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

I Apologize

2009-09-22T19:22:00.003-05:00

I have to extend an apologize to everyone that reads my blog. My over anxious attitude got in the way of double checking my numbers. I pride myself in checking and double checking my calculations before going to the field. Last blog I said that if you use Genuity SmartStax, then you can expect a very large return on your investment per bag. Using Monsanto's numbers there is an increase of value of $77-$106 per bag. This is dependent on the current market price. I have no idea at this point what the investment the grower will have. When this information is released I will put it on this blog.

Many growers tell me that they take all the risk when they purchase the technology. This is true to a point. Lewis Hybrids has a way to help you lower the risk and get every dollar from every acre. The information given daily by Al Kluis to Lewis growers is invaluable. Last week, Al gave actin alerts to get out of your option positions. A grower told me he earned $0.43 per bushel in one action. Al is very conservative in his recommendations and he has many years of experience. If you purchase seed from Lewis Hybrids, you can get this service free.

Harvest is just around the corner and many of you are getting nervous. We are still about 100 GDDs behind last year. Be sure and wait so that you can harvest the best quality grain possible. With the recent rains, moistures will stay put for a while. I look forward to riding combines this fall. This is the best time of the year.

Boot up the GDD Calculator and check out the numbers.

Perri

319-929-7851

Harvest is Just Around the Corner

2009-09-20T19:14:00.003-05:00

One of Lewis Hybrids first plots was harvested in Central Illinois on Wednesday of last week. It was planted on April 9 in a lighter, sandy soil. It contained 813VT3, 910VT3, 912VT3, 914VT3, 915VT3, 1009VT3, 1012VT3, and 1013VT3. In the sandy soils, 915VT3 came out on top yielding 240 bu/ac at 20.5% moisture. 915VT3 was used as a check in three spots of the plot. It finshed 1,2,& 3 over the other hybrids. 915VT3 is a hybrid that will perform well under stress circumstances. It will be placed on many fields in southern Iowa because of the 115 day RM.

I want to also talk about Genuity Smart Stacks. Monsanto has spent a lot of money and spent a lot of time to bring Genuity Smart Stacks to market. After meeting with many growers the same question consistently comes up. "Why is it so expensive"? Growers are correct in that is an investment. I want to review the benefits Genuity Smarts Stacks bring to the field. Refuge with these hybrids has been reduced to 5% from 20%. That is a 75% reduction in refuge acres. If you say non refuge will out yeild refuge by 15 bushels, then over a 100 acres that will give a grower and extra 2400 bushels to market. Also, Genuity Smart Stacks has a protein that will reduce earworm damage by 73%. This equates to 2,000 extra ears per acre or 12 extra bushels per acre. Over 100 acres with 15 extra non refuge acres this is 180 bushels. So, on the 100 acres it is calculated that with a $3 market on the extra bushels, you will have an increase in revenue of $77 per acre. If one bag of seed plants 2.5 acres, then the increase in revenue equates to $192.50 per bag. At this time I am thinking that you may invest an extra $75 for Genuity Smart Stacks . If you an invest $75 and it returns $192.50, is that a good investment? I would take it.

The next question I have been ask is "Why does Monsanto want to increase yield to 300 bushels national average by 2030?" 2030 is 21 years from now. Let's look back 21 years ago and I ask, "How have things changed since 1988?" I was teaching school and my wife and I were "DINKS"(Double Income No Kids). How has the land changed around the cities in Iowa. There was little going on between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. Now let's look 21 years into the future. How will the land be changed by 2030. I may be retired and there will be more productive land taken for building between and around Iowa's cities. The population world wide will have increase by the size of 2 or 3 Chinas. Monsanto is taking it seriously about how we are going to feed all these people with less land. This is why the 300 bushel per acre yield average is so important. Growers will continue to get better, along with equipment. The seed will have to produce better also. It will have to continue to get better by better germplasm and technology.

I hope this makes sense. I am very comitted to helping each and every customer increase their revenue per acre. I think that I can differentiate myself from the other seed suppliers on this mission.

Check out the GDD calculator.

Perri

319-929-7851

Time to be Patient

2009-09-10T21:55:00.004-05:00

As I talk with producers lately the same topic always comes up. "Can you believe the lower grain markets?" My reply is yes I can. My question to growers is, "when have you seen rising markets going into harvest?" We must remember what time of year it is. Historically, this is the time of year when markets are at their lowest. This is one reason I and Lewis Hybrids have teamed up with and have been asking you to join forces with Al Kluis. As I have said in past blogs, Al is a seasonal and incremental seller of grain. He has recommended turning off DTNs, radios, and TVs. Prepare yourself for harvest and forget the markets for now.

