The Hutchinson News
KANSAS AGLAND
kansasagland.com
March 2014 Page 1
Spring 2014
Farm succession takes planning, communication Two Kansas families share their stories on how they are passing down the farm
Harold Swanson, left, and grandson Matt Brack are shown on the family farm near Hutchinson.
KANSAS AGLAND
Page 2 March 2014
Range of ag columnists provides wealth of details One thing I love about Kansas Agland is the variety of knowledgeable, veteran columnists across the state who write each quarter. The same is true in our March issue. In the far western Kansas county of Stanton, along the Colorado border, is farmer and Kansas Farm Bureau director Jim Sipes, who is keeping tabs on recent court rulings that could affect agriculture. A few counties to the north is Lynn Kirkham, a Wallace County rancher and Kansas Farm Bureau leader who has battled drought in the past few years, forcing him and his neighbors to cull their cow herds. Vance Ehmke, a Lane County certified seed grower, always has a good read about farm policy, economics and new ideas. Meanwhile, farm women Michele Boy, Hamilton County, and Katie Sawyer,
McPherson County, both share perspectives of life on the farm and advocating for agriculture. Central Kansas Extension Agriculture Agent Anthony Ruiz provides a bit of humor, yet informative information, as he writes about beef expansion after the drought. And Ottawa County farmer Steve Clanton discusses a critical time on his farm, planting season, as well as crunching the numbers about what just to plant. Meanwhile, farm historian Tom Giessel, a Kansas Farmers Union leader and a Pawnee County farmer, takes a look back in time, at the issue of farm tenancy. Solomon-area farmer Mark Pettijohn blogs about his farm experiment, planting a cash crop of sunflowers within a cover crop, and the results regarding how well the effort worked. Others featured in this
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DODGE CITY – A 2014 Grasshopper zero turn mower will be given away during the annual 3i SHOW through a Kansas Lottery second-chance drawing. The “Hot Hopper Sizzler” promotion will help mark the 60th anniversary of the show, which highlights the manufacturing, agricultural implement and irrigation industries. The promotion gives players a chance to win the new riding mower, along with a dozer blade attachment, a chainsaw, leaf blower, lawn trimmer and safety glasses from KanEquip Inc. The winning ticket will be drawn at the 3i SHOW about 4 p.m. July 12. Players can purchase Hot Lotto with Sizzler on a single ticket – a minimum $2 purchase – from March 31 through July 8 and receive an entry form for the 2014 Grasshopper Mower. Entry forms must be mailed to the Kansas Lottery or deposited into any receptacle designated for this drawing by the Lottery. Mailed entries must be received by the July 8 morning mail pickup in Topeka. Entries deposited into designated receptacles
must be deposited no later than 5 p.m. that day. Tickets will also be sold on site at the 3i SHOW July 10, 11 and 12, in the Kansas Lottery exhibit located in outdoor spaces 61 and 63. Entry forms can be dropped into the drawing receptacle at the Kansas Lottery trailer on-site during regular 3i SHOW hours. The prize includes mandatory state and federal income
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issue are Kansas Farm Bureau President Steve Baccus; Reno County Agriculture Agent Cody Barilla; and Sedgwick County farmer and agribusiness leader Mick Rausch. And, to read more from these agriculture leaders, as well as others, visit www. kansasagland.com. – Amy Bickel, Kansas Agland editor
withholding taxes. Visit www.kslottery.com for official game rules and further details. For more information about the 3i SHOW or to reserve exhibit space, visit www.3ishow. com, or contact the WKMA office directly toll-free at (877) 405-2883 or locally at (620) 227-8082. WKMA’s office is at 1700 E. Wyatt Earp in Dodge City.
KANSAS www.kansasagland.com Facebook: facebook.com/kansasagland Twitter: @kansasagland Agland is published by The Hutchinson News, Salina Journal, The Hays Daily News and The Garden City Telegram. To subscribe, contact Christy Kohler at (800) 827-6363, ext. 347, or email her at ckohler@salina.com. Those not wanting this publication may also contact Kohler.
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Southwest Kansas, call Robin Phelan at 620-275-8500, ext. 225 Northwest Kansas, call Mary Karst at 785-628-1081, ext. 118 Central Kansas, call Dave Gilchrist at 620-694-5700, ext. 200 Cover photo by Sandra J. Milburn/The Hutchinson News
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Page 4 March 2014
KANSAS AGLAND
Paving path to a future
Sandra J. Milburn/The Hutchinson News
Harold Swanson stands next to his grandson, Matt Brack, the fourth generation to farm land in Reno County. The red barn was built by John Swanson when he first settled on the land in the late 1800s.
Family’s generational planning shows importance of matters of succession By Amy Bickel Kansas Agland
It’s an idyllic setting along a dirt path once know as Swede Road – due to the number of Swedish immigrants who once homesteaded along it.
A scenic red barn, part of it built in the late 1800s when John Swanson first settled on the land, stands as a monument to the past, along with the 1917 farmhouse. The farmstead is surrounded by crop fields and cattle, and although
most of the families of the early homesteaders have long moved away, the Swanson family still remains. Harold and Donna Swanson, however, admit
See FUTURE / Page 5
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Future From PAGE 4 they weren’t sure what would happen to the family farm two decades ago when Harold retired. The 86-yearold and his wife have three children, but none was interested in farming. A grandson who lived in Topeka spent his summers helping his granddad and his great-uncles on the Reno County operation. The three brothers retired in the early 1990s, and cousins began farming the land, but Swanson gave them one stipulation: “If Matt ever wants to come back, he can have it,” Harold Swanson said. Today, grandson Matt Brack is in his element, finding his niche on the farm where his mother, Kim, grew up. His family and neighbors helped him plant his first wheat crop in fall 2002, his last semester of college, using an old tractor and equipment. The following summer, he harvested his first wheat crop with the help of his extended family, cutting with his grandfather’s Gleaner and a rented John Deere combine. More than a decade later, the farm is thriving under Matt’s daily management and open communication between his grandparents and his mother and uncles – all of whom understand Matt’s place on the farm. “All three kids want to keep it intact,” Matt said. “We are all working toward
the common goal of keeping the farm intact.” Plan for the future What the Swanson family has done is called succession planning. They, with the help of their immediate heirs, laid out a road map for the future so that property could pass on to the next generation while giving Matt the ability to continue managing the operation into the future. Unlike the Swansons, many of the nation’s farmers haven’t prepared a path for the next generation. The average age of the farmer is nearing 60, and with that, 70 percent of the farmland could transfer into new hands in the next 20 years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Several of those aging farmers toiling on Kansas farms, however, just like their ancestors before them, have yet to make plans about what will happen to the farms when they die. A USDA survey done a few years ago shows that 89 percent of farmers don’t have a farm-transfer plan. And some operators don’t have a next generation skilled or willing to continue farming. It’s a difficult subject to bring up when you are the younger generation wanting to take over. In addition, there is no cookie-cutter answer, said Stacey Seibel, a Hays attorney who practices estate planning law. The aging farmer has to decide how to make a smooth transition, what’s fair for the non-farming
KANSAS AGLAND children, along with the tax issues and setting up something that will help with the couple’s retirement. Yet, without a plan, without communication between the children, the farm could disappear, along with the next-generation farmer. Today, however, more are getting prepared, Seibel said. “We have been really busy with farmers and estate planning in particular,” she said, adding, “The first step is oftentimes a family meeting where the family sits down together and talks about what would happen if mom and dad pass away.” Seibel knows horror stories of farms being pulled apart because no plan was in place. She has also heard stories of the neighbor’s wife dying, and the farmer remarries but doesn’t leave a will. Thus, the second spouse might get half of the inheritance. “I think the key to any type of good succession is good communication among the family members,” Seibel said. “Controlling expectations is really important.” A plan that works for everyone “With all the family meetings, it still comes down to the fact it is mom and dad’s land,” said Seibel. “They are the final decision-maker. Oftentimes, there are ways to structure the plan so their child can retain a livelihood on the farm, but to make sure other kids
See FUTURE / Page 6
March 2014 Page 5
Sandra J. Milburn/The Hutchinson News
Harold Swanson and his grandson, Matt Brack, talk about the many summers Matt spent at the farm with his grandfather learning how to farm.
Page 6 March 2014
KANSAS AGLAND
Sandra J. Milburn/The Hutchinson News
The homestead document at Valerie and Matt Brack’s 1917 farmhouse is displayed proudly, a family history of farming since 1881.
Future From PAGE 5 receive an income off the farm.” There are different ways such measures can happen, she said, adding that most of her clients have a goal of keeping the farm together. One way is to create a limited liability corporation, with the children inheriting shares of the operation. “If one of the kids wants out, it allows the other kids the option” to purchase the share, she said. Another example is setting up a trust, which can help defer hefty federal estate taxes, although a trust can’t go on for perpetuity, Seibel said. “However, it allows the farm to stay together,” she said. “What those farm trusts usually look like is the farm trust is the landlord and the (child, grandchild) is the tenant.” The tenant relative farming the land might get two-thirds of the annual income off the trust, while the landlord share could be split among all the heirs, such as non-farm children. Thus, they all get a share in the farming operation, Seibel said. “Every family is different,” she said. “It goes back to what Mom and Dad want to do. Some of my folks, they want to change the percentage – that the on-the-farm heir receives more than the non-farming members. Then I have other
families that want to be ‘Even Steven.’ ” Fourth-generation farmer Early Reno County settler John Swanson arrived in Reno County in 1881, building a dugout on the homestead southeast of Hutchinson. The homestead document hangs on the wall of Matt and Valerie Brack’s 1917 farmhouse that still sits on the property – a reminder of the generations who have farmed the land before them. That included Harold’s dad, Eskel, followed by Harold and his two brothers, Donald and John. Neither married. Harold and his wife, Donna, have three children – Guy, Hal and Matt’s mother, Kim. However, the farm skipped a generation. Only Matt was interested in coming back. Matt grew up in Topeka, where his father is an electrical engineer and his mother a teacher. However, his grandmother Donna said Matt spent summers at the farm, even getting upset when his mother would enroll him in a camp – which took away from his time spent with his grandparents and uncles. Matt said he always knew he wanted to farm, but enrolled in construction science classes at Kansas State. “I decided it wasn’t for me,” Matt said. “I wasn’t enjoying it.” “You have to enjoy what you are doing,” Harold Swanson said.
