Another growing season is rapidly coming to a close. As of this writing in early November, 85% of soybean harvest is complete and 71% of the corn nationally. Locally, over 90% of the soybeans were harvested by the second week of October, which is well ahead of normal, and a good start was made on corn as well. Approximately 85% of the local corn has been harvested at this time, which is ahead of average. Yields this year can be summed up as variable, but in many cases better than expected. We knew going into harvest the haves and have-nots on summer rainfall and generally drier areas were down on both corn and soybean yields. The areas that received good early August rains have done better than we would have guessed given the dry and sometimes hot end to the growing season.
Most farms that we work with have a mix of cropland and non-cropland acres. The non-cropland acres usually have features like creeks, wetlands, waterways, building sites, steep terrain, trees, or pasture which make those areas impractical to farm. A land category kind of in-between are the acres enrolled in CRP (Conservation Reserve Program). CRP acres are still considered cropland, but they are not planted to crops during the contract. These acres can be farmed again after the contract ends. Typically, CRP contracts run for 10 or 15 years. We get a lot of questions each year about the many aspects of CRP. This article will provide an overview of CRP and some thoughts on how to use it. The CRP program is administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA), a branch under the USDA. Landowners sign a contract agreeing to plant a specific seed mix in exchange for a yearly rental payment. The goal or public benefit of this program includes improving water quality, reducing soil erosion, and adding wildlife habitat. This is a voluntary program on private land; it’s very popular on marginal farmland and sensitive areas especially near water or wetlands.
2023’s land market has rounded third and is heading for home. The 3rd quarter is in the books and we’re into the 4th quarter, which typically has the highest sale volume. Our summary of sales in the 3rd quarter showed some weakness in mid to lower-quality farms while high-quality tracts showed mostly steady values. Each sale has its own story, of course, which may not fit the overall trend. We expect the general trend to continue as lower grain prices and higher interest rates make buyers a little selective in deploying capital.
Every five years, Iowa State University Extension undertakes extensive surveys of Iowa farmland ownership, tenure, and transition. This survey actually extends back to the 1940’s and was mandated by Iowa Code in 1989 to be conducted every five years. This survey was the first of its kind in the nation. The latest survey was released in June 2023 with an effective date of July 1, 2022. This survey has some very interesting and significant findings, especially in comparison to 1982.
One of my favorite things to learn about is history. That extends to learning the history of the farms Stalcup manages. We do extensive research to investigate yield history, tile improvements, fertility levels, and anything else that will be beneficial to know about every farm. This helps understand future needs for every farm that can be improved. We recently had a milestone reached by one of our farm operators that is unprecedented in company history. Karl Lind has been farming a 160 acre farm north of Albert City, owned by the same family, for 60 years. We like to think that we know more about the farms we manage than anyone else, but this is an exception to that rule. Although Stalcup Ag Service has not been the contracted farm manager of this particular farm the entire time, we have worked with Karl for well over half of his 60 seasons.
