Contact Us: Est. 1880 ~ Five Generations in Agriculture ... · ity trends, yield maps, yield trends, profit maps, long-term no till benefits, just to name a ... Back to school Every

Merry Christmas from Sterling Heritage Farms

Explaining the new 2012 reports

Est. 1880 ~ Five Generations in Agriculture ~ december 2012

I have fond memories from my childhood of

listening to stories from the past: my great

uncle winning the corn shucking contest at the

local fair, my Grandpa plowing behind a team

of horses, filling the hay mount with the hay

using the ropes and pullies. From the days of

my youth to now, I’ve seen agriculture transi-

tion: bigger equipment, more computerization,

cell phones, yield monitors, auto-steer, variable

-rate fertilizer and seed, more herbicide

choices. These are just a few of the changes

I’ve seen take place.

Along with all these improvements there have

been challenges created. One of these issues is

Roundup resistant weeds. Since the mid

1990’s, Roundup Ready crops have been a big

part of herbicide programs for this operation,

as well as many others across the county, state

and nation. This has helped reduce costs and

improve yields, to supply an ever-growing

world population. However, over time, weeds

always find a way to adapt and prolong their

species. “Roundup-resistant” pigweeds and

marestail have started developing in our area,

and are predicted to become the predominant

part of those species over the next couple of

years. To help offset this approaching prob-

lem, we are becoming more aggressive on our

herbicide strategies. Multiple modes of action,

as well as multiple timings might be needed.

We have include atrazine (for corn and milo)

and Canopy EX (for soybeans) in our fall her-

bicide applications which were applied in early

November, on most of the fields going to a

spring-planted crop. This will result in higher

herbicide costs now, but will be offset by less

herbicide in the spring, and hopefully, better

weed management. Ultimately we want to

maximize profitability, while minimizing inputs

and herbicide exposure to the environment.

As we move ahead, Sterling Heritage Farms

plans to stay on the cutting edge of technology

and information management. Part of my re-

sponsibilities will be managing that technology

and information to increase profitability of

Sterling Heritage Farms and of you, the land-

owner. Our basic thought is “the more we

know, the better decisions we can make. “

With that goal in mind, I hope to be providing

more information such as fertility maps, fertil-

ity trends, yield maps, yield trends, profit

maps, long-term no till benefits, just to name a

few. We are probably only limited by our

imagination and time. Shortly after the holi-

days, if you are a landowner of ours, you will

be receiving what we are calling, “The 2012

Report”. This will be with first annual install-

ment of yearly reports of what is happening

on your ground. This year's version will be an

abbreviated version of what we hope to send

out in future years, but we are excited about

this edition, nonetheless.

Please call me any time if you have questions

or concerns.

Kenny Tucker, Agonomy & Production IT

Specialist

620-257-8488

[email protected]

“Every tree, every flower, every ripple and eddy of this

lovely stream seemed solemnly to feel the presence of the

great Creator. Lingered in this sanctuary a long time,

thanking the Lord with all my heart for his goodness in

allowing me to enter and enjoy it.”

-John Muir

The Sterling Exchange Sterling Heritage Farms ~Join a sterling tradition!

Contact Us: Jon Oden Cell: 620-278-6410 E-mail: [email protected]

Heather Oden Cell: 620-204-0171 E-mail: [email protected]

Jeff Pieplow Cell: 620-904-7067 E-mail: [email protected]

Kenny Tucker Cell: 620-257-8488 E-mail: [email protected]

Sterling Heritage Farms ~Join a sterling tradition! !!

If you know of anyone else who would like to receive

our newsletter, please call us at (620) 278-2170 or

email us at: [email protected]. Thank you!

Www.sterlingheritagefarms.com

Reminders: Crop insurance deadline is

March 15th

Our web site is up and running!

New pages are being added

and finished all of the time. Visit

www.sterlingheritagefarms.com

for information on weather,

markets, calendar of events,

and more!

Like us on Facebook!

Next newsletter: Spring of 2013

printing date .

Like us on Facebook!

We want to extend our

thanks for the feedback

we have received so far

on the newsletter. Ninety

-nine percent of it has

been positive so far and

we are glad for that. We

have encountered some

concern that some of the

changes we have been

making might mean that

our landowners might not

get as much individual

a t t e n t i o n ; t h a t

“professional” might take

the place of “personal”

connection. On the con-

trary, we intend to con-

tinue the same personal

attention we have always

maintained! The news-

letter, web site, Facebook

page and other changes

we are making will be

there to enhance our

connection with you, not

to take the place of what

we have always done.

