we set a goal for higher yields or do we try to match last years. Lucky for us in this part of the state I don't think we want to shoot for another year like last. Many of you have raised better corn in past years. The soybeans however were very good and it would be nice to match last year's yields. It comes down to how much yield increae should be expected each year. We all know that yield totals flucuate up and down like a wave. If we lay those waves out and draw a line through the averages then we can see an uptrend in yields. What is that average increase in yield on a yearly basis? I looked at past USDA yield graph for several years and the numbers are educational. In 1979 the USDA reported an average corn yield of 95 bushela per acre. This last week they reported, for easy figuring, somewhere around 165 bushels per acre. This is a 57.5% increase in yield in the last 30 years. At this pace in another 30 years the national average corn yield will be 287 bushels per acre.

The pace though is picking up. I also found that from 1965 to 1995, Iowa corn yields were increasing by 1.9 bushels per acre per year. That is a decent increase. Are there any guesses about the rate of increase in the next 10 years from 1996 to 2007? On the average in Iowa, corn yields have been increasing by 2.1 bushels per acre per year. Is there any significance of the time period of 1996 to 2007? Biotech was in it's infancy. Bt corn for corn borer was introduced in 1996. In my mind technology has helped increase yields. Other factors also must be taken into consideration with the most important being grower management.

Monsanto's goal of reaching 300 bushel yield average by the year 2030 is a huge undertaking. If it is to be realized, then yields must increase by 6 bushels per acre every year until then. I guess we will have to wait and see.

Anyway, back to setting a yield goal for next year. If you take the national average increase and add it to your average yield over the past 3 yrs it should give you a very attainable goal. The 2.1 average increase may be increase a 0.2 bushel. There are no set in stone rules. Make sure the goal is doable but not to low that it is easy to get to. Another way is to take the county yield average, compare it to what you see from your farm and add the increase you want to the largest.

I hope I have helped out a little. This is a system that there are not true answers to, but it is important you set goals. If you would like help with this I would be more than happy to lend a hand. Give me a call at 319-929-7851.

Don't forget the "Marketing Boot Camp" on February 10 and 11. I will sending out information probably next week.

Thanks and have a safe week.

Perri

319-929-7851

pdraisey@lewishybrids.com

One Field At A Time

2010-01-09T10:46:00.005-06:00

This is Lewis Hybrid's tagline. Our competition has decided it was good enough for them to use something similar. It is"Field by Field". It's quite flattering to Lewis Hybrids that a national brand would use something so similar to ours. How do I use the tagline in real world situations? Anybody that has worked with me in the past know my spring, summer, and fall activities. I want to work this winter on a new activity to go along with placing hybrids. I want to start to help growers set goals for each field. You may ask why would I want to do this? The seed busines and agriculture production is becoming more and more complicated each year. Not only do growers have to deal with the different companies calling on them promoting their products, but within each of those companies are different products that need to be placed properly. The old time seed salesman will call on growers in the fall and early winter to make a sale and then show up come spring to deliver product and then in fall to ride the combine to see how those products did. The dedicated seedsman will be at the growers fingertips all year long. That person will sell the product, give advise on placement of that product, evaluate growth stages, calculate revenue, and measure revenue come fall. Also during this cycle, important agronomic information, technological advances, and marketing trends will be passed on to the grower. Monsanto announced the other day that they have 11 new seed advancements in their pipeline. How will these fit into the grower's future plans, and are all these advancements even pertinent to the grower's needs? There is so much to evaluate that it scares me to even think about it. I am not the grower that has a huge financial stake in this business. With so much at stake, and with so many new things on the field and in the pipeline, how does a grower keep it all straight? How do businesses keep new advances straight, and how do they decide which new technologies to hang their hat on?
Many questions, but with answers to keep it all in perspective and even answers to help you make plans to use the correct products with the correct technology on the correct acre. Let's start with setting some goals. How can you know where to go if you don't know what to use to get you there? We could talk about financial goals or production goals. I have spoken with Al Kluis and we are going to work together to come up with a program that will cover both areas. Today I want to talk about production goals. I am sure you all have different expectations for each field that you grow crops in. Do you apply the same amount of fertilizer on each field? Should you use the same seed on each field? In the old days when a product really showed off its performance, growers would flock to that product and plant it everywhere. It would work for a time and then inevitably that product would fall on its face and fail. That hurt the grower in so many ways. Corn at that time was $2 per bushel. Can you imagine if you had 70% of your crop planted to that hybrid today and it failed with $3.75 per bushel corn and the inputs priced where they are? It would put you out of business.
Let's get back to goal setting. The first goal to think about is a yield goal for that field and how much total revenue you want to generate on a per acre basis from this field? Placement of hybrids is a very important management practice today. I have learned that growers want help placing hybrids. I do help with placing of Lewis hybrids as well as the competition's. You don't trust me? If I fail even on the competitions, I will not be helping you next year. Items to consider when placing hybrids are: 1. Yield potential 2. Drainage in the field. 3. Is the field under a crop rotation? 4. Soil types. 5. Total N applied and timing of application. 6. P and K fertility of the field. 7. Sources of the P and K fertility. Do you use MAP and Potash or is livestock manure the main source?
Let's look at an example. Given a 45 acre field of continuous corn, with a 56 CSR, and variable soil types. You want to go with corn again because you can gross more revenue with corn than soybeans. With the soil types you are working with you apply 155 units of N. With this knowledge of the field it is pretty easy to see that this would not be a field for new higher value VT3 hybrids until you know its tendencies better. This is a simple example, but they do get more complicated.

