View From the Cab

DECATUR, Ill. (DTN) -- A motor going out at the top of the grain leg during harvest wasn't exactly a surprise Quint Pottinger anticipated this week. But watching the farm team come together to replace it quickly enough to have operations running within a few hours stirred something in the central Kentucky farmer.

"There's something knowing we can pull together in the heat of the moment that is very satisfying," said Pottinger, who farms near New Haven. While no one wishes for breakdowns or bad things to happen, Pottinger admits the unpredictable nature of farming sure keeps the job interesting.

The 2024 crop season has plenty of twists and turns. This year DTN's View From the Cab series has chronicled the weather rollercoaster endured by Pottinger and fellow farmer contributor, Dan Lakey, who farms near Soda Springs, Idaho. For the 24th article of the series, the farmers give an update on harvest and seeding of winter grains.

Read on to learn about a few of the surprises they've encountered this season and changes these farmers plan to make in their cropping mix as they begin to look ahead to 2025.

DAN LAKEY: SODA SPRINGS, IDAHO

Dan Lakey has hit nearly every conceivable scenario on the weather roulette wheel this season. It's not unusual for conditions to be highly variable in this region of southeastern Idaho. Elevation alone makes for shorter and therefore, trickier, growing seasons.

Late spring frost. Hail. More hail. Drought. Early frost. "It feels as though we're always complaining about the weather. But wow…when it came to harvest time this year it couldn't have been much better. We had a few rain days, but nothing much kept us from rolling and getting the crop in," said Lakey.

This is Lakey's 17th crop since returning to the farm. "I don't really remember harvest as a kid, although I worked through high school. Every year seemed the same. But maybe I just wasn't involved enough to notice the differences.

"But in the years since I've returned, every harvest has been different and many of them we were pushing up against snowstorms," he said. In 2019, more than a foot of snow fell in late September and he still had flax in the field.

"I can't remember ever having a fall like this. I definitely don't remember temperatures this warm in October," Lakey said, noting daytime temperatures of 50 degrees have been common so far in 2024.

He did have a smattering of rain this week and a skiff of snow finally arrived on Friday, October 18. While that would make many farmers cringe this time of year, Lakey will take it. With his harvest done, he was able to seed winter cereals in a timely fashion and they need more moisture.

Western states get most of their precipitation over the winter and Lakey's farming district has started to get more fronts and systems to move through, noted DTN ag meteorologist John Baranick. "The temperatures have been changing quite a bit here as well. Lots of swings up and down and we'll probably see that the next couple of weeks. A couple of fronts coming through could give them some showers, and at elevation they'll have to start considering more snow to be a possibility," he said.

So, when it comes to surprises, weather always tops the list for Lakey. On the other hand, perhaps it is more surprising when weather doesn't present a challenge.

"Probably what has surprised me most is how the year appears to be shaping up, even though both yields and prices are depressed," Lakey said.

"And I can't count all my chickens yet -- it takes me a few weeks after harvest to reconcile all our numbers and scale tickets. But despite all the weather variables, everything seems to be working out in the end.

"We're not going to be taking any lavish vacations and may not be overflowing with cash. But our bills will get paid. We'll pay down some debt and the farm is good to keep moving forward," he said.

Another pleasant surprise for Lakey this year was watching his community come together when another farm family faced tragedy. "To see how different farmers from different faiths and different backgrounds and the entire community can rally together when someone really needs help was inspiring to me," he said.

Like Pottinger, Lakey can't help voicing some pride and perhaps surprise at how well the family farming enterprise functions.

"There are times when we may feel dysfunctional with all that's going on around us. But then I see how we come together and get all our tasks done even when it feels everything is breaking or on fire," he said.

"We have people working together from all different walks of life--academic, engineering, non-farm -- and all kinds of personalities. At the end of the day, we all manage to mesh to accomplish a goal and do it with very little drama."

This past week has been spent fertilizing fields and winterizing equipment. That means blowing out irrigation systems. The sprayer has been rinsed out and drills cleaned out. Drills sit outside over winter and cleanliness is important.

As for winter projects, the farm purchased a new service truck this past week. The wish list for making the perfect bed is being built. There's also a greenhouse to finish that Lakey started several months ago for his wife, Marie, who loves to garden. Getting the plastic on the frame is a priority before the weather turns really nasty.

This coming year he plans to devote a 30-acre field to sunflowers and is giving thought to letting the kids put a donation/honor box near the plot for individuals wanting to take photos. There's a desire to find a way to let the kids participate in supporting their dirt bike riding/racing habit.

There's a new toy hauler in the family and the early harvest allowed an inaugural camping trip to the sand dunes for some dirt biking. "Gosh we had so much fun, and it was a reminder that including some time away is really important," he said.

QUINT POTTINGER: NEW HAVEN, KENTUCKY

Everything seemed to be happening at once for Quint Pottinger this week. Grain deliveries have been going out to the distilleries. The farm crew was shelling corn full tilt, and it was time to plant wheat.

The faulty motor at the top of the grain leg turned out to be bad bearings, but it was decided to replace the 50-year-old motor. This week Pottinger has also faced some logistics at the granary as later planted corn was pushing drying capacity.

"Today, we're bringing in some corn that is around 15% and which is great because we can still dump," he said on October 17. "Right now, my wet bin is full, and I can't dry anything until I empty the cooling bin. The dryer runs independently of the system if the cooling bin is empty. It's slowing us down a little bit, but we're getting it," Pottinger said.

The weather isn't likely to keep combines stalled for long, said DTN ag meteorologist John Baranick. "In New Haven, it's gotten dry again and there doesn't look to be a whole lot of hope for getting rainfall. There's a little system that goes through the Midwest Monday-Tuesday (Oct. 21-22) and a front that passes through Wednesday (Oct. 23). Very unlikely they receive anything out of that there, but there's an outside chance for some sprinkles," Baranick said.

"Temperatures will generally be warm, though maybe a few degrees cooler behind that front midweek. That leaves things wide open for doing work outside," Baranick added.

The big surprise this year for Pottinger may be how well yields are holding up despite the quirky weather conditions. The big disappointment has been in those fields where deer put a big dent in yield.

"We've lost an average of 20% of every field to wildlife this year. That's up from 10% last year and 5% year-over-year from 2015 on," he said. Pottinger has already reported that they will not renew some leases on acres where the damage was too great.

The pathway to profitability on the farm is cloudy at best right now in all respects, Pottinger noted. "Finding creative ways to work with lenders, landowners, distributors or end users is a puzzle board and for me is exciting and fun," he said. That doesn't mean he isn't concerned about the future direction of commodity prices and how the complex political climate might influence that.

He's already decided to scale back wheat production for the coming year to 60 acres -- down from 500 acres in 2024. The plan is to plant 560 acres of rye -- up from 120 acres in 2024 and a big jump from initial plantings of 40 acres six years ago.

"We're being told if we grow it, they will buy it," said Pottinger. "That's an end-user deal, not an elevator deal -- so there's no insurance on it and no money I can borrow against it."

Rye tends to make a complex whiskey and he's still learning the agronomic aspects of growing it. Pottinger favors growing a KWS hybrid rye variety called Serafino for its disease-resistance package. His goal is to eventually bring the distilleries into the variety selection process through plot work.

"Right now, we need moisture to get rye in the ground and get it up," he said. "I feel like we've been talking about too much or too little rainfall all season."

Pamela Smith can be reached at Pamela.Smith@dtn.com

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