Matt then pursued a degree in agriculture economics with the goal of returning to the family farm as the fourth generation. All his uncles embraced the idea. “They had as much excitement over watching me and helping me start over,” Matt said. His father came down many weekends to help him on the farm, he said. Uncle Guy, his parents and grandparents even went from bank to bank with him to help him find a lender. “We talked to five presidents of banks in one day,” Matt said. “Some gave me too much leash. We found one in the middle. I had someone who wasn’t going to give me the moon but make me work for it and learn.” It wasn’t easy, Matt admitted. At first, finding help was a challenge. Dealing with the ever-changing Kansas weather was a challenge, including a freeze that hurt his wheat crop in 2007. There already have been a few years of drought in his dozen years on the farm. Farming, anymore, takes a lot of capital, Donna Swanson said, noting the high fertilizer and fuel bills, as well as repairs to the farm’s high-tech equipment. Building equity is a big challenge for beginning farmers, Matt said. “The input costs, the money it takes, the capital needed to farm – it’s hard to fathom,” Matt said, adding,
See FUTURE / Page 7
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Future From PAGE 6 “I had a huge land reservoir to start on; that was a giant leg up.” He learned from watching his grandfather and uncles. “I’ve learned so much or more from him than anyone,” Matt said of his grandfather. “Our open relationship is one of the best – we can communicate and talk about expenses – just having someone talk to with 60 years of wisdom.” Common goal: saving the farm Estate planning came to the forefront in 2005 when brother Donald died, followed by John a few years later, Harold said. “Before that, ‘It will take care of itself, it will take care of itself,’ ” Harold said of the mind-set. “Then it went into the nitty-gritty after Donald died. ‘We need to do something or we are going to give it all away to the government.’ ”
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March 2014 Page 7
goes from Oklahoma to Nebraska. They now have two full-time hired men. “Our farmland has doubled in size; our cow herd has doubled in size,” Matt said. “We picked up some grass.” They also added another generation on the farm – 5-year-old Addi. Matt and his hired men meet his grandparents every day at lunch, talking about the farm. “It’s always an open relationship,” Matt said. “I bet half of the population doesn’t have succession plans that have gone as well as ours has.” Matt, after all, was more like a son, Donna Swanson said. They couldn’t be happier to see another generation on the farm, Harold said. “Matt’s done a great job,” Harold said. “Both of us had open minds. I had to trust him with what he was doing. But it was an easy transition; it really was.” Amy Bickel is editor of Kansas Agland and KansasAgland.com. To contact Amy, email abickel@ hutchnews.com.
UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS
March 24: 67th Annual Beef BBQ – Sedgwick County Extension Education Center – (316) 660-0143 March 29: Kansas Junior Sheep Producer Day – Manhattan – www.YouthLivestock.KSU. edu
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Harold and Donna created a trust, with the three children getting shares of the ground. Son Guy, vice president of finance at Rockhurst University, is the executor of the trust and oversees the financials of the farm. Matt is the tenant, doing the day-today management. “We have never had to worry about not trusting anyone in our family,” Matt said, knowing he has a place on the farm for as long as he wants it. “I was blessed with good kids and good people, and it bleeds on to the next family,” Harold added. Harold said Matt grew into the operation, “he didn’t just jump in with both feet.” After his first wheat crop, Matt bought a tractor with a cab and air conditioning, eventually followed by a combine. Matt and Valerie continue to grow the operation. They turned some of the land into irrigation, adding pivots. They expanded a cow herd and began a custom-harvest operation that
KANSAS AGLAND
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April 3: Saline County Women in Ag – Salina – (785) 309-5850 K-State pasture management seminar– Clay Center – (785) 325-2121 or robinreid@ksu.edu May 2-4: Sheep and Goat Conference – Manhattan
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– (785) 532-1255 or brfaris@ ksu.edu June 12: K-State pasture management seminar – Greenleaf – (785) 325-2121 or robinreid@ksu.edu July 10-12: 3i SHOW, Dodge City – 3ishow.com
• •
Salina weather summary December temperatures Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal N mean
Deviation
40.40
14.70
42.40
22.30
27.50
32.30
-4.80
January temperatures
De Dec. ec. moi moisture Inches Inchhes
Normal Norm
Deviation
1.22 1.2 22
0.94
+0.28
Jan. moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
41.70
17.40
41.60
20.50
29.50
31.00
-1.50
0.49
0.63
-0.14
February temperatures
Feb. moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
39.50
17.30
46.50
24.60
28.40
35.50
-7.10
1.24
1.17
+0.07
Hays weather summary December temperatures Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
42.40
14.50
42.90
18.40
28.50
30.60
-2.10
January temperatures
Dec. moisture Inches
Normal
Deviation
0.05
0.50
-0.45
Jan. moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
44.10
13.80
42.20
16.20
29.00
29.20
-0.20
0.16
0.71
-0.55
February temperatures
Feb. moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
37.60
14.20
46.10
19.90
25.90
33.00
-7.10
0.92
0.72
+0.20
Garden City weather summary December temperatures Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
44.70
14.00
45.20
17.60
29.40
31.40
-2.00
January temperatures
Dec. moisture Inches
Normal
Deviation
0.00
0.60
-0.60
Jan. moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
46.50
13.80
44.50
16.30
30.20
30.40
-0.20
0.12
0.47
-0.35
February temperatures
Nov. moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
40.60
14.60
48.10
19.90
27.60
33.90
-6.30
0.38
0.52
-0.14
Hutchinson weather summary December temperatures Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
42.40
16.00
43.35
24.50
29.20
33.93
-4.73
January temperatures
Dec. moisture Inches
Normal
Deviation
0.83
1.06
-0.23
Jan. moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
45.20
15.70
39.99
20.56
30.50
30.27
+.023
0.36
0.56
-0.20
February temperatures
Feb. moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
42.80
17.40
46.34
25.64
30.10
35.99
-5.89
1.33
0.97
+0.36
Source: The National Weather Service
Amy Bickel and Jim Heck/The Hutchinson News
Page 8 March 2014
KANSAS AGLAND
Partnership is ‘relative’
As sons return to farm, clan looks ahead By Tim Unruh Kansas Agland
Vaughn and Mary Katherine Isaacson’s kids thought it was a bad day when they didn’t get to do chores. For them, there was no better place than the farm and ranch their parents had built and someday will pass on to them. “The worst punishment Mom gave out was having to stay home and not help Dad,” Ryan Isaacson said. They shared a love for livestock and making crops grow well – all the while impressing their father with their work ethic. “We started operating machinery at a very young age,” Ryan said. But there were conditions. “Dad said, ‘Whatever you do, don’t tell your mom,’ ” Aaron Isaacson said. They are among the Isaacsons’ five sons who help manage the family business in southern Saline County.
See SONS / Page 9
Tom Dorsey/Kansas Agland
Close-knit family (back row, left to right) Jason, Ryan, Derek, Josh, Aaron and (front row, left to right) Mary Katherine and Vaughn Isaacson, use their work ethic and teamwork to make their farm and ranch flourish in southern Saline County.
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Sons From PAGE 8 They learned their father’s methods by being around him, getting dirty together, sharing ideas and discussing tough issues. “The boys tell me they’re partners for life,” Vaughn said. Those words roll like poetry out of the burly, soft-spoken man. Passing down the operation has been a goal since the first of their progeny, Jason, was in diapers. “I always knew that’s what I wanted to do,” Vaughn said of passing on the farm. “We were just trying to figure out a way to
make that happen.” Starting from scratch Vaughn came from a similar system, where his parents, the late Melvin and Betty Isaacson, 85, made their children part of the operation. “Dad always wanted to include you in the conversation and enjoyed having his kids around, just like I do. It’s a natural fit,” he said. Vaughn and two siblings were raised on a farm near Assaria that consisted of a house on 10 acres owned by his parents. Keeping the clan together was impossible when most of the land was rented. As a result, Vaughn’s sister and brother pursued other professions. Determined to make his
KANSAS AGLAND living on the farm, Vaughn started from scratch, renting and buying land, all to provide a large-enough operation to sustain his sons and their families. With hard work, timely land purchases and lots of luck, the Isaacsons have tweaked their system to embrace more than one generation. The Isaacsons learned through the years that their sons were indeed interested in careers on the farm. Their daughter, Kristine Larson, wasn’t, and is today a registered physical therapist. Vaughn and Mary Katherine rejoice in their hefty workforce – Jason, 39, Ryan, 37, Josh, 33, Aaron,
See SONS / Page 10
March 2014 Page 9
KANSAS AGLAND
Page 10 March 2014
Sons From PAGE 9 31, and Derek, 29 – a veteran crew of managers working their way into collective ownership. “They’re our biggest asset. The boys are hard workers, not afraid to go out and get the job done,” Vaughn said. “People appreciate that.” Putting their diversified agribusiness together was difficult at times. “You just don’t automatically go out and expand your acreage. You’ve got to be a little creative on things,” Vaughn said. Getting a foothold Married in 1974, the couple didn’t buy their first land until the 1980s. “You kinda get a foothold and go from there,” Vaughn said. “Back in the early days, if you could get anyone to loan you money, that was the biggest obstacle. We’ve been really fortunate that we’ve had opportunities and been at the right place at the right time.” Today’s farm “just really happened,” Mary Katherine said. She doubles as a teacher, currently in special education at Ell-Saline High School. She spent 18 years as a fourthgrade teacher at Sacred Heart Elementary School. “We didn’t sit around and plan. We just took it as it came, same with the kids,” Mary Katherine said. “If any of the boys wanted to stay at the farm, Vaughn wanted to have enough for them. It was hard to buy land.” As the Isaacson young ones grew older, stronger and wiser, they began to take on more of the workload and were melded into decision-making. The goal now is to “make it easier for the boys,” Vaughn said, “so they don’t have to start from zero.” Everyone has a job Right now, every Isaacson has a niche in the operation. Jason, Aaron and Derek handle the farm and ranch – Isaacson Farms – while Josh and Ryan are in charge of Isaacson Truck Line. There are other essential duties. Jason runs the computer system, for example, and Ryan and Aaron are mechanics who “can fix about anything,” their father said. Josh is a welder, trained at Salina Area Technical College. Derek is the designated expert on global positioning
Tom Dorsey/Salina Journal
Jason Isaacson carries his daughter, Cora, 2, as they look at livestock on the family farm.