The second part of total revenue is to set your goal for a market price on your crop. You do not have to be at the market's mercy when selling your crop. Sure you may not receive $5 a bushel for your corn every year, but if you maximize your return and earn an extra 5%-8% then you can pay for a large portion of your seed or go on that long awaited vacation. I will have Al talk more about this in later blogs.
I am going to sponsor a marketing bootcamp with Al Kluis on February 10 and 11. This is intended to help growers feel more comfortable with marketing. I will be sending out invitations soon, so look for them.
I will stop there and proceed with the next steps later this week. I hope this stimulates some thought. I will be visiting my customers in the near future to put these goals to paper. I hope you have been enjoying the cold weather. Call me if you have any questions.

Perri
319-929-7851
pdraisey@lewishybrids.com

Business Planning Part II

2009-12-17T22:23:00.002-06:00

Business planning is a must. Every grower does it, but most do not record the intregal parts on paper. I talked last time about establishing benchmarks to shoot for. Examples are bu/acre, dollars/bushel, etc. The one I forgot to mention and the one I think is most improtant is revenue/acre. This measure puts everything on the same level. It can be used to measure efficient input purchases and grain sales. Total revenue per acre is dependent upon purchasing inputs correctly as well as selling grain products correctly. Since I am most familiar with seed costs, lets look at that input cost. There are many different levels of seed investments. The companies with the leading genetics and technology will have higher investment costs, while the companies with smaller market shares can gian more share by lowering their costs. Lets assume there is a $10 differnce in bags cost and they produce at the same level. On a 180 bushel yield there is a difference of $0.023/bushel. If the higher investment has other benefits available to you, then that differnce can be overcome very quickly. One way of overcoming the difference is by using Al Kluis Marketing to help move your grain. After being associated with Al for over a year now, I can testify that he will gain more than 2.3 cents inprovement in your marketing dollars. Al is confident that he will add an addtional dime per bushel on corn to your revenue per acre. A dime in 180 bushel yield will add $18/acre to your revenue stream. Another way to look at it is that Al adds $43.75 value to the bag of seed corn. So if my bag of Lewis Hybrids is $15 per bag more, I am confident that bag brings an additional $28.75 value to you. This is a good example of fine tuning your business plan.

