JonSCKs - 7/19/2025 09:54

We have had rain this year.

Several of our wheat fields yielded more this year than the past three years combined.  However harvesting 75% of 28 bu wheat ain’t much.

But yes.. it was the largest bushels harvested on our farm.  We opened a bin which we haven’t filled in a few and dumped the overage in it.  The local elevator has not taken a record amount of bushels in.. as..

Acres are down.
Yields were variable.. from 40s to 100.
Weather.. rain, test weight shrink and shatter loss all contributed.

now pigweeds galore.. we’ve loaded the profile during the drought to last 100 years.. those chickens are coming home to roost.

Some rented ground.. isn’t going to get farmed.  Operators are scaling back.. and weeding out the acreage which doesn’t pencil.  A neighbor threw in the towel on a property.. made 38 this year.. but lost $$$ the past 3 from the drought.  Offered to us.. “no thanks.”  I told them to call the kid who’s been building fence and grazing.. “it’ll grow grass.”

There are several quarters which were farmed that now have a fence around them.. looking good.  They didn’t produce a lot before.. ‘cept when it rained.. so they’ll probably not going to be missed from a bushel perspective much either.

KStates equipment rental rates are under calculated by a third.  The neighbor needed a part.. from Canada.. quoted $600.. came in.. with tariff over $900. X everything else which breaks = inflation.

We used to charge $18 to plant.. our breakeven on the used planter we traded for is $28.. more if we use a Medicaid reject.

So with that said.. “some ground.. just ain’t gonna pencil” any more.

A lot went to dryland corn.. that does look good.. last year the average.. from 40 to 130.. mostly.. 80.

This year maybe bump all that by.. 30 to 40 bushels.  Right now with pollination in 100 degree heat coming.

The funds have stayed short.
Sorghum basis collapsed by a dollar within a week after USAID was canceled.  The Corn basis followed suit as Sorghum worked its way into several ethanol plants.. reducing yield.. but also costs.

Im not getting what I was offered before harvest for corn.. but they finally came up and wrote me up for $0.75 over their posted bid.  On paper maybe there’s enough.. I almost.. in fact we still haven’t harvested it.. thunked about just pouring the 25 crop on top and leaving it in the bin.

We still have ample space to store.

In this environment.. you can literally produce your way to poverty.

tariffs are adding to costs.. but cutting income.

A lose lose proposition.  But rest assured Unions will be in a position to extract more going forward.  Like a $500,000 tractor isn’t already over priced.

Some custom harvesting bills on wheat.. this year.. we’re over $100/acre.

We’re literally shooting our economic foot off. 

“would you like to farm this for me?”

uhm, no.  No thanks. 

This is happening across the entire economy right now..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCkRz3flqn4

 And it’s Not Powell’s fault.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/19/trump-inflation-tariffs-fed-powell

”they want double the hourly rate.” 

Also switching up to 400 million bushels away from corn syrup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCkRz3flqn4 

 Lovely.