Crop Tour Day 9 - Corn, Irrigation, and Nebraskan Legacy

By: Taylor Legg, Mason Lobsinger, Philop Lorenc, & Kaelyn Lupyrypa

We departed from Lincoln at 7:30 and set a trail to LEAAD Farms outside Marquette, Nebraska. Corn and soybeans cover the landscape. Ethan Carlson, Kale Carlson’s son (owner), and Orvin, a crop consultant from Servitech greet us at the driveway and Orvin discusses the ins and outs of farming in Nebraska. What makes this farm special and why it was included on this tour is that they grow seed corn for Corteva. LEAAD Farms first began growing seed corn in 2011 after obtaining a contract and taking the seed corn to the Donovan plant.  

Seed corn is grown in rotation with field corn and soybeans for good residue and pest management. Soil health is a key component of this farm, as they work on a well-drained silt loam with 2.5% organic matter, and plant a turnip and radish cover crop to reduce erosion. In terms of input management, Orvin recommends all his customers use a strong residual herbicide program up front to manage Palmer amaranth, as weed control issues are often more pronounced after seed corn. Insecticide applications are rare and only as necessary, but fungicides are a more relevant component on corn. Orvin shows the group samples of common corn diseases along with some healthy plants he has pulled from the field. Nitrogen recommendations are made through the University of Nebraska’s fertiliser calculator (https://agritools.unl.edu/tools/nitrogen) and adjusted based on the naturally occurring nitrates and sulphur in the irrigation water, which are both significant in the region. Orvin takes yearly soil samples for his customers and monitors soil moisture when he walks each field weekly. The group is curious and attentive, as corn and beans are the primary crops we work with in Ontario. 

Seed-corn is a popular crop to grow in the area, even though it is a higher risk crop than typical field corn and soybeans. Seed-corn typically fits into the rotation after soybeans to reduce volunteer corn issues. Seed-corn is grown with 4 female rows and 1-2 males rows for pollination. Throughout the growing season, the male rows must be taken out and the female rows must be detasseled after pollination to prevent cross-contamination. Ethan said they use their tall-boy sprayer with mulching blades in front of the tires to take out the male rows and typically get local workers to help with detasseling the females. In parallel, they chop the male rows, and spread turnip and radishes as cover crops (to help compensating the area where males are removed), which they later graze their cattle on.  

Seed-corn may be appealing to a farmer since the seed company comes in and harvests it themself, easing the workload during the busy harvest time. However, obtaining a contract could be tough. He mentioned it takes a well-managed farm to obtain a contract and if the farmer manages the crop well, and they are normally well compensated. Orvin said the average yield of a seed corn crop is around 130 bushels/acre. This year LEAAD could hit 160-170 bushels/acre, which would pay the equivalent of a 300-330 bushel/acre field corn crop, which is higher than the local average for field corn, making seed corn appealing. Nonetheless, Orvin mentioned how seed corn is harder on the land than field corn and soybeans due to erosion risks of having less residue, especially following a soybean crop with little residue. Seed-corn also requires a buffer zone with most producers growing soybeans around the seed-corn. He also said how the seed company tells you when you have to plant and you better do your best to meet their demands. It is also a crop that relies heavily on GPS systems. Overall, growing seed corn presents its challenges but a well-managed farm can make a good profit by growing it. 

An additional differentiating factor about LEAAD farms from other farms that we have observed on this trip is their irrigation system. In 1990, LEAAD Farms switched from gravity irrigation to swing pivot irrigation as this irrigation system uses ⅓ of the water, which significantly increased water use efficiency. A single irrigation pivot is about 7-8 towers long which covers about a ¼ mile, or 160 acres, uses a well pump to apply the water, and takes 5 full days to do a rotation on the field. A challenge in using pivot irrigation is that insurance is starting to get wise to the common damages that pivots experience, such as windstorms. Consequently, farmers will position them either west or east to prevent them from falling over from the direction of the wind. This is crucial as each tower of 8 pivots can run a farmer over US$ 50,000. Each irrigation pivot has its own generator and an electrical satellite which allows for it to be controlled by a phone, however this does not always work so there is a safety override in case there is an unalignment or unresponsiveness from the satellite. LEAAD farms also straddles two different districts, and as a result they have to follow two sets of rules when it comes to irrigation. On the east side of their property, they are required to report how much water they are using per acre every October, however, there is no limit to how much water you can use. On the west side, determined by crossing only one road, they don’t need to report how much water was consumed but they do choose to monitor it. Finally, something that Ethan has attributed as being a large benefit to their irrigation system is that they pull water from the Ogallala Aquifer. This underground water system is high in minerals, and they get over 100 lbs per acre of Nitrogen free from the water source!  

A common theme that we have been seeing across the entire tour is a family history and pride in the work that is being done. LEAADs farm much like many other of our stops has been in their family for over 100 years. Ethan shared that his great, great grandfather immigrated from Sweden and started the farm and his family has been tending these lands ever since. One of the major ways that the family has been able to stay in operation for as long as they have is a diversification of income streams. Up until 3 years ago in addition to their 2000 acres of row crops they also had 100 head of cattle and many hogs. They have since gotten rid of all their pigs but have kept 50 cows. Ethan credited these creatures for the ability to weather the down turns as well as strengthening the highs that come naturally in being the agricultural industry. Today they rely on seed corn contracts with Corteva and field corn grown for ethanol, they also have plans to expand into white corn in the future as well. LEAADs isn’t the only legacy stop we made today. Our group also returned to an old favourite tour stop at Glur's Tavern, the oldest continuously operated tavern west of the Mississippi River. This stop used to be an overnight adventure where Guelph's OAC travellers were advertised for the evening and locals would come “meet the Canadians”. After taking a hiatus from the tavern we are back and continuing old traditions. Glur’s lets us leave our mark by signing a ceiling tile. Check out the photo to see if you can spot any recognizable names from years past as well as our names from this year. Pride in what we do and the legacy we leave behind is something that everyone has been able to no matter what type of operation you run. The size of the farm and location are independent from the hard work and dedication that every person we have met on this trip puts into their daily tasks.  

Next on the agenda is seeing where the seed corn gets processed at Corteva and Katelyn, Thomas, Griffin and Lucy will tell you more about that!