systems – using satellites in precision farming. “He’s kinda my cattle guy in training, and he’s in charge of entertainment,” Vaughn said. What’s constant is “They’re all hard workers,” he said. All six Isaacson kids are married and have collectively added 11 grandchildren to the brood. Nine of them live within 10 miles of Vaughn and Mary Katherine, another wonderful perk to keeping offspring on the farm. “You can’t get it any better than that, to have your kids that close,” Vaughn said. Three of the daughtersin-law have jobs in town, and two stay at home and do their share of paperwork for the truck line and “tax stuff,” Vaughn said. Having a farm to pass on to the next generation would be nice “if they have an interest,” Jason said. “If they want to pursue other things, that’s fine, as long as they’re appreciative of where we’ve come from.” Harmony, generally Vaughn scoffs at any notion that he’s the boss. “I’m just trying to do what I can to keep things moving in the right direction,” Vaughn said. The Isaacson men will argue occasionally. After all, they’re human, Vaughn said, but generally there is harmony on the farm. It helps to stay busy, and that they do. “You’re too tired to fight,” Josh said. “Dad always said, ‘If you guys can’t get along, I’m sellin’ it all.’ ” All of the brothers “have the same level of interest” in the operation, Jason said. “They understand that this is kind of how it is, and there’s not much negative,” Vaughn said. “Everybody’s always understood what we’re trying to accomplish.” Who becomes boss? So what happens when
Mom and Dad retire, or die. Who becomes the boss then? “I guess it’ll be boss by committee,” Jason said. “Everyone’s got to be able to give a little on some things and stand firm on others. Be appreciative of everyone in the deal, and don’t think you’re the only one carrying all the weight. Be thankful for where you’re at, and try to get better at things.” The Isaacsons are “pretty close,” Derek said, and they respect their father’s wisdom and experience on the farm and ranch. “You have an idea how things should be done, but you don’t really get it until you get out there,” Derek said. “Dad started telling us things a long time ago, and whether he thinks it or not, we do listen.” One impression is that the boys like each other. “That’s an accurate statement,” Jason said. Another is that their parents are “proud of all of us,” he said. Solid family unit Letting go isn’t easy, Vaughn said, especially when you sense a wrong move in the making. “I was their age once, thought I knew everything, and didn’t,” Vaughn said. “I’ve come home before and told my wife, ‘I think they’re having a stupid contest.’ But those days are few and far between. One thing I’ve never faulted the boys for is their hard work.” He has included them in the process since they were young. “Even though I know where we ought to go, I ask them what they think,” Vaughn said. “You can’t just tell them what to do. You have to listen, and have consideration for their point of view. No one guy can always be right.” What makes the Isaacson plan work, he said, is all are working toward the same result. When inheritance laws change yearly, you’ve got to have an attorney involved, Mary Katherine said, but it’s paramount to have a solid family unit. “Everyone knows how we want it to go, and I think we can trust each other,” she said. “I just like being with the kids and the grandkids. I want the kids to be good Christians, and I want them to be able to have the means and not have it hard like we did.” Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at (785) 822-1419 or by email at tunruh@ salina.com.
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KANSAS AGLAND
March 2014 Page 11
Expert: Setting clear goals pivotal to effective succession
By Amy Bickel
Kansas Agland
Iowa State University’s Roger McEowen has heard horror stories about succession planning. He even puts cases in his teachings as an agricultural law professor. He noted he worked with a producer who, if he would have anted up $200,000 to establish an estate plan, it could have saved him $12 million in taxes to his heirs when he died and helped keep his business together. “He didn’t do it,” McEowen said, adding that, to make matters worse, the producer had a terminal illness. One of the most difficult things is getting started with the process going from the ground up and finding out what your goals are – what do you want your farm operation to look like. “What is the end goal,” McEowen said. “Who is going to take this over after you and your spouse are gone?”
“We want to transition the business, but we want it to be a viable operation in the hands of the successors,” he said. That includes plans to help minimize taxes. Among the reasons to see an estate planner is to protect assets for the future, he said, which could be done through trusts. Who is going to take over? How do we want to transfer to the next generation? McEowen said he recently visited a prominent bankruptcy attorney who was untangling a bankruptcy with a dairy. The past owners didn’t do a good job of planning and the farm transitioned into the hands of people who didn’t know how to operate a dairy. “They made some really bad decisions and now find themselves in bankruptcy,” he said. “Had they done the proper planning, what he was unfolding to me, appeared to me it could have been avoidable.”
McEowen said farm families must make plans and goals and articulate those objectives. For instance, he said, what is the end goal? Who will take over the farm? Here are some objectives that McEowen stated all should consider when making a plan: Successfully bring the next generation into the business; Provide a vocation for the next generation; Establish a base for a financially successful business in the future; Provide a plan for the older generation; Provide a plan that is fair for on-farm and offfarm kids; Tax minimization goals. Details to know about federal estate tax law Federal estate taxes are taxes on any transfer of assets from a deceased person’s estate to his or her heirs, except for transfers to spouses. Current federal law has
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Common estate planning errors can complicate process Kansas Agland Estate planning is an important process, says Roger McEowen, a professor in agricultural law at Iowa State University, where he is also director of the ISU Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation. At a seminar on farm succession in Arlington, Kan., last month, McEowen told a group of farmers that farm transition is a significant issue. And, said McEowen, estate planning is an important process to engage in, but it can also be a difficult process to get started. Complicating matters is that estate planning is unique to the persons involved – “there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all estate plan,” he says. Proper estate planning is tied to the goals and objectives of the parties involved. What are some of the most common mistakes
made in estate planning? Here is a list compiled by McEowen on the matter: Too much property owned in joint tenancy (large estates) or too little property owned in joint tenancy property (small estates). Making the plan too complex. Failure to review and update the plan. Failure to check titles to property. Failure to balance property ownership, in terms of value, in larger estates. Failure to check the beneficiary designations on non-probate property. Utilization of a simple “I love you” will in larger estates. Not taking into account issues that arise because of order of death of the spouses. Not staying informed as to changes in the law that could affect the plan. Simply doing nothing.
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Incorrect ownership of life insurance. Not being able to find the will. Failure to fund a trust. Not understanding the difference between “equal” and “fair” (in term of distribution of estate assets to children). Failure to utilize annual exclusion gifts with larger estates. Failure to plan to have sufficient liquidity at death. Naming only one child as a financial fiduciary when there are multiple children. Making gifts to the children without clarification in the will. Making loans to the children without clarification in the will. Not maintaining good records. Not having a well drafted buy-sell agreement. Not meeting regularly with advisers.
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an exclusion that allows each decedent to pass $5.34 million of assets free from estate tax. Meanwhile, a married couple can pass $10.68 million. Assets over $5.34 million for a single person and $10.68 million for a couple are taxed at 40 percent. The surviving spouse can inherit the deceased spouse’s unused exemption. However, the spouse must file a Form 706 on the first spouse’s estate and elect portability. Regardless of size, the surviving spouse should do this because
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“They made some really bad decisions and now find themselves in bankruptcy. Had they done the proper planning, what he was unfolding to me, appeared to me it could have been avoidable.”
Roger McEowen, Iowa State University
things could change regarding the operation’s worth. A form 706 must be filed within 9 months after the date of the decedent’s death to get this election. An extension can be filed that extends it by six months.
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For couples with assets greater than $10.68 million, there are ways to bring down worth. A person can gift $14,000 annually without incurring a gift tax. That’s capped at $5.34 million.
KANSAS AGLAND
Page 12 March 2014
Farm succession demands careful planning, prof says By Tim Unruh
and the emotional roadblocks is first, Hadley said, followed by strategic planning and financial aspects.
Kansas Agland
Farm succession, as it’s called, is not an easy task, said Gregg Hadley, assistant director of agriculture, natural resources and community development at Kansas State Research and Extension. Keeping the farm and ranch intact for more than a generation requires the right people willing to work for a common goal, he said, and for some, achieving a smooth transition can be painful. “The ones that are really successful just don’t hand down the operation. They do extensive planning and soul-searching,” said Hadley, an expert on the subject who speaks at workshops around Kansas. Hadley speculates that the demand for his expertise has risen as farmers and ranchers are thinking ahead, perhaps aiming for a smoother transition than what they experienced. “Current-generation owners remember what it was like when they had to undergo a farm succession,” he said. “I believe that farm and ranch families this time around are ... more conscientious about the need to do this in a more businesslike
Gregg Hadley fashion that doesn’t forget about the family aspect.” No cheap operations The sheer cost of land and equipment and the volatile markets enhance the need for succession planning, he said. “When even a smaller farm costs a million dollars, that gets people concerned,” Hadley said. “When you look at the family dynamic side of things, it gets really complex.” Many get it wrong by guessing that the estate planning comes first, he said. That’s the last step. “If the estate plan is the only step in the process, then you haven’t had any discussion about how you’re going to get along in the process,” he said. Tackling communication
Everyone takes part A farming couple and their heirs should first decide if anyone is interested in carrying on in the business. If they’re not, estate planning is all that’s needed, Hadley said. But if there are family members looking to continue in the business, succession planning is a good bet. To do it requires a healthy look at all aspects of the operation and deciding whether your expectations can be met. Including your children – partners – in discussions is a good start, Hadley said. “In this business, you run across heirs, the successors, who have never seen the financials until they sit down in the process of taking over the farm,” he said. “You would never do that if you were looking to take over a business that’s not part of your family.” Hadley advocates a close look at the numbers to see if the returns are adequate for the current owners and the successors.
