Trent’s Christmas List – Better Prices, Warmer Temps

Trent’s Christmas List – Better Prices, Warmer Temps
The first two items on Trent Brandenburg’s Christmas List for 2016 are: better crop prices and warmer temperatures. With the between-seasons farmer optimism, Trent is looking forward to starting another crop year. Although soybeans are more profitable than corn right now, he does not plan to change his rotations. Corn-on-corn incurs more input expenses for fertilizer and disease control. The disease issues are suppressed in a corn-bean rotation.
Trent sees no major changes in planning his crop inputs of seeds and chemicals for the new crop year. He continues to study marketing strategies to enhance his operating return during the current period of low prices. Most trade predictions see the low prices lasting for another two years at least.
More from The Field Report
Summertime Mowing And Spraying
Trent Brandenburg has been busy mowing his lawn and his roadsides due to the sunshine and frequent rains making his grass grow as well as his corn and soybeans. He has been hiring aerial spraying of fungicides to suppress disease [...]
Everything Looks Pretty Good, Says Trent
Trent Brandenburg has finished planting except for a few ponds. He is pleased with the germination so far. It is still too wet for side-dressing, but at least the Drought Monitor shows no dryness in Trent's farming area of Central [...]
Waiting For It To Dry Out
Trent Brandenburg got 1.5 inches of rainfall over Easter Weekend, so he is "waiting for it to dry out," to resume planting. He began planting last Tuesday, April 15. Trent estimated he has about a third of his corn and [...]