NAM-11-20-2013

AG Mag 1

Fall 2013

AG MagCentral Iowa

Good asGold

As commodity prices continue to rise,

so, too, does the value of farmland in Central Iowa

A Publication of Shaw Media

Got cash? It’s been another good harvest and

crop prices continue to be high. What does

that mean for you?Your outlook: Local

farmers look at the 2013 harvest and beyond.‘Blend Wall’: Ethanol

production in the U.S. has leveled off, and no

growth is expected.

Become part of our family, join ISA today by visiting www.iasoybeans.com

membership ad.indd 1 10/17/13 8:50 AM

AG Mag 3

4 Fall 2013

Articles and advertisements are the property of Sauk Valley Media. No portion of the Central Iowa Ag Mag may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Ad content is not the responsibility of Sauk Valley Media. The information in this magazine is believed to be accurate; however, Sauk Valley Media cannot and does not guarantee its accuracy. Sauk Valley Media cannot and will not be held liable for the quality or performance of goods and services provided by advertisers listed in any portion of this magazine.

PublisherDan Goetz

Advertising Director Jeff Holschuh

Managing EditorBob Eschliman

Magazine EditorsLarry Lough, Jeff Rogers

Page DesignJeff Rogers

Reporters & PhotographersDerek Barichello, Sarah Brown,

Bob Eschliman, David Giuliani, Dave Hon, Kate Malott, Philip Marruffo,

Matt Mencarini, Matthew Nosco, Alex T. Paschal, Ty Rushing,

and Jake Waddingham

Published bySauk Valley Media3200 E. LincolnwaySterling, IL 61081

641-792-3121

AG Central IowaMag

10COVER STORY

Land values rising But in Iowa, the price of high-quality land is

growing faster than the rest.

Cash rent forecastFor new farmers in Central Iowa,

renting land might be more profitable than buying.

Index

12

AG Mag 5

Revenue Protection Beyond Crop Insurance With harvest well underway throughout the country many producers are asking the question, “Should I sell my grain now or store it?” At the time of this writing, December corn futures are trading roughly $2 per bushel lower than during the same period last year, and November soybean futures are about 50 cents lower. Nobody likes to sell grain in a falling market and this couldn’t be more evident than in 2013. Farmers have reportedly sold a record-low amount of grain ahead of harvest. Following several years of record land and grain prices, huge crop insurance guarantees, and low interest rates the best grain marketing strategy has been to wait and sell at harvest. That strategy hasn’t worked this year… so now what? Crop insurance has become the most widely used (and misused) risk management tool by farmers. The most common policy is the Revenue Protection (RP) plan, which allows a grower to buy “guaranteed revenue” based on their average production and the higher of spring or harvest price.* The grower receives an indemnity payment if actual revenue falls below the guarantee level. If used correctly, this type of policy can help growers take advantage of higher prices before knowing their actual production and can prevent growers from having to sell grain dur-LQJ�SULFH�EUHDNV��,Q�EXOOLVK�PDUNHWV�WKH�SROLF\�KDV�WKH�EHQH¿W�RI�D�UHDGMXVWLQJ�SULFH�FRPSRQHQW�WKDW�DOORZV�JURZHUV�WR�WDNH�DGYDQWDJH�RI�KLJKHU�SULFHV�ZLWKRXW�KDYLQJ�WR�VHOO��,Q�EHDULVK�PDUNHWV�WKH�JURZHU�KDV�D�³SULFH�ÀRRU´�DQG�GRHVQ¶W�IHHO�WKH�QHHG�WR�SULFH�JUDLQ��,Q�HVVHQFH��FURS�LQVXUDQFH�incentivizes farmers to hold off on sales until the policy expires. Currently, crop insurance policies have expired. A common mistake when policies expire is to store grain and wait for higher prices. One must realize that after policy expiration there is no more “guarantee”. If you decide to store grain and wait for higher prices, you are speculating. Instead, consider putting a price protection package together that will reestablish guaranteed revenue for your crop. There are several ways of accomplishing this, but the following examples demonstrate two concepts that every producer storing grain should understand:

1. If the market is paying a premium at harvest (prices are higher than in deferred months), NEVER store your grain. Storing grain in this environment means you are willing to pay the market to store your own grain! If you believe prices will increase, look to re-own with futures or buy a call in the deferred months with the extra money you will make from selling grain now (cheaper than nearby prices and gives you a lot of time).

2. When deferred prices are higher than current prices it means the market is paying you to store grain. In order to properly capitalize on this you should forward contract the grain when you decide to store in order to lock in those higher prices. If you believe current prices are “too low”, use some of the extra money made by storing the crop to buy a call option. Generally speaking, crop insurance is the most powerful and effective risk management tool on the market. However, utilizing a few additional tools alongside your insurance policy will enable you to realize its full potential.

* Unless the grower elects for a harvest price exclusion policy (RP-HPE).

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6 Fall 2013

IndexThe cost of cattleIncreased commodity prices have driven up costs for cattle farmers in Central Iowa.

Youth is served by FFA

Newton Senior High School junior Jerret Horn

is following his dreams in agriculture.

Patch work stays in familyPierce’s Pumpkin Patch in rural Marion County is moving into its second generation.

Farmers share their outlooksCentral Iowa farmers share their expectations for the 2013 harvest and for the year ahead.

Hitting a ‘blend wall’?

Production of ethanol in the U.S. has leveled off in recent years and actually

dropped in 2012.

Get locked in, experts sayWith a big harvest underway, prices on corn and soybeans are expected to drop.

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8 Fall 2013

BY TY RUSHINGFor Central Iowa Ag Mag

When Rich Wrage took over as ISU Extension and Outreach Office Director for Region 8 in August 2009, he knew he would have to step up in a big way.

Wrage previously worked in a county role, but when he took the reins in Region 8, he became in charge of Boone, Marshall, Hardin and Story counties. He explained some of the challenges of his position.

“My main role is to work with councils and staff,” Wrage said. “There are nine elected [County Extension Council] members in each county. I work with four counties, … so there are 36 people I work with to help bring the programming from Iowa State to the citizens of that region.”

While in his current role, Wrage said, he has sought to bring “signature” items to his region.

“The regions are different sizes, and it all depends upon their population and tax

base,” Wrage said. “So the four signature areas that we are focused on are K-12 out-reach, [which] is anything that has to do with youth. Our main program there is 4-H.

“Health and Well-Being is our second signature item,” he continued. “The third one, not in any particular order, is Economic Development. We work with communities, businesses, and industry to make them more efficient and to bet-ter serve their customers and clients. The

last one is Food and the Environment.”Wrage explained that a lot of his

region’s agriculture and food safety programs fall under the Food and the Environment branch. He also said all programming of the county offices ties into one of those four areas.

Extension regions vary in size.“We have a broader array of needs,”

Wrage said. “Different populations, dif-ferent expectations and different desires by the councils of what they want to see done. For example, Hardin County is very rural, has a very generic population, and the agriculture and farming things tend to come to the surface quicker than they do in Story or Marshall.”

Wrage said he works with good people and doesn’t find the disparity between the counties to be a challenge for his job. He also talked about his favorite part of the job.

“Working with the staff and the coun-cils and all the clients we run into,” Wrage said. “I don’t run into many cli-ents anymore, but if there’s one thing I miss from the old system, it’s that I don’t have the one-on-one contact with 4-Hers and family like I used to.”

Challenges and rewardsWrage the local face

of ISU Extension

Ty Rushing/For Central Iowa Ag MagISU Extension and Outreach Region 8’s director is Rich Wrage, seen here at the Marshall County office.

