Great Start to Harvest 2016

The weather has been perfect over the past week allowing the family to begin operations on Harvest 2016. A busy and successful week of over 250 acres of corn shelled and contributions from the entire family. We will have a lot of pictures to share over the next coming weeks as Harvest season is here!

2016 Planting Season is complete

It has been a wet spring but we have been fortunate to have enough dry days to finish the 2016 Planting Season. The last week has been very successful with all four McKay boys home assisting and 3 planters in work, sometimes at the same time. We had to replant areas of corn due to the heavy rains in the last weeks. We were blessed to finish the last field of soybeans 30 minutes before another 7 tenths of rain.

Plant 2016 is in full speed!

Spring is here and Planting Season has arrived! Rain has delayed the process some including over an inch last night throughout all of Central Illinois. We have over 80% of corn planted and praying for some sunshine to get back at work. Currently, 57% of corn in Illinois has been planted. Check out a few pictures from #Plant16.

Merry Christmas from The McKay's!!!

Picture from Cristina and Tyler's Wedding June 27, 2015

Cash Rents Not Falling Fast Enough For Farmers

(Anna McConnell) With cash rents not lowering as fast as commodity prices, farmers are still gritting their teeth at high prices per acre at the end of 2015. BUT cash rents are falling, just at a slower pace. "Cash rents really need to come down,” said Doug Martin, an Illinois corn and soybean farmer. “Rents are coming down, but just not probably quite as fast they should.”

Cash rents tend to lag behind the pace market prices fall at due to farmers still having cash to spend from years past, according to Iowa State University crop markets specialist Chad Hart. High-profit producers are able to snatch up land that others can’t afford, which puts those operators at a competitive advantage and keeps rates higher for a period of time. 

A number of factors influence cash rents including commodity prices, land values, and gross farm income. Hart expects to see a drop in cash rent/land value within 1–2 years of the gross farm income dropping 2%. 

“The USDA is forecasting around a 40–50% drop in income level, which points to a 20–25% drop in cash rents and land values,” said Hart. “We’ve already seen 14% of that land value drop in Iowa.”

In northern Iowa, cash rents of $300 per acre are being reported, but southern Iowa counties are seeing rents drop below $200 in some areas. 

In Indiana, cash rents hadn’t seen any kind of cut in 15 years until 2015.  According to a June cash rents survey conducted by Purdue University, Indiana’s cash rent rates averaged $229 per acre on land with average productivity. In west central Indiana, rents as high as $281 were reported while southeastern parts of the state saw a low of $152 per acre. 

“We think cash rents will continue to decline in the upcoming year,” said Michael Langemeier, a Purdue agricultural economist. “Something like 5% would be an anticipated price decline.” 

With cash rents still a little steep, Langemeier is seeing more interest than ever in flex rent. In Indiana, less that 10% of farmers using that option, but it is something to bring up with a landlord. Just remember that flex rent is variable and very appealing to landlords, he said. 

Fall is time for land improvement season

As harvest season is over, fall tillage is completed and cleaning of farm machinery is finished, the next chore is to continuing to improve the land owned and operated by McKay Farms. It is important to pay close attention while harvesting fields to see any low spots in fields, dead trees around the ends of fields or anywhere needing more drainage. The early completion of harvest 2015 allowed the family to spend more time on improving the land and improving acreage for future generations.

Removal of trees increased acreage and quality of land

Time to Clean the Farm Equipment!

Blake McKay washing John Deere

Tyler McKay cleaning Brent Grain Cart

Harvest 2015 is over and preparations are made each day for the coming year. The beautiful weather lately has been great to allow us to clean our farm machinery before storing for the long winter ahead. We have most of the equipment cleaned up but still have to finish a few tractors and the hardest piece- the combine.