This Week in Ag #25

By Fred Nichols
Chief Marketing Officer,
Huma®, Inc.

36 years ago, a wide-eyed intern walked into the office of Indiana Prairie Farmer magazine. It was a baptism by fire. Paul Queck, the seasoned editor, told him, “We’d like to have you take a shot at writing what we hope to be the cover story for July. Since you’re only here for a few months, we don’t have time to train you, so we need to see what you got. Either you’ll produce a great story we can run, or we won’t use it and you can spend the rest of the summer editing news releases.” Sounds harsh, huh? Then he continued, “Oh, and this is the last story idea we’ll ever give you. From this point forward, you need to come up with your own story ideas and find sources.” Well, that intern must have come through, evidenced by the story below. Dozens of other stories penned by that intern appeared throughout that year, too. All written on a typewriter, no less. [Read more…]

This Week in Ag #14

By Fred Nichols
Chief Marketing Officer,
Bio Huma Netics®, Inc.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. That popular saying could just as easily apply to planting corn. It’s impossible to recover from planting time mishaps. Don’t believe it? Try this. Walk into a cornfield where plants have recently emerged. Identify a plant that’s shorter than the rest (some call these runt plants). Tie a ribbon to the small plant and watch it all season. That plant will likely never catch up to the size of its peers. It may not even produce a harvestable ear. But it will drain water and nutrients. My friend Steven Abracht – 11-time NCGA national yield contest winner – famously called these plants weeds. [Read more…]

This Week in Ag #12

By Fred Nichols
Chief Marketing Officer,
Bio Huma Netics, Inc.

#Plant23 is well underway. From the time seeds are sown, how many days should it take for crops to emerge? That can vary greatly, from days to weeks. But for many crops, it’s not really about calendar days, but Growing Degree Days (GDD). [Read more…]

This Week in Ag #10

By Fred Nichols
Chief Marketing Officer,
Bio Huma Netics, Inc.

Football may be a game of inches, but farming is a business of fractional inches. Take planting. Seed placement is paramount to the success of a crop. Farmers spend lots of time calculating the optimum rate and depth to plant their seeds based on genetics, soil type, soil conditions, weather, management practices and the desired output of their crop. [Read more…]

This Week in Ag #8

By Fred Nichols
Chief Marketing Officer,
Bio Huma Netics, Inc.

Farmers love to grow corn. Only twice in modern history has corn not held the title of the most-grown crop in the USA. That was in 2018 and (if you count it) 1983, when the government’s PIK program artificially swayed planting practices. Spurred by record fertilizer prices, many projected soybeans would overtake corn last year in their annual acreage tug-of-war. But the allure of maize once again prevailed. [Read more…]

This Week in Ag #7

By Fred Nichols
Chief Marketing Officer,
Bio Huma Netics, Inc.

For most farmers, April means the start of planting season. It’s a lot like opening day for a baseball team: heavy planning, great excitement and anticipation, lots of optimism and more than a few watch outs. So when exactly do farmers start planting? While they all have a plan, Mother Nature usually has the final say. There is an art and science to determining when to first drop the planter. Here are some key factors that determine the right time. [Read more…]

This Week in Ag #6

By Fred Nichols
Chief Marketing Officer,
Bio Huma Netics, Inc.

Tomorrow is National Ag Day! Just like Bio Huma Netics, Inc., National Ag Day is enjoying its golden anniversary. The day is dedicated to celebrating and raising awareness for how our food, fiber (and energy) is produced. This year’s theme is “Growing a Climate for Tomorrow.” Agriculture is the USA’s largest employer, responsible for 23 million jobs – with about 2 million being actual farmers. While the number of farmers continues to decline, the job market in agriculture is booming. USDA expects to see almost 58,000 job openings per year for graduates with a bachelor’s degree or higher. The strongest job market is expected for plant scientists, food scientists, sustainable biomaterials specialists, water resources scientists and engineers, precision agriculture specialists, and farm-animal veterinarians. While Ag Day is officially celebrated on March 21, agriculture is the one industry we celebrate every day, three times a day. [Read more…]

This Week in Ag #5

By Fred Nichols
Chief Marketing Officer,
Bio Huma Netics, Inc.

It’s Commodity Classic week. This is one of the ag industry’s most important shows, and among my favorite times of the year. I’ll be in Orlando for the show, as will Lyndon Smith, Barrett Smith and Michael Gardner. #Classic23 is expected to draw around 5,000 farmers. But what makes this show exceptional is not the number of farmers who attend, it’s the type of farmers who attend. On average, farmer attendees operate 3,500 acres, earn $3.5 million in gross income and annually purchase $383,000 in fertilizer, $429,000 in seed and crop protection products and $718,000 in equipment. Moreover, these farmers are highly influential. Many serve on state and national boards for the corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum associations, elected by their peers to do so. This is also where state and national yield contest winners are recognized. Among attendees, 72% say Commodity Classic is the most important event they attend all year. And as is often the case, #Classic23 will include a speaking appearance by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. [Read more…]

This Week in Ag #4

By Fred Nichols
Chief Marketing Officer,
Bio Huma Netics, Inc.

Wednesday was Tax Day. For farmers, it was. Unlike the rest of us, farmers (and fishermen) file taxes on March 1. Due to the complexities of farming, including depreciation schedules for machinery, most farmers hire a professional tax preparer to help file their Schedule F. These are often independent accountants. And most are long-standing, often multi-generational relationships. Some local Farm Credit and Farm Bureau offices also offer the service. The business of farming is rife with fluidity. Even though they are harvested in the summer or fall, many grain crops are stored and sold throughout the year, as are livestock, so income can be generated any time of the year. There are several options farmers can use to “adjust” their income with expenses. They can elect to prepay fertilizer or other crop inputs in December or purchase equipment. So, farmers frequently consult with their tax person throughout the year for advice on managing income and expenses and how this can impact taxes. [Read more…]

This Week in Ag #3

By Fred Nichols
Chief Marketing Officer,
Bio Huma Netics, Inc.

There are lots of definitions floating around for regenerative agriculture. But the best and simplest I’ve heard was from Soilcraft. They define regen ag as adding “life.” When you think about it, the practices of no-till/low-till, crop rotation, cover crops, manure and biological products all help create, stimulate, prolong and accelerate more diverse life in the soil. Better soil life leads to better plant life (healthier crops), better human life (more nutritious food), better environmental life (less erosion, fewer toxins, less carbon emissions) and better financial life (reduced crop input costs, higher long-term yields, higher land values) for farmers. [Read more…]

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