See HADLEY / Page 15
Insuring Agriculture KFSA has provided cost-effective commercial insurance for agribusiness since 1947. They have grown to become one of the largest insurance agencies in the state of Kansas with locations in Hutchinson and Dodge City. KFSA is composed of several businesses providing commercial agribusiness and farm insurance; risk management and human resource consulting. The professional staff at KFSA prides themselves on designing and implementing insurance and risk management solutions that uniquely fit each client’s situation at a competitive price.
The Hutchinson News
The Hutchinson News
KANSAS AGLAND
March 2014 Page 13
Page 14 March 2014
KANSAS AGLAND
What’s ‘good,’ ‘bad’ for you really just depends
The long, cold winter is hopefully coming to an end. The plains of western Kansas have blown hard, sometimes gusting over 50 mph. But to complain about the wind in western Kansas is like complaining about rain in Seattle. Do you not know where you live? During this bitterly cold winter my body has gotten sick for a few long bouts of a deep, croupy cough. And I have had to pay particular attention to my health – in particular, my nutrition. And here are your CliffsNotes on nutrition: Everything is awful, from dairy to veggies to fish. Wheat to medicines to water. Eggs are good; eggs are bad. I will tell you now it’s all bad. In fact, I am pretty sure there is someone eating a single grain of rice and someone else frowning, saying that’s not good for you. BPA-free water bottles are not BPS-free. Glass is the only way to go. Except I would never have a bottle to drink from because I break everything I touch. Exhausted yet? I am. Why bother, right? I have been studying nutrition for several years now after a lifetime of illnesses the medical profession could not explain. I was written off as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which didn’t sit right in my bones. I got a flu shot and ended up with sinusitis, bronchitis, viral pneumonia, influenza A and B. Bedridden on a breathing machine, I began to search for answers. I started working with a nutritionist who helped me begin this journey to health. It is a long road filled with setbacks
Kansas Agland columnist
Michele Boy and learning. Listening to my own body and not what everyone else says is the hardest part sometimes. For instance, dairy causes inflammation in my body, yet beef is just fine. I am so sensitive to the slightest thing. I often compare myself to the canary in the coal mine. This all may seem odd to the hearty farm people I know. But I have come to see this as a gift. I will react to something immediately that may not bother someone else. Once in my 20s, I got an eyebrow ring. In less than 30 minutes, my eye had swollen so much I looked like Chunk from “The Goonies.” My friend took a pair of pliers and yanked it out. You know the commercials for medicines where the side effects are so awful but only for one percent of the population? Well, I would like you to meet the 1 percent. Hi. Ibuprofen makes my ears close up. Yep, that’s me. I once took an antibiotic called Levaquin. One pill and I had leg cramps so awful for the next 76 hours, I thought I would die. No one believed me, yet shortly afterward, story after story appeared about people who took the series of Levaquin and have permanent damage. I consider myself blessed! So I research every last
ingredient before it touches my mouth. What I know today is that my body is different from yours. In fact, we all are different. Every magazine article that quotes an expert or a doctor doesn’t know your body. To live the healthiest, most joyful life I can live, I need to pay attention to what my body needs and what it doesn’t. Sadly, there is a lot of science that gets scoffed at because it conflicts with big corporations or pharmaceutical companies. Even the health magazines that I read offer conflicting information. But I am not writing this to condemn pharmaceutical companies or any other corporation. I am grateful that because of research my friend’s son got a new kidney or the heart medications and the pacemakers that save peoples lives. No I am simply offering another point of view, which says that not everyone can be treated the same. My journey has taught me how to look at my body holistically and to heal homeopathically. And I hope that my sometimes challenging road might offer you the courage to follow your gut and make decisions that are best for you. So, cheers. Here’s to the dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free muffins I made this morning that contained one or more ingredients which at least three health magazines discounted. Writer and photographer Michele Boy is a transplanted New Yorker living with her husband and young daughter on their Hamilton County farm. For more from Boy, visit www.kansasagland.com.
Kansas ranks first in milk production status
Kansas Agland
A report issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agriculture Statistics Service shows Kansas milk production grew at the fastest rate in the U.S., at 7.3 percent in 2013.
Kansas posted the third largest increase in total pounds of milk production in 2013, only trailing dairy giants Wisconsin and New York. The dairy industry in Kansas is a crucial component oF the state’s agricultural industry and
overall economic growth. According to Josh Roe, economist for the Kansas Department of Agriculture, the value of milk produced in Kansas totaled nearly $592 million, adding about $131 million to the Kansas economy and 482 jobs in 2013.
The Hutchinson News
The Hutchinson News
Hadley From PAGE 12 “Being open and honest with the books is very important,” he said. “Some people prepare themselves to go back to the farm and then they make $10 an hour, when they could go into another agribusiness and make much more.” Who will be boss The new owners should be paid for their work and their expertise, Hadley said, along with the current owners and the farm itself. “You don’t live off of depreciation. It should be invested back into the farm,” he said. “Make adjustments to decide whether
to expand or do more high-value operations.” That’s just part of it. Work and management responsibilities are biggies. Who’s going to be the boss? “There should be a plan in place, and there are various ways to build such a plan,” Hadley said. Step one is to gather and talk, and then put it on paper – a master plan. Good communication If the process is difficult, there are experts in succession, conflict management and professional counselors who can help make things go more smoothly. “There are a lot of problems with succession,” he said. “Families always find a way to get the work done. However, a lot of farm and ranch families
KANSAS AGLAND don’t communicate very well about the way they’re going to improve their farm, ranch or family lives.” Consequently, there are “roadblocks,” or “strained family dynamics.” Some experts say that “only the blood relatives should be at the table,” while others, Hadley included, advocate that everyone should be involved. “The more communication, the better,” he said. “When the son or daughter goes back to a wife or husband who asks how it went and how it happened, they’re not going to be able to convey that information as accurately as if the in-law would have heard it had they been at the meeting.” Problems with divorce As with predicting the future,
March 2014 Page 15 there are unexpected perils such as illness, injury or untimely death. Divorce can cause problems, as well, Hadley said. Prenuptial agreements are becoming more prevalent in farm and ranch successions, he said. “As much as I like to think that every marriage is going to last, we know by looking out in the world that that’s not the case,” Hadley said. “In some way, shape or form during the succession planning process, somebody’s gotta talk about divorce. What’s going to happen then? How should we reduce the risk of exposure to the farm? You need to be thoughtful in advance about what you’re going to do to protect your family business.” Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at (785) 822-1419 or by email at tunruh@salina.com.
Smith Center man on council Kansas Agland Smith Center’s Philip Weltmer was elected vice chairman of the Kansas Beef Council. The group’s executive council also chose Barb Downey, Wamego, as chairwoman. Weltmer and his wife, Jessica, partner with his grandfather, father and uncle in owning and managing W&S Ranch Inc. in Smith County. The operation consists of a registered and commercial Angus cowherd, a diversified farming operation and feeding enterprise. Philip Weltmer belongs to the Kansas Livestock Association, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, American Angus Assocation and Kansas Farm Bureau. He is on the joint CBB and NCBA federation nutrition and health subcommittee and market research working group.
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KANSAS AGLAND
Crop farmers face tests; livestock folks, a boon If you’re a crop farmer looking for good news in USDA’s recently released 10-year outlook, you are simply out of luck. If you’re a corn grower, you’d better get used to low prices. For the 2013-2014 crop, USDA projects a corn price of $4.50 a bushel. However, prices continue to decline and won’t bottom out until the 2015 crop, when prices hit $3.30 a bushel. Dan Basse, with AgResource in Chicago, says that prices would assume a harvest low of under $3 a bushel. “During this time frame, U.S.-planted corn acreage will drop from 97 million acres to 88 million in 2017, which would allow prices to recover to a season average of $4.10 by 2022. In short, we’re looking at an eight-year period of U.S. farm gate prices below $4 a bushel,” he says. With corn carryover climbing to almost 3 billion bushels in some of these years, prices will clearly suffer. USDA also projects a continuing drop in wheat acreage – a trend that started in the early 1980s. And with prices hitting bottom at $4.30 by 2015, there’s no incentive to grow wheat. We planted 56 million acres of wheat for the 2013-2014 crop, but by 2023, we’ll plant only 52 million acres. Finally, eight to 10 years from now, wheat will make it back above $5 a bushel. Also over this time frame, our share of the world wheat market will continue to shrink because of rising imports and increased global competition. As expected, the sharp drop in corn and wheat prices, for instance, led to sharp drops in net farm income, starting this year. However, the decline in net farm income continues and gets even worse between 2014 and 2023. Basse says U.S. farmers will see nothing to cheer about in the Baseline Report. “Farm profitability will be severely compressed in future years without adverse weather.”
