deb klein, soybean and corn farmer
c-i know that the farm is shared between you and your husband Bill d-right and we farm with our two sons Paul and Joe both farm with us also. c-oh ok. d-there are actually four what I want to call principles right now in the farm, uh meaning also from the time they were basically born they this is all they wanted to do. So we told them they had to have a college education first. They both have four year degrees and then they were allowed to come back and farm with us. c-ok. d- So their 26 and 28 years old and they they’re both really I want to say in a central part of our operation at this point. Uh my husband and I both had I mean we kinda we anticipated that they’d be coming back to the family farm and so we had to do a little uh diversification you know grow a little more than we would have had it just remained my husband and myself. So, uh, make room and be able to support 2 more families. c-ok. I do think that I have seen a few photos online so I saw the main part of the farm where the actual business takes place and then there’s a house. And so you and your husband live down the road? d-yeah, yeah around the corner we live a mile away from where the main farm, and I call it the main farm because that’s the farm where our our uh like our office building, our shed, our shop and our grain storage is located. c-so were you a farm girl growing up or did you get into it because that was what your husband was doing? How did that happen? d-no, I grew up on a farm. c-oh ok. d-i had my dad, my my grandfather and great-grandfather, I was multi-you know, generation uh farm background and uh I was at the university of Illinois and my degree is in ag-econ, agricultural economics. So I was definitely, sort of I guess you could say groomed for the job. And uh probably would have gone into one of the ag-industries. When uh I was interviewing getting ready to graduate I was interviewing with agricul-interviewing with like Hormel one of archer Daniel midlyns is another one those were the kind of job opportunities I had. And then I went to work for farm credit services which is like a ag, uh, ag bank farm lending institution and then meanwhile married bill and as time when on you know stayed home to to you know work from home and raise the kids. c-so seeing that you worked for the farm credit services, the farm bank, was that at all related to any of the things that were happening with the farms in terms of the green revolution and some of the business-wise things that were happening to farms…im just speaking more specifically in terms of some of the notes that I have from my biotechnology course about farms in iowa that lost a lot of the personal farms for business oriented farms. Farmers could no longer use their own seeds and needed to get them from a business now. So was the bank that was handing out loans did that have any-was that out of any of the revolution that was taking place? d-uh no I would say that the bank was more of a financial mechanism that uh specializes in making uh short and long term farm loans and of course it has gotten really capitalist and it really takes a lot of money to farm now and so so they become a partner one of your of your partners uh as far as uh im trying to remember what you had to say about the iowa part uh farmers anymore and they haven’t for a long, long time grown their own seeds. We use to grow our own uh soybean seeds which means like every year we would plant our soybeans and we would save some back in the bin that we didn’t sell and that we would would use to plant the following year. Uh we no longer do that. And the main reason being, we have to sign a technology agreement with the company we buy our soybean seeds from that we won’t do that and if they catch you doing that uh you get taken to court with major fines I mean its just not something something that you wanna do. Not only because of the penalty but because of the rule. Uh, and im just speaking of soybeans right now that is because it is what I probably would one thing its called the round-up ready soybeans and that’s probably part you know goes in with biotechnology c-yeah. They came out in 1995 I think. d-in 1995. And what it has done is is spliced the gene into uh the soybean plant so its allows it to tolerate this herbicide round-up so you can spray over the top of it and it kills everything on contact except the soybean that has this resistant gene in it. And uh so it’s made it very simple to grow large amounts uh that’s what—you use less chemicals less you now like herbicidal control chemicals stuff than you ever used before by using this one product the only thing is that trying to apply uh some of the weeds and stuff through natural selection are becoming resistant to the round-up herbicide. So you now uh they’re gonna have to figure out something else but for now its working quite well yeah you can plant uh soybeans and just throw them on top of them. The round-up herbicide or a generic version. We us the generic version quite a bit. Yeah and it kills all the weeds and it makes it very simple and uh fast and easy to grow a large amount of soybeans and I would say that and the biotechnology part of the the soybeans. Now the corn, for years farmers never acquired their own corn seed and that’s because corn is a hybrid see that you plant meaning its its like a cross in all the traits that your wanting to plant and corn is oh just a complicated seed meaning that you plant a seed that’s going to mature in 95 days or a corn seed that’s gonna plant seed in like 100 days or 105 or 108 and each particular variety that you plant has different characteristics and it might be more drought tolerant it might have strong stock strength it might dry down fast stock for field you plant a multitude of these these kind of hybrids and a farmer you cant begin to uh take back your seeds and do it yourself now its very expensive to be its got more and more expensive as I would call the biotechnology element of the corn plant meaning they have spliced in genes into the corn plant and one of the things is there are corn plants that are round-up ready the