Another part of business planning is to plan for your personal improvement. This adds more to your day, but getting better at a task will greatly improve your life. This could be anything from improving your health, reading a book, or taking classes. What can help you free up enough time to do something like this? Lewis Hybrids, Al Kluis, or myself can help you to free up time. Lewis Hybrids intern program will guarantee that your fields will be visited at least three times a year for scouting, root digs, or revenue estimations. This makes taking a family vacation easier. Al Kluis will help you have more free time by advising you on marketing timeliness so that your time can be spent doing other things instead of pondering on whether or not to sell or wait. I concentrate on year round contact with you to help with seed placement, field scouting, agronomic advise, ect. When I wanted to go on vacation this past summer, the customer service department at Lewis called my customers, a few days into my vacation, to make sure all was going well and answer any questions. We are here to help you out and to make your life run easier, if you want us to.

There is a lot more to a professional business plan. It takes more than I have mentioned to complete one and then evaluate how you did over the year. If I have the chance I will help you complete a plan and keep track to see how it measures up.

Have a merry Christmas.

Perri

319-929-7851

Business Plannning

2009-12-15T08:00:00.002-06:00

Hello everyone. It is a cold morning here in Keota. I think it is close to 0 degrees. It is that time of year and many of us don't like getting out into the cold.

Many peolpe think that it is also the time of year that seed people are coming out of the woodwork. This is also very true. I realize it gets very overwhelming facing each of us. Along with getting orders on the books, your seed advisor is also busy planning for this next year. At least I am. I have to have a plan and goals or I personally will not know which direction to go. Lewis Hybrids also knows what I have to do to make their year profitable. That is how business works. Is that how your business works?

I ask many growers the same question. Of the following three factors, which do you do the best: 1. Business planning 2. Marketing grain 3. Growing the best crop possible with the given environment? I get the same answer almost every time. I can grow a crop. The second most popular answer is marketing grain. Business planning always is the last and most feel they can improve their planning. I want to talk about business planning.

When I start planning for next year, I always begin with the number of bags of product I want to sell. Of course, this always will be an increase over last year. With inflation and other factors, Lewis Hybrids needs to grow each year. Do you need to grow? Of course. You may have added expenses next year. What is your yield goal for next year? Is it measured by bu/ac or total bushels? Should it be an increase over this past year? These are important questions to ask yourself. Only you know the answers and those answers will help you purchase inputs to reach the yield goals. How do you know how much fertilizer to buy if you have no idea on a yield goal?

Given your yield goal it is easy to calculate your breakeven either by bu/ac or $/bu you expenses require. This is where Al Kluis comes in. If you have your breakevens, now you can start your marketing process. I heard the comment the other day from a recipient of Al's morning updates, "Boy he sure hit the soybean market right last week". That is his job and you all know how I feel about Al. There is no doubt in my mind that he is very very good at what he does and you can make additional dollars by listening to him.

I want to talk to you now about seed purchases. This is the most important input purchase you will make. There is a difference in products. The highest prices will be the newest genetics and the lower prices will be the older genetics. Seed is not a commodity like NH3 or MAP. There are a lot of factors that affect the final product and they produce different products that demand different prices. When you go to the doctor, do you settle for the cheapest?

I will continue the rest of this week with business planning. I want to brag a bit about the year that Lewis products had this past fall. 910VT3 and 1013VT3 showed really well in the F.I.R.S.T. Trial in east central Iowa. I will post the link and you can check them out. Business planning is a very important tool for growers. I am sure all of you do plannning in your head. I think it is important to write these down to constantly remind yourself where you are going. I will continue this week with more important aspects of planning and if I can help you out with planning, feel free to ask.

Be safe and stay warm. Don't forget the webinar on Thursday in my basement. Click on the F.I.R.S.T. Trials to view Lewis Hybrid's results.

Perri

319-929-7851

F.I.R.S.T. Trial Results

2009-11-11T08:57:00.004-06:00

It has been a while since I have blogged. With harvest in full swing, there are many things to talk about yet so little time. Seed ordering is also in full swing, and I have been in contact with most everyone. Just a reminder, November 28 is the deadline for 10% cash discount and December 1 is the deadline for orders to receive the Lewis promotions. It is a very lucrative deal to get those orders in by November 28. I will continue to call on all of you.