Wheat and More ... or Less
Vance Ehmke To make matters worse, the report, which came out on Feb. 13, is already out of date. The report was written late last year and early this year – and with no new Farm Bill on the horizon, the authors had to assume the old farm bill would be continued. Well, we have a new farm bill – and in that legislation, there are no more direct payments. And, guys, this is really going to hurt. Time will tell if replacement programs including a new version of the old target-price concept will make up for these shortfalls. While the wheat target price is set at $5.50, you’re paid on 85 percent of your base acres, so it’s actually only $4.67 a bushel. For sure, with much lower grain prices, all payments as well as insurance coverage will go down sharply. With a continuation of the old farm bill, it was projected we’d see a sharp increase in payments especially in years 2015, 2016 and 2017 – when grain prices are the lowest and when we’d need that source of income the worst. These are the years we need to look out for. Basse goes on to say that if we were to have two normal growing seasons in a row, spot CBOT corn futures could drop to $2.50 to $2.75 for harvest lows. “We cannot rule out sub $3 spot CBOT corn by late summer or early fall of 2015. The market has to reduce U.S. major cropplanted acreage with lower prices,” Basse says. USDA agrees. Outside of 9 million acres of corn simply vanishing, another 4 million acres of wheat will also disappear. Where will those acres go? USDA says some will go back into CRP. Currently at 26 million
acres, CRP is expected to swing back up to 32 million acres over the coming years. Further, Basse says that while it’s quite profitable to make corn ethanol, the problem isn’t the profitability, but the blend wall which EPA and AgResource calculate to be about 13 billion gallons – and still dropping. “U.S. ethanol is virtually capped at about 5 billion bushels no matter how profitable U.S. ethanol is. Our ethanol industry is now mature,” Basse adds. We’ll also see a slight increase in soybean acres and maybe the same with minor crops like canola. We could also see more wheat grazed out. And why not? The only good news out there is for people in the livestock industry. If you’re losing money on wheat and making money on cattle, graze it out. And believe you me, our friends in the cattle industry have paid their dues. I talked with a feedlot manager recently, and he said he went an entire 18 months with not a single pen making money. But that is changing – and fast. The beef-corn ratio jumps from 18 this year to over double that for the rest of the 10 years in the USDA projections. These low corn prices are what those guys have been praying for. But what’s more is that the prices for beef, pork and poultry are all going up at the same time that the cost of production is going down. In the literature, this is referred to as a positive profit margin – times two. So, at the end of the day, what does this mean? For the crops people out there, I am reminded of the old Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times. I have a feeling we’re getting ready to find out what that means. Vance and Louise Ehmke grow certified seed wheat, rye and triticale on their Lane County farm which was homesteaded in 1885. For more on Ehmke’s pennings, visit www.kansasagland.com.
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T
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KANSAS AGLAND
Take high road in facing naysayers I think I’m starting to understand what a political candidate must feel like. Hitting the campaign trail, giving your pitch and watching as your competition cherry-picks comments to use against you and win the voters’ support. It’s not easy and certainly no fun. Farmers are always fighting a public relations war, and the latest battle, waged by the national restaurant chain Chipotle, seemed to take the slander and falsehoods to a new level. When I watch the movies, read the articles and listen to the supporters denounce modern agriculture, it’s easy to fire back with criticisms
New to the Farm
Katie Sawyer and hatred. But we, as farmers and ranchers, can’t run the same low-blow campaign as those working against us. We are good people, with Midwest values and upbringings that taught us that if we can’t say anything nice, we shouldn’t say anything at all. We can’t stay silent
– that’s part of what got us into this mess – but we can continue to spread our message, educate our neighbors and emphasize the value of the agriculture industry in small-town America. In our Facebook postings and blog updates, we must continue to politely remind the public that we care for our land and our animals. The difficult part – and there are many – is that despite the harsh tones of our naysayers, we have to march forward with a positive tone, an upbeat delivery and a sincerity that conveys just how much our land, animals and
See SAWYER / Page 20
March 2014 Page 17
Page 18 March 2014
KANSAS AGLAND
‘New tricks’ include beef herding Another cold, snowy day from Honey May farm. It seems like the winter that will never go away came back for another round. It is early March and bitterly cold outside. Several neighbors have been in the start of calving season and have been busy trying to keep calves alive in the cold weather. It seems like when the weather changes they have a flush of calving. Most have been fortunate to save most or all of their calves. I have talked to several who swear by the use of a hot box to get the calf going, then release it back to Mama. After getting out of the dairy business last year, I still have some of my heifers left. I have been selling them as springers so I still have some to breed them and then sell them next spring. I cannot imagine trying to calve 40 to 50 cows in a short amount of time, but I will soon find out. I am getting ready to purchase some heifers from my son-in-law to begin my next chapter in life – running a beef herd. I am sure it will be a little different than what I am used to with dairy cows, but I am looking forward to it. January and February are the months for meetings, and I try to go to as many as possible just to learn something new. There seems to be a lot of information we can learn if we just listen. I especially want to
From Honey May farm
Mike Rausch learn about any changes to the new Farm Bill as well as changes to crop insurance. I have been to Topeka with the Kansas Farm Bureau, to meet with our local delegation to discuss legislation that will affect agriculture. Because I live in Sedgwick County, there are a lot of our local legislators who have never been to a farm or ranch, so they have no idea just what we do or why. We may not agree on everything, but I feel we still need to be upfront and vocal on issues that directly affect us. I feel we have made a good start but need to be connected now more than ever. For instance, our Sedgwick County president and I went to Topeka early this month to give testimony to a Senate committee on scrap-metal thefts from irrigation systems, and we will try to talk to some key senators concerning the bill proposed to eliminate the Extension districts. Extension is a big part of my farm, and I hope we can provide some help to stop this bill from proceeding any further. On a lighter note, I just invested in a newer tractor,
and it has guidance. I wonder if an old farmer can learn new tricks, or do I just give up and do things the same way? Technology and I just don’t get along. I’m still trying to figure out my smartphone. (I guess you have to be smarter than the phone.) I will try, but I’ll bet my son will be getting tired of calls at work from me wondering what in the world I should do next. In addition, I bought a semi to take some of the harvest pressure off my truck. I am still trying to convince my wife, Nancy, that women can drive a semi, but she hasn’t warmed up to the idea, so that chapter is yet to be written. Also, the wheat looks good so far, so I am optimistic about this year’s crop. However, it’s not in the bin yet. Boy, do I hope it warms up soon. I just saw on the Weather Channel that it is expected to be a cooler-than-normal spring for my area. So stay warm and be safe this spring. Mick Rausch and his wife, Nancy, farm near Garden Plain in western Sedgwick County. Their operation includes raising corn, milo, soybeans, alfalfa and wheat, and Rausch has several native grass pastures he bales for hay. He’s a member of the Sedgwick County Farm Bureau and is president of the Agri-Business Council of Wichita.
The Hutchinson News
The Hutchinson News
KANSAS AGLAND
March 2014 Page 19
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KANSAS AGLAND
The Hutchinson News
If you’re considering herd expansion, do your homework “E” is on the lips of many people today. Whispers are growing louder. In the past year, more intelligent, logical people are talking about “E.” The Big “E” is cow herd expansion. Statistics tell us our herd has not been this small since the 1950s and ‘60s. Advances in technology and husbandry have yielded an efficient U.S. beef production system. Despite this, drought has ravaged many states, especially the crucial Great Plains, where a large portion of our cow herd resides. Cash bids, grid prices, feeder cattle futures and live cattle markets have seen a shocking rise within the past two months. Beef demand is high, supplies are low and export markets seem hungry. It is a good time for people selling cattle – record-breaking good! It is easy to see the latest price reports and think, “That can’t be true.” Keep this in mind regarding futures prices: The market is always right. Whether August feeder cattle prices hit $3.50 or $0.35, that is market value. Sure, cattle may be trading higher or lower elsewhere, but fundamental and technical drivers
Sawyer From PAGE 17 way of life mean to us.
Kansas Agland columnist
determine price. Like a rubber band, markets will tighten, loosen and snap back. The market is always right. Naturally, as a cattle producer, you want a piece of the pie. Historically, we have seen 10- to 15-year cattle cycles. Every cycle had a time when it paid to be a cow-calf producer and a time when stocker operators made the moola. Cattle cycles were like playing jump rope: When and where you jumped in had a huge impact on your success or failure. Savvy ranchers who predicted the cycles made money. Alas, I’m not here to talk about the markets. You and I cannot control those, but here is what you can control: Resources are the playing pieces you can manage or manipulate to some extent. Our catchphrase shall be Total Resource Management, or TRM. This means we are
actively managing all of our resources, inputs and outputs. No, we can’t manage rainfall on our pastures, but we can manage how pastures are grazed. We can’t control corn prices, but we can manage how much of our ration is corn. You can’t manage what you can’t measure! TRM requires qualitative measurements on everything you use: truck tires, bottles of wormer, pounds of feed and so on. First, does herd expansion make financial cents? Please forgive my pun. If adding more cows does not make you more money, why do it? As herd size increases, the cost of meeting their needs also increases – $50-per-head profit on 35 cows does not translate to a flat $50-a-head profit on 55 cows. Land, feed, replacements and machinery are a few input costs that jump with more hooves on the ground. Should you retain more heifers, buy bred heifers, snag open cows, bid on heavy springers or rustle your neighbor’s yaks? Each (except the last) are viable options for herd expansion. All include their own management issues. Run the numbers and determine what pencils
best for your situation. Once you know each scenario’s costs, you can find potential holes in the market and make economically feasible purchases. Knowing your cost of production for heifers and cows is mandatory. Analyzing return on interest and return on equity are key for effective analysis. Another economic factor affecting expansion is funding. As each bovine becomes worth more dollars, the amount of capital required increases. Just because you think you need to grow the cow herd does not mean your banker agrees. Be upfront and honest with them as you look toward expansion. The high cost of doing business may mean the bank expects you to operate with a safety net: forward contracting, hedging, or simply laying more collateral on the line. Lenders do not like surprises unless it is written in black ink and has extra commas. Communicate early and often. Meanwhile, do you have access to adequate forage and pasture resources to justify expansion? Will this resource sustain your larger herd during a normal year or through continued
drought? Buying cattle at the top of the market and selling them at the bottom is scientifically proven to lose money. If you do not believe me, buy a prom dress in early spring and sell it during the summer. Tell me how that works out. (Disclaimer: I’ve never bought a prom dress, but I did teach high school students once.) Also, know how much grass you can expect to grow during high, average and low rainfall and adjust stocking rates accordingly. Pushing rates higher only works when you receive above-average rainfall. Anything else results in pasture abuse and degrading the land resource. Robbing Peter to pay Paul does not work in the corporate world or in the real, rural world. More questions: If you can afford to own and feed all the extra little doggies, do you have the facilities to handle them? Will you need to hire extra day-workers to castrate and brand calves? At what point does it make financial sense to hire a part-time helper? How about a full-time employee? Look before you leap to prevent your working corrals from busting at the seams. Consider what type of
cattle you want to raise. We have a myriad of cattle breeds available. Research to find the breed, crossbred and genetics that work for your operation and environment. Buy the right females and breed them to the right bulls to enhance profit, whether you sell them at weaning, as yearlings or hanging on a rail. Livestock production is a highly variable system. Often, so much of our resources and inputs are affected by rainfall, temperature and timing. As ranchers, realistic financial planning, pasture management, genetic selection, marketing and input control are key to profitability. Keep your pencil sharp and stay on top of ever-changing conditions to keep your livestock business in the black ink and primed to take advantage of expansion incentives when the timing is right. Anthony Ruiz is a livestock production agent with the Central Kansas District Extension. What are your thoughts on the Big “E?” Are you gearing up for expansion or waiting to buy bargains once the bubble bursts? Call him at (785) 3922147 or email anruiz@ksu. edu. He’d love to talk cattle and discuss TRM with you.
