Small Grains News and Updates

Greetings,

Practical Farmers has some exciting news: we received a $1.1 million grant to expand our work on integrating small grains for improved fertilizer and manure management. With the grant funding, we will work with farmers in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin to use small grains crops to optimize management of nitrogen from manure and fertilizer. Keep an eye out for collaboration opportunities in coming months! Other reminders and items worth highlighting:

If you purchased crop insurance for winter small grains, certification is due by December 15 in Iowa.
And finally, small grain/leguminous cover crop cost share is still open for crops to be harvested in 2021.

Wishing you a happy Thanksgiving,

The Strategic Initiatives Team

December 11 Call: Iowa Farmer Raising 47 lb/bu Test Weight Oats

While most Canadian oat growers regularly achieve high test weight oats with little dedicated effort to the task, yielding high test weight oats in the Upper Midwest can be challenging.

Darren Fehr - a Mallad, Iowa farmer - has cracked the code, with over 20 years of experience growing oats. His 2020 oats had an average test weight of 46.6 lbs/acre!

On December 11 at 12:15 pm call in to hear from Darren as he shares his experience with variety selection, fertility management, planting technique and cover crop-co-management.

The call will be held from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. on Friday December 11. To join dial 605-313-5784 and enter passcode 239000# when prompted.

2021 Small Grain/Legume Cover Crop Cost Share

Farmers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin are invited to apply for cost share for small grains harvested in 2021, followed by a legume-containing cover crop. Small grains include barley, oats, rye, triticale or wheat, and a legume cover crop could be under- or co-seeded clover or alfalfa or a summer planted cover that includes hairy vetch or field peas.

PFI will pay $15 per acre cost share on up to 200 acres for this combination of main crop and cover crop. We also have a growing number of programs that link this cost share with a market opportunity for a small-grain crop that you may qualify for based on your location and production practices. Acres are assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis. Apply for cost share on our small grains cost share page.

Small Grains Cost Share Sign-up

Mendota, Illinois Wheat Market and Cost Share

About a year ago ADM cut the ribbon on a new state-of-the-art milling facility in Mendota, IL and are setting out to increase the number of local Illinois farmers who are supplying wheat to that facility and using cover crops after wheat. In 2021, farmers who sell wheat into a number of Illinois ADM elevator locations destined for the ADM milling facility in Mendota are eligible for PFI's small grain + legume cover crop cost share, with a twist! Not only do growers receive $15/ac after planting their cover crop following wheat harvest, but they are also eligible to receive $10/ac for reducing N nutrient by 40 lbs/ac in their fertilizer program for the 2022 corn crop that follows it in rotation.

To be eligible, growers must deliver wheat to a qualifying ADM location in Illinois. Ideally the wheat would meet food-grade, milling specifications; however, if the grain quality falls short, farmers can sell the wheat to ADM at their feed bid price and still access the cost share program. To learn more about our cost share program tied to this special market opportunity, fill out our small grains cost share application and select "Wheat to ADM in Mendota, IL" on the final question or send an email to amy@practicalfarmers.org.