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10 Fall 2013

BY MATT MENCARINIFor Central Iowa Ag Mag

M ark Fassler and his brother Tim were finishing up their soybean harvest in early

October. The brothers, who took over farming for their father, work 4,100 acres of soybeans and com-mercial corn between Sterling and Dixon in northwestern Illi-nois. This year, the Fasslers had a little more land to farm.

In December, they bought 145 acres of farmland “right next”

to the land they already worked, a third of which belongs to the brothers, Fassler said. They rent the rest.

“We’re farmers, and that’s what we’re in the business of doing,” he said. “We’ve had a few good years growing corn and beans, and we’re lucky enough to have enough equi-ty to purchase some land.”

Q�Q�Q

In August, they bought 117 more acres, also near their current land.

“I wish we would’ve bought these up 10 years ago,” Fassler said. “But [we] didn’t have the equity needed.”

Between 2006 and 2013, Illinois farm-land more than doubled in price, from an average price of $3,640 an acre to an average of $7,900, according to Reuters, which cited the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Moving into this year, land values in western Illinois and eastern Iowa increased by double digits again, but did so at a slightly lesser amount than in previous years, signaling a tapering off.

In Iowa, the gap between high-quality land and medium- and low-quality land is growing, said Kyle Hansen, a real estate agent and auctioneer work-ing out of the Nevada, Iowa, office of Hertz Real Estate Services.

Land values now closely tied to commodity prices

CONTINUED ON 11�

STILL A GOOD INVESTMENT

Central Iowa Ag Mag file photo by Phillip Marruffo

AG Mag 11

Hansen also is the chairman of the Iowa Realtors Land Institute. In its October farmland values survey, it indi-cated that high-quality land increased this year to $11,661 an acre, up $224 from 6 months earlier. During the same 6 months, medium-quality land increased by $86, to $8,780, and low-quality land increased by $2 an acre, to $5,808.

In its 2013 Illinois Land Values and Lease Trends survey, the Illinois Soci-ety of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers found that while sup-ply is down from a year ago, value is “up modestly.”

In Illinois, excellent-quality farmland averaged $13,200 on July 1, up 3 per-cent, Dale Aupperle, of Heartland Ag Group and the ISPFMRA chairman, reported in a summary of the survey. Additionally, good-quality farmland increased by 2.5 percent to an aver-age of $11,200, and fair-quality land increased by 1.9 percent, up to $9,000.

“It’s just like the other stocks,” Han-

sen said. “It’s a cycle. It will go up and come down based on the commodity prices and other factors [like world demand for fuel and food]. ... But it still continues to be a cycle. It will come up and go down. Now it’s leveling off and taking a breath to see where we’re going from here.”

Hansen said land values in Iowa are now more connected to commodity prices than they have been in the past.

Mike Morris is the chief appraiser with 1st Farm Credit and has been based in the Bloomington-Normal office since 2007. He has been appraising since 1999, he said, and handles appraisals in northern Illinois.

“I think if we don’t see much change in crop prices, I would call it a stable to slightly softer market,” he said. “If we see some real increase or decrease, that could affect the market. Right now, no one is really anticipating that.

“My gut tells me that we’ll still see some strong sales, but we’re not going to see anything that’s higher than [land value] in December, unless we see sig-nificant increases in commodity prices.”

On Oct. 11, December corn was $4.3325 a bushel, down 5 cents from the day before, and November soy-beans were $12.6675 a bushel, which was 21.25 cents lower than the market’s Oct. 10 close.

Despite the falling commodity prices, in a market that’s been described by some experts as volatile, land values have been increasing by double digits for several consecutive years.

Bruce Sherrick, an agriculture profes-sor at the University of Illinois, said that rise follows good recent incomes for farmers and continued use of corn for, among other things, renewable energy that keeps demand for land high, but supply low.

“Because so little farmland turns over, it’s really, really hard to get a clear picture of what’s going on,” Sherrick said. “Income in northern Illinois is higher than southern Illinois because you grow more. Because of the slow turnover, it’s hard to get a clear picture.”

Alex T. Paschal/For Central Iowa Ag MagTim Fassler inspects and greases a combine as he prepares to harvest corn on the farm he and his brother Mark own in north-western Illinois. The Fasslers have added to their 4,100-acre farm between Sterling and Dixon by buying 145 acres of farmland in December and an additional 117 acres in August. “I wish we would’ve bought these up 10 years ago,” Mark Fassler said. “But [we] didn’t have the equity needed.”

��CONTINUED FROM 10

CONTINUED ON 14�

12 Fall 2013

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AG Mag 13

BY DAVE HONFor Central Iowa Ag Mag

F or new farm-ers, renting land might be more

profitable than buying.Michael Duffy, a pro-

fessor of economics at Iowa State Extension, said variable cash-rent lease agreements are great for new farm-ers. Variable cash-rent lease agreements are essentially leases that have a base rent per acre, which is low, and then a profit-sharing agreement at the end of the year, depending on how the agreement is set up.

Q�Q�Q“So the idea is to try and

get into a risk-sharing arrangement but quit the old crop-share arrangement,” Duffy said.

Old agreements meant the landlord would take pos-session of the crop. Under variable cash-rent lease agreements, the farmer of the land keeps the crop then kicks back a percentage of the profit to the landlord.

Duffy said variable cash-rent agreements are not only great for farmers, but also landowners because at the end of the day, they at least receive some base money from the land.

“The majority of these flex leases use both a combina-tion of both price and yield,” Duffy said.

Duffy said those leases are very much a growing trend. He estimates that 8 percent of all farmland in Iowa is under a variable cash-rent agreement. He said 19 per-

cent of all leased land in Iowa is under a variable cash-rent agreement.

Studies don’t break down the data by county.

“What the landlords are doing, they’re saying, ‘OK, if the prices are favorable we want a part of it, but if prices are bad then we won’t make you bear the full cost,’” Duffy said.

Variable lease agreements are the best bet for landown-ers who don’t have time to farm themselves and for farmers who don’t have a lot of capital to start up.

“A lot of these landlords don’t want to deal with mar-keting crop, so on and so forth, and yet they’re willing to recognize the new risk we’re facing,” Duffy said. “I think they’re a good thing. I’m in favor of them.”

Essentially, Duffy said, vari-able cash-rent leases are a way to split the risk of drought and other severe weather between two people. While farmers would be affected more by the loss in crop since they would still have to pay the base rent, the landlord at least gets something. Duffy said the base rents are often so low they don’t break the farmer’s bank.

“If there are really bad conditions, then they’re at least protected on the down side,” Duffy said. “Particu-larly if you’re working with a beginning farmer, this is, I think, a good thing to help them out.”

Duffy also speculated that land rental prices for these types of agreements, while popular, will stay realativey the same in the coming years.

“They may go up slightly just because of intertia,” he said, “but I think they would remain the same.”

New to farming? Variable cash rent

the way to go

14 Fall 2013

Todd Slock works for 1st Farm Credit as a real estate appraiser out of the Rock Falls, Ill., office. He’s been an appraiser for 6 years, and previously spent time working near Ottawa, Ill., in LaSalle County.

Land sales usually pick up after harvest, when farmers have a better idea of how much they made on the year’s crops, Slock said. By early October, there hadn’t been many listings, which could be the result of commodity pric-es falling and interest rates “being up slightly.”

Hansen said that until the middle of September, the amount of availbale farm land in Iowa was bellow the average, but because of a softening market, landown-ers are seeing reason to sell now rather than later, espe-cially with medium- and low-quality land.

For the most part, high quality land is being held because it has shown greater appreciation, he said.

Both pieces of land the

Fassler brothers bought were from heirs who don’t plan to farm and don’t want to man-age the land. For them, like the pension funds or invest-ment groups, the land is a financial investment and not a farming asset.

“People look at what their alternative is,” Morris said.