Our campaign is one of truth, transparency and tradition. We cannot go negative. The agriculture industry must not stoop to Chipotle’s level. We cannot match them blow for blow.
We can, however, find other restaurants to frequent, support the businesses that stand behind farmers and ranchers, and continue to spread our message to everyone who will lend us
their ear. It’s a fight that will likely never end. The battles will change along with the enemy, but we must remain the same – positive, productive and ready to feed the
world. Katie Sawyer and her husband, Derek, farm and raise cattle outside McPherson. Katie works full-time off the farm, is a spokeswoman for CommonGround Kansas
and is a member of the Kansas Beef Council’s Team Beef. She blogs about her farm and family at www.newtothefarm. wordpress.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Sawyerfarm.
Anthony Ruiz
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The Hutchinson News
KANSAS AGLAND
March 2014 Page 21
Recent court rulings have big Kansas Livestock Association elects implications for agriculture cattlemen to leadership positions
An onslaught of new court cases will affect the very core of our country – agriculture. The tactics in Washington, D.C., have turned toward regulation through litigation. When the environmental community doesn’t get Congress to enact new rules, they sue a government agency, ,claiming it hasn’t done its job under existing legislation. The recent judgments have been damaging to the agriculture industry. Here are a few of the cases: Center for Biological Diversity vs. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Wild Earth Guardians vs. USFWS – These are two separate court cases where USFWS was taken to court for not fulfilling its obligations under the Endangered Species Act. The court ruled in favor of CBD and WEG and issued a Multi-District Litigation settlement agreement, which stated that USFWS must determine whether nearly 900 species should be protected under the environmental species act by 2017. This ruling is why Kansas faces possible listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken as threatened. We expect to have nearly 50 species considered by USFWS by 2017 because of the court ruling. Most of these species will live on private lands. Private landowners will be affected. Agriculture will be affected. American Farm Bureau vs. Environmental Pro- tection Agency – Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load – A recent court ruling set the standards to reduce the TMDL which would establish nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment standards for the six-state watershed that drains into the Chesapeake Bay. The American Farm Bureau Federation disagreed with the authority for EPA to “allocate” a share of the total TMDL to different aspects of the community. EPA allocated nutrient and sediment runoff among farms, homeowners, communities and businesses from New York to Virginia. Farm Bureau argued that EPA could
Kansas Agland columnist
Jim Sipes set the “total” but not the “allocation,” which Farm Bureau believed was a state right. The court rejected Farm Bureau’s claim and incorrectly inferred congressional authority from congressional silence on the issue. The court ruled that since the Clean Water Act authorized EPA to set the total pollutant load, and it did not mention allocations between sources, this created ambiguity within the law and deferred the allocation to EPA. Also, Farm Bureau claimed that a 45-day comment period wasn’t adequate for participants to review the TMDL proposals, which took a decade to develop. In fact, EPA didn’t disclose significant portions of the TMDL proposal during the comment period. The court ruled that even though Farm Bureau didn’t have access to the entire plan during the comment period, it would uphold EPA action because Farm Bureau didn’t show what it would’ve done differently if it had access to the whole plan. Regulation without adequate review by those being regulated seems like a government out of control. This ruling has far-reaching implications for agriculture. It has long been a fact that pollutants come more from cities than from farms. Giving EPA the ability to allocate the maximum amount of the pollution between industries probably means that some industries could be singled out. The ruling does not allow the states the ability to change the allocation. The American Farm Bureau and its partners filed an appeal on Oct. 7. Alt vs. EPA – Agricultural Stormwater – EPA claimed that Lois Alt, a West Virginia poultry farmer, needed to obtain a Clean Water Act discharge permit for ordinary
storm-water running off of her exemplary-run family farm or face fines of up to $37,500 a day. Alt’s farm is a concentrated animal-feeding operation consisting of eight poultry barns and about 200,000 birds. Farm Bureau believes this is an attempt by EPA to unlawfully narrow the Clean Water Act’s exemption for “agricultural stormwater discharges.” Obtaining such a permit would be extremely costly for farming operations like Alt’s. It would likely force many out of the business. Ultimately, Farm Bureau and Alt won this case and upheld the Clean Water Act exemption for agricultural stormwater. Unfortunately, EPA has filed an appeal. I was told by one of my Kansas congressmen that EPA writes more than 400 pages of regulations daily. These regulations are sitting around waiting for the appropriate political climate to implement. Europe has gone down the route of over-regulation and its economy is in ruins. We should learn from history and make decisions that not only protect our natural resources but our industries that drive our economy and those that feed this growing population. I have heard folks say, “Once in your life you need a lawyer and a clergyman, but every day you need a farmer.” So we all must make sure we are being advocates for farmers and agriculture every day. Jim Sipes received a master’s degree in agronomy from Kansas State University and returned home to the family farm in Stanton County. He is the fourth generation to work the ground alongside his uncle and father. Sipes represents the Kansas Farm Bureau’s Ninth District on the state board of directors. He also has served on the Stanton County Farm Bureau board and the Kansas Farm Bureau’s state wheat and resolutions committees. Jim represents the Kansas Farm Bureau on the committee developing the Lesser Prairie Chicken Habitat Credit Exchange.
Kansas Agland
Members of the Kansas Livestock Association elected Jeff Sternberger of Garden City and Jaret Moyer from Emporia to serve as officers of the 5,500-member organization over the next year. Both were elected by members during the KLA Convention Dec. 4-6 in Wichita. Sternberger, the new KLA president, is a feeder and stocker cattle operator
who has Midwest Feeders at Ingalls. He is part of a group that bought the feedyard in 1992. Sternberger and his wife, Colleen, own a wheat and stocker cattle operation in Oklahoma and a stocker business in Mississippi. S ternberger is a member of the U.S. Premium Beef Board of Directors and previously served on the Beef Empire Days Board of Directors. Moyer, who was chosen
as president-elect, owns a cattle backgrounding and stocker cattle operation in northern Lyon County. Moyer’s ranch is focused on growing light cattle using a combination of Flint Hills pastures and a backgrounding facility. He also is president of Citizens State Bank and Trust Co., with locations in Woodbine, Bremen, Gypsum and Reading. Moyer and his wife, Shawna, have two daughters.
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Photos courtesy Mark Pettijohn
Solomon-area farmer Mark Pettijohn cuts his sunflowers with the companion crop last fall.
Efforts from sunflower test will yield profit, growth data I drilled a cover crop at a 45-degree angle following wheat harvest. The next day, I planted 30-inch row sunflowers. This year I copied an idea that I learned about through a webinar. The idea was to grow a cash crop within a cover crop. The cover crop and the cash crop would work in tandem, cooperate and allow a cash crop to be harvested. 2013 was the first year that I tried adding a companion crop (crimson clover, arrowleaf clover, cow peas, mung beans, soybeans, buckwheat and radishes) to my double-crop sunflowers. I also had a field that was planted conventionally. I finally got the results put together. My cost per acre of growing the 64 acres of conventional double-crop sunflowers was $250.31. My cost per acre of growing the 237.4 acres of double-crop sunflowers with a companion cover crop was $189.69. The yield of the conventional acres was 1,281 pounds an acre and the companion acres was 518 pounds an acre. I made $5.89 an acre on my conventional acres. I lost $86.09 an acre on my companion acres. The conventional acres were in an upland field and given more fertilizer after heavy rains. They drained well and did not stunt. The supplemental N was streamed on and foliar micronutrients were sprayed with the Select. Tissue tests before and after indicated a boost of nitrogen and micros in the conventional flowers. These plants remained stunted but filled a good head after losing their yellow color. The companion flowers were all on flat, poor drained soil
Kansas Agland columnist
Mark Pettijohn and stunted or drowned by nearly 20 inches of rain. Supplemental fertilizer would have fallen largely on bare ground. It was not added. Yield monitor data showed that on a ridge separating an 80 from a 40 (old fence line), the yield was more like the conventional. This encouraged me for 2014. It’s my hope that, given normal rainfall, I can raise the same yield in both fields this year, and boost soil health. I might suggest that I’m trying it again because I think the limiting factor was the field. I’m adding side-by-sides in 2014 to offset this flaw from 2013, so if it’s wet or dry, I should get better tests. Every field this year will be split in half. Half will have companion flowers and half will not. If my yield was allowed to double to 1,036 pounds an acre on the companions, the profit would have been $12 an acre better than the conventional acres. Thus, if equal yields are achieved in 2014, the companions could “out-earn” the conventionals. I think the rain did damage the yield by 50 percent or more in the companion acres. The costs that I kept track of were burn-down, including pre-emerge chemicals ($41.75 conventionals vs. companions), grass chemicals post-emerge ($6 conventionals vs $8.55 companions), bug chemicals ($19.79 conventionals vs 0.21
cents companions), bulk fertilizer and innoculant ($57.04 conventionals vs. $30 companions), mixing seed (zero conventionals vs. $1.10 companions), cover crop seed (zero conventionals vs $34.75 companions), flower seed (both $32.80), harvesting (both $41.15), starter fertilizer (both $25.37) and supplemental fertilizer ($26.45 conventionals vs .08 cents companions). We sold all seed to Delaney Seed. They provided the trucks. They did not pay an oil premium, but I later determined that I had 47 percent oil content (premiums are usually offered above 40 percent). The local price plus oil premium wouldn’t have beaten the seed company’s price. Free trucking is hard to beat, also. Who knows the value of the cover crops to the ground/soil health? Who knows the value of the sunflower roots and the other roots breaking the deep soil and mining nutrients? Who knows the value of the shade? Who knows the value of the long-term weed suppression? Is it more environmentally friendly to reduce chemical and fertilizer usage? Tapping into nature’s secrets may not be easy, but it sure is fun. We will add soil tests before planting 2014’s double-crop sunflowers and soil tests following sunflower harvest. The data we collect should go a long way toward learning how to properly grow companion flowers and maximizing profit. Mark Pettijohn is a notill farmer in Saline and Dickinson counties. He has an accounting degree from the University of Kansas. He has three children – Gareth, 14; Chloe, 12; and Lincoln, 11.
