Crop Tour '12 Grower Hosts Wanted

If you farm in Buchanan County, IA or near the outer edges in surrounding counties and would like to host a stop on

Crop Tour '12 please email or text Pete Burmeister at

prburmeister@gmail.com or 319-327-0806.

Crop Report- Winneshiek County, IA

Just got the crop report from Dad north of Decorah. Good news: they got almost 2" rain. Bad news: most of the corn is laying flat #bummer -- Kayla Lyon (@kayla4coops)

New Crop Tour '12 Grower host Added

Thank you Burco Farms- Hazleton, IA for hosting a stop on Crop Tour '12!

From Jessica Schmitz- Buchanan County, IA

Had a report of Spidermites by Winthrop yesterday and found them in a field west of Independence this morning....Jessica Schmitz, Taralan Crop Consulting

Benton County, IA Corn Sample

 Biggest ear we could find on a quick take from one field. Sample taken 7/19/12 7:30 AM.





Side 1

Side 2







Tama Livestock Report- Tama, IA

Tama Livestock Auction
Wed. July 18, 2012
963 Head
Choice Strs: 115.00-118.60
Select Choice Strs: 113.00-114.75
Select Strs: 107.00-112.25
62 hd 117.00-118.60
301 hd 115.00-116.75
47 hd 113.00-114.75

Choice Hfrs: 113.00-117.25
Select Choice Hfrs: 110.00-112.75
Select Hfrs: 106.00-109.00
50 hd 116.00-117.25
70 hd 114.00-115.75
71 hd 112.00-113.75
28 hd 110.00-111.50
Choice Hol Strs: 102.00-111.00
Select & Choice Hol: 101.00-103.00
Select Hol:85.00-101.00
6 hd 108.00-110.00
19 hd 106.75-107.75
5 hd 104.50-105.00
4 hd 102.00-103.00

Cows: 50.00-74.50
Thin & Slow: 45.00 and Down

Bulls: 60.00-90.00

Best Corn Around

This is a 109 day corn planted March 30th. It is the best corn around.
Pollination was perfect. We have had No rain in 33 days and it has aborted
the ends. The ear on the left is an above average Ear. The Ear an the
right is an Average ear. Not good need a little rain!

Sent in by Michael E. Hardy


Reply: Location believed to be near Marshalltown, IA, please advise if you know Mr. Hardy's exact location.

U.S. Drought Monitor

Dog Days of Summer

The "dog days of summer" are the hottest, muggiest days of the season.   In the northern hemisphere, they typically come between early July and mid-August.   Here on the central high plains of Eastern Colorado, we have been experiencing some dog days for the past four to six weeks.   Everything seems to be about one month early this year.   We have had several consecutive days with temperatures in the 100 to 112 degrees range.   Fortunately, we don't have to deal with much humidity, and the nighttime temperatures almost always drop to a comfortable level. 

Where does the term “dog days” come from?   In ancient times, different groups of people in different parts of the world drew images in the sky by connecting the dots of stars.   These star pictures are now called constellations.  They saw images of bears, (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor), twins, (Gemini), a bull, (Taurus) and others – including dogs, (Canis Major and Canis Minor).    In the summer, Sirius (Canis Major), the “Dog Star,” rises and sets with the sun.   During late July, Sirius is in conjunction with the sun and the ancients believed that its heat added to the heat of the sun, creating a stretch of hot and sultry weather.   They named this period of time, from 20 days before the conjunction to 20 days after, “dog days” after the Dog Star.

As seen on PCC Email Newsletter

Crop Tour '12 Invite

County Fair Highlights- Jordyn Burco

Good 'ol #countyfairs a calf got loose and ran to the other side of town but dad & the other fair board members and police caught it! -- Jordyn Burco (@J_Burco27)

Yikes

Phone calls to make after the close on people wanting to open new accounts. Wanting to buy corn and soybeans. Yikes! -- Jason Britt (@jasonlbritt)

Thank You- NE District FFA

I just wanted to let you know that Ms. Crilly has received your sponsorship check and will be depositing it soon. Thank you for supporting the Northeast Iowa District FFA!

