Vermilion County farmers had some challenges in 2021, but mostly enjoyed a solid year in the fields. Tom Fricke of the Vermilion County Farm Bureau says the worries about 2022 just might spur farmers to be even more technologically savvy than they’ve been before
For most of the 2021 growing season, things were looking very good. And although it was not a record setting year when the corn and soybeans came out in the fall, it was satisfying. What kept it from being a bin busting year was certainly not the on again-off again harvest due to a wet October, but actually the wetness that came much earlier in the game, as the Farm Bureau’s Tom Fricke recalls.
AUDIO: We also had rain back in the springtime in June. Remember we had that one week where we had seven to ten inches that came in a 24 hour period for some folks. A lot of ponding took place in a lot of fields, and did reduce yields in those areas. And some of those spots were surprise spots. If you don’t always see them from the road, you’re not really sure how those spots ended up.
So now farmers are heading towards the next growing season with a lot of angst and uneasiness, largely because of projected higher input costs, certainly when it comes to fertilizer. Then, with the supply chain problems, the amount of fertilizer that’s available may be in question. Fricke says the solution to that just might be, use technology as much as possible, and use less fertilizer, once you know where you actually need it. Because not all parts of one’s farm are exactly alike soil wise.
AUDIO: What this coming off season will really test is the farmers’ ability to take all this technology that’s now available; with the mapping, with the yield monitors, and the mapping of the yields across the fields; to really determine “how much fertilizer do I really need in certain spots.” So they’ll be working very diligently on doing that mapping and planning.
Farmers are often known for watching their pennies and being skeptical about things. Fricke says, in 2022 it will certainly not be any different.
