From the Fields: Bad harvest, but last year’s was worse

Originally published in the November 13, 2009, print edition.

By Dick Hagen The Land Staff Writer

DETROIT LAKES — Most Minnesota farmers will probably agree that the 2009 harvest has been one for the books.

But not all.

“Last year was worse,” said John Schouviller who with brother, Mike, operate Schouviller Dairy Farm about 20 miles north of Detroit Lakes.

In a Nov. 8 telephone visit John said, “we’re getting as late as last year. But last year was even more mud. We couldn’t get into our fields until the ground froze. And then we got so much early snow that harvest was a real struggle.”

It was sprinkling again Nov. 8, but soybeans harvested Nov. 7 were down to 16 percent moisture. The Schouvillers have 500 acres of soybeans, and most soybeans in his area yielded 25 to 30 bushels per acre.

No bumper crop for corn either plus some molds are also showing up. “It’s a white mold. Jim Salfer, our regional Extension man, says if you dry it you should be OK. But to safeguard this corn for feed use, we’re adding some acid (propionic acid) as we’re grinding it and blowing it into the bags.”

Schouviller was guessing their 100 acres of corn for combining was still in the 30+ percent moisture. With sunshine, he figured they’d be done with soybeans in two to three days. Then they’d charge into their corn, regardless of moisture content, since remaining corn is ground and put into bag storage.

They rent a machine that sprays the acid on the corn. “It’s just another expense that we certainly didn’t need this year. But you don’t want to run the risk of molds producing mycotoxins that could be damaging.”

The preservative costs $1.10 per pound, and applied at the rate of 4 pounds per ton of ground corn, that means another $4.40 expense per ton. John doubted their corn would make 100-bushel yields, but even so that’s another $10 to $12 per acre of expense.

They are finally seeing some help on milk prices. He indicated November milk was at $14, a real boost from summer lows of nearly $10. “It’s better, but we really need to get over that $15 benchmark before you get into black ink. And with several months of losses, we need better prices for the long haul.”

He’s encouraged that the combination of fewer cows in the nation’s dairy herd and a stronger market, especially for cheese, is beginning to make 2010 a better looking year.

Bongards’ Creameries’ message to Schouviller Dairy Farm is that a possible $1 increase per month could be happening into this winter season.

This summer with $10 milk prices, dairy farmers were losing $5 per cow per day according to Extension dairy specialists. That gruesome figure translated to a $5,000-per-day loss for a 1,000-cow dairy. The Schouvillers operate a 120-cow dairy.

So is this milk price rebound happening soon enough? John said that some dairy farmers have already sold out, but most hesitate to pull the plug because there’s no market for cull cows, and there are no jobs available if you do quit milking. By the same token when milk gets to $20 and live cattle prices are higher, he thinks some might then sell out because they’ll be getting good money for their herds.

“But I’m wondering also if the banks are advising dairy farmers to hold on until cow prices get back up there. Otherwise the bank might not get its loan paid off either.”

Schouviller thinks the worst times are over for Minnesota dairy farmers.

Jan. 1 U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed 468,000 dairy cows in Minnesota versus 463,000 for Jan. 1, 2008. U.S. data was 9,333,000 cows on Jan 1 versus 9,257,000 for Jan 1, 2008. September cow numbers were 8.34 million, down 32,000 from August and 168,000 less than a year ago. Minnesota showed 4,770 dairy farms last Jan. 1. In 2005, that number was 5,638 for Minnesota.

He’s a county delegate to the Minnesota Farm Bureau annual meeting Nov. 19-21 if the harvest and fall tillage work is done.

“If we have a good 10-day run of good weather, we’d pretty much have things wrapped up.”

They use a 220-hp Versatile 835 and 12-foot chisel plow on soybean stubble and corn ground cut for silage. The rest gets moldboard plowed. Their combine is equipped with “mud hogs”, a hydraulic-powered rear-wheel assist. “Yes, we’re rutting up our fields but getting that crop out is first priority.”

Last spring when the Red River Valley was plagued by all-time record high flood waters, it was May 18 before the wheels finally started rolling for John and Mike Schouviller.

In a May 21 report with The Land, Mike said, “We’ve still got some wet spots but 10 more days and it’s June 1. So we’ve got to get into these fields and hope for the best.”