“And they look at a stock market that’s been volatile and CDs that aren’t going to pay as well. ... I think in a lot of cases, people think they can make something off the land, so they hold on to it.”

In Iowa, which has buying rules different from Illinois that make it more likely that

farmers will buy land, some investment groups still are purchasing land, but more is going to farmers.

“It just shows that people are interested in it,” Hansen said. “Even without a back-ground in farming, they still see long-term income oppor-tunities there. But again, they’re competing with farm-ers, and farmers are winning.”

Between 75 and 80 percent of land purchased in Iowa recent-ly was done so by a farmer within 10 miles, he said.

According to the ISPFMRA survey, the “vast majority” of farms in northwest Illinois were purchased by local farmers, and several coun-ties saw sales of more than $12,000 an acre for excellent productivity tracts, and three counties had sales match or exceed $14,000 an acre.

“I don’t think there’s a big surprising story in any of this,” Sherrick said from his office at the University of Illinois. “It’s kind of the new normal – high-er priced input and higher priced output. ... It adds to the amount of capital [needed] to get into the industry.”


Alex T. Paschal/For Central Iowa Ag Mag Mark Fassler of Sterling, Ill., works on preparing his combine for the harvest season. Mark said he and his brother, Tim, decided to buy more farmland in the past year because “we’ve had a few good years growing corn and beans, and we’re lucky enough to have enough equity to purchase some land.”

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AG Mag 15

BY DAVE HONFor Central Iowa Ag Mag

Roger Zylstra, a farmer in Jasper County, knows how commodity prices have affected his business.

For most farmers, every-thing is connected. Changes in the weather can lead to higher feed prices, which drive up overhead for live-stock.

“I’m a contract finisher, so I’m not directly affected by the price of the feed on the hog side,” Zylstra said, “although the profitability in the pork industry is critical.”

Commodity prices drive up overhead

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Dave Hon/For Central Iowa Ag MagTwo of Kevin Van Manen’s cattle eat some debris on the floor of the pen of his farm in Jasper County.

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16 Fall 2013

Bob Eschliman/For Central Iowa Ag MagDan Kubal parks his fleet of four aerial spraying planes at the former Maytag Corp. hangar at Newton Municipal Airport. The oldest plane in his fleet is less than five years old.

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BY BOB ESCHLIMANFor Central Iowa Ag Mag

T he first time Dan Kubal, a native of southeastern

South Dakota, saw an airplane was in his youth, when a plane flew over one of his father’s farm fields to apply pesticide.

“From that moment on, I was fascinated by avia-tion,” he said. “So, I got my pilot’s license – that took about five years, because I was doing it a piece at a time — and started flying in 1986. I started aerial spraying in 1991.”

Q�Q�QThe background that led

him to aviation also led him to a career in aerial spray-ing. His love for everything agriculture, coupled with his passion for airplanes, made it a perfect fit.

It’s not just ‘crop dusting’ anymore

Kubal Aerial Spraying is on leading edge of technology

CONTINUED ON 17� ’’‘‘ We’re more into total plant health now. There’s a misconception out there that all we’re doing is spraying for some pest – whether it be bugs or weeds – and while that’s still part of what we do, the

bigger focus is on plant health.Dan Kubal, owner and operator of Kubal Aerial Spraying in Newton

AG Mag 17

Dan started out with a small business in his native state, but saw the potential for a larger operation when he traveled to Texas for some contract work. Today, he operates Kubal Aerial Spraying out of the former Maytag Corp. hangar at Newton Municipal Airport.

“Our core area is south-ern and central Iowa,” he said. “But we work from as far south as Texas to as far north as the Canadian bor-der, basically the center sec-tion of the country.”

A lot has changed over the years, particularly with regard to technology used in aerial spraying. Dan said his company uses the most state-of-the-art technology, including global positioning systems, which have created whole new areas of capability for his aircraft, all of which are five years old or newer.

“We’re more into total plant health now,” he said. “There’s a misconception out there that all we’re doing is spraying for some pest –

whether it be bugs or weeds – and while that’s still part of what we do, the bigger focus is on plant health.”

A recent change, Dan said, was the move to dry applica-tions within the industry. He has made substantial invest-

ments in new equipment to meet that new need for farmers.

New technology has improved the efficiency of aerial spraying, as well. Much like planting, which is now done with 24- and

36-row attachments instead of six- and eight-row imple-ments, aerial spraying has seen substantial improve-ments in the equipment used to do the job.

“With GPS, you can see exactly where we applied, and at what rate we applied,” Dan said. “You know what you’re getting. The proof is in the pudding, so to speak, and the results from our applications speak for themselves.”

For farmers who have tried aerial spraying in the past with disappointing results, and to those who still are skeptical about the impact it can have on overall crop yield, Dan said he encourages them to take another look. He often hosts farmers at his hangar, so they can see the hard work and quality that goes into what his company does.

“We’re working every day to do a better job,” he said. “When a farmer tells me what we’re doing is working, and they want to do more next year, that really makes my day. That’s what fuels what I’m doing.”

Bob Eschliman/For Central Iowa Ag Mag The cockpit of an aerial spraying plane is a bit more compli-cated than those of early “crop dusters.” The center of the main console is a global positioning system, which allows for precision application while also charting the application that was made for the customer.


Look for our next edition of

AGMagCentral Iowa

February 2014Featuring additional coverage in Jasper,

Poweshiek, Marshall, Tama, Benton, Marion,

Mahaska, Iowa & Keokuk Counties.

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20 Fall 2013 AG Mag 21

BY DAVID GIULIANIFor Central Iowa Ag Mag

W hen it comes to ethanol mandates, an Iowa pro-fessor says,

there are winners and losers.Corn farmers in Iowa and

Illinois are the big winners. So is the environment. But live-stock producers, who have to pay more for feed because of higher demand for corn – not so much.

“Any state that exports corn is going to benefit from an increase in demand for the

product,” said Dermot Hayes, an agribusiness professor at Iowa State University.” If we didn’t have a mandate, the price for a bush-el of corn would be a dollar lower. Demand for corn would be less.”

In early October, the price of a bushel of corn was $4.43.

Q�Q�Q

The United States is the world’s top ethanol producer, with Brazil coming in second. Since 1980, U.S. ethanol production has skyrocketed, increasing from 175 million gallons a year to 13.3 billion gallons – a 76-fold jump.

The number of U.S. ethanol plants has grown from 50 in 1999 in 211 this year, with more than 40 in Iowa, which produces more ethanol than any other state.

Production of ethanol has leveled off in recent years after seeing huge spikes from 2005 to 2009. It fell slightly in 2012.

In August, the Environmental Protec-tion Agency proposed the lowering of its ethanol fuel mandate for 2014 because the demand for gasoline is lower than expected.

The decision comes as proposals in Congress are circulating to change the mandate, which was first set in 2007.

“There is absolutely no growth expect-ed for the ethanol industry,” said Rich Nelson, a chief strategist with Allendale. “We are hitting the blend wall.”

Industry might be hitting a ‘blend wall’

Phillip Marruffo/For Central Iowa Ag MagDon Temple empties the corn from his combine into a chaser bin on his land in western Whiteside County in Illinois. For the past two years, Temple’s corn crop has gone to an ADM ethanol plant in Clinton, Iowa. He farms about 500 acres of corn and 150 acres of soybeans. “Before, we had surplus corn. When you have more corn than what is being used, you don’t get paid really well. The ethanol market has been a very good thing for corn growers.”

TOPPING OFF ETHANOL?

Anti-ethanol groups say that ethanol con-sumes about 40 per-cent of the nation’s crop, but ethanol supporters counter that it’s nearer 28 per-cent.

