Economic Sustainability

Other posts in the sustainability video series:

1. Sustainability - Defining it
2. Environmental Sustainability

Transcript of the video audio (in other words, here's the text version of everything I said in the video)

When it comes to economic sustainability for the farm, the first thing that comes to mind is the financial risk we take every year. We commit all the expenses for the crop months before any tractors even hit the fields in the spring. And then it’s obviously months later until we see how the yields are going to do. And then it’s months even after that until we make the final sale of the crop because we have on-site storage. So that’s an average of around 18 months from hwen we spend the first penny and then months later when we receive the final penny for the crop.

And in between the expense and the profit side of things, there are some big variables that play into the profitability. One obviously is the weather – that’s a huge one – as well as different pests and diseases that are damaging crops potentially. And then the markets – seeing how the actual sale price is doing and the fluctuations in that will obviously affect profitability.

So there’s different business models for every farm. The way our farm is structured and we’re able to maintain profitability is to have a low cost-of-production. That really helps so that whenever we’re putting in a crop, we try to keep our expenses as low as possible. So even if we do have a drought like 2012 or if the market has a downturn like it does right now, we can still be profitable through those years.

What that looks like on our farm when it comes to low cost-of-production, you can mostly see that with the equipment we use. All of the equipment on our farm is decades old. Even when we get a “new” piece of equipment, it’s still very old. And then the guys spend all winter doing all the maintenance and repairs themselves for the equipment. They’re very talented that way. They’re very mechanical. My father-in-law also went to college for mechanical engineering so they even do some major modifications to equipment that will save them from having to buy that equipment or buy the modification. It saves them a lot of money that way, and that obviously helps the budgeting aspect of what we do.

It might be easier for me though if they had the nice, new tractors that are easier to drive. Instead we have these tractors that all have their own tricks to them, so it makes it tricky for me. But in the end, I guess it’s best for the farm.

And we joke around a lot that there’s no need for us to ever go to a casino because we’re gambling enough every day as it is here on the farm.

So, that’s economic sustainability for us here on the farm.

Thank you.  

Environmental Sustainability

Sustainability video series:

1. Sustainability - Defining it

Happy Earth Day! In honor of Earth Day, today's sustainability video message revolves around the broad meaning of environmental sustainability to our farm.

Transcript of the video audio (in other words, here's the text version of everything I said in the video)

Environmental sustainability. I don’t know of many businesses that are as intertwined with the environment like we are as farmers. We do something to the environment and then it reacts and responds and provides something back to us in return. That interaction and engagement is so vital to a lot of the decisions we make of what we do and how we do it.

That often leads to the question of why do we just raise crops on our farm here in southeast Wisconsin near the Illinois border.

And it brings me back to a conversation I had a few weeks ago with our five-year-old daughter. We were at Cabela’s looking at all the fish and we started talking about how the fish are different – the ones that live in the ocean versus lakes versus rivers versus streams. And we talked about how the fish have been purposely created to be suited to those specific environments.

And that’s what we have a lot here in the Corn Belt. The whole Midwest part of the United States – and we’re just in the edge of that – is very well-suited to growing crops like corn and soybeans. Our land is very flat, which reduces the risk of soil erosion and run-off. Our climate is very well-suited and our soil is very fertile and supports those different crops.

Now that’s not to say that there aren’t farms in our area and throughout the Corn Belt that do other things. And we’re very grateful for them and we support them, as well. That’s just to say that’s why we do what we do.

And we’re happy to do that, and we’re happy to be a worldwide supplier of these products that are able to be used for so many different things – they’re very beneficial commodities. For people food, animal food, fuel for our vehicles – a renewable source, as well as for other unique products like crayons or plastics.

And we’re able to supply this on a worldwide scale. There are some other areas of the world that are also well-suited to growing crops like this. Namely South America – Brazil and Argentina – and there’s a lot of areas of the world that really can’t support much row crop production. So we’re considering that we’re using the tools and resources that we have and to be abundantly using them to the best of our ability.

Thank you. 

BEAN seeds are going in the ground!

When spring planting is around the corner, I always say that Ben will drive out to the field one day and doesn't come back for a couple months.

The girls and I went for a walk yesterday afternoon. We swung around by the shop like we frequently do to say "hi" to Daddy and Papa. When we came around the corner, Ben was fueling up the tractor and field cultivator to go work up the first field of the year. So we joined him! How fun that this year, we drove out to the field WITH him! Perfect timing!

This isn't actually the official start of planting though. It's just a test they're doing. We do a LOT of field tests to see what the results are before making a bigger adjustment. This particular test is to plant beans early. Common practice is to plant all the corn and then switch to planting beans, so beans are usually planted around a month after the corn. We've been hearing a lot about the potential benefits of planting beans early, so they decided to test it on 20 acres.

This is not a normal practice. In fact, when my father-in-law went to pick up the bean seed from one of the neighboring farmers who's also a seed rep, he asked if it was okay if he tells other people about it. I imagine it'll sound something like this: Do you want to know what the Nelsons are up to? They're planting BEANS right now! Not sure how that's going to go! Ha!

I see this as one of the benefits of us having a lot of crop acres - we can do a lot of these "field trials" and test different techniques. I imagine that someone with less acreage might want to be more conservative and only do what they know works best for them. A good test also needs to be done on a decent size scale, otherwise it could just be other variables affecting the results.

The pictures are fun, but not the best quality...phone was almost dead, squirmy toddler, lots of bumps...

I love these kinds of family pictures! Molly was freaked out - the chocolate (notice her lips), chips and music helped calm her down though.

At the very tip of the tree on the left was a big hawk waiting for us to kick up some mice. Pretty cool. 

I'm always amazed at how different the view is from the back of a field. We drive by this field ALL the time and look at it from the road, but when you're in back of the field looking toward the road, it's so different. Weird, but true.

Sustainability #1 - Defining it

Transcript of the video audio (in other words, here's the text version of everything I said in the video)

Sustainability. It’s a big buzz word now and everyone wants it, including myself. Now how does a farm know if they’re really being sustainable? There isn’t a line in the sand saying what is sustainable versus what isn’t, so how do they know?

Well the definition is “to be sustained, to endure, to last a long time.” Let’s remember that there’s a difference between sustainable and self-sustainable.

Our farm – my husband and his father – run 1,400 acres of crops. By today’s definition, that really isn’t a cool farm.  We don’t do niche products or direct marketing. We don’t even have animals on our farm. However, we strive to be sustainable and we’re proud of what we do and how we do it.  

By that base definition of sustainability – to endure and last a long time – our farm is sustainable. We actually have the original deed from 1912 – over 100 years ago – when my husband’s great, great grandfather, Andrew Nelson, bought the original 80 acres of the farm for $7,000 total. So my husband is the fifth generation stepping into the farm.

That’s a long time. There’s a lot to be said for that. When you look at American agriculture and the security of our food supply, we’re proud to be part of that backbone. When we can go to the grocery store and have the luxury of so many options and that fit within a family’s budget. We’re proud to be part of that.

So when you go to the grocery store, be thankful for even the common, ordinary food choices.

Thanks for your support!  And stay tuned for some more video messages focusing on the three measures of sustainability – environmental, economic and social. Thank you!