From My Side of the Fence Summer 2025
Eternal Optimists
By Dennis Kenning
Ag Producers have fought through droughts, fires, floods, hail, high wind events, while challenged with high input costs, and low market prices. Farming is a tough life with hard work, long hours, little time off, and sometimes getting paid poorly once a year. Over the years I heard producers say things such as “it can only get better,” or “next year will be an improvement ”. Farming is not something you jump in and out of from year to year. Even with all the challenges. Farmers have got to be “Eternal Optimists”.
It’s a tough go for crop producers. All the inputs are so expensive and grain prices are in the dump. In a previous column, I made the comments that grains prices are the same as when I attended high school. So I went back and found that soybeans in June of 1973 were priced at $10 per bushel and there was a short rally when beans reached $13. What other industry has prices that go back to the 50 years ago?
I get it. It’s about supply and demand. One reason is that so many countries are producing more of the supply. South America is a real player in the global market place. Counties like Brazil produced 322 million tons of grain last year. Many of these countries have an advantage because they produce crops during the entire year. They also have more rainfall and now have a better infrastructure to move their grain. They also now have the technology to produce more food. Seed and chemicals companies like South America because of their two growing seasons.
China is a big buyer in the world marketplace and China doesn’t always play fair. China stock piles large amounts of grain to feed their huge population. China has said that would like to reduce their dependence for US grain. One of the problems with China is that they fail to play fair; they have been known to break contracts or delayed shipments. Like it or not we are very dependent on China for agriculture supplies or ingredients to manufacture products here in the US. An example of this is mineral feeds for livestock. China is the only country that producers the pre-cursors for the US to manufacture these minerals for livestock.
Now we come to the White Elephant in the room, Tariffs. Any time you place a tariff on a product the cost will go up. This makes your product more expensive in the marketplace and now you are not competitive.
According to the White House Fact Sheet, President Trump listed a number of reasons for applying these tariffs.
- Encourages people to buy more American-made products.
- Increases tax revenue for the US.
- Provides fair trade and equality with countries that we trade with.
- The President wanted countries to stop migrants and illegal drugs reaching the US.
- Tariffs address the injustices of global trade. “Treat us like we treat you”.
According to a recent “Successful Farming” publication, both the US and China have agreed to lower Tariffs for the next 90 days. I don’t like large tariffs for our neighbors to the south and north. When I worked for Landoll Corporation in Marysville, we shipped a number of pieces of tillage equipment into Canada and Mexico each year. I know that local cooperatives ship a number of grain trains into Mexico. Also keep in mind that Mexico can easily buy grains from South America.
With other countries producing more grain, China’s desire to reduce grain purchases, and tariffs adding to the price of grain, I don’t see grain prices getting much better. I hope I’m wrong again and hoping prices will get better. Now think about this for a second, what industry goes into production with high input costs, while hoping commodity prices will be better. Agricultural Producers must be the Eternal Optimist.
Around the Farm
For the past couple of years I’ve been interested in getting tracking devices for our cattle. This is our first year to use a solar GPS tracking device for our bulls. This device can tell us if a bull is visiting a neighbor’s pasture and how many times a bull is mounting. I have already found out that one of our bulls is little lazy. I hope to have results about GPS tracking, in my future columns. We still have some late cow calf pairs to move to grass. I had a heifer that ripped open her side trying to get through a fence. Then we had a calf that broke his leg during the first week of pasture season. It took a little work to catch the cow and calf, with again another trip to the vet.
Planting went pretty well with a couple of break-downs and parts runs. Corn and Beans look good as we have been blessed with some good rains. We didn’t have a huge amount of rain but it came slow and the temperature was cool so any moisture really soaked into the ground. Hopefully the rain keeps coming over the entire growing season. We are trying to put up some hay between rains and also been spraying for thistles in the pasture.
I got my granddaughter a horse from an Equine Rescue Center in Kansas. It’s kind of cool that we were able to save a horse from the killer pen. So far, So good, she has been getting along with horse. I guess only time will tell. The grand daughter is working with her projects for the County Fair, which is just around the corner. Speaking of that, I hope to see you at the county fair.
Winter 2024
THE AUTONOMOUS RANCHER
From My Side of the Fence by Dennis Kenning
I think about how agriculture has changed over the years. My father started farming with horses and later farmed with a small gas tractor. He was thrilled when chemicals like 2-4-D could be used as an effective weed killer. If Dad was around today, he would be totally amazed of the fully autonomous John Deere Tractor.
The general population is unaware of how much technology is involved in agriculture today. Most people on the street think that agriculture is some old guy driving a tractor down the road pulling a plow. And for the future, who knows what will be invented next. Every sector of agriculture has benefited from some type of new technology. There have been so many improvements in seed genetics, chemical platforms, fertilizer application, and irrigation systems. Even the delivery methods have seen changes such as drones applying pesticides, autonomous equipment, robotic harvesters, and selective weed sprayers.
One of the biggest advantages for using technology is that it allows producers to improve decision making, based on many factors, thus increasing production through better management. It can also provide better use of resources, all in an effort to increase profits. It can have many disadvantages such as that high initial cost, and it can be a long process when getting started. Much of the technology is dependent on other technologies such as satellite signals, computer models, or artificial intelligence. Technology is expensive and becomes affordable when you can spread that cost out over many acres. Like any technology it’s really great when it works and not so fun when it doesn’t work.