F.I.R.S.T. trial results for two locations in Southeast Iowa are in. Lewis had an outstanding showing in both Oskaloosa and Washington. 910VT3 finished 1st in yield and 2nd in gross dollars per ac at Washington. At Oskaloosa, 910VT3 finished 8th in yield and 5th in gross dollars. While 1009VT3 finished 9th in yield and 8th in gross dollars. in the later maturity class, 1013VT3 finished 2nd in both yield and gross dollars. These are very good results and these hybrids are goers. I will put the link on here for you to review for yourself. Take a look at those yields. 300 bushel corn doesn't look so unattainable.

I need to hit the field and get your orders. Be safe and continue to have a great harvest.

F.I.R.S.T. Trial - Oskaloosa

F.I.R.S.T. Trial - Washington

Perri

319-929-7851

Grain Molds

2009-10-27T20:24:00.002-05:00

As we progress through harvest, I am recieving more phone calls about moldy corn. I looked back at this blog and on August 13, I wrote about Diplodia ear rot. The molds were showing up way back then. I was in three different fields today that were showing Diplodia, Gibberella, and Fusarium molds. These molds will survive overwinter as a fungus on corn debris. If harvest continues the way it has been going, fall field work will comprise of harvesting grain. If fall tillage does not happen, next year's corn crop will be subject to great disease pressure. Fungicide application will do nothing to stop the ear rots. The pressure on the ear occurs during the first 21 days after silking. If wet cool weather follows, then the disease will spread like wild fire.

For this year, what can be done now with the crop coming in. Not only will some of these molds lead to toxins that can affect livestock, but they will cause major problems in storage and you could recieve docks or load rejection at the elevator. When storing this grain, you can expect many pieces of ground cob and kernels. Test weight is usually lighter and these kernels break and create more fines. This restricts airflow at a time it is most important. Remember to core these bins to improve airflow. Dry this corn down to below 14% moisture and cool to below 50 degrees farenheit as soon as possible. When possible, cool the whole bin below 30 degrees. Move it as soon as possible.

I touched on this earlier, but if the weather would cooperate and extra time is given to you to do fall tillage, this will help slow the re-occurrence of the mold problem next year. Rotation to soybeans will also give an opportunity to break the mold cycle. Hybrids can also be susceptible to molds. It occurrs more with open husk hybrids. This is a double edged sword in some ways. These hybrids tend to dry down faster but do open themselves to mold infection. I guess time will tell if mother nature gives all of you a chance to manage out of this problem.

Contact me with any questions. Be safe.

Perri

319-929-7851

Revenue Check Results

2009-10-25T19:29:00.003-05:00

What are revenue checks? Yield results. I call them revenue checks because I want to look at yield and moisture. This year especially with the fall we have been having. Moisture is costing dollars this year. Did we know this was going to happen when we made plans last winter? Of course not. If that were possible, I would doing that generating more revenue for myself. So do you want to change the way you think this fall and winter when choosing hybrids? I don't think so. If you tell me you want to plant more earlier hybrids I will go for that. But tell me you do not want to plant a longer maturing hybird and I will disagree. Don't abandon a high yielding hybrid after the performance of one year. We have no idea what next year will bring. Compared to 2007, this past year was nearly 900 GDDs behind. That is 30 days less to grow and mature. That is big and was only two years ago. Next year could be like 2007 and you have only 110RM hybirds and less. You will be leaving yield on the table and ultimately revenue.

We have started to post revenue checks on our Lewis Hybrids webpage. They include corn and soybean tests. In soybeans, several of our RR2s are compared. Do they win all the time? No, but they do out yield regular RR soybeans many times. Yield results I used for selling the RR2s showed win percentages in the 67% -75% range. That means they will be out yielded 25%-33% of the time. One other thing to remember when looking at the results is to compare like maturities. Don't compare our 319R2 to our 3909RR. You are aware that it is hard for a 3.1 bean to out yield a 3.9.

When looking at corn results, we do not win all the time, but again we win many more times than not. We turn in all our results as district managers. It is not realistic to only show the times we win. What you see in our results are the real deal. I challenge you to look at these results for yourself. The link is Lewis Plots. Check it out.