I want to talk a bit about revenue per acre. I have decided to start talking more about revenue per acre. I think we need to start thinking and talking about production in these terms. If we look back in history, total revenue per acre in the 70's & 80's averaged about $400. It did not matter how much was produced, market price and production gave you between $300-$400. If we look aat the past three years the average has doubled to $600-$800. With this rise production is the contributing factor that will raise additional revenue that is improtant to surpass expenses per acre. There are many producers that have sold new crop corn for well over $4 per bushel. If you can improve some part of your management(planting heavier populations) to get yourself and additional 20 bushels per acre, then you have gained $80 an acre in revenue. This makes proper planting, residue management, tillage, fertility, planting populations, row spacing, and combine adjustment so much more important. If you don't worry about specifics, how much revenue are you leaving on the table?

What about hybrid selection? Is our competition telling you that you don't need to spend more money on newer technologies they don't have? If planting 15% less refuge will get you an additional 15-20 bushels on those acres, you have just increased revenue by a simple hybrid selection. That same technology will produce more grain by protecting the ears from earworms. Infact, damage has been shown to be reduced by 73%. Of course I am talking about the new Genuity Smart Stacks. Yes, it will be priced higher, but if you can gain yield from less kernel damage and reduced refuge, then you will produce more revenue. It is all intercontected. I will be speaking with a lot of growers this fall on how to increase revenue "One Field at a Time".

Check out GDD Calculator.

Perri

319-929-7851

Look at This

2009-09-03T21:48:00.005-05:00

Here is what everyone has been looking for. A five bean pod with all five beans present. This is the first to be found from the Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans. I know that many of you have been looking for a pod like this to win a prize from Monsanto. This one comes from Indiana, I believe. It comes from a variety sold by an ASI company. I hear all year long that Dekalb won't allow an ASI company to have seed to sell that is better than its seed. Well, I ask then how many five bean pods have they found? I don't want to sound like I am dissing our owner. The point I want to get across is that, Dekalb and Channel are national companies and they market seed that will work well from the east coast to Colorado. Within that footprint, Monsanto has over a thousand seed test plots. The national brands choose seed that, on average, perform best for the whole area. There are hybrids/varieties that may yield better in certain areas than the national brand does. That seed goes to the local ASI company. Here in Southeast Iowa, Central Illinois and Missouri, Lewis Hybrids chooses hybrids that work best for our footprint. There will be many years where that seed will out perform the national brands. Our hybrids/varieties work in this footprint. The big advantage is that we are trained to provide service and are dedicated to our customers. We help with placement, agronomic questions, and marketing for full year service. I guarantee that we will out service the competition.

Back to the five bean pod. I am sure there are more five bean pods out there, they just haven't been found. You may ask why we are so interested in five bean pods. Roundup Ready 2 Yield beans were marketed with power in the pod. We said that the new technology would out yield the old roundup technology. I am talking about five beans per pod. Lets talk about the whole plant. How many more beans per plant does it take to get 4 bushels more per acre? If we calculate using 150,000 plants/acre, 2900 seeds per acre, and 60 lbs per bushel, it will take 4.6 more beans per plant per acre to get a 4 bushel yield increase. Can you see 4 or 5 extra beans on a soybean plant? It is tough. What you will see is more three bean pods on RR 2 Yield beans as compared to RR 1 beans. Go to your fields and compare. Let me know what you find.

Check out the GDDs and see how far behind we are. Talk to you soon.

Perri

319-929-7851

New Program for Lewis Hybrid's Customers

2009-08-28T21:37:00.005-05:00

It was announced this week that Al Kluis will start working closer with Lewis Hybrid's customers next week. If you are a customer of Lewis Hybrids, you are qualified to receive morning and weekly updates via e-mail. He will analyze overnight markets and write an update each morning. I have been receiving these updates as a test subject all this week. I have forwarded them onto many of you for you to preview. Al will make recommendations for these markets if he sees fit.

There is another level of involvement that will give you five market updates with recommendations per day on your cell phone. Be sure that you have unlimited text package because they get expensive if you have to pay for each text. If you have a smart phone then you will receive the newsletters wherever you are.

Al was our guest speaker for the Lewis dealer kick-off. He describes himself as a conversative trader that makes seasonal, incremental trades. He has been doing this for over thirty-five years and is very confident in seasonal markets. When you are planting fields, Al believes this is the best time for marketing grain. I am a fan of Al's because he talks about the whole program of marketing. He gives recommendations on locking expenses in a timely manner. He has already made the recommendation to buy N, P, and fuel (LP & Diesel).

Why is Lewis paying for this free service for you? We want to give our customers the very best opportunities for raising their revenue. I believe that on a conservative estimate, Al's methods of marketing could add $0.05 per bushel to your corn grain selling price. Al feels that is way too conservative. At an addtional nickel per bushel, you have added $19 additional value to your bag of seed corn. Is our competition offering this to you? This service is not meant to have you change your current system. It is offered to give you another opinion. You will not receive any pressure to use Al for marketing from me or Al himself.