Sincerely,

Natalie Hanson

NE District Secretary

CRP Grazing-Haying

RT @mtmproducerdave: Gov Branstad asks Sec Vilsack for disaster designation, open crp grazing-haying http://t.co/KFh95Z7U -- Market to Market (@MarketToMarket)

Recent Farmland Buyers

Between 75-82% of Iowa farmland buyers between 08-11 were other farmers. #KCFedAg -- Feedstuffs (@Feedstuffs)

New Crop Tour '12 Grower Host Added

Thank you Donnie Strauel, DJS Farms-
Jesup, IA for hosting a stop on Crop Tour '12!

Corn Condition

Natl corn condition - last wk 40% g/e, this wk 31%. Last wk 30% p/vp, this wk 38% p/vp. Getting really ugly out there. #IowaAg #NeedRain! -- Bill Northey (@BNorthey)

FOR SALE

FOR SALE: rain guage and yield moniter. also will trade some $5.50-6.25 corn contracts for new higher one's Ask for Scott Hingtgen- 563-542-3419

Deja Vu

Similarities with '80s: High land prices, Drought, High production costs, Planting "fencerow to fencerow," poor fiscal policies. #KCFedAg -- Feedstuffs (@Feedstuffs)

Deja Vu Definition: The term déjà vu is French and means, literally, "already seen." Those who have experienced the feeling describe it as an overwhelming sense of familiarity with something that shouldn't be familiar at all.

Crop Tour '12 RSVP- Rob Rudolphi

Pete,

Plan on me for the Crop Tour on August 24th.

Reply: Rob will be the MC for the evening presentation and be interviewing crop tour attendees and sponsors throughout the day. Watch for YouTube video updates on the blog if you are unable to attend. 

New Crop Tour '12 Grower Host Added

Thank you Jim, Matt, & Jay of Frye Farms- Hazleton, IA for hosting a stop on

Crop Tour '12!

New Iowa & Illinois Rain Gauge

From Bill Fraizer- Benton County, IA

Central Indiana Corn

Huge ears in central Indiana! #drought12 http://t.co/gRpaR7a1 -- George Kakasuleff (@Indyfarmer)

7/15/12 Eastern Iowa Crop Update

Sent in by Scott Hingtgen- Jackson County, IA

Grain Market Update

Grains have held onto initial CME Globex gains through early Monday morning. Corn up 30 cts, soybeans up 37 cts, Chicago wheat up 26 cts. -- Darin Newsom (@DarinNewsom)

Crop Variability

Spent afternoon scouting fields-NE Ia. 2 words sum it up: Extreme Variability! I'll share pictures/info. of observations tonight & tomorrow. -- Chris Barron (@chrisbarron24)

From Bryan Bayness- Fairbank, IA

We missed the rain again!

Rudolphi's Burning- July Edition

Rudolphi's Burning on

News From The Coffee Shop

July 15, 2012 3:36 PM

"It's not personal...It's just business"

 A few years ago when I was selling machinery, I was dealing with a contractor on a skid loader.  Through the years he and I had developed a good business relationship.  On this skid loader, we spent a lot of time demonstrating several different machines, visited about features and price levels, and eventually nailed it down to what machine would be the best fit for him.  We then dialed in the price, arranged for financing, and signed the purchase agreement.

When I showed up on his jobsite a few days later to deliver the machine and sign the finance documents, I was stunned to find a brand new skid loader of another color sitting there.  I asked what was going on, and he informed me that he received such a good deal on the other machine that he could not pass it up, and wouldn’t be purchasing from me after all. Due to the time, efforts, and resources that were put toward getting this deal done I was pretty disappointed (Ok, just downright pissed off!) and I let it be known!  He then replied with a big grin on his face… “Hey, it’s not personal….it’s just business!”

“It’s business” is the universal cop-out to get the upper hand in a negotiation.  In saying this, one seemingly excuses themselves from all professional courtesy and opens the floodgates for all negotiating tactics. I believe that this phrase would be more accurate if people proclaimed, “It’s not personal… I’m just an asshole!”