Baccus, Kansas Farm Bureau president since 2002, to retire Kansas Agland
MANHATTAN – After serving on the Kansas Farm Bureau’s board of directors for 17 years, Ottawa County farmer Steve Baccus has announced he will retire Dec. 3. Baccus served as vice president of the organization for five years and has served as president of the
organization since 2002. “Farm Bureau has been my life for a long time,” Baccus said. “There is nothing better than working for the farmers and ranchers of Kansas Farm Bureau. My wife, Pat, and I have had long conversations about this, and together we have decided now is the time.” Baccus began his Farm
Bureau leadership role as president of the Ottawa County Farm Bureau. In January 2004, Baccus was elected to the Board of Directors of the American Farm Bureau Federation, where he has worked to set policy and direction for the leading agriculture advocacy organization in the nation.
A semi filled with sunflowers was purchased by Delaney Seed.
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Garden City’s Dan Good is Premier Seed Grower Dan Good, Drussel Seed Company, Garden City, was named 2013 Premier Seed Grower by the Kansas Crop Improvement Association at the 2014 Kansas Seed and Crops Conference, held in Manhattan on Feb. 19. To qualify for the award, members must have several years of experience as certified seed producers, and their business must have certified seed as a major component, must exhibit quality consciousness in all production and sales practices, and must be involved in public service activities.
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BRIEFS Good grew up helping his father, who farmed and operated a cow/calf operation in Garnett. It was from his dad that he acquired a love of the land, and, as an adult, Good worked with him in the 1970s. Good attended Rutgers University – College of Agriculture and Environmental Science, New Brunswick, N.J., and graduated from Ottawa University, Ottawa, Kan., with a bachelor’s degree in biology/chemistry.
Six area couples receive farmer/homemaker titles Six couples have been named Kansas Master Farmers and Master Farm
Homemakers for 2013. The couples are identified as leaders in farming and their communities, and they were honored at a banquet March 14 in Manhattan. The Master Farmer and Master Farm Homemaker award program began in 1927 and is sponsored by K-State Research and Extension and Kansas Farmer magazine. The 2013 honorees include: Carrol and Jeanie Campbell, Winfield; Lee and Pamela Doyle, Holton; Randy and Kim Fritzemeier, Stafford; Neal and Clare Galle, Moundridge; Phillip and Sharron Knox, Brewster; Russ and Sandra Sylvester, Ottawa. – Kansas Agland
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800
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A yield of perspectives from a seasoned planter It’s the time of the year to make and finalize planting decisions. I don’t like seed companies pushing the issue of what I want to plant in November. There are times I like to be contrarian to what everybody else is pushing to plant. Looking at September corn, KC wheat and soybeans, I see these prices on March 7 giving me a net income per acre of 106, 78 and 199, respectively. These income figures are up 61 percent, 54 percent and 20 percent, respectively, from the first of the year, even though prices are only up 11 percent, 14 percent and 8 percent. I think looking at your own yields and expenses gives you a different perspective than just looking
Kansas Agland columnist
Steve Clanton at prices. I track futures in a spreadsheet. I take an expected yield times the futures price minus basis minus my expenses per acre. Tracking the net income gives you a different look than just tracking prices. I also like to look at ratios of prices between crops. Corn has gained on soybeans here lately, with the September ratio at 2.57, down from 2.66. (As an aside, I was an engineer before I came
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back to farm. I like playing games with numbers and charts. My wife and kids say I tend to complicate things.) Soybeans have been a profitable crop for me in my area. They still look to earn the most per acre. But I have pushed soybean acreage so much the past two years, I had to increase my wheat and feed grain acres for rotation. The market is going to make it interesting going forward. Income the past few years has been easy to come by if you received rain. The trouble going forward is: Are we in for another cost-price squeeze in agriculture?
See CLANTON / Page 25
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Clanton From PAGE 24 I came back to the farm in 1976. Since then, there have been years I farmed for the experience, not the income. I am now six years over the average age of farmers. I hope the newer farmers realize that the “Cash is king” that we learned in the 1980s can be important again. Government payments in those times represented a substantial part of your net income. The Kansas Farm Management data put out in summary books strongly suggests that controlling costs leads to more profitability. Commission members Congratulations to the newly elected commodity commission members. The commission performs many jobs for the farmers in this state. Helping fund research is one of its important roles. Since government moneys have been reduced, the commission money has become more key in funding the
research being done. My problem with our current system is that the individual commodity commission has blinders on that only look at its respective crop. I don’t know of any farmers who are monoculture growers to the point of only one grain commodity. So is this the best system for the research to help farmers in 10 years? Currently, the research proposed and funded is almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. If researchers have been turned down in the past, do they stop proposing some projects beforehand based on their expectations? Wheat was a new crop in Kansas in the late 1800s. Soybeans were new in the early 1900s. Are we not looking at what might be the crops 20 to 50 years from now? The only fix I could propose would be to have one commodity commission instead of the separate crop-specific commissions. I served on two commissions at the same time, but couldn’t get anybody else to join me.
KANSAS AGLAND Planting crucial When you see this, we will be in the midst of planting. Other people might think harvest is the most critical time for a farmer, but I have always thought planting was. If you make a mistake in planting, it is hard to recover with good yield prospects. The newer equipment helps you know when you’re running out of seed or having a skip. But it’s still up to the operator to pay attention. So, may you have a good planting season. Steve Clanton calls himself a “has-been.” He has been president of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers; has served on the board of 21st Century Grain Processors Co-op, which is now sold; and has served both on the Kansas Wheat and Kansas Soybean Commissions. Clanton also has been on the school board, NRCS board, extension board and North Central Farm Management board. He farms 3,100 acres of soybeans, milo and wheat, as well as some corn and sunflowers, in Ottawa County.
Teske elected VP of farmers union Kansas Agland
SANTA FE, N.M. – Delegates at the National Farmers Union Convention elected Donn Teske, Kansas Farmers Union president, as the organization’s vice president. “I am so humbled by the faith and trust the delegates have shown by
electing me vice president,” said Teske. “I’ll do my best to help NFU President Roger Johnson move the organization forward under the direction of the grassroots policy formed here today.” Teske was elected from a field of three candidates at the NFU’s 112th convention. He replaces former Vice
President Claudia Svarstad, who did not seek re-election. Teske has served as Kansas Farmers Union president since 2000 and is a fifth-generation farmer in northeast Kansas. The state organization will make no change of leadership at this time, according to KFU officials.
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Water vision crucial challenge for Kan. Last October, Gov. Sam Brownback issued a call to establish a 50-year water vision for the state. The effort is designed to focus on the Ogallala Aquifer and Kansas reservoirs. Most Kansans know of the vast underground water supply in the Ogallala, which stretches from the Dakotas to Texas and includes a major portion of western Kansas. Most benefit in some way from the enormous economy, which has been fueled since the 1940s by ready supplies of water supporting irrigated agriculture and livestock industries across western Kansas. These businesses provide jobs, sustain many rural Kansas communities and fuel a massive economic engine benefiting all citizens. But the demand on the Ogallala exceeds its recharge potential. State goals are to “extend and conserve” the life of the aquifer, and recent economic studies have shown every drop we save today will be of much greater value in the future. Eastern reaches of the
Kansas Farm Bureau
Steve Baccus state are not without their own water woes as reservoirs silt in and storage capacity is lost. Nearly two-thirds of our state’s population depends upon water stored in reservoirs for its primary or reserve water supply. Every day this capacity dwindles as sediment slowly creeps downstream, ultimately settling in and taking away valuable reservoir storage space. Demand has or is near to surpassing supply in some watershed basins. Building new, large reservoirs comes at a tremendous cost. It is politically and environmentally unpopular and agriculture takes a major hit through the relocation of farming operations and the loss of valuable farmland and
rangeland acres. Municipal and rural water districts are not the only users of our reservoir systems. Power plants, industries and even recreation all rely upon these water bodies today and for the future. As with the Ogallala, we must define a vision to sustain and protect these water resources. The Kansas Farm Bureau is accepting the governor’s challenge to identify a 50year vision for water. We are already in the process of statewide meetings to educate ourselves and develop ideas. These are not eastern/western Kansas issues or rural/urban issues. As the Farm Bureau has taken this challenge seriously, we hope all Kansans will work to educate themselves. As a vision evolves into action, the solutions will not be simple. We must create a vision for Kansans today that our descendants will be grateful for tomorrow. Steve Baccus is president of the Kansas Farm Bureau. He and his family farm in Ottawa County.