There is a lot of interest in pricing for the coming season. Our prices will be announced in about 4-6 weeks. We have announced our cash discounts and they are very aggressive as compared to last year. If you pay cash by Sept 20 you will receive 11%, Oct 20 10%, Nov 20 9%, Dec 20 8%, and so on. There will also be other programs to use to reduce your price by ordering before December1. I will be in contact with many of you real soon, and I look forward to to talking to you.

If you have any questions about pricing or Al Kluis, contact me and I will answer your questions.

After this week, check out the GDDs.

Have a good weekend.

Perri

319-929-7851

Keep Your Eyes On Soybean Fields

2009-08-23T20:56:00.003-05:00

White Mold has made a big presence in the Keota area. So has SDS and other soybean diseases. Let's talk about white mold. I think it is a disgusting disease. When you pull back the canopy you may find on the first nodes of the plant, actual white mold(white mycelium) growing on the stem. This is the first signs of the disease and will kill all leaves above it. The stem won't die, to begin with, but the plant can be considered dead. You will see dead leaves at the top of the canopy in the best parts of your fields. Soon after the mold shows up, black oblong structures will form. They look like rat droppings. These are called sclerotia and are the fungus housing structure.

White mold life cycle starts around the first of July. A week or ten day period of wet cool environment is needed to promote the growth of the fungus. Spores are released from the fruiting bodies called apothcia. The spores land on the blossoms of the plant and infect it. Once in the plant, the fungus invades the stem and lives off the plant nutrients and eventually girdles the stem and kills the plant above. All this needs cool, wet growing conditions exactly like we saw this July.

What can be done to stop this. Resistant varieties are the best management tool but that may not prove effective this year. Harvest the infected areas of the field last and then thoroughly clean out the combine before gong to other fields. Tillage can bury the fungus but tillage the following years can bring it back up to the soil surface where it can cause problems again. Some say wide rows will aerate the soil and plants because more air movement will dry out the area. This can happen, but given the cloudy, cool, wet July we had the air movement can also spread the spores more widely.

Yield reduction will depend on the severity of the disease in the field and stage of growth the plant is in. Right now, in this area the pods are just beginning to fill so yield reduction could be great. The good news is I haven't seen wide spread areas yet. YET, is the optimal word in that sentence. It could still happen. I wish I was talking better news but we will have to wait and see. I have included a picture from my area of white mold at the top.

As usual, check out the GDD Calculator.

Perri

319-929-7851

August Push

2009-08-18T21:15:00.003-05:00

Things are happening fast in the fields. I saw corn today that was beginning to dent all the way to the tip of the ear. In bean fields aphid numbers remain low but the week is going to be damp and cool. We are not out of the woods quite yet. The early planted beans are in R5 growth stage. I have heard of white mold in the Iowa City area and sudden death is coming on fast everywhere. Right now it is damaging the wet areas. Some is wide spread throughout the field and some is confined. What can be done to prevent sudden death? Nothing. Even continuous corn is not the answer. It will stay in the soil for several years. It seems to hit the earlier planted soybeans harder than later planted soybeans. Some think that later planting is an easy solution. I am from the camp that believes earlier planted soybeans will yield higher. If soil conditions are right, plant the last week of April. Sudden death can be devastating to yield. There is a lot of time before harvest and sudden death could be a big player in yield for this year. I have posted a picture of sudden death at the top of this blog.

Roundup Ready 2 Yield fields are located throughout our area. I have been watching these fields very closely. They have looked good all year. Now is a very good time to get out and look at these fields if you have some planted or want to look at some of other producers. They are putting on some four bean pods while podding heavily from top to bottom. It depends on how thick they were planted. If planted at lower populations, they are a very bushy bean. If planted thick they will not bush out, but have lots of pods with many more to develop. I think they look very good.

I want to thank all of you for your business and your commitment to Lewis Hybrids and me. The last thing I ever want to do is take your business for granted. I would like to ask each of you a question. We are very excited about the products we have in your fields. What has surprised you the most about those products you have looked at? Respond on this blog and I will check in to see the answers.

Don't forget to check out the GDD Calculator. We have caught up on GDDs. We are now only 70 units behind last year.

Thanks,

Perri

319-929-7851

2009-08-13T21:10:00.002-05:00

Good evening everyone. I have taken a couple of days to look at different fields and talking to many producers that have been looking at their own fields. There are a few things for sure. The crop in SE Iowa is variable. Many agree that there will be 50 bu corn and there will be 250 bu corn. EC Iowa has a fantastic crop. Another sure thing is that soybean aphids have not shown up in large numbers. They can be found but only a few at a time. With the heat this week, I would guess that their numbers will stay low. They hate heat. There is still a couple weeks of August left and cooler temps are forcasted for next week. It would be wise to keep an eye out for them.

Some of the corn I have seen this week is beginning to dent. This is a good sign that it is prgressing well. Another problem that is progressing well is diplodia ear rot. I have included a picture of it at the top of the blog. You will notice first of all, brown husks on an ear while all the others are still very green. If you peel back the brown husk, you will find the ear covered in white fuzzy mold. By harvest, this ear will be completely shriveled up and nonharvestable. The diplodia was contracted by the corn plant at an early stage in the growth cycle. There is nothing that can be done other than crop rotation.