Relationships are the

backbone of our busi-

ness. As one of our

mentors always says:

“The most important thing

in life is relationships;

everything else is just

details.” The detail-

oriented work of produc-

ing high quality crops and

practicing great steward-

ship of your land is a top

priority! We are very

aware of the importance

of both our relationship to

the land as well as its

owner. That begs the

question, how will Jon

add the newsletter, web

site, additional reports,

and social media compo-

nent to his day and still

maintain the focus he has

had on the farming op-

eration and our landown-

ers? The answer: He

won’t. He is going to

keep right on doing the

things he has done. He

will keep learning about

how to protect the land

and raise healthy crops.

He will still make per-

sonal contact with you.

The difference is that I

will be working in a more

active role within our op-

eration. I am running

much of the office side of

our operation now, a role

that I have had a hand in

for the last 17 years in

different ways. Addition-

ally, I will be handling

much of the new change

you will see including the

newsletter, web site, so-

cial media, and a few of

the additional reports.

You won’t see less of

Jon…..you will see more

of me! I am looking

forward to more connec-

tion with you and we

hope that you will find

these changes as a posi-

tive asset to our connec-

tion with you.

—Heather Oden

Feedback on our first

newsletter

“The most

important

thing in life is

relationships;

everything

else is just

details.”

We are on facebook

“...agricultural

advisors say

that legislation

requiring farms

to become

environmentally

certified is only

a matter of

time.”

Sterling Heritage Farms now has a pres-

ence on Facebook. What in the world is

Facebook? Facebook is a social media

web site that enables you to keep in touch

with many different people at a glance.

Once you go on Facebook and “Like” us,

you can get updates including pictures from

us throughout the year. It is one more way

for us to be connected.

How do you do it? It depends on whether

or not you are registered on Facebook or

not. If you have never been on Facebook,

here is what you do:

1. Go to www.facebook.com.

2. Follow the directions for signing up on

the right side of the page.

3. Once you are signed up and have an

account, you can put “Sterling Heritage

Farms” in the search box at the top of your

page. As you type our farm name into the

search box, Facebook will start populating

a list of possible choices. When you see

“Sterling Heritage Farms, 1955 18th Road,

Sterling, Kansas”, click on it. That link will

take you to our page. Click the “Like” but-

ton at the top of our page.

If you have a Facebook page, simply go to

Sterling Heritage Farms and click on the

“Like” button at the top of the page.

Now you’ll get Facebook updates from us!

As technology continues

to change the world con-

tinues to become a

smaller and more inte-

grated place, agricultural

advisors say that legisla-

tion requiring farms to

become environmentally

certified is only a matter

of time. We feel strongly

about good stewardship

and safe, environmental

practices, so Sterling

Heritage Farms is volun-

tarily seeking certification

ahead of legislation. We

have entered the first

year of a three year proc-

ess that evaluates the

safety and stewardship of

our farming practices,

machinery, buildings,

grain storage, security,

conservation participa-

tion, and more. Validus,

a third party auditing firm

recommended by Family

Farms Group has a three

year program that certi-

fies farms as environ-

mentally safe in practice

and production. We have

had our first visit and re-

ceived our first evalua-

tion. We’ll keep you

posted as we continue

through the process.

Environmental

certificaTION

Visit us online at www.sterlingheritagefarms.com

SHF is on

Facebook!

“Like” us to

get updates

throughout

the year!

Our office trailer is here! We now have a place to spread out and conduct day-to-day business tasks such as

conducting meetings, grain marketing and tracking, crop production technology, communication management,

and general administration in a much or organized and efficient way. Stop by and see us!

Back to school

Every year the Sterling Grade School 2nd

grade learns about Native American culture.

Annually, as part of their experience, we are

asked to present a program about bison and

how the Native Americans used bison as a

source for food and other necessities. We

enjoy the opportunity to bring out our hides,

headmounts, teeth, other bison-made prod-

ucts (such as a spoon made from a horn and

a berry basket made from a bladder). A

great time was had by all!

Sterling Grade School 2nd Graders learn about bison.

“ We feel

strongly

about good

stewardship

and safe

environ-

mental

practices.”

At a k-state basketball game

Jon

&

Heather

On our mission trip to south dakota

We were fortunate

to get to see and

spend time with

many of you this

past year.

We Wish You a Here is an update

on our family for

those of you we did

not get to fellowship

with. We want to

stay in touch!

J.J. is 14 and in the 8th grade. He is playing

football, basketball, and running track. He

towers over me now (which he LOVES) and is

driving...Lord have mercy. He is in the Youth

Praise Team and co-leads the Worship and

Teaching Team for the Youth program. He &

his friends also developed a resolution this year

based off of The Resolution from the movie

Courageous about living to honor God. He is

the Senior Patrol Leader in Scouts.

Jacob is 11 (almost 12) and is as tall as I am!

He is playing the djembe in the Youth Praise

Team and learning to play guitar. He is in 6th

grade this year and looking forward to playing

rec basketball after the new year. He is enjoy-

ing the accelerated math program at school and

loves to sketch and draw. He also spends

some of his free time writing. He is actively

moving up the ranks in scouts.

