As though it wasn’t hard enough to know how to run your farm, these days you almost have to be a political scientist to figure out just how the government is going to help, hinder, or meddle with your farm operations. Understanding the annual farm bill out of Congress is one such ongoing timesink, and this year’s bill makes a lot of changes. Luckily, there are a lot of smart guys out there who make this kind of stuff their business – and one of them has very kindly summed up the major changes in the farm bill this year. Here are some of the highlights – but if you have a lot of dealings with the federals, you should definitely read the whole thing.

There’s a limitation on payments of $40,000 per person, and a limit on counter-cyclical payments of $65,000, for those not participating in the ACRE (average crop revenue election) program. The good news is, there’s no limit on marketing assistance benefits.

One big change: “person” now refers only to natural persons, i.e., you or me. Companies, marketing cooperatives, partnerships, corporations – these entities can all still receive direct payments, but the limit will be based on the number of natural persons who have direct or indirect ownership interest in the entity.

Government entities, whether local, state, or federal, are no longer eligible for any payments, benefits or loans under Title I or Title XII. This does not mean that farmers operating on government land are ineligible – any lessees on government land may still receive payments.

The gross income limit on payments has been adjusted – you’re not eligible to receive any farm program benefits if your three-year average adjusted non-farm income exceeds $500,000. Also, nobody will be eligible for direct payments in a crop year if their average farm income exceeds $750,000. (I guess Ted Turner will be crying himself to sleep this week.)

Finally, conservation benefits are restricted to those whose average adjusted nonfarm income is less than $1,000,000, unless two-thirds of that income is farm-based. However, there’s a waffle clause in there that says owners of “environmentally sensitive land of special significance” can get a waiver on this limit – now Ted just needs to convince someone in the Department of Agriculture that his ranch is very special indeed. This one seems a little off-base to me; I can certainly see limiting direct payments for farmers who are wealthy, but we make conservation payments to encourage good land practice. That encouragement shouldn’t go away just because you’re doing well; otherwise we’ll end up with a bunch of poor farmers doing good land practice on their tiny farms, and the rich guys not practicing good land stewardship on their huge acreage.

To optimize silage management, it’s critically important to stay on top of the moisture level in the silage feedstock. The key is the timing of your corn harvest, because timing controls the moisture level in the silage – and the moisture level is the key to the highest quality feed.

The moisture of the corn you chop for silage needs to be between 60% and 70% - on the lower end if you’re silaging in an upright silo, on the higher end for a bunker. Your chopped pieces should be 3/8” to ½” in size to optimize the pack. You can determine the moisture level of the corn with a simple hand test – squeeze the chopped silage into a ball and hold it for 30 seconds. If the ball contains more than 75% moisture, it will hold its shape entirely – too wet! If the ball falls apart quickly, it’s under 60% - too dry! If the ball starts to fall apart and produces some juice, but holds together somewhat, it’s right in that 60 to 70% sweet spot.

Silage that’s too moist will lose nutrients, and can even do damage to your silo. It takes longer to ferment, as well. Overdry silage will not pack well and will have too many air pockets, and will take a long time to go anaerobic. The extended period of aerobic fermentation raises the silage temperature, increasing the chance of a burn and lowering the quality.

To detect moisture levels before chopping the corn, you can check the kernel milk line. Break open an ear and examine the developing kernels, and find the milk line. A line that’s between halfway and two-thirds of the way down from the crown is at the 60 to 70% moisture level. You can also use a microwave oven or commercial forage moisture tester, if you get inconsistent results from these hand tests.

It is a fairly common assumption that weeds will outlive you me and our great-great grandchildren fifty times over.  Once they arrive, the take over and regaining any sort of control is not only a chore, but a necessity. 

Weeds are capable of destroying croplands in short order.  Once a weed takes root, they use vital nutrients which weaken the crop.  Over time, it will overtake the area and completely run out the desired species.  Weeds can cause changes in the natural process of the land which causes volumes of ecological damage over time, never mind what is happening to your crops.  Many areas have a weed management control program that targets invasive species of weeds.  In the case of the farmer, however, the only good weed is the one that doesn’t exist.