After walking soybeans it appears that the earlier maturing beans(2.9-3.1) have quit blooming. They are in R5 stage and progressing rapidly. Pods are in all stages of growth from beans filling pods to 1/8th inch long pods. Many yields are made in August and we are having excellent growing conditions. Things will change quickly. We will find out soon what happens.

I have an excellent opportunity for you on August 27th, to meet Al Kluis and have a private round table discussion with him. I have started to get this organized and what will happen is that we will tour Lewis Hybrids offices and production facility along with a quick plot tour. We will then drive to Quincy, Ill(about 15 minutes) to attend a large group meeting with Al and other Lewis dealers. Supper will follow and then after supper, we will move to another room to meet privately with Al for a question and answer period. He is looking forward to meeting the people that he has talked to on our private webinars. I am looking forward to this and think it will be a fantastic opportunity for all of us. I will be calling all of you to get commitments. We may have to take more than one vehicle, but I will pay for gas. I will pass on more details as they become finalized.

Many things are happening in the fields and I will continue to blog to try to keep everyone up to date.

Check out the GDD Claculator

Perri Draisey

319-929-7851

Crop Progress

2009-08-10T08:10:00.003-05:00

After being gone on vacation for a week, I am anxious to get out into the fields today. The crop looks real good all the way to New Mexico. I was able to keep up to date on the markets even in New Mexico. Several of you have been in western Iowa and had told me how good it looks there. It still does as of late last week. I did get to see the central Iowa news on Sunday, and Eldora had a major hail event. They showed corn and soybeans fields and they are total losses. We can only hope to keep that bad stuff away.

The first order of business this week will be looking for aphids. The heat from the last few days has probably slowed them down. I checked a web page this morning that shows their presence around the country. They are out there but only a few locations in NE Iowa have shown levels that warrant spraying. None the less I will be checking for them and reporting on this blog.

I will also be out checking on our twin row plots. I have included a photo from Illinois showing ears of 910VT3 and 915VT3 from each of the populations. 915VT3 ears don't show much difference in size and rows around. 910VT3 looks as if the ears are shorter in the 43K population but not too significant. We are seeing taller plants in the higher populations as the plants are competing for sunlight. That is not surprising. I will see what I find this week in the five plots I have and report to you through this blog.

Feel free to play with the Growing Degree Day calculator. I have provided a link for you to click on. I looked at it today and as of 8/9/09 we are 115 GDDs behind last year. This is equal to about a week. We lost about 135 units during the month of July. You can look at it by clicking on GDD Calculator.

If any of you have comments, feel free to add them to this blog. You will have to register but that is an easy procedure.

Thanks

Perri

319-929-7851

Introduction of Smartstax

2009-07-30T19:36:00.003-05:00

It was announced early last week that the government has approved Smartstax for planting spring of 2010. The state of Iowa approved it this week. I can now start talking about it and the excitement that it brings to the market place. Smartstax is a joining together of Monsanto's VT Triple Pro and Dow's Herculex Plus technology. It will use multiple different proteins to fight below ground insects and above ground insects. Also, the freedom to use either Roundup or Ignite chemicals. The refuge requirement for this product is being reduced to 5% from the current 20%. That is for both above and below ground insects. The competition's refuge has not been determined as of yet for below ground insects. It remains at 20% for the above ground bugs. You can see how your yield will be increased by the reduction of refuge. This will also make the whole system easier with less refuge to plant. I think the big improvement you will see is the effect the VT Triple Pro will have on the earworms that really wreck havic towards the end of the production year. In trials, the VT Triple Pto has shown a 79% reduction in kernel damage due to earworms. More kernels will be harvested and less damage, will make for better storage and marketing.

I am really enthused about this release. I will have two hybrids available for next spring. 1009 Smartstax and 1012 Smartstax. The 1009 is to be placed on highly productive ground and the 1012 on your tougher ground. Both are in plots and you can see them as VT3 versions. Both look really good.

It is Monsanto's and Lewis Hybrid's goal to double yields by 2030. This new technology is yet another step towards that goal. More is yet to come from the pipeline and also is very exciting.

Be sure and monitor your fields for grayleaf spot in the corn and aphids in the soybeans. GLS has been making its way up the corn plant this week and we may not be out of the wood yet on aphids.

Perri Draisey
319-929-7851

Aphids in Your Soybeans

2009-07-23T20:51:00.003-05:00

I have been scouting soybean fields looking for aphids. They have made life difficult for soybean producers for the last two years. To this point I have found very few. If you look long and hard enough you can find them but nowhere near economic thresholds. I attended two days of crop diagnostic classes at ISU last week. We talked extensively about aphid populations and not one of the attendees said they have found many aphids. Why aren't they causing problems this year? That is the big question. We did sweeps through soybeans and found that beneficial insect populations, that are preditors of aphids, are high. It is thought that this may be the primary reason for lower ahpids pops. Beneficials such as ladybugs, green lacewing larvae, and priate bugs can keep ahead of aphid populations if we allow them.