The U.S. Depart-ment of Agriculture uses the 40 percent number, noting that about that much corn ends up at ethanol plants. But a third of the corn at the plants ends up as byproduct, which is used as feed for livestock, supporters say.

Allendale Inc., a McHenry, Ill.-based research company and broker, surveys corn farmers monthly about their expectations.

Last year, U.S. corn farmers pro-duced 10.8 billion bushels, a number that is expected to rise to 13.6 bil-lion bushels – a 25 percent increase, according to Allendale’s September numbers.

A total of 97.4 million acres are devoted to corn this year – the highest number since 1936, the U.S. Depart-ment of Agriculture reports.

The increase in demand for ethanol has led to the ris-ing number of acres under corn produc-tion, supporters say.

“We grow a lot more corn in the world today than we used to because of the demand for renew-able energy,” said Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.

“Ethanol is cheaper, ethanol is clean-er, and it’s high-octane,” he said. “The majority of Iowa corn gets processed by ethanol plants. A third of all of that goes back to feed markets in the form of distillers grains.”

As for 2014, he said: “I’m optimistic about next year. The economics will drive 2014, but it depends on what the White House and EPA will do.”

To meet the federal renewable fuel standard, gasoline companies have blended ethanol into gasoline at 10 percent, known as E10. The ethanol industry wants greater availability of E15 and E85.

E85, which requires 85 percent etha-nol, can be used in “flexible fuel” cars, while E15 is for cars built in 2001 or later.

Dermot Hayes Agribusiness

professor at Iowa State University

Rich Nelson Chief strategist

with Allendale Inc.

Monte Shaw Executive

director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association

CONTINUED ON 22�

22 Fall 2013

In Creston, the Farmers Coopera-tive Co. service station started selling E85 ethanol in August – among more than 2,000 across the country that do.

On an early October day, regular unleaded (E10) gasoline sold for $3.29. E15 went for $3.24, E30 for $3.06, and E85 for $2.59.

The E85 has been good for business, with the Creston station seeing more customers, said Darin Schlapia, Cres-ton branch manager for the Farmers Cooperative.

That’s a story heard from many stations that are selling E85, Shaw said.

“The consumers are picking a good chunk of higher ethanol blends,” he said. “This is a very important fight, giving consumers choice at the pump.”

Hayes, the agribusiness professor, said that while the prices are cheaper for higher ethanol blends, they are not as efficient.

“It’s 75 percent as good,” he said. “The $2.59 [price of E85 at the Creston sta-tion] would amount to $3.45.

“The density of the energy in E85 is less,” he said. “You’re miles per gallon are less.”

��CONTINUED FROM 21 U.S. ethanol production Production Year (in millions of gallons)2000 ........................................ 1,6222001 ........................................ 1,7652002 ........................................ 2,1402003 ........................................ 2,8102004 ........................................ 3,4042005 ........................................ 3,9042006 ........................................ 4,8842007 ........................................ 6,5212008 ........................................ 9,3092009 ......................................10,9382010 ......................................13,2982011 ...................................... 13,9482012 ......................................13,300

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

Number of U.S. ethanol plants Year ........................................Plants2000 .............................................. 542001 ............................................. 562002 ............................................. 612003 ............................................. 682004 ............................................. 722005 ............................................. 812006 ............................................. 952007 ........................................... 1102008 ........................................... 1392009 ........................................... 1702010 ........................................... 1892011 ........................................... 2042012 ........................................... 2092013 ........................................... 211

Source: Renewable Fuels Association

A $175 million initial invest-ment in the Patriot Renew-able Fuels ethanol plant near Annawan, Ill., in 2008 has blos-somed into a regional econom-ic impact of $1.1 billion some five years later. The plant, along Interstate 80, each year processes millions of bushels of corn from 220,000 truck-loads. From that grain, the plant has produced 120 million gallons of ethanol each year.

Sarah Brown/For Central Iowa Ag MagThe Farmers Cooperative Co. service station in Creston began selling E85 ethanol in August. Here, cars line up for a special sale of the E85 for 85 cents per gallon at the station. On an early October day, E85 was selling for $2.59 a gallon, compared to $3.29 for regular unleaded (E10) gasoline.

AG Mag 23

BY MATTHEW NOSCOFor Central Iowa Ag Mag

Nestled alongside a small cornfield in rural Story County is Lincoln Way Energy LLC.

Lincoln Way Energy was formed in May 2004 to help pool a group of inves-tors interested in building a nameplate ethanol plant. Since the coal-fired dry mill plant, which produces 50 million gallons a year, went into production in May 2006, it’s been a stimulant to the local farm economy.

The plant fills a large void in the region east of Des Moines.

“We take all of our products in by truck, so it’s a local market that we draw from,” Lincoln Way Energy Presi-dent and CEO Eric Hakmiller said. “We operate in a circle around us, drawing our sources from local farmers in the area.”

Iowa State University Extension Farm Specialist Ryan Drollette said that draw serves to give a bump to the local mar-kets.

“Any new demand in a market, like an ethanol plant, is going to show a local rise in the prices as the demand for that corn increases,” he said. “Because of the local demand, the plant is able to pay less in shipping costs for their product, which allows them to pay out a higher value on the corn.”

While an ethanol plant might not have a large impact on the prices of nearby farmland compared to other factors, like national markets, commodity prices and farm policies, a plant is still a valuable customer to many farmers.

“You’ll see some farmers who will have exclusive contracts with ethanol plants,” Drollette said. “There is a vari-ety of corn that breaks down under heat

well. … Some plants are contracting farmers to grow it exclusively, since it works better for ethanol production.”

The rest are still free to take their corn to the open markets and shop it around, comparing prices and seeing where he can get the best bid for his bounty.

While no direct federal subsidies are available for ethanol producers any-more, the Renewable Fuels Standard II still helps to drive the industry forward. It is a government mandate for certain amounts of alternative fuels to be pro-duced in the U.S.

“I think a lot of [our future] is going to be determined by the support for the RFS,” Hakmiller said. “If that continues to see support, then the ethanol indus-try will remain in a good place and we’ll have a strong, stable position in the long-term fuel solution.”

Matthew Nosco/For Central Iowa Ag MagBecause Lincoln Way Energy LLC in rural Story County takes all of its products by truck, “it’s a local market that we draw from,” said President and CEO Eric Hakmiller.

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24 Fall 2013

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For Central Iowa Ag Mag Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa received

the 2013 Fueling Growth Award Sept. 10 from Growth Energy for his work to develop clean-burning, domestically produced ethanol. The award acknowl-edges that Grassley’s “hard work in Congress has made a significant con-tribution to the viability of the biofuels industry,” according to Growth Energy.

“I’m honored to receive this award today,” Grassley said. “I’ve long been a supporter of renewable fuels, start-ing with ethanol. Alternative energy sources reduce our dependence on foreign oil, increase national security and create jobs for American work-ers in addition to extending our fuel supply and lowering prices at the pump.”

The award is given annually by Growth Energy to members of Congress who support ethanol advancement and work to craft consistent and fair federal policy for the industry.

Grassley, a Repub-lican, has worked for many years to promote favorable federal policies in order to establish renewable fuels as an alternative to finite fossil fuels. Grass-ley advocates for the maintenance of the Renewable Fuel Standard. In August 2013, Grassley, along with Sen. Amy Klobu-char, D-Minn., urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate possible anti-competitive practices by oil companies that may be limiting the competitiveness of renewable fuels.

Nationally, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that for every one billion gallons of ethanol produced, 10,000 to 20,000 jobs are added to the

economy. In 2011, more than 400,000 jobs were created and supported by the ethanol industry, and production of ethanol contributed $42.4 billion to the national gross domestic prod-uct, according to the Energy Depart-ment.