same as the soybeans that you can use again that that one kind of herbicide you use to control all your weeds. But they’ve also bred them now for resistance to like ringworms and cornspores and uh other insects that and other environmental things that cause stress to your corn plant. So that, uh they have become more and more complex and and you know the plants itself can resist all these things rather than over the top-applying all these different herbicides trying different insecticides that corn has gotten very expensive. For example we buy corn by the bag and we have 80,000 kernels in a bag and that’s a standard measure that you buy uh you know the seed corn. And the 80,000 kernels which you plant about 2 and 1/3 acres costs $270 so you look at this really small relatively small bag and it costs you $280 to and it doesn’t even fill up like one one of your planter boxes that your going through so uh the biotechnology part of seed both corn and soybean and they also have cotton they have it in wheat but we only grow corn and soybeans has really uh its its revolutionary how we how we grow grow our crops made it simpler in a way made it more expensive in another way though we also have been able to reduce and eliminate some of the other uh you know herbicide treatments insecticide treatments we use to put on and uh but at the same time its also increased our increased yield because when there’s less wheat pressure when there’s less insect pressure when uh the plants are growing under better conditions they’re gonna where’re gonna yield more we’re gonna be able to produce more per acre, which is uh you know part of the mandate that that we have for not only making money individually on a farm but for uh you know feeding the world and providing the crops for uh the uses that everybody wants it. Did I give you a lot of information? c-yeah, no that’s fine. d-feel free to go back because the first time you hear it it’s very difficult to sometimes understand. It’s a complex molding of science and economics. c-i think that is something that comes off in my biotechnology class. But when you put it in perspective and hear someone living thru these applications, it is helpful to put the lecture into perspective a bit. d-well let me tell you if you were to ask my husband or I because we have talked about this before its not the same farm its not the same business that that we did 30 years ago when you know when we started. My husband uh started farming actually on his own in 1976 and we got married in 1979 so you you know I came on the scene pretty early but I would tell you that science has has basically caused us to have to reinvent ourselves continuously and like every 7 to 10 years I mean you look back and you are not doing the same thing that you were your doing the same yeah like planting the seeds you grow and you harvest it and you’re a farmer but, but the technology that’s used both the science and the the actual growing, the seeds, the herbicides, insecticides and how you do that as well as what what our big changes on our on our own farm the last couple years is we have done extensive use of of GPS and auto-steer. And GPS is uh where we have little uh satellites on top of the tractors and the combines and such and it marks where you’re at in the field as you go through and it maps it so you can go back to a spot then and know exactly where uh you know like like what what you planted there you know kind of maps it all up what you planted there maybe have a drainage problem in this spot maybe you can continuously go back and its not it might look like one big field to you to somebody else it actually gets broken down and you know exactly where things are at then you can apply like variable amounts of fertilizer say something like that which is a fabulous thing because its not only a money saving thing its environmental savings where you only put down what you need to and some areas need more and some areas need less you know because based on the past history of that ground the uptake of nutrients and the the kind of soil types and maybe one end of the field got more rain that the other so you can really tailor your inputs down to to you know whats needed in that particular spot and not waste you know not put on excess nitrogen for example and uh autosteer is believe it or not we’ve got a system now in our tractors and they can drive themselves. And the operator just goes in there and you know once this is working they basically stay in a straight line and they go up and down the field they get to a corner and you still have to turn the steering wheel and turn it yourself but they they uh go up and down the field you know being steered by the satellite and you don’t overlap like lets say we’re doing some tillage or something or applying again chemicals or applying fertilizer and when you turn around and you come back normally there would be a foot-foot and a half or something that that your tool behind your tractor would overlap where you had just worked now you could specifically go in a spot that you had never gone right next to it within an inch its accurate within a like a half an inch. So, these kind of you know innovations and science and technology are making you know making it so much more efficient and uh as being able to you know we can go back we can we know exactly what we did in an area what kind of we keep records we punch it into our computers what kind of uh fertilizer we put on in that particular spot of the field, what kind of uh chemical rates we used. What did we do in this half of the field what did we do in this half of the field. And uh we just become uh technology is allowing us to use less and less uh amounts of chemicals and fertilizer to grow crops. So that’s a really good thing from not only what I said the economic viewpoint but also you know environmentally. We’re really being efficient in what we use and we’re not using extra and we’re not letting it wash into the streams and and sit there and cause danger or damage to the environment. c-how long ago did that gps system and the program on the tractors how long ago were they out, or when