This brings me to an interesting concept. Some producers spray insecticides with their second application of roundup just for good measure. They think that they will kill the damaging insects so that their numbers can be eliminated before they get out of hand. This will kill the population and it will kill the beneficial insects also leaving nothing to keep damaging insects in check. Aphids can move in with vengence and cause the need for a second spray application. My suggestion is to monitor fields and spray when needed. Don't use a preemptive strike thinking it will save you an additional application.

I have been finding many leaf diseases in soybeans. Frogeye leafspot, cercopera, downy mildew are a few. This may be another year for a fugicide application. R3 is the time to make the application. Plants at R3 will have developing pods, withering flowers, open flowers, and flower buds all at one time. this is the labeled time to apply a fungicide. In my opinion you will see a benefit from this application if you are seeing leaf diseases. I will continue to scout and let you know what I find.

I am leaving the link to the GGD calculator. We are now behind last year on growing degree days. July has not been kind to us for heat. It appears that it is going to be a long fall once again. The link is GGD CALCULATOR Play with this and see what you think.

How can I help you more? Give me your input.

Thanks,

Perri

319-929-7851

Growing Degree Days

2009-06-23T20:20:00.002-05:00

Heat and sunshine has finally greeted us. Wow, is it hot. Also, along with the heat here comes the rain. I was very encouraged yesterday to see the forecast of clear weather all week. Guess what, as I write tonight we are getting rain in Keota and have received 0.5" so far. Talking about the heat, Monsanto has recently joined the Weather Channel to provide a Growing Degree Day calculator. I will put a link at the bottom for you to use. It is really simple. You will have to enter a zip code of a weather station(Washington, Ottumwa). Add the date you want to start with. I use the first day of planting. You add the current date and it will calculate GDDs. If you enter a year at the bottom you can compare to any past season. We are ahead of last year thanks to the current heat wave. Compared to 2007 we are behind. It is quite interesting to use.

Keep your calendars open for July 8. I have scheduled a webinar with Al Kluis. This will be a private webinar which means you will be able to ask him questions and direct to Al what direction or topic you want him to speak about. In the past these have been the most interesting and fun. Your interaction with Al really makes these webinars well worth your time. One webinar will be at 3:00 pm at the the AmericInn in Ottumwa. We will have something to eat afterward. The second, will be at my house at 8:00 pm with pizza at 7:00 pm. This webinar will follow a very important USDA acreage report at the end of June. You will be receiving invitations by the end of the week.

Feel free to add your opinions to this blog. If I can learn something from you it is a good day.

Perri Draisey

319-929-7851

Stink Bugs & Leaf Diseases

2009-06-22T15:06:00.005-05:00

Two great topics to speak about today. Stink bugs will be the first. I have noticed Brown Stink Bugs in fields for several years and was under the impression that they did not do any damage. This year has really opened my eyes. These bugs will suck juices out of the young corn plant. You can tell which plant a lot of times because it is stunted, yellow and really strange looking. Some plants will not show any signs, yet others will tiller. Some hybrids are natural atrractors of stink bugs. We are not sure if they taste better or give off a phermone that attracts the bugs. We have a hybrid this year that is taking on stink bugs and it is showing tillers on the plants. This hybrid is 915VT3. In most of the fields where it is located this year, I am seeing 90% of the plants tillered. There are also damaged plants from the stink bugs. If we continue to have a wet summer the tillering will not affect yields. If things dry up the tillers could ding the yield as much as 10%. Given the nature of the weather this year we don't need anything else to comprimise yield. I will include a photo of the damaged plants.

The wet spring is also leading directly into my next topic. Whether or not to use a fungicide on your crops this summer. This is my opinion and not necessarily that of Lewis Hybrids. From the first day of using funicides on crops I have seen yield responses every year from corn. Does it add moisture? Are stalks tougher? Of course, the product is doing its job. But if you allow premature death of the corn you will end up with spongy cobs, uneven moistures and more wear and tear on your combine. I have not heard costs yet but, given a $4 market, it will only take a 7 bushel response to pay for the fungicide and application. This spring and summer being wet and now the heat kicking in I think(my opinion) that we will see rust, GLF, and other diseases in our crop again this year.

Soybeans saw a response last year with a very similar spring and summer as this year. With $10 or higher beans a 3 bushel response will more than pay for fungicide and application. The responses needed and some of the responses we got last year, I think it is a no brainer to spray. Will you get a greater response and end up money ahead? Some will and some won't. This is agriculture and everything is a gamble. Do you buy crop insurance? This is an insurance that I feel strongly will more than pay for itself.

If it makes anyone feel any better, I have seen some rust getting starting on young plants of corn already. Although this doesn't guarantee anything, conditions are right for leaf diseases.

