We finished harvest this year with above average yields, as expected. The state of Mississippi actually has historically high yield averages. Everything on our farm went well during harvest, which began mid-September. We finished up by mid-November. We did experience some less than favorable weather towards the end of harvest, but still ended up with high yields and an excellent quality crop for our international customers.
We are very pleased with our weed control programs this year and we will continue to refine and update our process based on the needs in our area. Our farm is 100 percent no-till, which is a sustainable practice we have been using for many years. This helps with our residue management, timing issues, and ground cover. A practice we are looking to add on our farm in the future is the use of cover crops in order to make us even more sustainable, but it is a work in progress.
Integrating new technology into our process is very important. We are always looking for ways to be more efficient, more sustainable and more profitable to ensure we are growing the best quality crops that we can in the best ways possible for our international customers. We had a great harvest this year, and look forward to providing similar or even higher quality crops in the years to come for our those customers.
September 19, 2014
This week we are finishing up harvesting corn. Some of our soybeans are ready for harvest and so far we have harvested 70 acres that produced average yields. Our main goal right now is to harvest in a timely manner to maintain the best quality for our soybeans. The weather forecast for the next 10 days is dry, so we should make great progress next week continuing our harvest.
I want our international customers to know that U.S. soybean farmers are looking forward to providing them with a high quality supply of soybeans again this year.
August 26, 2014
The fields are dry this week, so we hope to get a rain this weekend to hopefully help our soybeans finish maturing. Most of the beans look good, but both the early season beans and double crop beans need a good rain to produce a high-yielding crop at this point.
We have about 80 acres of soybeans that are nearing harvest. They have lost about 75 percent of their leaves and should be ready in about a week. The majority of the rest of the beans I expect to start harvesting mid-September. While timely harvest is the main concern this time of year, we still expect to produce a good crop of soybeans this fall for our customers.
August 12, 2014
This week I am traveling to Washington, D.C. for a Biotech Roundtable event to hear updates on the industry working for global approval of all biotech traits. These approvals are important for the efficient market access for all growers and the new traits give farmers the tools to be more sustainable and maintain or increase quality.
On the farm, crops are looking pretty good. We haven’t experienced any issues recently and we are just watching them grow. We have received scattered showers over the last couple of weeks, but could use some more. We will be harvesting our earliest soybeans in about a month and are prepared to have a reliable supply of U.S. soy available to our customers.
July 24, 2014
This week, we are finishing up weed control on our double-crop soybeans. We’re running a little behind with that this year, but we have good soil moisture because of the rain we have received so far this season – so we are in good shape. Since we got out of the really wet period a few weeks ago, our soybeans have matured well. We have no signs of insect or disease issues at the moment, so the soybeans are just out there growing.
I am really excited about the customer service that is taking place around the globe to help meet and understand our international customers’ needs better. It’s important to support our customers and get to know them better and with USSEC, that’s what we are doing. I’m happy about our commitment to these customers and plan to provide another reliable, high-quality supply of U.S. soy this year.
June 30, 2014
We have received about 4-5 inches in the last week. We are having the wettest June we have had here in Mississippi since 1897 and we will have to re-plant some acres once the rain stops. So that has been our challenge lately. Our beans do look good though; we got our post-emerge weed control on our early and full-season beans, so we are in the vegetative stage right now. We hope to finish planting our double-crop soybeans later this week, once the ground dries some.
I want our international customers to know that despite the unusual weather we have had so far this growing season, we are still going to produce a reliable crop of U.S. soybeans for them. The moisture we have received so far will help the beans grow faster for the remainder of the season, and we will provide a quality crop for them just like we have done before.
June 15, 2014
Right now, we’re waiting for it to dry out. As soon as it gets dry, we’ll be doing weed control on the soybeans. We also hope to harvest the wheat soon then double crop the beans behind the wheat. The corn is pretty well laid by and all the full season soybeans are planted. Looking ahead, we’ll be busy with double cropping, weed control and watching for pests.
The challenge right now is just getting the work done. We’re trying to be as timely as possible. We’re already running late because of weather. This year, we’re probably starting about the same time we normally get finished — it’s just one of those years. We’re trying to hustle up to get the wheat cut and finish weed control because when the soybeans start to canopy, it’s hard to reach the ground to spray. We just want some good weather to get the work done.
Like most farmers, I’m trying to produce the highest quality product that I can for our customers. We are constantly improving our sustainability by using state-of-the-art equipment, such as rate control technology when applying herbicides so you don’t use more than you absolutely have to, and GPS for guidance and efficiency to prevent overlaps. We are also looking for new ways to improve our production practices, such as no-till farming. It helps us manage our residue, retain our organic matter and sequester the carbon, which is better for the environment, so it’s a win-win situation using no-till methods.
May 23, 2014
This week we are trying to finish planting our soybeans. We are about two-thirds finished planting our full season beans, but we have been out of the fields since last Thursday because of rain. As soon as the fields dry out a bit, we will get back in to finish planting. Then, we will get our pre-emerge treatment for weed control out. The weather has been unusually cool here, and we are about two weeks behind what we would call a normal season. But everything is going well, so we are in good shape.
This week we are trying to finish planting our soybeans. We are about two-thirds finished planting our full season beans, but we have been out of the fields since last Thursday because of rain. As soon as the fields dry out a bit, we will get back in to finish planting. Then, we will get our pre-emerge treatment for weed control out. The weather has been unusually cool here, and we are about two weeks behind what we would call a normal season. But everything is going well, so we are in good shape.
A big focus of ours this year is making sure we are vigilant with our resistant weed program; weed management is a top priority and is always at the front of our minds. We are working hard to produce the highest quality crop that we can for our international customers at the best value possible.
April 29, 2014
In the last week, the south has experienced severe weather so he is waiting to get back out in his fields. Its optimum soybean planting time, so I hope to begin planting as soon as possible when the ground conditions are right.
We were able to successfully get the burn-down applications out early on our soybean acres. This is important for our weed management strategies for this year to make sure we don’t get behind on managing weeds. Hopefully we will be able to starting planting our soybeans soon, since it is optimum time to plant, and then we can also get a pre-emerge and a post-emerge application on the soybeans as another part of our weed management plan.
Thanks to programs like Take Action, my neighboring farmers and I are aware of the different strategies available for managing herbicide resistant weeds and we can plan our modes of action to manage these weeds in advance. I am pleased with the burn down that we have gotten done, so other than wet conditions right now, we are in great shape for this year’s crop and look forward to providing a high quality supply of U.S. soy to our international customers.
April 7, 2014
We have received an abundance of rain in the last few days here in Mississippi and more is forecasted for this week. Right now, our challenge is being patient as we wait for a couple of dry days so we can get into the fields and start planting. We use no-till practices, so as soon as we have some dryer weather we will also be applying burn-down applications in the soybean fields in preparation for planting.
As we gear up for the 2014 growing season, I want international buyers of U.S. soy to know that U.S. soybean farmers are doing their best to provide them with a reliable source of quality soybeans in the most sustainable way possible.
About Jimmy Sneed’s Farm: Jimmy raises soybeans, corn and wheat in Hernando, Mississippi. He and his wife, Dinah, have two children, Emily and Russ. This is Jimmy’s sixth year as a USB director and his second year as the Communications Target Area Coordinator. In addition, Jimmy is a director on the Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board, a member of the USSEC board and a Farm Bureau member. He has a bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University.