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Asso-ciation reported that with 41 ethanol plants and 3.7 billion gallons produced in 2012, Iowa is the largest producer of ethanol in the country. According to the Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa’s ethanol industry supports 55,000 jobs and accounts for $5.4 billion of the state’s total economy.

Comprising many American ethanol producers and other organizations within the industry, Growth Energy represents producers and promotes ethanol production to “fuel America in ways that achieve energy indepen-dence, improve economic well-being and create a healthier environment for all Americans today.”

Grassley receives award for work to develop ethanol

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley Received 2013 Fueling Growth

Award

AG Mag 25

Zylstra said there are definitely some difficulties this year, as there were last year, because of high commodity prices that force his overhead to be higher.

“Right now, the herd is at a low level. So there’s not a lot of calves that are avail-able,” Zylstra said. “The demand for the cattle out-sees the supply. So they’re extremely high to buy. So by the time you have high feed costs, it does make it tough to make a profit off your business.”

The high price of cattle and feed relates back to two summers of drought. When passers-by drive by Iowa fields, they often for-get that most of the burnt up corn goes to feeding livestock.

“I sell all my grain,” Zylstra said.

“A lot of that corn,” he said pointing to a field next to his livestock, “probably does come back as feed for

livestock because a lot of it gets delivered to the mill in Grinnell.”

Zylstra said the drought was more severe last year than this year. From July to August this year, not even an inch of rain accumulated. Zylstra said he estimates higher commodity prices and higher overhead for live-

stock farmers.“So our crops have defi-

nitely been affected this year,” Zylstra said.

Kevin Van Manen, another farmer in Jasper County, said the drought has affected his crops and, in turn, his herd. But he said the drought, both this year and last year, could have been

much worse and had much more impact on his over-head.

“I wouldn’t consider this summer a disaster,” he said.

Even though Zylstra has a deep well he uses to water his herd, he knows of some farmers in other regions of Iowa that aren’t so lucky and have to buy water to hydrate their herds.

“We have not had any issues,” Zylstra said. “I am aware a couple of farmers that can’t put their cattle out to pasture because the water was gone.”

Zylstra said that despite the high commodity prices, opportunities have been available to profit in the live-stock industry.

“All you have to do is look at the balance sheets of the larger feeding operations, and most of them have been profitable,” he said. “So it makes the reality that you have to be a very good man-ager. You have to be really good with risk manage-ment.”

Jake Waddingham/For Central Iowa Ag Mag A heifer makes its way along the fence line at the Southwest-ern Community College Agricultural Site in Creston.


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26 Fall 2013

SET YOUR PRICE NOW Big harvest should bring prices down

BY DEREK BARICHELLOFor Central Iowa Ag Mag

The harvest of 2013 has been full of sur-prises.

Farmers planted late because of a wet spring and suffered through a flash drought in July and August, yet many yields are high – so high, in fact, this harvest might rank as one of the top three yields per acre.

Corn farmers are seeing monitors on their combines hitting 200 bushels regularly.

“They’re pretty proud of their numbers,” said Tim Wells, an agricultural lender at

First Midwest Bank in Moline, Ill. “I had a farmer send me a text of a picture of a monitor at 300, so there’s quite a bit of volume out there coming in. I haven’t talked to a farmer yet who isn’t pleased.”

What does that mean for a Midwestern farmer sitting with a good yield?

A large amount of corn acreage was planted this season, setting up for a glut of corn on the market, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

CONTINUED ON 27�

AG Mag 27

Many soybean harvests also turned in a better-than-expected yields.

Unfortunately, harvest totals were being reported late because of the govern-ment shutdown.

As happens with big yields, prices have dropped since reaching a high of $8.49 a bushel last summer and sat at $4.37 as of mid-October – a new low for the year.

“Prices may not be where farmers want them to be, but there is a saying in farming, ‘Give me the bushels and I’ll be fine,’” said Ryan Walsh, a commodities broker for AgPerspective in Dixon, Ill.

With 200 bushels of corn, and $4 prices, the farmer generally is making money.

Be a seller on the futures market, lock the price in (as it’s expected to continue to slide), and be a storer, Walsh says.

“Sell corn for delivery next July, store until then, and truck it in,” Walsh said.

Because of the October harvest, corn has been late getting to the eleva-

tors, keeping the basis level strong, encouraging storage.

Farmers who are putting it in their bins and not selling it face a market risk if they don’t lock it in. Also, once crop insurance floors are set, which are expected to drop off, the farmer won’t have that safety net, either.

The big forward sellers, who set their prices back in Decem-ber, are cashing in nicely.

“They are really happy right now,” Walsh said.

Select farmers didn’t sell their 2011 crops, because they didn’t want the income and didn’t want to pay taxes on it.

“Take the income; pay the

taxes,” Wells said.While there’s something

to putting corn in the bin, farmers need to take care of their liabilities.

“Sell enough grain to make sure obligations are taken care of, then from there the market is the market, and you take whatever risks come with that,” Wells said. “That’s up to each individual farm to make their call. Just make sure the bank is taken care of.”

For farmers banking cash, now is a good time to leverage investments and plan for the future. That could mean set-ting up a retirement plan or acquiring land or equipment.

“So long as it’s done with a plan,” Wells advised. “Every farm should have a 5- or 10-year plan, and I’ll say that if they don’t have a plan, they’re risking way too much.”

With that said, higher yields don’t always translate to high-er profits. Prices are expected to decline as the supply grows.

“We don’t anticipate an increase in farmers’ incomes,” said Kurt Downs, an agricultural lender for Sauk Valley Bank.


Philip Marruffo/For Central Iowa Ag Mag A combine works a corn field off Crosby Road outside Morri-son, Ill. This year’s harvest might rank as one of the top three yields per acre. In the Midwest, a large amount of corn acre-age was planted this season, setting up for a glut of corn on the market, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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28 Fall 2013

WHAT’S YOUR OUTLOOK?

A Q&A with five Central Iowa farmers

Ross LangmaidQ: What are your expectations for the

fall?A: Our expectations were real low this

season because of how dry it was this summer.

Q: How does that compare to histori-cal averages?

A: We’re on our second year in a row of a drought situation, which is far below our usual average in northern Newton.

Q: What surprised you the most about the 2013 growing season?

A: I suppose as dry as it was. As wet as it was to begin with, then how dry it got. That was pretty unusual. I was also surprised how nice the crops ended up looking despite the situation.

Q: How has that affected your harvest?A: The maturity of the crop has a large

range. There was a lot planted early, and then a lot that was planted after the late snow. It made planning difficult. Both corn and beans matured sporadi-cally this year.

Q: How did you adapt?A: We ended up having to spread

another sprout of nitrogen on the corn this summer because of the wet spring. We don’t usually do that, so there’s another extended cost.

Q: Do you plan any land acquisitions or equipment purchases in 2014?

A: I would say no. I’m pretty well set up for my operations, and I’ve got everything I need.

Q: How do you expect things to be different for you in 2014?

A: The only thing we going to do dif-ferent is that we’re going to put the nitrogen pass into our plans for next year. We’re going to put that into prac-tice for next year because nature taught us a lesson.

Roger Zylstra, Iowa Corn Growers Association

Q: What are your expectations for the fall?

A: The year started out so very wet,

then drier than it has ever been since the ’80s. My expectations were not that great, I guess. I have finished harvesting my soybeans, and it probably ranks as the worst I’ve harvested since 1982. We didn’t have any rain in July and August.


A: The rain was very spotty this year. You might get none, and then go down the road and there might be half an

inch. It was well below average. The corn I’ve harvested so far is extremely variable. I’m finding some good corn on the good dirt and some not so top quality on the other. Disappointment.

At this point in time, it looks likes corn crop may be close to historical averages. In the last five years, there’s only been one year where it was near the average.