One more thing that some of you may be considering if you are not done with planting is preventive planting. I would encourage you to try as hard as possible to get the crop of soybeans in. Even if you go to the 4th of July I would plant. Agronomically, it is not good for the soil to be dormant for a year. The soil microbes tend to go into dormant state and next year's crop will suffer greatly from it. I can talk with you also personally about this with you keeping your crop insurance in mind.

Topics to follow: Growing Degree Days vs Past Years, Twin Rows Plots, New Lewis Hybrids and Soybean Varieties.

Web Pages to Visit: GDD Calculator,

Perri Draisey

319-929-7851

Upcoming Webinar

2009-06-16T20:33:00.004-05:00

Checkout the the newest pest found in Iowa fields this summer. It is really wet when crayfish are roaming the corn fields.

I have scheduled another webinar with Al Kluis for July 8. There will be two times for the webinars. The first will be at 3:00 pm in the afternoon and at 8:00 pm that evening. I will do the same as last time with the afternoon webinar in Ottumwa and the evening in Keota. This webinar will be a private webinar with only the attendees watching. You will be able to ask questions directly to Al. The topics will be inputs costs and when to lock in your prices. At this time Al is recommending having 50% of your fertilizer and fuel locked in by July 15. He will fill us in more on the 8th.

I have been asked questions about the lawsuit Monsanto has filed against Dupont. When the two settled the last lawsuit it was agreed upon that Dupont could use Monsanto's RR trait as long as they did not use it in any new traits Dupont developed. For some time Dupont has been working on their GAT traits for corn and soybeans. They have been having problems with the technology. Dupont discovered that GAT worked really well when RR technology was stacked with it. When Monsanto caught wind of this, lawyers were summoned and the fun began. I can talk with each of you more in person.

Be sure to check out the GDD chart that is linked up here. It is a record of heat units and rainfall here in Keota since April 16. Check it out. Growing Degree Days and Rainfall

Thanks,

Perri
319-929-7851

Growing Degree Days

2009-06-03T22:52:00.002-05:00

You may have noticed a link to GDDs before on the blog. This will link you to a spreadsheet that I have been keeping since the first of April. The spreadsheet calculates Growing Degree Days, records rainfall and earlier in the spring, soil temperatures. The Growing Degree Days started when I saw the first planters rolling. That was Aril 16. If you are interested in the number of Growing Degree Days accumulated, just click on the link. If you did not start the 16th of April, then all you have to do is subtract the units calculated before you planted.

This will be short tonight. If you have any questionis be sure and ask me or give me a call. Growing Degree Days and Rainfall

Perri Draisey
319-929-7851

Black Cutworm Damage

2009-06-01T22:35:00.002-05:00

I have been seeing some black cutworms this spring but not enough to be overly concerned about until today. I received a call that cutworms were doing damage in far southeast Iowa. My intern Tom, was sent to evaluate and he found damage great enough to warrant spraying. The customer had both Lewis and Pioneer. He told Tom that the cutworms were not in the Pioneer. But a good scout always double checks fields. Tom found the same amount of damage in the Pioneer field also with Herculex protection. I always hear that Poncho treatment doesn't really provide good control. Bayer does provide a spray policy to help pay for control. What does Pioneer provide? Do they scout and discover the problem before they reach economic threshold? I don't know. It does ask the question about the how well Herculex works against black cutworm. Anyway, the producer sprayed every acre of Lewis for black cutworms and the problem should be solved. I don't know how long it would have taken for Pioneer to discover the problem in their hybrid.

Other insect problems I am seeing are wireworms. With the corn at the growth stage it is in right now, we need to be viligent and watch for them. I am working at getting to every field, but if you notice some death loss, contact me and I will evaluate the problem.

Just a short intry tonight. I will talk more tomorrow night.

Perri
319-929-7851

2009, Spring Review

2009-05-31T21:28:00.003-05:00

This spring has been another spring to remember. Planting started on time with some planters rolling as early as April 16. Things were perfect for about nine days and then the rain and cool temperatures began to slow things down. This pattern carried on for several weeks. Great planting period followed by a cool damp period. This led to soil conditions that were very tight and caused some emergence problems. This didn't happen everywhere but it was very common. I remember several times hoping for a rain to loosen the soil so that corn and soybeans could emerge easier. I have dug up many corkscrewed, yellow corn seedling under the surface and I have seen many broken off soybean seedlings that just could not pull the cotyledon out of the soil. Many producers have rotary hoed some fields. At times this worked and other times many good corn plants were destroyed to save 1 or 2 thousand per acre. The best rememedy has been another rainfall. Hard to believe but true. Stands right now vary everywhere. I have counted 35K all the way down to 10K. The later is usually found in the best flat poorly drained soils . I think we are in for an excellent year. The yields should be up considering the timeliness that the crop when in. There really are few problems out there.

I have had a couple of questions about cutworms, the Monsanto lawsuit against Pioneer and future technology for seed. I will update those topics this week on a daily basis.