There will be a last Thursday of the month webinar this Thursday, October 29. I will host it at my home. If you want to attend be here by 7:45 pm. It will start precisely at 8:00 pm. I will be in contact with all of you this week and hopefully the weather makes it impossible for you to attend. Nothing personal of course. I would rather you be in the fields than attending a webinar.

Be safe.

Perri

319-929-7851

Water, water everywhere........

2009-10-22T20:40:00.002-05:00

Well, here we go again. We did not need this latest batch of rain. It does sound like it will turn around again tomorrow and we'll get some more good days. The wind is supposed to blow also which we don't need. The corn ran short of N and the plant cannibalized itself to supply the nitrogen. Disease was a big problem this summer also. Stalk disease is very prevalent in many locations. Boy, I am being very positive.

Many of you switched to soybeans and that was a good move. There are still lots of beans acres to be harvested though. When the time comes to get back after the corn get ready for wet corn. Unless we have an unseasonal Indian summer, the corn will only dry down about 0.1 point per day on the sunny days. It is the wrong time of year for drying. I know the gas bill will be outrageous, but I heard a grower from Illinois say today that the dock for wet corn at the river is $1.00. I don't know which terminal that is or at what moisture. He is looking at not meeting expenses and carrying over his loans. What a year!

On a positive note, I was contacted by Tyne Morgan, multimedia specialist at Monsanto. She is doing a series of video interviews with gorwers for Monsanto on the progress of harvest. She has been in Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Missouri. She is working on Iowa now. These video interviews will be posted on an internet link that you will be able to view. She ask to meet with Clark Yeager, one of my customers. She did the interview with Clark yesterday and she will let me know when it is posted. When it is on the net, I will put the link on this blog to make it easier to link to.

You will begin to see me more often now during the fall. We will get to talk more. Be safe as you proceed through harvest.

Perri

319-929-7851

Wet Grain

2009-10-15T20:12:00.003-05:00

Lewis Hybrids' show plots and twin row plots are being harvested. I have to wait until they show up on our web page to show the results. The yields are variable to say the least. Why? We were told at a recent meeting at Monmouth to remember performance is based on two factors. Genetics and environment(G X E). 30% of production comes from genetics and the remaining 70% from the environment. This can explain how one hybrid in Keota can produce more bushels per acre than in the Washington area. What I am seeing is that the hybrids that are working this year are at the top of the stack everywhere. The total bushels may be less but the results in rankings are the same.

It appears that when the combines can run they will be out in the corn. This presents all growers with a problem. Grain moisture is higher than normal. Driers are running overtime with some corn needing to be dried down in some instances up to 10 pts. That is an extreme, but that corn will be stored. The amount of grain diseases is going to be a big problem along with the moisture. Grain storage will be a challenge this winter. Mangement will be most important. Some important steps should be followed.

1. Pull a load or two out of each full bin to rid it of damaged kernels and fines.

2. Check the bin regularly. Look for mold, crusting and check the smell for spoiling grain.

3. Run the fans on the bin for 48-72 hours to cool it completely. Try to do this when you have cool dry air available.

Vigilance will be of the utmost important. With the investment growers have made per acre, grain going bad can put a dent in total revenue.

I checked the GDD calculator today. On the average, we are right at 200 GDDs behind the average year. Compared to last year, we're down 140 GDDs. Minus 733 GDDs versus 2007. Just under 600 GDDs compared to 2006. I calculated this from April 16 to Oct 3. That was the first day I saw planters working to the first hard freeze we experienced. It is no wonder the grain is so much wetter than normal.

Be safe with the harvest.

Perri

319-929-7851

What a Fall

2009-10-06T21:11:00.004-05:00

Wow! Can you believe the fall we are having? Not only the weather, but the harvest. As I travel the country, I find some growers have some crop harvested while others haven't started. For those that have started, they are seeing variable results. Both yield and moisture vary greatly within one pass. I have checked good yields but those checks are only a small portion of the field. If we would get the latest of the crops mature, then a frost will help even things out. This sounds like a possibility this weekend. The best advise is to get out and get the crop harvested when conditions cooperate.