did you get them? d-well they’ve had them out for some years like everything else your usually not we’re not the first ones that uh embraces technology because it’s kind of like the first guy that is going to do it there’s going to be a learning curve. c-yeah. d-and everything everything’s not set up and then you know you got you got other problems. And also its very expensive. Now its becoming more common and and so its becoming affordable for I want to say the average farmer. Uh we’ve done the gps for quite some time probably at least ten years that we’ve you know been able to uh use use that in some form or fashion on our farm and we’ve gotten better and better at using the information as well as you know as becoming that just in that one new tractor. You know now as new equipment turns over and is becoming very common and is found in all of our equipment. So but we just bought the auto-steer that was the first time we used it was last year. And the reason we actually specifically bought it is the boys pushed us to do it I mean Bill’s 50 im 51 not exactly like totally over-the-hill but that different generation was ready was like ok we gotta do this this is this really cool this is something-they were right. After we bought the system for the first couple a tractors we were like you know we could really see the benefit of this as far as savings and information we get out of it so you know we need to do some more. c-so in the end it will pay for itself or? d-well sort of. Probably in one way or the other and another things is its gonna become down the road if you don’t do it you probably wont be able to compete. With uh in in with with your neighbors and stuff because the ability to get good round-up corn is just very competitive and uh most area farmers everybody can really farm 180 acres and another a 100 acres something like that and if you don’t wanna farm what your farming theres like 10 guys lined up right behind you know that want a farm it. And so you have to be able to do it in a timely fashion. And that that’s a really important word because like we plant lets say we plant corn theres probably a 2 week window. And everything has to go right you have to have large enough equipment to get everything in in a timely manner. And if if you cant and you don’t do it and and you don’t have using and your not utilizing every tool that you possibly can you probably wont get it done and you know your gonna look like a bad farmer and your gonna lose your ground and somebody else is gonna do it. So its kind of like if your in the work place and you use computers. Eventually your going to have to use them in order to compete. c-yeah that’s a good equivalent. Now the crops-the corn and soybeans-are they for consuming or used for biodiesel or other products? d-yes, yes for both. Actually the soybeans are for uh used for biodiesel and we market to a co-op a co-op is a group of farmers that have banded together and uh we own these a these elevator facilities as a group. And you get issued every year you get issued stock based on how much you use that co-op and that is like your terminal that you deliver your grain to and uh there’s about 3 or 4 of em in with in a 4 mile radius where we farm and and depending on which farm we’re at that’s where we deliver our grain. And then it’s all co-mingled its not kept identity separate so in other words our soybeans get mixed with the other guys soybeans and hundreds of other farmers soybeans and then they sell it by uh trainload and then its shipped to other uh processing plants or to the gulf of exports so this is probably true for both soybeans and corn uh it its they’re exported they’re trucked to uh places that buy them to make ethanol or biodiesel. They are used for like soybeans are used for are used in crush and crush uh the oil is uh squeezed out of em and then the oil is used for many, many things like everything from making plastics industrial uses to making paint to making uh cooking oil. There’s now depending on which spot the soybeans in this load or that load you know its used for a multitude of things that way. Then the uh after the oils squeezed out the remainder of its used for uh soybeans or feed for like livestock feed. A large part of actually what we grow in terms of corn and soybeans we don’t specifically grow it for a livestock but that is that is a part of it. Uh because its where not its not a perfect world where the use and the growth all takes place in uh you know in the right amount for an area. You know so its transported around the country. Its transported around the world basically to where its needed for that particular plant that biodiesel plant that particular feedlot that needs it for feeding or you know whatever else its used for. Uh our actual everybody thinks that the corn you grow is the corn you get in the can that you buy at the grocery store that’s not the kind of corn that we grow. Ours is is more of a a its not a foodstuff corn no in this area is a frito-o-lay plant and you some farmers if you have a contract and you know they just don’t take everybodys dropping it off you agree to grow a certain kind of corn like white corn stuff and so you have to deliver to the plant and they make corn chips out of it. Or tortilla chips. And you know the white corn or the yellow corn or something like that uh so you know that part is ground into more of a flour you know and is used that way but its never this type of corn that we grow is never the type of corn that is canned or frozen and you will find on on tables. Uh that’s actually a different kind of farming that’s a very specialized they call it vegetable farming. And that’s done where you know where people grow green beans and tomatoes and whatever else that is used for human consumption. c-and that is where more organic farming comes in then? d-yes and well actually we could for now we could grow organic uh corn and soybeans but but theres not economic incentive to do so than the kind that we grow unlike say if your growing vegetables. And that’s really something the consumers want to see in their grocery store is organic lettuce and organic