Technology, Champaign, Decatur, Farm Progress Show and Those Indiana State Troopers
It’s been quite a week. And thanks to the Indiana State Troopers I got back very late from the Farm Progress Show in Decatur Illinois. What is it with construction zones and going 68 mph in a 60 mph zone? Or is it something about a slow day and two buses with Ontario plates looking like easy prey? I dunno. However, those troopers capped a somewhat zany trip to Decatur Illinois this past week. The effects of it I’m afraid, pushed the Agridome into Friday morning.
I was part of a mass movement of farmers and seed dealers who traveled to Decatur last week to attend the Farm Progress Show. It was a great trip. However, I think most of us on the bus had no idea of the zaniness ahead of us when we were all hauled off the bus and searched at the Detroit Windsor Tunnel. It was the first time I’ve ever had to put my luggage through an x-ray machine at a land border. Unbelievable! After an hour and 45 minutes we were let go. Who knows? Maybe there was a phone call to the Indiana State Troopers after that.
A couple hours later we actually had to abandon ship or ah hem….bus. After scrambling at an interstate exit, a few of us went on to Illinois. Others waited until another bus traveling in the same direction picked them up. Those darn Indiana State Troopers must have got another call.
A few hours later guys with names like Terry and Mike from Newmarket, Paul from Forest, Daryl from Lockie Farms in Zephyr, Dave and Mel from Dresden and your loyal scribe fell exhausted off the bus into a field of dreams of tall corn at the AgReliant research farm near Champaign Illinois. For me, it was a wonderful end to the day. Viewing corn so tall versus my drought ravaged Ontario corn gave me solace. Being in the heart of the great American Corn Belt surrounded by friends forged together by the zany episodes of the day was wonderful. Call me crazy. It was like I fully expected Ty Cobb to come out of those cornfields at any moment.
Of course there was a method to all of this madness. In a nutshell it was all about technology. In the next few hours and days we saw technology, technology and more technology. In Champaign we actually got to view drought induced corn with several different “gene events” going on grown under a glass tent. Simply put it was an amazing display seeing corn actually survive under conditions where they had no rain since May. No, it wasn’t like the 190-bushel corn growing right beside the tent. However, it was an obvious example of how technology is pushing the limits of corn production. For anybody standing there doubting the August USDA estimate of 13.045 billion bushels of corn, it was sobering. It would seem with all this technology in the pipe, maybe 14 billion bushels is just around the corner.
At the Progress Show in Decatur, it was sweltering hot. I asked DTN’s Senior Grain Analyst Darin Newson, “is this anyway to treat Canadian farmers coming to the show.” I went on to tell him we’re going to get our American friends back with –30 degrees in January. We both laughed. However, it was great for me to meet Darin, Russ Quinn and others from DTN. It would seem even after 13 years writing for DTN, a little face familiarity is good. Later that morning I got to attend Darin’s seminar on the grain markets.
Darin was drenched in sweat as he described what was going on in the grain markets. It was so hot there was sweat dripping off his elbows as he answered questions, some from DTN subscribers. Of course my question earlier in the day was about those 13.045 billion corn bushels USDA says is out there. Darin and I discussed the poor crop in places like Michigan and Ontario. However, we both concurred there is a lot of corn out there. Darin emphasized to me how the market focuses on the key corn growing states of Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, northern Missouri and southern Minnesota. Darin also emphasized the percentage of commercial carry into outward futures months; a measurement, which I’ve come to believe, is crucial in truly understanding the futures market.
The day ended with a “technology presentation” at a local college. There we learned about future “technology events” which were going to manifest themselves within our corn and soybeans. It might have been the heat frying my brain all day, but I put up my hand and asked a question. I simply questioned the fact about the affordability of this technology. My point was that our American friends with their “subsidy theme park” could very easily afford this but Canadian farmers could not. I offered a further opinion that these “technology events” more closely resembles “price discrimination” a practice in economics to extract “more money” out of a perceived product value. I said you have to keep prices down for Canadian farmers.
Well, that probably did it. The phone call probably went out to the Indiana State Troopers five minutes later. I’m sure it was something like, “Get those guys in those Canadian buses, especially that Agridome guy”. They next day on the way to the Fair Oaks Dairy Farm those darn Indiana cowboys made their move. Shortly after we limped into the Fair Oaks Dairy Farm Adventure, the home of 30,000 dairy cows and mountains of corn silage. Later that day we visited Lord’s seeds farm near Howe Indiana, the home of over 12,000 acres of seed corn.
Heading east many of us were looking forward to getting home. However, the zaniness seemed to never end. On departing customs at Windsor, we lost power steering on the bus. Once again we thought we might have to “abandon ship”. However, the bus driver saved us by wrestling the big bus home just like I used to steer my old International 230 tractor, all muscle.
The postscript to the trip, aside from the zaniness was the technology and the “power of American agriculture.” Simply put our American friends are poised to leap into their agricultural future. They’ve got the technology, the climate and the farmers to forge that change. However, they also have an American agricultural policy, which supports and respects their farmers. That’s key. Regrettably in Canada we don’t have the same policy. That means our work continues.
And about those Indiana State Troopers? Let me tell you. Us Canadian farm boys aren’t done with you yet. Come January I think we’ll send you –30 degrees C.