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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2005-03-31, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2005. Lynch says look to land rents to cut cropping costs By Keith Roulston Citizen publisher Cash crop farmers looking to cut their input costs to meet the tough conditions of 2005 should first try to reduce the cost of land rental, says Pat Lynch. “We are paying way too much for land,” Lynch, head agronomist with Cargill in Ontario told 60 farmers at the Huron Crop Improvement Association’s Production Day in Blyth, March 22. Land costs are the one input you can negotiate, he told farmers. Seed and fertilizer and chemicals are . at fixed rates according to international markets. The one local variable whether it’s in Brazil, the U.S. or Ontario is the cost of land. He suggested croppers renting land try to renegotiate the rental rate based on a sliding scale according to the price of commodities. He proposed an agreement where if the price of com was only $2.85 per bushel the landlord would be paid nothing, but if the price went up to $5.90 a bushel the landlord would be rewarded with $165.63 an acre. The landlord gets a bigger share of the profit when prices are higher, Lynch said. “I'm not too sympathetic to landlords, he said. He noted the price of land is going up about four per cent per year so if land is worth $4,000 an acre, the landlord is going to.make $160 in the next year in land appreciation. There should be value in the producer renting the land looking after it well in the coming year, he said. Producers must pay according to what they can expect to get back from the crop, he said. “People are taking money out of profitable enterprises (such as a dairy operation) and are paying big bucks for land rent,” he said. People are also taking off-farm jobs then paying too much for rent so are plowing their earnings into unprofitable crops, Lynch said. “You guys can control it.” Lynch suggested one of the reasons governments are hesitant to help farmers out of the current financial crisis is that they know farmers will just go out and bid up land rental rates. The rental proposal was just one of Lynch’s suggestions in his address called “Cutting input costs without cutting yields”. He also suggested farmers move to 14-inch rows from 7.5-inch rows for soybeans. “Boy there’s money there,” he said pointing out savings of $11.20 per acre on Roundup Ready beans or $6.80 per acre for conventional beans. “Put duct tape over every second iun in your seed drill.” When possible try to buy the smallest soybean seed possible, he urged. Small seeds produce plants that are just as healthy but there are more in a bag. It can save $20 an acre, he sa:d. Seed companies have been crying to find a way to charge more for bags of smaller seed but they haven’t found a way yet, Lynch said, so farmers can take advantage for now. Do soil testing to determine the amount of fertility in the soil. “Test, don’t guess,” he said. “There’s big bucks to be made just in soil testing.” Farmers can’t afford to spend good money applying fertilizer that may not be needed to grow the crop, he said. Again, he said, it’s hard to impress governments of the need to help farmers when they aren’t helping themselves through proper soil testing. Too many farmers are not testing at all or don’t know how to use test results for best advantage, he said. Soil samples should be taken in conjunction with the results of the same area in the previous year. “A soil test is a snap shot; it’s where we are at and where we are going.” Keep track of the crops that are grown on the land and the yields, he said. Manage the phosphate and potash so they aren’t running out because of being removed by crop yields. Use realistic nitrogen rates for realistic crop expectations. Don’t Continued on page 13 The apprentice The Youth Apprenticeship Program visited Sacred Heart School March 24. The government- funded program travels from school to school during the year. Leader Tim Maertens with students from St. Anne’s in Clinton were presented -to work with the Sacred Heart students. Making golf tees and screwdriver handles are, from left: Lisa Choi, Andre Elgi, Meagan Higgins and Vanessa Ropp. (Photo submitted) fertilize for unrealistic yield dreams. Look at the residual nitrogen in the soil. If manure has been applied, there may be nitrogen left two or three years after application. For weed control, scout the fields, Lynch urged. “We have growers getting weed control for under $10 or over $35 (per acre)”, he said. “You have to know the weed spectrum in the field.” Broadleaf weeds are easier to control than grasses in corn but grasses don’t reduce yield as much as broadleaf weeds, he said. Huron County com producers can attain yields of 200 bushels per acre, Lynch said and most of the factors that are important for accomplishing Looks like you finally found that good reason. Every year, thousands of Ontarians stop smoking. For themselves. For their families. For life. You can too. So set your quit date. And for help, call Smokers’ Helpline: 1-377-513-5333.