IAmA Midwestern Farmer. I know a lot about corn. AMA!

Are you outstanding in your field?

Like am I good at my job? I am ok. I'm still young and I need to learn a lot.

Am I out in a corn field? South Dakota is one giant corn field so yes.

[deleted]

Thanks man! Good luck in all of your studies and thanks everything you do for us simple folk!

[deleted]

Sorry ma'am. Should have looked at your username more closely. Go teach them kids about corn and moo-cows! They're two of my favorite things in the world.

To what extent do government farm subsidies effect your decision to grow corn? What percentage of corn grown in the US end up as high fructose corn syrup?

Not much if any at all it seems. I don't know specifics but I don't think its to much.

http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/Pubs/rp/PB09-01SweeteningPotFeb09.pdf

Sorry for the crappy link. But this article makes it sound like the subsidies lower the overall price of corn, and in turn HFCS and grain-fed animals' meat. Too bad insulin isn't also made from corn.

If it does lower the price we still are making a decent living and things could be a lot worse so I'm not going to complain.

You misunderstand (it's not a big deal)... Subsidies lower the price of corn for us because they lower costs for you. Without the subsidies you'd make less of a profit on corn and it wouldn't be as profitable to grow.

I'd like to ask a different question: Is there a large corn-growing community where you live? Can you tell us a bit about your culture and how your lives may be based around growing in ways some people might not appreciate?

Sorry my brain is kind of fried from being in a tractor for 15 hours these last 2 weeks.

Large scale. The culture is very close and open. Everyone knows everything. Its cliche small town living. I've been told that the main way a rural community can survive is an Elevator and I do believe that 100%

No worries :)

An elevator?

The place to bring grain to and sell it.

How come whenever I eat corn, wait a few hours and then go take a shit, I always see it in my poop?

That is just the outer "shell". The nutrients of the corn is all gone and is now filled with your poop.

... is that seriously how it works? I never thought to ask this question before, and was honestly astounded by the clarity and bluntness of your reply.

That is what I have been told all these years.

I was running wagons all week in Southwester MN. We had 50 bushel beans and 145 bushel corn w/18% h2o. We farm about 220 acres and run equipment that is now considered vintage. 1972 Gleaner M2 is hard to find parts for. It's amazing how different the soil condition are over that 120 miles between our farms. Hope you finish up ok.

That's amazing! Glad you guys had such a great harvest with awesome prices to sell your grain at! Not to hard to find Gleaners around here so parts are pretty easy to come by.

What is your opinion about Mansanto? Have they in any way impacted you directly?

Actually Mansanto used to run test plots on one of our fields that had 150 acres of farm-able ground. They took up about 30 acres for themselves and paid for all of our seed and fertilizer on the entire field and we collected 100% of the grain. They were incredibly generous to us but we don't associate with them anymore.

[deleted]

We just said our goodbyes. They were done working there and we didn't need them anymore. I have heard some bad stories too so maybe that is why we don't deal with them anymore but it was a nice, graceful exit by them.

Thank you for doing shit I'm to lazy to do. Why is corn so delicious?

Because its magic.

In Iowa, we're pretty concerned about soil erosion. Is that also a big issue for you guys? What do you do about it?

Its a bit of a concern but not a huge issue around here, I guess. Not to many people complain about it.

[deleted]

Yep! I limit myself on corn consumption so I will always like it.

I came here to see some corny jokes. I am disappointed.

Potatoes have eyes. Corn have ears.

Smut. Your thoughts?

Kind of bad this year but never bothered us before.

Can you go over the typical yearly schedule for you for plantings of corn and soybeans for your area? When do you decide to plant, when do you add fertilizer/any sprays, what do you tend to use for those?

What are some milestones for plant growth along the way? When do you harvest?

Do you do crop rotation? If you do what's your schedule?

What do you do in the winters?

When you sell to the grain elevators do you have any idea what your grains typically end up being used for in the end?

I hear a lot that someone starting out from scratch in large-scale farming needs a lot of capital, and it's run more like a family business where a lot of the assets are passed from generation to generation. Is this true?

We spread fertilizer a month before we start planting so around the end of March. We wait until the soil is nice and warm which is usually around the end of April. We plant corn first and spray herbicide along with the planting of the corn. Then comes beans. Spray grass control before we start planting the beans.

