Dear friends and family,

Merry Christmas from the Beck’s PFR team! Boy, has 2019 been one to remember. Our team has had an incredible season, even if it did get off to a rainy start. We pulled together, shuffled some plans and got the job done while also learning a lot about ourselves and how we can help farmers succeed. We are including a few of the highlights here, but we look forward to hosting you at a PFR Insight Meeting next month to tell you the whole story.

Has weed control in soybeans become simple again? In the 2020 growing season, farmers will have more effective soybean post-emergence platforms to select from than ever before. Are the days of having problematic weeds such as waterhemp, marestail, and giant ragweed sticking above the canopy over?

Like many farm kids, he was driving tractors before he even started kindergarten. With deep roots in the farming industry and both of his grandpas farming before him, Tom Frank knew he wanted to continue their legacy.

The 2019 calendar year is coming to an end and the adverse effects to soils resulting from this crop season will loom for years to come. Heavy rain in the spring meant fields were planted in less than ideal conditions. This was followed by a series of production practices being conducted in less than ideal conditions — leading to soil compaction and surface ruts. The immediate thought is to run out and deep rip to remove compaction and fill ruts, but careful thought should be given to the process to provide benefit to the next crop year, but also avoid lasting issues for years to come.

After enduring the spring of 2019, it will not take much convincing for many of you that precipitation extremes have become the new normal. It’s been said that if you want things to be different, just wait until next year. While this will likely be true, the trend of punishing rain events occurring more frequently is undeniable.

Limited paid time off, family commitments, and tight finances can sometimes get in the way of what God has called us to do – to serve and love others. And the Beck family understands that struggle.

Last year's soybean harvest was among the latest on record, resulting in fields harvested at higher than average moisture levels. Farmers may likely have experienced peace of mind as combines rolled, only to face the concern of storing and drying their wet soybeans. As a result, many farmers discovered for the first time that soybeans can be dried relatively easily using air alone or in combination with low temperature heat.

Some years, we look back and wish we could have planted all our crops within a specific window of time. Typically, that window is from mid- to late- April. According to Beck’s 17-year Indiana Practical Farm Research (PFR)® planting date data, you can gain anywhere from 4% to 28% more yield by planting in late April compared to May or June. On average, for a 175 Bu./A. corn crop, that could mean a 20 to 30 Bu./A. gain just by planting within that early window. What if you could plant 60% more acres per hour? What would that mean for your operation?

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fi ghting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” John 18:36

This season has been one for the record books for nearly every state in the Corn Belt. Extreme rainfall and delayed planting forced many farmers to plant well into June and in some cases, July. As every seasoned farmer knows, conditions like what we saw in 2019 will have consequences. A carefully laid fall harvest plan will help to limit further losses come harvest time. If we look back one year to 2018, many of these same environmental conditions occurred across Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa. There are lessons to learn and adapt to help us be more successful in 2019 across the Midwest.