I got a kick out of the picture I posted. One little corn seedling determined to make it. He has the weight of the world on his shoulders. I did save him to grow tall.

Thanks,

Perri

pdraisey@lewis hybrids.com

319-929-7851

Corn Emerging

2009-05-05T05:57:00.003-05:00

It has been some time since I have been on here. Since the last blog, corn went into the ground over a ten day period. A majority of the corn acres in Iowa are planted, while the eastern cornbelt is still waiting to get going strong. On a conference call last week, all the DSMs from Lewis reported percentage acreage planted. I was the only one over 10% complete.

While I was doing some scouting yesterday, I found many fields that the corn seedling was right at the soil surface. One field was up and could easily be rowed(picture up top). It is yellow in color but after it has beeen through a week of cool very damp weather, I would expect it to be under some stress. I am noticing some uneven emergence. While one plant may be spiking through, it's neighbor may just be shooting a sprout from the seed. Warm, dry conditions would be the prescription to even it all out.

With all the wet weather, the question of sidedressing has come to the fore front. Looking back at last year, conditions look to be similar with several inches of rain. Added spring N after emergence was a great benefit to the crop. If $25 worth of N are added a six bushel additional yield is needed. Those are the numbers with which you can use to decide whether or not to invest more money.

I will talk more this week about the twin row plots that are planted in my area. They are about emerged and I have already learned a couple of things that may be helpful.

Perri Draisey
Lewis Hybrids DSM
319-929-7851

Planting Well Underway

2009-04-21T22:44:00.003-05:00

Planting is progressing well in our area. Very little rain fell here in the Keota area. I went to Ursa today and far SE Iowa is very wet. I am not sure when they will get going. I have been calculating growing degrees days starting last Friday. As of the end of today(4/21), a total of 37 growing degree days have been recorded. I believe it takes over 100 for emergence. No big surprise we are a bit cool so far. The end of the week will bring 80s for temperatures and so we will collect some needed heat units.

I had a chance to look at Lewis's new twin row planter today. It looks very interesting. I will get a lot of exposure to it this week. All five plots are going to get planted if the weather holds, which is supposed to. I will report how it all went on this blog.

I will be in the country all week scouting fields. If anyone has questions, give me a call.

Perri
319-929-7851

Planting Time & Genuity

2009-04-16T06:21:00.003-05:00

I took soil temperature at 4:30 pm yesterday and the temperature was 58 degrees. I imagine I will see many planters going today. It is time and I am anxious to get the crop in the ground. Take your time and do it right. Planting is the most important task you will do for great results come fall. What you do this spring is what you will end up with to harvest. Remember to be safe this spring.

I have been fielding a few questions about GENUITY. GENUITY is a brand label that will unite all of Monsanto's current and future traits. It will simplify the identification of traits by using icons representing each trait. The icons will represent weeds, insects, weather and productivity. For example, if RR is the trait in the crop(cotton, alfalfa, corn or soybeans) the icon be a small plant representing a weed. I hope I haven't muddied the water with my explanation. To make it easier, I am including a web site for you to visit that does an excellent explanation. The site is www.genuity.com.

Again, good luck planting and be safe.

Perri

Delivery Time

2009-04-14T21:03:00.005-05:00

Once again I am back to blogging. We received about 0.48" of rain on Monday. We are fortunate because Eastern Illinois has recevied over an 1" since Thursday. I checked soil temps today at about 4:00 pm. Surprisingly, the temp at 4" was 51 degrees. I couldn't believe it. I thought for sure it would be colder than that. The next three days sound like it will warm up. Starting Saturday though, rain is in the forecast and it is supposed to get colder with highs in the 50s through Tuesday. Hopefully we miss the rain and everyone will be able to get more work done.

I have been concentrating on delivery this week. Tomorrow will bring the end of the main direct deliveries. I will be making the smaller deliveries the rest of the week. As I deliver, I will be making maps and planting directions for placement of the seed. Maybe you will be able to use the maps to start planting next week. Once planting starts remember three important steps. 1. Plant Lewis Hybrids First. 2. Maximize Planting Populations. 3. Receive Free Scouting on VT3 and RR2 Yield Fields.

Be safe and have a profitable spring.

Perri

One field at a time!

2009-04-09T22:19:00.006-05:00

Click Here to-Download GDD, Rainfall, & Soil Temp Spreadsheet

You may have notice our tagline is "One field at a time!". We as DSMs try to put this tagline to use everyday. One good example of how Lewis Hybrids uses this during the summer is our intern program. For this coming summer Lewis Hybrids has hired six college interns to scout every field planted to VT3 hybrids and Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans. Last year was our maiden voyage with this program and it was very successful. It was expanded for this growing season so that every DSM has an intern working their area. My intern has not been announced as of yet but if this year's is half as good as last year's, we will be walking in tall grass. I walked many fields with Tom last year and he was very good. Shawn Lewis puts each intern through a very rugged training period because we want to make sure each one is up to the challenge. I believe we are one of the only companies that back up our products with field scouting, "One field at a time!".