COMPILED BY KATE MALOTT For Central Iowa Ag Mag

Ross Langmaid

CONTINUED ON 29�

AG Mag 29

With the weather, it’s a lot harder to get the good yields. But with soybeans, this is probably the worst. On my best dirt they were probably about 15 per-cent below a normal year, and on most of the dirt they were about 50 percent below.


A: The extreme variability. We had record flooding near the North Skunk River in the end of May, and to go from that extreme to less than an inch of rain for both July and August, that’s extreme.

Q: How has that affected your har-vest?

A: We’re running a week to 10 days behind normal because it was so late. We had to wait and plant. Then it was cool in June because crops weren’t adjusting and growing normally.

Q: How did you adapt?A: After farming for as many years as

I have, you learn that every year is dif-ferent and you work around whatever unusual circumstances you have to work with. Over the years, you have to have good equipment and be prepared so that when you get the opportunity, you’re ready to get out there.


A: I’m probably not going to be doing too much of that. I’m fairly conservative when it comes to that. I haven’t bought any land in a number of years. The big issue, in addition to lower yields, is that the prices are considerably lower.


A: We can’t predict the future, so we

just have to make decisions on what the circumstances are at the time. You can’t plan for a good crop because then you won’t get a good crop. I look at the people east of us; last year they had it really hard, and this year things were better for them.


Roger Zylstra

CONTINUED ON 30�

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Calvin WinnQ: What are your expectations for the

fall?A: Our expectations were a little small-

er than they’re coming out. We’re hav-ing better yields than we expected. The drier weather was hard on things, but the genetics today have just made a tre-mendous improvement on these crops.


A: The soybeans are a little below aver-age. Our yields were 55 a bushel on early beans and 45 on the late-planted beans. Normally, we run a little over 65 a bushel. They are definitely down. So far, the corn has been real good, maybe a little below expectations for average, but we’re seeing yields of 200 or more in some places.


A: The extreme weather. The terri-bly wet spring that lasted forever, and then once it stopped raining it just stopped raining altogether. The weath-er extremes are getting harder than they’ve ever been in the past.

Q: How has that affected your harvest?A: It was a little less than expected, but

still very thankful for everything that we got.

Q: How did you adapt?A: We used a different product on our

corn this year. My agronomist said he thought if it’s going to be hot and dry, he had a special little product we could apply to this corn that lets it aspirate bet-ter during the hot, dry weather. So we used it on part of our acres and part of it we didn’t, but it sure made a huge differ-ence on the part we used. The corn is still green, and it’s very good yielding corn.


A: Due to a health issue, no.Q: How do you expect things to be

different for you in 2014?A: This may be my last active year in

farming. So, I can envision a lot of chang-es coming, some of which I’m not happy with. It will probably be entirely different next year. For now, we’re trying to mud-dle through harvest and get it done.

Galen Hammerly Q: What are your expectations for the

fall?A: With the year we’ve had, I was

pleased with the results. They are higher than I expected being we had such a dry year. Yields are down because of lack of moisture, but corn turned out OK.


A: Corn is probably slightly above average compared to the past, but the

beans are probably past what they could have been or should have been. It was all about the timing of the heat. I raise some hay, too – alfalfa – but it performed better than I thought; bet-ter than last year per acre. It could have done better with more rain. If only we had another inch or so. It did surprising well. I got it all made without any rain.


A: The range in weather. It went from extremely wet to extremely dry.

Q: How has that affected your har-vest?

A: Well, the weather’s been perfect for harvest so far. We got enough rain to mature the crop and finish it. We need the rain to drop the leaves, which makes it easier to harvest. I’m still working on corn, but it’s good weather so far. I’m right on schedule right about normal. If I get done by Halloween, I’m doing pretty good.


Calvin Winn

Galen Hammerly

CONTINUED ON 31�

AG Mag 31

Q: How did you adapt?A: I was able to do anything I wanted;

just about anything I wanted. We could have used more timely rain. When pol-lination occurred, if we could have had a rain or two, it would have helped a lot.


A: No land acquisition, but I prob-ably will purchase combine equipment by the end of the year; an upgrade. I don’t think I’ll buy a new one; a used machine is what I’m looking for.


A: It would be nice to have a little more normal weather year, less hurdles and less stress in the growing season for the crops. That’s what I hope for. With the genetics they have, the crops per-form very well under stressful weather.

Rolland Schnell, Iowa Soybean Association

Q: What are your expectations for the fall?

A: My expectations are different now than they were three weeks ago. I was hoping for better bean yields and expect-ing less corn yields, and that’s switched. I’m hoping to average in the 175 bushel an acre on corn and on soybeans I’m

hoping to average 45, but I don’t think I will. I’ve harvested too many fields that are in the low- to mid-30s.


A: The corn is not far off of historical averages around here, but the soybeans are probably 15 bushel less than his-torical averages.

Q: What surprised you the most

about the 2013 growing season?A: It was obscene. A season that started

out with monumental, historical rains that didn’t quit and the soil was so water-logged and our planting season went into the end of June. Then it quit raining. In August, we had extreme temperatures and crops did not have a chance.

Rolland Schnell


CONTINUED ON 32�

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32 Fall 2013

Q: How has that affected your harvest?

A: One thing it’s doing is making the harvest pro-longed. Soybeans in particu-lar are spread out because of the long planting season. I’ve got beans that are way too green to harvest yet. Here I am doing corn, and my beans aren’t even ready. It’s going to be a stretched out harvest season, just like the planting season was and because of the planting season.

Q: How did you adapt?A: One thing we’ve had to

do is persevere. It’s been a long, grueling season. I remember talking to other farmers earlier this year, and they were really depressed because of the long battle of fighting the elements. As far as adapting to the operations that I do, really no significant change other than being prepared for the long harvest and poor con-ditions. Because of all the rains, there’s been a lot of

damage that still needs to be repaired this fall and this spring.


A: No. I expect the next two or three years, I will not. I’ve been farming long enough to know that things go in cycles. We’ve had some pretty good cycles the last few years, and I will not be surprised if there’s a “3” in front of the corn next fall. I think we better enjoy the good times last year, and even this year the prices are reasonable. I don’t foresee good prices, corn especially, but soybeans also.


A: There’s going to be a lot of effort done to repair the damages the rain has caused. I do think that with the Nutrient Management Plan, the state is going to be getting a lot of additional work done with the cover-age of crops and different management practices.


BY KATE MALLOTFor Central Iowa Ag Mag

“I believe in the future of agriculture,” 16-year-old junior Jarret Horn recited, “with a faith born not of words but of deeds. I believe that American agriculture can and will hold true to the best traditions of our nation-al life.”

The Newton Senior High School junior lives by those words, the FFA Creed, and believes in all they represent about the past and future of agriculture. The Newton FFA vice president recently competed in the National Western Roudup Hippology Contest in Denver.

Jarret is the son of his school’s agriculture teacher, James Horn. This summer, Jasper County Iowa State University Extension award-

ed Jarret the 2013 Broomfield Outstanding Field Award for his work in promoting agri-culture education.

“When you look at Ameri-can agriculture, if the Ameri-can agriculturists remain true to their way of life, no matter what new technolo-gies, then it will remain a great American icon,” Jarret said. “The challenge is for young people to connect, stand strong to that hard-working spirit, and carry on the same traditions.”

As a model agriculture stu-dent in his community, Jarret helps to lead other youths through his knowledge, hard work and passion. His value of business also helps him to lead group fundraisers, such as gravel grooming.

Horn follows his dreams in ag

CONTINUED ON 33�

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By Kate Mallot/For Central Iowa Ag Mag Jarret Horn, a junior at Newton Senior High School, said he would like to work toward an agri-business degree.

