Beans...

The soybeans are out of the fields. What a relief! The yield was not good, moisture was higher than we wanted resulting in a fair amount of pod being left in with the harvest, we lost some due to the plants having laid down, and some we just plain had to leave because the fields were too wet. All that having been said, we easily made what I had contracted for river open in march. Even if I get docked for quality, I will have enough to make up for it in volume over and above the contract.

Lesson learned: Don't contract more than 40% of what you have in the field for future delivery. We got lucky. I hedged my bets and counted on 20% per acre less than what we hoped for (average yield), then used that 40% of that number to gauge what I should contract ahead of time. I did that because I wanted to be safe, but all along I was figuring on having 60% to contract off after harvest.

My real numbers actually split the other way, with 60% of my crop already contracted and 40% still in the bin uncontracted. Considering the quality of what we harvested, we can probably count on 10% - 15% loss at the terminal. Time to call the crop insurance guy. Based on projected yields, we lost almost 50% of the expected revenue from soybeans. Sad, but not catastrophic. I am gratefull Nola insured for 80% of expected revenue.

Overall, The Farm has done alright in spite of the absense of Nola. As I have mentioned before, our neighbors (now fast becoming friends) have pulled us through with a lot of good advice and a lot of hard work. The crops are out of the fields, the fields are prepped for next spring. The seed and fertilizer have been ordered for next spring as well. We have enough fuel to run the house furnace enough to keep the pipes from freezing. The estate auction has been planned.

The last two months of the year will be spent paying a lot of bills from harvest, getting ready for tax season...., and wondering what we are going to look like come next year. With the operation shrinking back to the original 240 acres, we are going to have a very different picture. Our tillable land will have been reduced by about 68 acres, or about 32%. That of course reduces what we can produce. However, it also reduces our input costs substatially. That is 100 acres that we don't have to pay taxes on, 68 acres that we don't have to til, fertilize, spray, insure, or worry about flooding. I suspect that when we look at the number spread over a couple of years, we will find that the overall profitability of The Farm will go up by reducing in size. Time will tell.

There is a lot left to learn, many decisions to be made. The land will guide us and teach us as long as we listen.