Here are a few ideas for controlling the ever persistent weed: 

1.        In crop it is important to star controlling weeds before you ever plant.  Be sure to choose a well adapted hybrid, maintain proper soil pH and use adequate plant populations.  When the crop that you are working with gets a head start on the weeds, it gets the advantage on everything from nutrients to sunlight.  As the corn grows it will shade the area around it cutting off the possibility of photosynthesis for the plant, which is imperative for growth. 

2.       Map it out.  To choose the right herbicide you need to determine what weeds are going to pose challenges.  Create a map and then do a little research on appropriate herbicides for each problematic area.  If you are pre-planting, take note of what weeds are out there the season before.  This will give you an idea as to what is going to be where for the upcoming season.

3.       Get mowing!  This is probably the first and easiest step to take in controlling weeds – at least for pastures and rangeland.  This is one of those things that is all about the timing.  If you notice you have a new crop of weeds coming up in a pasture, mow it before it goes to seed.  If you mow before a plant goes to seed you are keeping it from producing more seeds.  By keeping the grass height to about four inches (minimum for grazing pastures) the grass shades the dirt, thus preventing the new seeds from germinating as well.  Mowing can also make the grass that is there grow in thicker over time, thus running out the ever persistent weed.   –Keeps the farm looking tidy and well attended too.

4.       Down and dirty – The all time most surefire way of getting rid of a weed is to dig it up by hand.  No, this technique cannot be applied to huge tracts of land, but is plenty effective in the garden or in smaller pasture areas.  Also, be careful; it is not advised to pull weeds if herbicides was ever applied.  And, by digging them up, you can disturb root systems of the desired crop(s) and bring other weed seeds to the top to germinate.  Moisture loss can also occur.  

5.       Consider Crop rotation.  Rotating crops not only helps to control weeds, but nematodes, insects and diseases in other following crops as well. 

Bottom line, get to them before they get to you.  That is the best way to get the job done.  Most extension agencies have Web sites or other program dedicated to weed control specific to your region as well as the crop.  For more specific information regarding weed control check out this Web site http://weedext.ifas.ufl.edu/.  Happy weeding!!

Pro Farmer has made their fall harvest estimates for corn and soybeans, and it’s shaping up to be a fairly decent year. Pro Farmer’s estimates assume that there won’t be any major changes in the weather (especially early frost) over the remainder of the growing season, and they calculate their estimates should be within 1% on corn and 2% on soybeans, given relatively normal weather patterns.

For corn, the national estimate is 153.3 bushels per acre, with a total harvest of 12.152 billion bushels. For soy, the national yield estimate is 39.95 bushels per acre, with a total of 2.930 billion bushels harvested.

For corn, the figures represent a slight decline from last year’s record-setting yield of 155 bushels/acre. Soy yield is also down a bit from last year’s 41.2 bushels/acre. These are still extremely high yields by historical standards – last year was just exceptionally good.

State-by-state, Illinois and Iowa are the reigning corn champs in terms of yield, with estimates of 168.5 bushels/acre in both states despite a poor start to the growing season and a lot of dry weather (ironic given the floods, but then, Mother Nature always has a sense of humor when it comes to farm production). Indiana is up sharply with 167 bushels/acre. Ohio is turning in a notably poor year, with 151 bushels/acre, due to a rocky start to the planting season. For soybeans, Nebraska tops the charts with 50 bushels/acre, and analysts credit this to the development of precise irrigation skills among Nebraska’s bean farmers.

Overall the estimates are on-track for a solid if not spectacular and record-setting production cycle. These numbers do indicate that the ability of the farming sector to absorb major blows from the weather, such as the floods this summer, have improved over the past decades. Part of that can be attributed to greater capitalization – it’s easier to shift your planting when you’ve got multiple/scalable tractors to do it with – but I’d wager that the biggest change has been in the access to weather technology, and in the greater education and skill possessed by the modern US farmer.