spinach and things like that. There’s really no market right now for us to grow organic like soybeans or corn like the kind that we do. Organic is a word that is kind of I think it’s overused. Because I don’t think uh I don’t really think people understand what it is but its been marketed as wholesome and preferable and consumers are wanting it and I I think maybe it has it has a spot its probably been a good thing in some of our foods in say things like vegetables that you just wash and then you basically go right to the table. Uh a lot of the other things is uh we put out fertilizer its not artificially produced fertilizer you know its probably its mined its right from the earth and we use it to fertilizer and grow crops. Well they’re saying we don’t use any artificial fertilizers well im not sure what that means you know are you only using manure and then and then does that mean that you’re all for meat because the only thing you can use is manure? Im not sure. You know again it gets the organic argument the organic make up that’s a huge other area of agriculture and discussion that could probably take days and months and years. c-its definitely something marketed in stores-wholefoods is one that comes to mind- d-well yeah because the customers are wanting it. Because that’s uh the type its healthier ok ill give you that but not I couldn’t argue that across the board that every single thing is healthier or that every single thing isn’t as healthy you know really become uh you know there are smart ways and I don’t I think you can read your magazines and find out theres really smart ways to put your organic money and theres other ways you know you’re not gaining one darn things as far as a health benefit or an environmental benefit by buying organic so the consumer needs to educate themselves and uh use their money wisely to make you know what is good for their particular family. c-the information that I do have in relation to using fertilizers is in relation to the amount of glyphosate on the soil. that it can accumulate in your body with repeat exposure to the chemical. d-well i have never heard of anything like that. really it is whatever that is used you know as part of your heritage over and over the years. we try to use the least amount of products and just in in terms of how in terms of the environment, it is far better than it was even 40 years ago. so so you know it has a shorter half life it is not as toxic. its more efficient. people think that well family farms are not corporate farms and that corporate farms are hurting the family farms. all a corporate farm is is an individual family that owns that forms a corporation teaming with research you you know to see what that can be used for. c-i only have a few more questions for you, one about the farm then a personal one about you. so how have the prices changed of the crop of growing them... d-up until like last year when all of a sudden like like it was like a perfect storm and high energy prices and we had a like a lesser crop and the world had had some crop failures in other places and all of a sudden prices shot up up until that point we were getting like the same price we were selling our corn for the same price as it had been like 50 years ago. the only difference is we were producing more per acre we were more efficient we had better seeds better you know so even though we were getting per bushel the same price now we were producing more and thats how you stay in business. but it it became like another outlet for you know our commodity for our product and and it takes all of it i mean it takes the livestock industry it takes the ethanol industry and exports it takes uh industry it takes uh you know the carpet makers it takes the the packing peanut guys all of the uh them to use up what the uh each farmer produces every year. and uh i will tell ya i have no doubt in my mind that science is on the next brink of going you know there used to be that you grew 200 bushels to the acre of corn you were like the best i mean that was just like unbelievable. it was called the bin buster cause the bin couldnt hold it all. now its becoming really common just because of the uh the the resources the right seed the genetics everything else is at our our you know all these new science tricks that we've learned. and the job as farmer just gets more and more efficient and uses more technology and you know needs to in order to provide it for all these uses to provide it for the world uses for food, fiber, energy working with everyone you know. c-so how big is your farm did you say? d-well our farm is at a 5,000 acres we are more towards corn with about 60/40 in rotation that means 60% of corn then about 40% is soybean and now some farmers do 50/50 rotation really it is whatever works best for each farmer. i mean really to reduce insect pressure and nitrogen by using the soybeans by planting the soybeans the switching and planting the corn in that part of the farm i mean there is more money making in corn than soybeans there is not enough diversification and so if that were the case if it was equally profitable then it needs to be it could be 50/50. c-so this has been an informative conversation all about the farm. now just a a more personal question-what is your favorite color? d-oh my favorite color? well red. its a great, bold, happy color. yeah i say red. c-thats my favorite as well. its been nice talking with you. d-same, any other questions feel free to call.
deb klein, illinois farmer
c-ive never grown my own food in a garden-I was in one when I was in elementary school in a garden club setting-but I do think it is something that is plausible for someone growing fruit/vegetables in their back yard or food-crop farming.
d-yeah and I agree uh when you have a small amount. You can go out there and pick your tomato worms off. So and you can you can water them when they get dry and you can do this and that and you know it becomes much simpler to do it you know why not. That that might be a really good thing for a family to do at the same time commercially to do that sometimes its really worth it and sometimes its not.