Perri Draisey
Lewis Hybrids
319-929-7851

Get Ready, Here We Go....

2009-04-08T21:59:00.004-05:00

To View GDD, Rainfall, & Soil Temp Sreadsheet-Click Here

The time has come and the field work is beginning. Today I saw oats being drilled, NH3 application, and some tillage. The calendar says it is time and the soil is starting to come around. I can only hope this spring is friendlier than last spring was.

What else is going on beside planting and the normal job description that comes along with spring? Lewis Hybrids owns a four row twin row planter. I will be helping plant six twin row populations plots in my area. This is not to push twin row planting or a certain make of planter. We want to see if increased planting populations, with the correct hybrids can increase yields. The theory is that a corn plant produces 0.4 lbs of grain today just as it did back in the 1960s. That part of the corn plant can not be altered genetically. We all know that plant populations have increased since the 1960s. We also know that yields have increased. What is the proper planting population? We don't know. What we do know is that we are slowly approaching a plant density within the 30" row that can be restricting to the productivity of the plant. Rows need to be narrowed to give more distance between plants within the row. Is twin row planting the answer? For now, maybe, because not much equipment investment is needed. After the planter the normal equipment can be utilized. If we find that narrower rows are needed, then a greater equipment investment can be made. Twin rows will be a smooth conversion.

We will be using three different populations in the plots. 33K, 38K and 43K will be planted in 30" twins and 30" rows. We have choosen two hybrids(910VT3 & 915VT3) that we are confident can handle higher pops and increase yield. In total Lewis Hybrids will have just under 40 of these trials and so we will have quite a cross section for results. I look forward to reporting on these plots as we go through the summer.

Remember to be safe this spring. You will see me often.

Perri Draisey

Lewis Hybrids

319-929-7851

Soil Temps

2009-04-07T21:49:00.009-05:00

For GDD, Rainfall, & Soil Temps-Click Here

Good evening. I decided to check soil temperature today on my way back home. We have a little ways to go. 44 degrees in bean stubble at 4 inches. The soil was pretty mucky at the 4 inch level also. I will start taking temps in the morning and in the afternoon. Hopefully this will be of some help to you.

Delivery is beginning(finally) and I will be contacting you for time and day to bring seed to you. I also have several bags of new corn hybrid releases for you to try. They are scheduled for release for next year and have VT3 Pro technology. They are the latest and greatest.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Perri Draisey

Lewis Hybrids

319-929-7851

Crop Confusion

2009-04-06T20:28:00.005-05:00

During the winter months, I have received many questions about what other producers are planting. The answer is simple: it depends. That is the correct answer. There are so many variables involved, it really depends on which ones you choose to plug into the equation. After listening to Alan Kluis over several webinars, I discovered he tried to cover the answer as to what to plant by doing a breakeven for each crop. He calls it his KPI(Kluis Profit Index). I and all Lewis DSMs have a spread sheet we use all the time to calculate the difference between c/c and sb/c. I will call it my PPD(Perri's Profit Differential). I wondered how close I was to being correct under certain circumstances. I discovered that I was within a few dollars defference from the KPI. I will add a link that you can use to get to the spread sheet and look at my numbers. I will add this link at a later date. Right now the PPD is $78.61 in favor of c/c. Many of you have this spread sheet and I encourage you to use.

The markets have been very friendly toward planting corn. Profitability is positive on corn but in the red for soybeans. The choice is yours of course and many other factors go into the decision. Lewis Hybrids is very well equiped to provide you with seed for either corn or soybeans.

We will talk again tomorrow.

Perri Draisey
Lewis Hybrids
319-929-7851

Updated GDD, Rainfall, and Soil Temp

2009-04-03T16:13:00.004-05:00

Download the updated GDD, Rainfall, Soil Temp Spreadsheet....Click Here

Starting a blog has proved to be a large task. With lots of help from Kimberly Boccardi in the main office, it has become easier. I wanted to begin this so that I can post daily information for customers to refer to. What kind of information? If you click on the above link you will be led to a spreadsheet that shows daily and accumulated Growing Degree Days, local rainfall and 4" soil temperatures. I will also post the daily comparison of profitability between corn and soybeans. Also posted will be any news or alerts that you will be able to use to help make your enterprise more profitable. I want and hope that this will be of value to each of my customers. If you have any questions or additions to this post feel free to let me know.

Thanks

Perri Draisey

Lewis Hybrids

319-929-7851

pdraisey@lewishybrids.com
www.perriblog.com

Updated GGD's Rain Soil & Temp

2009-04-03T09:04:00.005-05:00

Download the updated GGD's Rain Soil & Temp spreadsheet - click here

Thanks!

Getting ready to roll...

2009-04-02T15:28:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone, we can't wait to start posting our daily updates from the fields of SE Iowa this planting season.

We hope to upload pictures and timely useful updates you can take advantage in your operations... One field at a time!