Everyone thinks Santa loves milk and

cookies, but we know the truth……

Take 2 cups of flour and 2./3 of a cup of

butter flavored shortening; cut them to-

gether with a pastry cutter. Take 1/4

cup of water mixed with 2T. of vanilla

and 2tsp. of almond extract and mix it

into the pastry dough with a fork until it

is a moist ball.

Press it into a pie plate and poor in

cherry pie filling. Bake for 25 minutes at

350 degrees….serve warm and we

guarantee that Santa will come back

next year!

Cream together 1/2 c. butter, 3/4 c. sugar,

1 egg, and 1 tsp. vanilla. Mix together 1 1/2

c. flour, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp.

baking soda, and 1/4 tsp. salt (can also ad

1/3 c. cocoa for chocolate cookies). Shape

into disk, wrap in Saran wrap and chill for

1 hour. Roll to 1/4 inch thickness between

to pieces of wax paper. Cut and place on

ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 for

5 to 7 minutes. Cool. To frost, cream

1/2 c. butter, softened and 1/4 c. shorten-

ing. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla and 4 cups pow-

dered sugar to mixture and milk to de-

sired consistency. Add sprinkles….lots and

lots! Then eat and enjoy!

Cody’s Top Secret

Santa Cookie Recipe

Caitlin’s Most Favorite

Sugar Cookies Ever

Cody is 9 and in the 3rd grade. He LOVES

anything with a ball and can hardly wait until

Sterling rec basketball starts because this will be

his first year to play on a team. He is active in

Cub Scouts and also loves to build Lego models.

He also loves to work in the “Lost Boy’s Hideout”

which is a tree-row-turned-village based on Peter

Pan’s Lost Boys’ posse, complete with huts,

stores, currency, and its own government.

Caitlin is 6 and in Kindergarten this year. She is

loving reading and learning new things, but not a

big fan of waking up at 6:20 a.m.. She is taking

ballet and recently moved up to Level 2 in gym-

nastics after painstaking work at learning to do a

cartwheel. She still loves horses, cats, and

singing. She no longer wants to be the tooth fairy

when she grows up, but is now thinking more

along the lines of becoming a teacher, conducting

class often in her room.

Sterling Heritage Farms

Attended Family Farms

Group training on Market-

ing, Human Resources,

Public Relations, Financial

Practices, Emergency and

Safety Planning, and

Business Development.

Hired Kenny Tucker, our

own crop agronomist

Moved into an office trailer

Started to transition Jeff

Pieplow into Operations

Supervisor

Added a web site, news-

letter, and Facebook page

Implemented financial

SOPs

Invited to take part in

Family Farms national

media day in St. Louis

Our Family

Enjoyed a short visit to

Kansas City for a Royals

Game on the way to St.

Louis for Family Farms

training.

Jon, Heather, J.J., and

Jacob took our first mis-

sion trip; built and re-

stored multiple projects on

the Lakota Pine Ridge

Reservation. Each of us

came home changed.

Attended 27 million ball

games, music programs,

scouting events, and les-

sons of various kinds.

Instituted Family Fun

Night on Sunday nights to

maintain connection with

each other where we have

eaten much pizza,

laughed often, and even

blown up a microwave :)

Highlights of

2012

J.J. working cattle

J.J.

&

Jacob

Jacob playing basketball

Jon is thoroughly enjoying farming. He is still on the USD 376 school board, is active with church

and scouts, and hunts every once in a while with friends. I am loving my new roles within the farm-

ing operation; no two days are the same and I still have the flexibility I need to be a mom. I still run

Cub Scouts, teach in the after-school and youth programs at church, and have started having one-

on-one dates with our kids each week (which we call “raisins” instead of “dates” ;) ).

Cody in uncle matt’ s ghillie suit

Cody

&

Caitlin

Caitlin on kaliel on a visit to k.c.

A Christmas Poem by J.J. Oden, 2010

Baby

Small, gift

Sleeping, laying, waking

Joy, excitement, happiness, bliss

Jesus

Are you willing to believe that love is the

strongest thing in the world - stronger than

hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death -

and that the blessed life which began in Beth-

lehem nineteen hundred years ago is the

image and brightness of the Eternal Love?

Then you can keep Christmas. - Henry Van

Dyke

Christmas waves a magic wand over this

world, and behold, everything is softer and

more beautiful. - Norman Vincent Peale

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is

given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will

be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of

Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Our family would like

to wish you the

Merriest of

Christmases.

May your holidays be

filled with sugar

cookies with lots and

lots of sprinkles, pies

with lots and lots of

cherries, hugs and

laughter and warmth.

Most of all, we wish

you a heart full to

bursting with Jesus

Christ. God’s richest

blessings in your 2013!

Original Pencil Drawing by Jacob Oden entitled

“Christmas Sunrise”