The misconceptions surrounding gluten Even though only one percent of Americans have Celiac disease and less than one half of 1 percent of people are allergic to wheat, millions more are imposing a “gluten-free” diet for themselves. Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye and barley. Stan Cox, an adjunct pro- fessor of agronomy and senior scientist at The Land Institute in Salina, recently authored a blog on the subject. Cox says: “As often happens with widely publicized medical conditions that affect a very small segment of the population, millions of additional people have become convinced in recent years that they also are gluten-intolerant when they are not. During the past two and a half years, a cloud of confusion has enveloped the issue of wheat’s impact on the human body.” Cox says much of the “fog” is created by cardiologist William Davis, who wrote the bestselling book, “Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health,” in 2011. “In the book and elsewhere, Davis recommends that everyone, including those who are free of any wheat-related medical condition, should adopt a wheat-free diet,” Cox writes. “He blames wheat consumption for causing a host of medical problems: gastrointestinal disruption,
Kansas Agland columnist
Cody Barilla obesity, diabetes, autism, hyperactivity disorders, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, dementia, coronary artery disease, and even erectile dysfunction.” Meanwhile, Cox notes that to support his claims, Davis cites evidence from his own practice – patients whom he has put on wheatfree diets that lost weight while experiencing other health improvements. However, such anecdotal observations do not implicate wheat as the sole or even primary cause of those conditions. “Experts have pointed out that the symptoms that lead many people to a self-diagnosis of gluten intolerance can be caused by a wide range of factors unrelated to wheat, and that excluding wheat or any major ingredient or class of food from the diet usually does lead to lower total calorie consumption and weight loss,” Cox writes. Cox also notes that a 2010 report from the long-running Framingham, Mass., Heart Study showed those in the study who met dietary guidelines of five servings of grain a day – “whole wheat products prominent” – achived great belly fat loss than any other test group. “In point-by-point reviews of Davis’s claims
published by the Journal of Cereal Science and the American Association of Cereal Chemists’ journal Cereal Foods World, very little in Wheat Belly has stood up to scientific scrutiny; in particular, thorough examination of published research (some of it published in the years since Wheat Belly came out) has turned up little or no solid experimental evidence to support the notion that wheat is a top culprit in modern health problems,” states Cox. Gluten is found in many whole-grain foods that have an array of vitamins, minerals, and fiber and are vital to a healthy diet. People who eat three servings of whole grains a day are 30 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes. The right mix of healthy carbohydrates, like whole-grain products, is the best way to control your blood sugar and avoid diabetes – plus they help to keep you full throughout the day. Whole grains are also the vehicle for many of nature’s disease fighters, like phytochemicals. Without these foods, we’d be sitting ducks for cancer, heart disease, and more. So when you’re cutting out gluten for no real reason, you’re losing all of the nutritional benefits found in foods with gluten. Take a deeper look into the benefits of wheat before you take it off of your menu. Cody Barilla is the agriculture agent with Reno County Kansas State Research and Extension. He also helps with the family farm in Stafford County.
Experienced Krissek is CEO of corn, sorghum groups Special to Kansas Agland
Greg Krissek began his duties recently as CEO of the Kansas Corn Growers Association, Kansas Corn Commission and Kansas
Grain Sorghum Producers Association. He has nearly 25 years of experience working with agriculture, ethanol, renewable energy projects and public policy. Krissek fills the position
of Jere White, who announced his retirement on Feb. 12. White had been the executive director of Kansas Corn and Kansas Sorghum since 1988.
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A look at farm tenancy in Kan. is timely for us The Twentieth Biennial Report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture was published in 1917. The very first chapter was dedicated to the topic of rural welfare and began with an article by George E. Putnam, associate professor of economics in Lawrence. He devoted the first 20 pages to the topic “Farm Tenancy in Kansas.” After all, farm tenancy was a front-burner issue of the day. His report was a rather extensive document of the percentage of land ownership versus rented lands. Coupled with those numbers was an equally thorough examination of the overall evils of tenant farming and its impact on rural communities. In those early days, tenant farmers were under the thumb of outside interests and money. He further stated, “A new factor is being introduced into the agricultural situation through the development of huge estates, owned by corporations and operated by salaried managers upon a purely industrial system.” The tenant was seldom equipped for cultivating a large farm intensively. The tenant could cultivate a large farm extensively, or a small farm intensively. He continued, stating that all of these factors resulted “in a decay of initiative, independence and citizenship.” Other consequences of tenancy included an absence of, or backward, educational facilities, little incentive to improve one’s temporary home, depopulation of rural communities and the prevalence of land speculation. In a short period of time, World War I would shift the focus away from the tenancy issue. A multitude of economic woes developed in the 1920s, which led to the Great Depression of the 1930s. Here we are, nearly a century later, and we find far fewer farms and ranches. Today, many are owned and operated by family farms and corporations. We never read much, if any, reference to farm
Kansas Agland columnist
Tom Giessel
Here we are, nearly a century later, and we find far fewer farms and ranches. Today, many are owned and operated by family farms and corporations. tenancy and burdensome debt. Could it be that farm tenancy has been masked and taken a much different form? Have outside capital and huge corporate interest re-created a new generation of farm tenancy? Meet the 21st century farm tenant. “Producers” (no longer referred to as farmers) almost exclusively plant seeds that are purchased and cannot be saved and replanted. We assume all liability and responsibility for those genetically modified organisms. We assume all environmental liability. We sign long-term technology agreements without negotiation, compromise or protection of individual rights. We prepay all research and development expense to multinational corporations and buy the product back at a later date. We no longer make the decision as to which (if any) chemical to apply – pre-determined by which seed has been purchased. We no longer “drive” our own equipment or even repair it. We defer decision-making to a computer program, designed by some far-away company and a computer programmer who could not recognize the difference between a kernel of wheat and a soybean. We contract/ sell into a system where we have no control.
But we claim to be independent and believe we have “the freedom to farm.” So what has changed in the last century? The obvious claim and truth would be technology. It has allowed us to produce vast quantities of commodities with many fewer people. Plant sciences, along with all facets of engineering, have made tremendous leaps and gains. But what did we trade for those socalled advancements? Nearly a hundred years ago, our predecessors combated “the evils of farm tenancy” and the daily struggles of life on the farm with their own creativity and ingenuity. They did not buy most things they needed; they created them. They “built” their farms and ranches from the ground up. They were also organized as a neighborhood or group, forming cooperatives and creating communities. They held a high regard for education, both in the classroom as well as on the farm. They captured the wealth of the land and transformed it into the future. They did not rely on information, management or skills from far away to guide them. They trusted in themselves, their family and their neighbor across the section. They understood the importance of not only making a living, but also making a life, and, with it, their responsibility to the future. Farmers today are blessed with many gifts, manifested in multiple ways. We have an inherent understanding that “making a living” is more than making money. It is imperative that we strive to maintain a balance between the many tools that technology allows us and taking “ownership” of our responsibility to the land, our resources, our communities, our future and ourselves. Tom Giessel farms in Pawnee County. A member of the Kansas Farmers Union, he also is a historian who continues to research farm organizations.
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Logan Co. rancher optimistic even after drought challenges What a year it has been to be a rancher and farmer in western Kansas. I am a third-generation farmer/rancher and have not seen drought affect so many. The cattlemen in this area have either reduced their herds or sold out completely. The cowherds in the United States are now down to levels comparable to the early 1950s. Granted, cattle prices are at levels never seen before, but it has still been tough. We received almost 10 inches of rain in August and September, which allowed the grasses to start recovering, but it was too late to get good growth before the fall freezes set in. In my pastures, the blue gamma and side oats gamma were the first to respond. The buffalo grass still is in doubt. We have received very little winter moisture, so we are praying for spring rains. The big question is: When will the cattlemen start rebuilding their herds? My pastures need to recover a lot before I can safely increase numbers. This is even after no cows have been on them since the latter part of June. The grass had very little time to store nutrients to help it revive. Calving is starting to get in full swing. My AI-sired calves are on the ground, and calves from the cleanup bull are
Kansas Agland columnist
Lynn Kirkham
The big question is: When will the cattlemen start rebuilding their herds? My pastures need to recover a lot before I can safely increase numbers. This is even after no cows have been on them since the latter part of June. beginning to arrive. It has been cold, but I have had very few assists, which I thank the improvement of EPDs for. The seed-stock producers are making it easier for the commercial cowman by working hard to get easy calving bulls that still perform. I may have a couple of short ears and tails on a couple of calves because of the cold, but it sounds like the forecast is for warmer weather for a
while. From all the fliers that I have seen and received in the mail, a person could almost attend a bull sale every day for a couple of weeks. I have only been to one so far, but it looks like the averages may be a little higher than a year ago. Unfortunately, I thought I only needed one bull, but my youngest bull broke his leg and had to be put down. It must have happened when the bulls got to fighting. That seems to be one of those things a person has to deal with if they are in the business long enough. Being a farmer/rancher, I remain optimistic that this year will be a good one. Seeing the new baby calves running and playing always makes me feel good. The wheat is trying to green up, so spring has to be right around the corner. Lynn Kirkham, his wife and youngest daughter and her husband farm and ranch in western Logan County. He started ranching and farming with his father in 1972 and bought his uncle’s farm and ranch in 1975. He is involved with the Kansas Livestock Association and has been on many Kansas Farm Bureau state and local committees. Lynn continues to promote the farming/ranching lifestyle in any way that he can.
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