At the National FFA Conven-tion, Jarret met with an Illi-nois-based company, Gravel Groomers. They partnered to raise money for his local FFA by teaching students how to grade gravel driveways. The money earned is split among the person who makes the sale, the operator, and New-ton FFA.

“It gives the kids a good idea what sales is,” Jarret said, “and it also gives the operator the opportunity to work on responsibility and customer service.”

To succeed in agri-business, a person must be able to articulate ideas and express a level of professionalism. Horn practiced those career skills at the Iowa State Fair this year, when he participated in the extemporaneous speaker communication competition, calling it a “fun and challeng-ing competition.”

So, what’s next for Jarret Horn?

“That’s the million dollar question,” he joked. “My dream job would be farm-ing, but with high start-up costs, I know that it is unlikely that I will be able to make a sustainable living and fund farming.”

Jarret would like to work toward an agri-business degree, but for now, he looks forward to making the most of his current educa-tional opportunities. And although he is unsure where the future will take him, he knows agriculture will remain a prominent fixture in his life.

��CONTINUED FROM 32 Jarret Horn Age: 16School: Newton Senior

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34 Fall 2013

Matthew Nosco/For Central Iowa Ag MagJP Howard, owner of The Tremont restaurant in Marshalltown, holds a Denver sandwich made with local ingredients, including Brunk Family Farm eggs.

BY MATTHEW NOSCOFor Central Iowa Ag Mag

Hometown hospitality and local food. That is the motto for The Tremont in Marshalltown, and it’s one the business aptly lives up to.

JP Howard and his wife, Jennifer, own and operate The Tremont, a historical inn that includes a grill, a fine-dining restaurant, and a bar that features local brews for young professionals and busi-ness travelers.

The couple strive to source as much of their food locally as they can, aiming for a 200-mile radius. They must account for the time of the year and the qual-ity of the harvest season, which means their supplies often fluctuate.

JP said he is always on the lookout for new farmers in the area, although the couple like to stick with several main-stays.

“We have one business where we always get our eggs,” JP said. “Brunk Family Farm brings in our eggs on a luggage rack every single week.”

The locally sourced food makes The Tremont’s menu adaptive and keeps the Howards on their toes as they try new recipes.

“My strategy has always been research and development, like with many types of businesses,” JP said. “We like to bring items in as a weekly special or other deal at first to see what the demand is, and then if there is a need for that item, it’ll work its way into the next perma-nent menu that we set up.”

The couple have pushed for fresh and local food since they opened the res-taurant in 1999. They realized, almost immediately, that it was cheaper for them to source locally than it was to order in bulk from the coasts, and that

the food was of a much higher quality.Meat in particular took precedence,

with JP holding to the credo of “fresh and never frozen” as he looked for suppliers in the region. Some of his cuts come from a custom producer in the Quad Cities, but some come from closer yet.

JP makes a point to buy from a pork producer in Marshalltown, whose prod-uct he recently featured as part of a German feast. The Howards’ mission to supply local food has grown easier over the years as public demand and atten-tion to the food industry reinvigorated local food markets.

“People have gotten smarter when it comes to their food supply in the last few years,” JP said. “They’ve begun to demand more out of us, and we’re happy to do that for them since it has always been a part of our model.”

Marshalltown restaurant feeds off local food market

AG Mag 35

LAURIE JOHNSIowa Farm Bureau“Between the Lines”

Iowa farmers talk genetic

modified crops H undreds of

protesters, many who have never been on an

Iowa farm, headed to our state recently to protest progress in farming. They don’t believe in geneti-cally modified crops, and no amount of peer-reviewed science or speeches from Nobel laureates will con-vince them otherwise.

Just as they have the right to voice their opinions and be heard, the Iowa men and women who spend years in the field growing your food also hope you will hear their stories, and let common sense prevail.

That’s because for decades, these thousands of Iowa farmers have seen what progress in farming can do.

Q�Q�QPaul Vaassen has been

growing corn and beans on his Dubuque County farm since 1962. Although he’ll proudly admit to being “old fashioned,” he says there are some things that nostalgia can’t cure, like hunger.

“I don’t ‘think there’s any doubt in my mind that the genetic improvements that seed companies have developed have given us the opportunity to see greater yields, despite what Mother Nature can dish out,” Vaas-sen said. “We can’t forget

that feeding people is really what this is all about.

“Last year, for example, we were very dry, and even though yields were not up to what we considered ‘nor-mal’, they were much bet-ter than, say, 10 to 15 years ago when we had the same drought conditions but didn’t have these great seeds that were more resistant to drought or pests.

“Years ago we used plant-ers with seeds in one box and insecticide in another, which meant we were using a lot more insecticide. I’m happy that old planter sits idle on my farm now, because our GMO seeds help us defeat pests like rootworm and corn borer,” says Vaassen.

Q�Q�QRoger Zylstra, a longtime

corn, soybeans and hog farmer from Jasper County, has seen a lot of changes, too. If he can be more pro-ductive and more sustain-able, he can also keep farm-ing in the family, and that’s why he favors GMO crops.

“The reality is we’re try-ing to build and grow for the future,” Zylstra said. “My youngest son just came back full time to the farm. I work hard to build a sustain-able farm for his return and only innovation helps us do that.”

CONTINUED ON 37�

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36 Fall 2013

Ty Rushing/For Central Iowa Ag Mag Josh Pierce, the youngest son of owners John and Joy Pierce, is taking a more active role in his parents’ venture, Pierce’s Pumpkin Patch. The business is located 12 miles south of Knoxville in Marion County, directly off Iowa Highway 14.

BY TY RUSHINGFor Central Iowa Ag Mag

When fall arrives in Marion County, it’s time to pay a visit to Pierce’s Pump-kin Patch, which is 12 miles south of Knoxville, just off Iowa Highway 14.

John and Joy Pierce have been the owners and operators for 33 years. Their youngest son, Josh, is taking a larger role in the family business this year.

This season, they grew 75 varieties of pumpkins, gourds, and squash on 25 acres. John talked about the history of their business.

“I grew pumpkins when I was a kid growing up,” he said. “After we moved over here on the highway after we got married, I started growing pumpkins [again]. One year they did really well and I had several, 50 or 60, which was a lot at the time, and I put them down by the highway and put up a sign that said

’50 cents.’“And people stopped and bought

them,” he continued. “Some of them were stolen, and so the next year I planted them with the idea of selling them. I remember I had 114, and they sold out two weeks before Halloween. So after that, we started getting serious about it.”

The Pierce familydid, indeed, got seri-ous about their growing. In addition to the thousands of pumpkins they now harvest, the family also hosts an annual Pumpkin Festival at their patch. The festival features a large hay bale maze, oat threshing, antique tractors, other vendors and, of course, pumpkins.

Their patch has a wide selection besides the traditional orange pump-kins. They have Apple Pumpkins, Cos-mic Stars, Green Stripes, Silver Edge, The Wolf, Thick Handle, Giant Pump-

kins, Sugar Pie, Turk’s Turban and many more.

John talked about some of his favor-ites.

“I get a kick out of these Knuckle-heads; they got the bumps on them,” he said. “They’re pretty good. Gourds, I like the Autumn Wings. They’re real colorful and have really odd shapes.

“For picking, I like picking gourds a little better,” he continued. “They get different sizes and shapes, and you don’t know what you’re going into. The little pumpkins, the mini-pumpkins, they are all the same, one after another after another.”

People love fall for a variety of rea-sons, but for John it’s all about the pumpkins.

“It’s nice getting up in the morning, walking out the door and seeing all this color,” he said.

