More sticker shock

rrlund · Dec 7, 2012

Fielders Choice seed went out of business. The salesman that I'd always dealt with sells for Specialty Seeds now. I called him this morning. $330 a bag for seed corn. Lowest he could get it with all the discounts was $268.
The old order Mennonites have kind of a community of their own around here. A lot of their own businesses supplying inputs. I've got no problem dealing with them as much as I can. One of them started selling Masters Choice last year. They've been advertising that as a good choice for cattle feed. I just went and talked to him. He's talking $180 for conventional,$220 for Roundup Ready,and he doesn't even know about the availability of Roundup Ready. Said he'd check and give me a call.

I'm thinking for what it costs to grow corn anymore,seed,fertilizer,spray,maintanance on equipment,I'd be better off putting some money in to more fence,hold back some heifers and go all cow calf. Quit finishing them out. Just grow a little bit of silage corn for rotation on my alfalfa. I can't keep paying prices like this for inputs every year,not with increases like this. I don't know how much longer any of us can.

donjr · Dec 7, 2012

Know what you mean. Trouble is, you put in more fence, retain more heifers, and feeders will go down. Haven't priced seed yet, but Hubner has been breathing down my neck. Almost thinking it would be worth it to pick over some of the BFO fields and just plant it next spring....

David G · Dec 7, 2012

We have been paying in the 300s, welcome to the world pricing.

the tractor vet · Dec 7, 2012

I remember when i was selling seed corn , Guys were complaining about the 98-120 bucks a bag on small orders. BUT if you bought 500 bags then the price dropped to 48 a bag. My problem was most of the guys that i dealt with could plant all there corn ground with 12 -15 bags and some needed 25-30 . No real break for them . And now Comes the GREED of the big Chemical Companys that got into the farming with there Round up ready and tripple stack corn . And oh don't get me started on fert. prices. and each and every year we keep doing the same thing . We keep on buying it . Just might as well just plant enough to feed ourselfs and not worry about feeding the world at our expense .

rrlund · Dec 7, 2012

I remember like it was yesterday the first time I bought Pioneer seed corn. $16 a bag. I'd always planted a local brand from a local seed company for $8-10 a bag. When I had to pay 16 I got light headed. Didn't know how anybody could ever pay that kind of money for seed corn.

All that Specialty has is Smartstax and Double and Triple Pro. I've got too many other weak links in my system to be planting stuff like that. If my yield slips,it ain't gonna be genetics that cause it. That stuff is for the guys who farm like it's rocket science,not the cattle feeders like me.

I can get by with some conventional in my second year rotation before I go back to alfalfa. Just sell me some of that and some simple Roundup Ready for crying out loud,that I can afford to put through steers.

Tim(nj) · Dec 7, 2012

Look into a variety of Open-pollinated corn called Wapsie Valley. I plant a couple fields of it every year for ear cribbing and grinding. I got 160 bu. per acre out of it which is excellent for a non-hybrid. I paid $80 a bag. It stands well, resists drought, and doesn't seem to have as much disease problems as other OP corn. It does have a mix of red, yellow and brown ears, so you won't want to grow it to sell as grain, only for your own feeding. Also, crop insurance will not cover OP corn, so take that into consideration.

Bret4207 · Dec 7, 2012

I'm buying a variety of OP a local Amishman has developed for our area. Not sure on price yet, but he mentioned $40.00.

RayP(MI) · Dec 7, 2012

OUCH!

omahagreg · Dec 7, 2012

Got a friend that is a sizable farmer, also sells Garst seed (or whatever they call themselves now). I asked him about the advertising-does it actually sway anyones buying? He said no-I asked then, why do it? He said because they all do it, no one can quit it! I think they could charge, at least, allittle bit less without the advertising bill!

Anonymous-0 · Dec 7, 2012

You all can plant what you want but I am sticking to what makes me the most money!Tim-nj planted a op corn that went 160 bph-he said it was Wapsi Valley brand-never heard of it.If you plant 32000 plants per acre a bag of seed will plant 2.5 acre. 2.5 x 160 = 400 bu x $8.00 per bu = $3200 of corn per bag---NOT BAD! I plant mostly Dekalb and a few bags of Pioneer. This year in my area of the country we were blessed with a few showers in the nick of time-I took 211 bu per acre to the coop----2.5 x 211 = 527.5 bu x $8.00 = $4220 of corn per bag---That is $1020 per bag differance! I know we live in different parts of the country but seed corn is a poor place to try to save money---YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tim(nj) · Dec 7, 2012

Wapsie Valley is the variety name. Several companies market it. I have a customer that pays a premium for non-GMO ear corn for cattle feeding, and a landlord that doesn't want GMO crops on her land (with accordingly lower rent), so this fits my small operation nicely in between the BFOs in the area. If the situation were different, I'd not mess with it.

Traditional Farmer · Dec 8, 2012

I plant open pollinated corn too and just get my seed corn with the corn sheller by shelling the best of what I raised the year before.Plus I sell some too and get a premium price for it because its non GMO and non hybrid.

C. Amick · Jan 22, 2013

What kind of open-pollinated corn do you grow?

C. Amick · Jan 22, 2013

What kind of open-pollinated corn do you grow?

Huskers86 · Jan 22, 2013

The chemical companies have owned the seed companies for years...pioneer is owned by dupont, etc, etc.

Chester5731 · Jan 22, 2013

I plant wapsie valley OP corn also. I plant around 22k per acre. In my sandy ground it will yield 100bpa or a little better. I imagine it would do better in heavier ground. Like Tim I save my own seed. I have not bought seed in several years. I also pick it for ear corn to grind for my feeders. I have better gains with it than regular corn. Since I started growing the OP corn my animals gain an extra 50-100 lbs each in the same amount of time.

Erik Ks farmer · Jan 22, 2013

I'm all cow calf, my corn leaves the farm on a truck and comes home in an envelope. Then I buy corn gluten to supplement the cows, I've toyed with the idea of just feeding ground corn and may still do that if I ever get the equipment and bins to handle it. As far as raising heifers, this is the first year I haven't had a pen full of heifers and a bull trying to break down fences to get to them. Let me tell you it is NICE not dealing with that, may try and buy some young bred cows this fall, quicker return and a lot less hassle.

ihman73 · Jan 23, 2013

We have been planting all Pioneer for several years. It has been working and our yields are comparable to the neighbors. I haven't been impressed with the Dekalb and other Monsanto henchmen's corn vs. the Pioneer numbers we have been planting. I am a firm believer in "you get what you pay for" when it comes to seed. There is cheaper seed out there but it usually doesn't pan out when you figure the yield difference vs. the cost difference. We raise mostly non gmo corn and the Monsanto companies don't have a very good selection of conventional hybrids. We have been booked since early November.

More sticker shock

rrlund

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donjr

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David G

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the tractor vet

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rrlund

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Tim(nj)

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Bret4207

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RayP(MI)

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omahagreg

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Anonymous-0

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Tim(nj)

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Traditional Farmer

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C. Amick

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C. Amick

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Huskers86

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Chester5731

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Erik Ks farmer

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ihman73

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