No real 'milestones.' Just all gradual. Sorry if I misinterpreted that question. Wait for the plants to dry up to harvest and that happens on at the end of September. (Except this year, but this is a bad year to go by.)

We do projects in the winter. Work on old tractors and various other things.

It all depends on the market. Theres no set "time" other than usually avoid selling at the beginning of harvest since prices take a dive down.

Completely true. Its almost impossible to start up fresh and be successful without help from the family.

Why is this a bad year to go by? Also, thanks for the AMA, very interesting stuff :)

Drought ruined the year so its not under normal conditions.

I grew up in rural Indiana, and Pioneer Seed Corn was a huge employer in the summer back in the day (I think it's mostly immigrants these days). Hundreds of kids would head out to the fields to detassle hundreds upon hundreds of acres.

In college, my summer job was working for Pioneer following the crews around to make sure the fields were clean enough. Fun job, and I walked my ASS off.

It's funny when I'm talking about jobs I had when I was a kid, and the number of people who don't understand seed corn and what goes into producing it.

I never had the "pleasure" of detassling so I'm missing out on that fun. It is amazing what has to go into a single kernel of corn.

Great AMA. There is a lot of incorrect information about farming on reddit, and it is good to get the story direct from a farmer.

Happy to be of service.

How much do you think speculators affect the price of corn? Do you sell for spot or is it sold forward? Since you can probably tell the upcoming season's yields do you take advantage of that 'insider' knowledge on commodity markets?

A lot. A little bit of both. Contract some at a price, sell some for market price. The only insider knowledge is rumors that spread around town. Its still risky either way.

Do you wear overalls? What is your preferred brand of overalls?

I don't but if I had to go with a brand it would be Key.

Can you tell me what exactly the difference between sweet corn and the corn they use for livestock is? I've heard you can eat both (pretty sure the 'feed' corn is what they use for flour, but I'm not sure.) Can you eat young feed corn or is it only useful to humans ground up?

Sweet corn is a completely different mutation. Its more of a vegetable then a grain compared to 'feed' corn and is picked while still maturing. Grain corn won't hurt you one bit if you eat it, but it doesn't taste to great...

Has/Will your crop be damaged significantly by the drought?

Oh God yes! Beans are doing about 25 bushel/acre (normally around 40 bushel/acre) and corn is about 40 bushel/acre (normally 130 bushel/acre). Thank God for insurance.

Wholly.... 40 bushels from normally 130? Wow. Beef, pork and chicken prices are going to become Insane. How much will the insurance protect you?

Yep. You'd be surprise how much it will affect everyone. There's different policies. My father had 70% of his bushels covered while I have 65% covered.

How do you water the crop?

I've heard that much water can be saved by running tubes under the soil to distribute it rather than spraying water onto the surface where a lot is lost through evaporation. On the other hand, that sounds expensive to install and I don't know how tilling would work with tubes in the ground.

Is this something farmers do?

Rain. Some people use irrigation for sandy ground but we don't deal with it.

Yep just not around here to much. That is more down in Nebraska.

So tell me about corn.

Corn is always interesting. You probably have some right now.

How I feel in this thread....

I'm a farmer. I don't know much. Have a little patience.

Hey, thanks for the AMA. Here are some questions:

1. Do you think your corn crop will come back next year and into the future or do you think rain has been decreasing (thus affecting your yields) over the years?

2. If the drought continues into the future, do you worry about water? Is that something other farmers in your area worry about?

3. What is the average age of farmers in your area?

Thanks again

No problem. Glad to be here!

1) I think the rain will be back next year. We get a nice wet winter to re hydrate the soil we should be good. 2)Yeah. We rely 90% on rain for moisture. 3)Around 50 if I had to guess.

People always complain about core farmers getting subsidies. Do you get any?

Other than crop insurance, no.

I am sure someone in your operation gets a direct payment from the USDA.I farm by the way so I am not trying to be offensive.

You're probably right but I haven't seen a check yet haha. Sorry if I sounded defensive. Wasn't intentional.

Are you making a lot more money these days, with the price of grain going up so much?

In that past 5 years, yeah but thanks to the drought this year we won't make this much. Oh well. Can't win them all.

