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UP / Thumb of Michigan | Sugar beet harvest trends are for more custom harvest than when I was growing them- although the last 12 years or so, we had ours custom harvested.
I'm going to be as polite and as frank as I can be without making someone mad- but there are hereditary and /or heritage differences that cause things like custom beet harvest to work wonderfully or end up in a lot of yelling. All I can say is that the crew we worked with worked out extremely well for us. Thats not always the case.
Anyway- been saying it for years to myself anyways- there are many farms who have all the ground they want. Equipment and operators is going to be a continual and increasing issue in my opinion. So, if that farm wants to stay prosperous and doesn't want more acres, they will need to consider other options besides owning the iron to get it done.
Years ago, when I was involved with the state Soybean association, I met a couple guys from down south- Georgia or Alabama I think- who grew soybeans. Period. I asked about rotations on their land. They had that all handled. They grew soys on their land as well as 2 other farms land. One of the other farms did the same with cotton, the last with peanuts. They had a formula of some sort that worked for everyone I guess. The equipment needs were drastically reduced for all of them, they focused on one crop and had a land swap deal that made it work. The 2 I spoke with had a 5 year plan. At the end of 5 years, they were going to have an auction, get rid of everything. At that time, they'd decide whether they were going to go at it again with the same crop, go with a different crop, or go their own way. They'd done that before, worked well. Couldn't see why it wouldn't work again. | |
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Grain farming could be drastically more efficient