Marion County pumpkin patch moves into second generation

AG Mag 37

Innovation has brought incredible progress to Iowa farms. Between 1980 and 2010, U.S. farmers nearly doubled corn production, yet thanks to better seeds, better equipment and con-servation practices, are using less fertilizer than they put on the ground back when Zylstra and Vaassen first got started farming all those years ago. Accord-ing to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agri-cultural Statistics Service (NASS), farmers grew 6.64 billion bushels of corn using 3.9 pounds of nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) for each bushel in 1980. Just a couple years ago, that yield busted the bins at 12.45 billion bush-els, using 1.6 pounds of nutrients per bushel pro-duced. I’m no math genius, but by any assessment, that’s more than an 87 per-cent increase. How many other industries can claim that?

When you look at the sci-ence, the numbers, the sustainability that GM crops bring and meet the men and women who grow your food, it’s hard to swallow the hys-teria that the “anti” crowd is selling. Young farmers just getting started believe it’s the ‘disconnect’ that folks may have today with farmers; they just haven’t met one.

Q�Q�QColin Johnson is a young

family farmer from Wapello County who grows corn, soybeans and hay. He says the farmers growing food today have more in com-mon with folks asking the questions than many real-ize. Knowledge-seeking is a good thing, so long as both sides are sought out.

“Of course GMO is safe,” Johnson said. “Of course it’s all about feeding more people. But the bottom line for me is that, as a family farmer with young kids, I’m not going to put anything in the ground that’s not safe for us, or our environ-ment. We’re eating this food, too.”

Progress has brought us safer cars, cellphone coverage in the country, the Internet, and count-less improvements in the fields of health care and fitness. Progress also has brought consumers more choices at the grocery store, and that includes healthier choices from GMO food: fortified with calcium, vita-min A, and other vitamins and minerals. Providing choices is what keeps farm-ers moving forward.

“The farming practices we’ve used, the no-till and everything, it’s a great advance from where we were,” Zylstra said. “I have no doubt we will continue to move forward. That’s what we do.”

��CONTINUED FROM 35’’‘‘ ... The bottom line for me is that, as a

family farmer with young kids, I’m not going to put anything in the ground that’s not safe for us, or our environ-

ment. We’re eating this food, too.Colin Johnson, Wapello County farmer

’’‘‘Years ago we used planters with seeds in one box and insecticide in another, which meant we were using a lot more insecticide. I’m happy that old planter sits idle on my farm now, because our GMO seeds help us defeat pests like

rootworm and corn borer.Paul Vaassen, Dubuque County farmer

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38 Fall 2013

BY NANCY DEGNERIowa Beef Industry Council

After participating in a pilot program at schools around the country, many students and school food service direc-tors agree: The Rock and Roll Beef Wrap is delicious and nutritious. The same goes for Spy Thai Beef, Sweet Potato Beef Mash-up, Wrangler’s Beef Chili and Sweet ’n Sloppy Joes.

“Awesome” was a common compli-ment from youngsters who taste-tested and named five all-new ground beef recipes created by the Beef Checkoff Program for school lunches. School food service directors noted the “homemade” flavor of the recipes and the use of economical, widely available ingredients. Another sell-ing point for school staff? The meals pair the timeless appeal of ground beef with “generous’ amounts of veg-etables that young people might not otherwise consume.

School lunches with a twist New beef recipes on school menus get students’ approval

Rock and Roll Beef WrapsTotal Recipe Time: 35 to 45 minutesMakes 4 servingsINGREDIENTS1 pound Ground Beef (93% lean or leaner)1 cup water1/3 cup uncooked quinoa2 tablespoons dry ranch dressing mix1/4 teaspoon black pepper2 cups packaged broccoli or coleslaw mix4 medium whole grain or spinach tortillas (7

to 8-inch diameter)Toppings (optional):Apple slices, red bell pepper strips, cucumber slices, carrot slices, sliced almonds

or chow mein noodlesINSTRUCTIONSHeat large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add Ground Beef; cook 8

to 10 minutes, breaking into 1/2-inch crumbles and stirring occasionally. Remove drippings.

Stir in water, quinoa, ranch dressing mix and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until quinoa is tender. Stir in slaw; cook, uncovered, 3 to 5 minutes or until slaw is crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.

Divide beef mixture evenly among tortillas; garnish with toppings, as desired. Fold over sides of tortillas and roll up to enclose filling.

CONTINUED ON 39�

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AG Mag 39

“The Iowa Beef Industry Council has shared the new recipes with school food service directors across the state,” said Scott Niess, of Osage, chairman of the Iowa Beef Industry Council. “The recipes were triple-tested in the checkoff’s test kitch-en. The national beef check-off and state beef councils in Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Washington then worked with local school districts to field-test the recipes and gather feedback from students and foodservice directors.”

Perhaps most important, the recipes help meet new government nutrition guide-lines for the national school breakfast/lunch program. The five beef recipes meet all school nutrition guidelines

for fat, calories and sodium and help incorporate a variety of food groups, such as meat, vegetables and grains, into meals. The recipes all contain 10 essential nutrients, includ-ing fiber, which was recog-nized as a nutrition concern in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

“We are providing the quantity recipes through our food service website, www.beeffoodservice.com, to help ensure beef remains on school lunch menus as a nutritious, delicious meal option for our children,” Niess said.

Family-size recipes are available at www.beef-itswhatsfordinner.com.

For more information about the school lunch reci-pes, contact the Iowa Beef Industry Council at (515) 296-2305 or [email protected].


Sweet ’n Sloppy JoesTotal Recipe Time: 35 to 40 minutesMakes 4 servingsINGREDIENTS1 pound Ground Beef (93% lean or leaner)1 cup diced bell peppers (red, green, yellow or orange)1/2 cup chopped onion1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce1/2 cup water1/2 cup dark or golden raisins2 teaspoons ancho chile powder1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves4 whole wheat hamburger buns, splitToppings (optional):Chopped mango, chopped jalapeño, chopped tomato,

chopped fresh cilantro, sliced green onion, shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

INSTRUCTIONSHeat large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add

Ground Beef, bell pepper and onion; cook 8 to 10 minutes, breaking beef into 3/4-inch crumbles and stirring occasion-ally. Remove drippings.

Stir in tomato sauce, water, raisins, ancho chili powder and oregano; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 15 to 18 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally.

Evenly divide beef mixture on bottom half of each bun. Garnish with toppings, as desired; close sandwiches.

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Barker Implement .............................................................18,19

Baxter Oil Co. .........................................................................40

Bruce Keith Trucking ............................................................37

Central Iowa Water Association ............................................14

Diamond Trail Sales ...............................................................32

Farm Bureau Financial ...........................................................8

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Harvest Barn ...........................................................................32

Hawkeye Mutual Ins. .............................................................37

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Iowa Family Farms ................................................................35

Iowa Grain Systems ...............................................................33

Iowa Soybean Association .......................................................2

Kellogg Lawn & Snow, Inc. ...................................................33

Key Cooperative .....................................................................13

Konek P.C. ..............................................................................35

Marshall County Farm Bureau .............................................25

Marshalltown Visitors Center ...............................................24

Midwest Biotech .....................................................................38

Newton Health Care Center ...................................................31

Newton Visitors Center ..........................................................35

1XWUDÀR ......................................................................................9

O’Grady Chemical Corp. ......................................................15

Pella Motorworks ...................................................................12

Pella Motorworks ...................................................................29

Pioneer .......................................................................................7

Rohrer Bros. Fertilizer ..........................................................37

Shawn’s Hay Grinding ..........................................................24

S.I. Distributing ......................................................................38

Smith’s Black Herefords ........................................................37

Southard Implement Co. .........................................................3

Stayner Agency Inc. ...............................................................16

Sullivan Auctioneers, LLC. ................................................... 31

Tama County Mutual .............................................................27

Tama Livestock Sales .............................................................25

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