Is your farm family-run? Were your parents farmers, too?

Completely family-run. I was born into it. My family has been farming ever since my great-great grandfather came from Ireland in the early 1900's.

Any problems with coyotes? i hunt SE SD often, so message me if you got a problem haha

Nope haha but you're always welcome here.

1) What do you think about hydroponics?

2) Do you think we should pursue industrial hemp as an alternative to corn based ethanol?

3) What is your opinion on the obstruction of the Farm Bill?

1) Its neat but I don't think I will see it take off wildly in my career.

2) Of course. Anything to burn cleaner fuel.

3) Better get their shit together right. It could take a huge blow on everyone in the nation.

Midwestern

Corn

Wooo, Illino-- oh.

Sorry bro =[

Do you accept the Great Cornholio as your lord and savior?

On another note, any idea how much you guys spend on the corn or farm equipment?

Nope. We worship Chris Rock in his true form. http://www.underground-gamer.com/imagebucket/CHRIS.jpeg

We have close to $1,000,000 in equipment. Our operating note (the money it takes for seed, fertilizer, chemical and fuel) each year is around $800,000.

Damn man, kinda hard to accept the fact you are burying 800k into the ground.

Last question, do you think corn subsidies are helping or hurting the market? Some would say the focus on corn is detrimental especially when farmed for the ethanol market but other say its too vital to just ditch.

Anyway thanks for making my taco habit possible (and answering my questions but damn you for HFCS D:

But you get some much back from the ground! I believe they are helping. Corn is pretty much here to stay as long as we have a thriving beef market. Corn is the only feed that finishes growing the calf to be slaughtered for good beef. Plus there is a vast amount of demand in the ethanol market. I can't control where it goes after I sell it. I would stop it if I could.

Corn is not the only feed for finishing beef. Here in Canada, corn is not an optimal crop because of the shorter growing season and barley is used for fattening beef and for ethanol.

There's really no barely around here so we kinda are forced to use corn haha.

Are you or your neighbors being affected by drought or temperature changes? I'm asking because a family member of time declared bankruptcy last year after persistent drought failed his wheat crops two years in a row. He doesn't farm any more. It's a troubling situation.

Yep. We are all in the same boat this year.

If I took a kernel of corn and put it in the dirt, then watered it regularly, would a stalk of corn eventually grow?

What if I buried a fish next to it?

Yep. Fish would provide better fertilizer so you would get a better stalk and thus a better yield.

So... what tractors do you have?

Die hard Case IH fans. http://i.imgur.com/Ytn8a.jpg

Why do farmers seem to have such brand loyalty? My Grandfather farmed Corn and Soybeans his whole life in northern Iowa and him and all his brothers used John Deeres, collected vintage John Deere tractors, and wouldn't even look in the direction of a piece of farm equipment that wasn't green.

Its just a farmer thing. We're pretty stubborn people haha

Do you use no-till practices?

We don't but some guys do. We are thinking about going into it sometime in the future.

In my neck of the woods, nearly everyone does Although some people are not keen about the GM seed (roundup ready), it really reduces fuel costs and helps the soil and moisture content. It took some getting used to see soybeans coming up through last years corn stubble.

Yep that would be the same trend here.

What is this: http://i.imgur.com/7fI7s.jpg and where can I buy it?

Maize. What corn looked like before we genetically engineered it. Still can find it almost anywhere.

Is corn an instrument?

An instrument of pain sometimes, yes.

how do you protect your crops from western corn rootworm

Treated seed.

How much time do you spend on reddit a day during work?

Waay to much. Probably close to 5 hours all together. Baconreader has become the thing that keeps me from going insanely bored.

What are your thoughts on "corn sugar"?

Never really was brought up to me until now. So not much.

Do you have any american workers?

Do you have any migrant workers?

There is a sterotype that american farm-workers can't/don't work as hard. Any truth to this?

All American (family).

No migrants.

A little haha. We still keep busy but a lot of it is sitting in a tractor. But when its time to go (crop is ready), you'd better fucking go. There is a lot of nature elements we have to try to beat.

Stratego YLD or Headline AMP?

Don't use much for fungicide but I would say Headline AMP.

Would you ever want to farm anything else?

Other than having a garden I am pretty content with my crop choices.