A few years ago I ran into a producer that was really upset. The producer had purchased a new combine with all the bells and whistles. He ordered this equipment with all the technology which included yield mapping. The producer had a lot of trouble with this combine itself and it sounded like he needed some training on using the technology. I remember the producer saying, “all this technology does me no good when that combine is not running in the field”.
I know animal producers have benefited greatly from advances in technology. The uses of animal cloning, electronic identification, embryo transfer, and improved pharmaceuticals have benefited animal agriculture. Some of these technologies have really benefited those producers using a confinement system. As a cow-calf producer I would welcome the autonomous rancher robot. I need someone to fix fence, treat sick calf’s, and clean out the livestock trailer. It would be great to have some kind of machine that determines when a cow is having trouble calving, run the cow into the barn, and finally automatically pull that calf out of the cow. Well I can dream, can’t I?
Technology is an excellent tool to help producers become more efficient and there is much more to come with the use of Artificial Intelligence. The fact remains that even with all that technology there will always be those tasks that a farmer will simply have to do the old fashion way. It’s called labor.
AROUND THE FARM
I think we harvested for a little over 40 days with dry harvest weather. A couple of days we cut short due to the high winds and that very dry residue. Starting a combine fire can happen way too easy. Parts get hot, a bearing goes out, or a sickle throws a spark, and the residue sticks to the machine thanks to the aid of static electricity. Beans yields were not good, but corn did alright for such a dry year. Corn stocks degraded due to the rainfall that occurred after harvest, but I’m not complaining. Mommy cows are running on corn stocks with some supplemental protein and mineral.
Soon cows will come home and the calving process will start and let the fun begin.
Barry Weber Livestock Systems Extension Educator
Hello! I’m Barry Weber, the new, as of December, Livestock Systems Extension Educator for Nemaha, Richardson, Johnson, Pawnee, Gage, Jefferson, and Saline counties. I grew up outside of Friend on a farm with crops and cattle before I attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to study Animal Science. I returned to UNL to complete a master’s degree in Ruminant Nutrition. After working with a few different companies and having traveled around the country visiting all types of cattle operations, I’m happy to have landed back in southeast Nebraska.
On February 27-28, the inaugural sessions of the Midwest Forage, Education and Efficiency in Diversified Systems Practicum (Midwest FEEDS) were held. This is a yearlong course that examines a whole system approach to cattle and crop production and fits the demographic of many operations in southeast Nebraska. Each session is designed to discuss topics that are timely for a typical crop and livestock operation.
This session opened with the importance of knowing and monitoring the body condition scores (BCS) of your cows. (For more information on the BCS scoring system, visit https://beef.unl.edu/learning/condition1b.shtml). A BCS of 5 for a mature cow and 6 for first calf heifers is a logical target for calving season. Since those heifers are still physically growing and will be channeling a healthy portion of their energy toward lactation, not to mention repairing their reproductive tract, the fat from that extra condition score serves as an energy reserve during the most nutritionally challenging time of her life. As Dr. Rick Rasby so eloquently said, “Young cows aren’t elastic like old cows.” It’s important to have cows at the target BCS before calving, as playing catch up can be expensive and is not always practical. A study (Mayo, 2002) found that 70% of supplemental energy is directed toward lactation, so not only is that cow only putting 30% of the extra feed toward her energy needs, the increased milk production can lead to milk scours.
The emphasis on correct BCS at calving is rewarded with that cow’s prompt return to estrus and higher pregnancy rates. For a cow to maintain her yearly calving interval, she will have approximately 80 days post-partum to rebreed. One study (Funston, 1998) found that cows in a BCS 3 or 4 had an 80 day interval between calving and first estrus, while cows in a BCS 5 or 6 had a 55 day interval between calving and first heat. Cows in good condition should breed back sooner and have more estrus cycles to be bred during the breeding season, resulting in a tighter calving window and older, heavier calves at weaning. It is also important to note that in terms of BCS, more is not always better. Cows at a 7 or above tend to have more difficulty calving and lower pregnancy rates.
This is also the time to consult with your veterinarian and make plans for your vaccination program. Consider the timing of your breeding season and when and what type of vaccines should be given according to labels. Keep any possible cull cows in mind prior to vaccinations or other shots given so that you’re aware of withdrawal times before selling. This is also a good time to clean and calibrate syringes, make sure you’ve got plenty of new, sharp needles, and check on any pharmaceuticals that may be resting in your refrigerator. Vaccines or medicines that have been frozen can be altered in such a manner as to turn toxic if given. It’s also a good idea to make sure your working facilities are functional. A little oil or grease ahead of time can prevent an emergency karate session while the alley is full of cattle.
Finally, now is the time to make contingency plans for your grazing season. Drought is never too far away and having an idea of what to do if and when it rears its ugly head gives you options. Since we are in a bromegrass dominant area, with a peak of growth and nutritional quality in April and May followed by a decline in growth and quality during the mid-summer months, have an idea of what you can do during those months. Procuring or stockpiling future feed requirements now, identifying and selling culls early, creep feeding and/or early weaning are all options to consider. The goal is to sell cows when you want to sell, not when you must sell.
The next session will be at the end of April where topics covered will be breeding season and forage systems. While admission is closed for this year, it is my hope that someone reading my summaries throughout the programs is interested in attending next year. In the meantime, do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions. I may not have the answer right away, but I know people that will!
Barry Weber
(402)335-3669