AG JOURNAL A SPECIAL SECTION • THE GLOBE GAZETTE • MARCH 20, 2012
JEFF HEINZ/The Globe Gazette
After the mild, mostly dry winter, farmers are itching to get into their fields. This planting photo was taken near Portland in May of 2010.
Rain: The BIG wild card Farmers are ready to roll, but dry conditions are in the back of everybody’s minds By LAURA BIRD laura.bird@globegazette.com
Dry weather that started at the end of last summer and continued through the fall and winter has North Iowa farmers concerned heading into spring. “I think everybody’s got that on the back of their mind,” said Ron Behr, a Rockwell-area farmer. Mason City area farmer Rich Schurtz agreed. “The weather conditions are good, but it’s pretty dry,” he said. John Holmes, Iowa State University Extension field agronomist, said there is likely enough surface moisture but subsoil moisture
reserves are lacking. He has heard several reports of farmers doing tile work and there’s no water, which is unusual. “I am very concerned about what the crop will look like in July and August, especially the corn,” he said. Holmes As of March 15, Mason City had received 2.57 inches of rain since Jan. 1 and received 22.7 inches all of last year. Normally, Mason City should have 2.63 inches by March 15 and 35.2 inches for the entire year, said Harry Hillaker, state climatologist. “That’s roughly 12½ inches (short), which is pretty substantial,” he said. “Almost all of the deficit was the second half of the year. The first half was fairly average, but the second half was very, very dry, especially August through November.” If dry conditions continue, farmers may have
Taylor said. Elwynn Taylor, Iowa State University Extension climatologist, also recommended not working/disturbing the soil more than farmers need to. While the soil is dry now, North Iowa farmers still have time before spring planting. Most won’t start planting corn until around April 12 and then soybeans in May. “The soil moisture is a little dryer than what we would like, but I’m not worried,” said Paul See RAIN, C2
How high will land prices go? Recent Cerro Gordo County auction of 67 acres brought $10,500 per acre for strong corn suitability rating By LAURA BIRD laura.bird@globegazette.com
North Iowa farmland values continue to remain strong with a recent auction setting a Cerro Gordo County record. Behr Auction Co., Rockwell, auctioned off 67 acres of land in the Portland Township for $10,500 per acre on March 9. While the per-acre amount did not break any county records, Fred Greder, owner of Benchmark Agribusiness in Mason City, Greder said the sale set a record for what it sold for per corn suitability rating point (CSR). The CSR scale, which rates the quality of land, ranges from 1 to 100. Eighty to 90 is considered excellent. The CSR for the farm, which was owned by the William D. Lindsay
JEFF HEINZ/The Globe Gazette
Cory Behr calls a farmland auction in Rockwell in February 2011. Trust, was 71.7 with 60.7 tillable acres. That meant the farm sold for approximately $161 per CSR point, which is a Cerro Gordo County record, Greder said. “It was an awfully strong sale,” he
to make adjustments during spring planting. Holmes said farmers might want to apply herbicides early to allow them to become activated, and evaluate the seeding population during planting. “They may want to ... go to the lower recommended rate,” he
said. Cory Behr of Behr Auction Co. said the auction was so strong because of interest from neighboring farmers and out-of-area investors. See LAND, C2
INSIDE: • ROLE REVERSAL working well for Wesley couple as wife takes major role in farm operation/Page C2 • FOREST CITY-AREA father and son built Angus herd to build son’s future in farming/Page C3 • MASON CITY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AG BREAKFAST is Wednesday/Page C3 • E85 SALES set record in Iowa/Page C4 • THE MILD WINTER that has given many Northern farmers a break from shoveling and a welcome chance to catch up on maintenance could lead to a tough spring as many pests that would normally freeze have not/Page C5 • A NEW CONSERVATION practice called drainage water management (DWM), which helps reduce the amount of nutrients such as nitrates and phosphorus from negatively impacting the environment, is eligible for USDA funding in Iowa/Page C6