“Business” is the word that brings the gloves off.  Often times this is a mere caveat for a person to flex their muscles, lever the situation, and tip the table in their favor.  So why hide behind “business”?  Why not just come out and admit it?  Sometimes you have to be a jerk to get stuff done.  Consider this; most private business owners pour their heart and souls into their companies.  When you choose to do business with them, it can’t help but get personal.  Like it or not, business is personal.

I’m not advocating that anyone should be a pansy in regards to negotiations , however it is important to consider that not all transactions are the same, and thus do not always warrant the same approach.  Let’s explore a couple different types of transactions, all of which have their appropriate place in the world.

Win-Win
In a win-win deal everyone leaves with a feeling of satisfaction that a fair agreement was put into place.  More than likely at the negotiating table each party stood firm on certain topics, made concessions on others, and came to a compromise that made profitable sense for both businesses.  Due to the nature of this type of agreement, one could realistically expect additional benefits to go along with the deal such as personal service and timely attention to needs.

Win-Lose
In a win-lose deal the “winning” party effectively out negotiates and leverages the other.  The “losing” party often times concedes to the terms of the agreement out of urgent necessity, lack of choice, or as a last ditch attempt to keep the business.  The winners in these agreements must often times commit to being self sufficient and not reliant on the services that often times come with a sale, must be flexible on when the services can be performed or delivered, and live with the fact that they and their organization are “difficult to do business with.”  

Lose-Lose
Pretty self explanatory.  I’d just recommend trying to avoid these types of deals if you can.  These usually start out as something else, but due to unforeseen circumstances, develop into a bad situation for everyone.  Please reference deals such as Solyndra or Iowa Quality Beef for examples in this area.

Making the Distinction
Sometimes you might see an opportunity to use multiple approaches to the same end.  After all, there is more than one way to skin a cat!  

For example, in the business of fertilizer sales, markups and margins vary greatly from vendor to vendor. I work with two different types of suppliers; brokers and traditional full service suppliers. In dealing with brokers, the product is always a lot cheaper, but I have to be committed to taking the product when it is offered, take the storage risk, and be accepting that there will be no consulting or additional services with the sale.  I choose to lean on these guys…hard.  I like to scrap for every last dime that I can squeeze out of them.  In these negotiations, it’s not that I want the other guys to lose, but I certainly want to make sure that I have won.  Full service suppliers command higher margin for the product, but are willing to accommodate aspects that the broker will not and even go the extra mile when necessary …such as delivering to the field at 6:00 PM on a Saturday night if I get in a bind or plan poorly and run out.  It’s an added convenience that I am willing to pay for on a certain percentage of my fertilizer needs.  At some point I will need them to jump, so in order for them to respond “how high?” I find it necessary to be more accepting when it comes to the negotiations.

Each operation is different and has different capabilities and needs.  Understanding your needs and capabilities can help you in maximizing the effectiveness of your approach to the marketplace when negotiating agreements with vendors.

Tomorrow my wife and I will celebrate one year of marriage-Happy Anniversary Tara!  With that, I’m reminded of a discussion that we had a few years back when we were first talking about getting hitched.  With her having a professional degree, and me having worked for several years already, I proposed that we should look into a pre-nuptial agreement…you know…heaven forbid.  This idea was met with a lot of opposition and even a few tears.  So assuming the attitude that you have to have faith in something, I relented.

Well, fast forward to 2012, and I overhear her agreeing with one of her girlfriends that pre-nups are indeed a good idea.  So I called her out on it, suggesting that she really had a change in perspective over the last couple of years!  At which point she looked into my eyes ever so sweetly and exclaimed, “It’s not personal…it’s just business!”

Somebody get me some water…cuz we got a fire!

Editor's Note:

The mission of the column is to advocate agriculture, entertain (provided that you are entertainable), serve as a catalyst for critical thinking, and challenge the status quo amongst the agricultural community.

Rob Rudolphi resides in Eastern Iowa with his lovely wife Tara, where he is involved in varying facets of several agricultural businesses. They currently have no kids, no dogs, and certainly no cats, and are generally up for anything involving a good time!

If you have a idea that would make a good "Burn Topic" for next month's Rudolphi's Burning column, please email the idea to prburmeister@gmail.com All entries will remain anonymous.