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Jun 11, 2007 8:41 am US/Central
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Life On The Farm: Knee High By The 4th Of June
by Bill Hudson
(WCCO)
On the last day of April, Greg Schwarz is wrapping up this year's corn planting. Before heading out, the farmer checks his planter carefully, greasing it in 64 different spots.
It's a big change from when his great-grandfather worked the land. Schwarz's planter is capable of planting one million seeds in an hour. A machine like this doesn't come cheap; it's worth $60,000.
"Dad always says you're better off getting something a little better than what you thought," said Schwarz, "Because then it's going to last a little longer ... and he's right."
Schwarz believes his father knows best and not just about what kind of machinery to buy.
"He's my field cultivator man," Schwarz said. "He sits in that tractor most days and gets the next field ready. He knows the fields better than I do, because he's been farming much longer than I have been."
Schwarz is busier than the average farmer. He raises turkeys, sells seed, participates in the Minnesota Agricultural and Rural Leadership program and sits on the board of Heartland Corn Products, an ethanol co-op in Winthrop, Minn. The high price of corn has prompted some people to complain to Schwarz.
"But it's not just ethanol," Schwarz explained. "It's energy prices in general. Things were bound to go up, whether ethanol was part of the reason or not."
In Schwarz's opinion, the "food vs. fuel" debate is overblown.
"I think we all like to eat and we all like to drive," he said. "It's not food or fuel. It's food and fuel, because we as Americans love both."
The increased demand for corn has changed the way Schwarz farms. He usually rotates his crops from corn to soybeans and back again. This year, because there is a higher price for corn, it is more profitable to plant it. As a result, more farmers are planting "corn on corn," Schwarz said.
Schwarz believes a crop's yield potential is highest the day the seed goes in the ground.
"After that, only bad things can happen," he said. "It's either too hot, too cold, too dry, too wet … too something."
Despite the rain coming down, Schwarz hurriedly digs up a kernel planted a few days earlier. He's eager to show off the seed's early growth.
"It's looking good," he said. "It looks like we did the right thing."
Thirty-five days later, WCCO-TV returns to see if Schwarz's corn crop is still looking good. You've probably heard the expression, "Knee high by the Fourth of July." It's only the first week in June, and Schwarz's corn has already reached that benchmark.
Despite the promising growth, Schwarz doesn't let himself get too excited about the success of his corn.
"There's an old saying that you're always two weeks away from a drought," he said. "We know what can happen, and that's why we get a little nervous when we see it looking this good."
"This good" may be an understatement. Other farms have seen too much rain. Schwarz has had perfect weather and it shows. He is optimistic about the way his corn and soybeans are growing and the prices his crops should command.
"Things are about as good as you can hope for," Schwarz said.
For now, he has a lot to smile about.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)