I did weigh off yields of Lewis Soybeans 2908 and 3407 that yielded 66 bu/ac and 74 bu/ac respectively last week. No beans have been harvested since though. I am very anxious to weigh off some RR2 Yield soybeans. I have the wagon ready and when I get the call I will get the yields and let everyone know the results.

I talked earlier about variability in the crop. One part of revenue generation is marketing of your crop. I just left a webinar with Al Kluis and I am always amazed at all the indicators he looks at for marketing. If you take part in his morning updates or commodity quotes on your cell phone, you can take out a lot of variablity in marketing and earn extra profit also. All this is possible through Lewis Hybrids. I can get you hooked up in less than ten minutes. My goal is to have two webinars a month in two locations. These wil be on different nights so that travel is cut to a minimum. When I have this all planned out, I will pass on invitations.

Again, if any of you have questions, feel free to give me a call or e-mail.

Thanks,

Perri

319-929-7851

Seed Investment

2009-10-02T21:04:00.003-05:00

It is time to start thinking about seed purchases for next spring. It seems early, but the industry has made it very normal to start your purchases. I have talked many times about revenue generation per acre. This business is all about revenue per acre. Many, if not all, of my competitors will tout the yields their products produce. Yes, yield is a driving force. There are other forces involved that generate dollars per acre.

This year, moisture in the grain will be a major factor that will change the revenue number greatly. I just received tonight, the first product test plot results for Lewis Hybrids. From the results my competitor will say he won the plot. The highest yield was from my number one competitor at 238.6 bu, with a 24.4% moisture. It was a 111RM hybrid. The other competitive product is a 115RM hybrid yielding 231.4 with 26.3% moisture. It finished 7th in order for yield. In a comparison with similar RM Lewis Hybrids, the Lewis was 3 pts. and 2 pts. drier respectively.

The hybrid in second for yield was 1009VT3 with a yield of 237.6 bu and moisture of 19.6%. This hybrids will be available next year with the SartStax technology. The other SmartStax hybrid finished 5th with a yield of 233.7 bu at 19.5% moisture. It looks like I need to put my head down and give in to the competition. The only thing is that let's look at Gross $ per acre. If we use $3.00 per bushel and assumed drying costs of $0.045 per bushel, how will the ranks change? The SmartStax hybrids, 1009VT3 and 1012VT3, finished 1 and 2 with gross return of $663.62 per acre and $653.78 per acre. The competition finished 6th at $614.87 and 10th with $576.53 per acre. Moisture kills gross dollars per acre.

This is all good, but my competition will tell you the the cost of my seed is too high. I say, yes your investment will be greater with me. Let's go another step and put the investment into the calculations. If we assume that the 1009SS will be priced $65 per bag higher next year. This is really an assumption. If we also assume that one bag will plant 2.5 acres, then your investment per acre is $26 more per acre. $663.62 minus $26 equals $637.62. That is still approximately $23 more per acre than the high yielding competitor. $653.78 minus $26 equals $627.78 or $13 more per acre greater return than the competition. What did yield acheive for the competition? Drydown is one of the most important factors for this year given it is the wettest in some 25 years. For the rest of the plot, the highest yielder ranked 6th in Gross $/Ac. This is not a fluke and I will prove it from test plot results and side by sides all fall long. I will bring the results to you all fall no matter the final results.

You will hear me say that the seed investment this fall is only half of the equation. Revenue is the other half and is the half of the equation that makes payments, buys equipment, and Christmas presents. Besides drydown, how can you increase revenue? I have told you in past blogs about Al Kluis. I am a firm believer in the abilities of Al to help you earn additional dollars. Many of my customers receive Al's morning updates, market updates, and action alerts. It is a valuable weapon to add to your arsenal for earning more dollars. If you are interested in becoming a member of our webinar meetings with Al after harvest, feel free to contact me.

I want to remind everyone to be safe during the harvest period. It is already late and there will be a tendancy to try to hurry. Take your time and avoid accidents. I really want to sell you all your seed needs. Ha-Ha.

Perri

319-929-7851