Planting 0rganic Corn

[roush9799]

Wow, rent around here goes for $200-$300 per acre.

 

[firecatf7333]

Yea the farmers here get a good price on rent. If rent is $200-$300, what is price of land?

Talked with Amish and they plow field then disc in chicken shiiiit for fertilizer, then cultivate 1-3 times. One $200 bag of corn covers almost 3-4 acres. They don't plant organic close like conventional. They've been getting at least 100 bushels/acre and have to rotate corn/soybeans every year. Not exactly sure on price but I think $10-$13 bushel elevator price( couple organic elevators where I am)- 3 year wait. Can't pollinate with corn across road

$75 acre seed
$80 acre fertilizer ($40/ton 2 ton acre)
Fuel cost too plow, disc, spread fert, plant, cultivate 2-3 times,????
Custom harvest cost?

Gross should be $1000-$1200/ acre maybe $500-$700 net

May consider this depending on equipment costs

 

[roush9799]

Yea the farmers here get a good price on rent. If rent is $200-$300, what is price of land?

The last that sold in the area a couple months ago brought $14500/acre for a mix of class A and B soil. Got another sale around the corner in a couple weeks, anxious to see what it goes for.

Talked with Amish and they plow field then disc in chicken shiiiit for fertilizer, then cultivate 1-3 times. One $200 bag of corn covers almost 3-4 acres. They don't plant organic close like conventional. They've been getting at least 100 bushels/acre and have to rotate corn/soybeans every year. Not exactly sure on price but I think $10-$13 bushel elevator price( couple organic elevators where I am)- 3 year wait. Can't pollinate with corn across road

$75 acre seed
$80 acre fertilizer ($40/ton 2 ton acre)
Fuel cost too plow, disc, spread fert, plant, cultivate 2-3 times,????
Custom harvest cost?

Gross should be $1000-$1200/ acre maybe $500-$700 net

May consider this depending on equipment costs

And all that is if you don't have a crop failure. Do you guys have Japenese beetles in your area very bad like we do?

 

[firecatf7333]

Of course that's if no crop failure. That's the risk/reward instead of taking $50/acre for rent. Neighbors haven't had crop failure since they've been doing it for 5 years, and I'm not counting on it for a living either

 

[firecatf7333]

Update on thread- I'm now trying to buy the same land, but all of it which is about 50 tillable acres. What tractor would you recommend for this? I also may be able to lease ground close by. There are a few people who lease land near me, anywhere from 20 acres up to 150 acres. Again, I would be doing organic....so I have to cultivate at least 2-3 times a year, along with flame weeding, and of course planting (6 or 8 row), and maybe discing, chiz plow/moldboard???

Will a 95-100 HP tractor be enough for 50-200 acres of organic soybean/corn? I could have land custom plowed/ disc or any of the process could be custom done...then use my tractor for more suitable work. I still want to use my tractor with a 15 foot batwing mower for a gov't mowing job I do once a year. Also, I have plenty of time to get the work done.

So what tractor would you recommend in the 95-100 HP range for 15-20k? I don't need a cab, but think 4x4 would be good to have since I need to cultivate a lot. Not opposed to 120HP but don't want too much since I have to move it for the mowing and that's getting towards overkill for a mowing job. Could get a 20 footer though

thanks for help

 

[randy41]

a suggestion for the organic part of this is to find the certifying agent ahead of time to be sure your land is going to be able to be certified in the future. they will for sure want to know what is growing around you. if the neighbor is growing RR corn you might have a problem getting certified.

 

[super55]

Before you jump head first into organic farming you are most likely going to have to ammend the soil. What I mean by this is that if that land was already ideally suited for corn most likely somebody would have corn in it. Get some soil off to get tested to see what you are working with in Ph, N-P-K, organic matter and other micronutrients. Odds are you have some soil ammending to do. I can just about assure you that your first crop will have to be a legume such a alfalfa, soybeans, or clover. Something that can draw N from the atmosphere and put it in the soil.

Corn is a heavy Nitrogen user and manures won't generally meet the demand for corn. Legumes are really the only surefire organic way to add N back to your soil. Organic farming is also very dependent on tillage so the soil loses it organic matter at faster rate. That being said, Only plan on maybe a 1/3 or at best 1/2 of your crop being corn. The soil not in corn is basically put in rehabilitation.

A 95 Hp tractor would be fine for 50 to 80ac. You can easily handle an 8 row planter and a 4 bottom plow. Cultivators don't require much drawbar power so you are good there and I wouldn't see a problem with up to a 12 or 16 foot disc.

Best advice I can give is start small and don't plan on a whole lot of revenue from it the first couple years. Going all organic you are going to have a serious battle with weeds the first few years and your soil most likely isn't going to be ideal for corn so your yields will be lower.
10 acres of 100 bushel will net you much more profit than 20 acres of 50 bushel. Start researching and prepping your soil and have a plan. Talk with people. Any organic dairy farms in the area that might be interested in organic silage so you could sell your crop by the ton instead of the bushel? Jumping head first into organic farming is a hard path no doubt but if you can go in with some sort of plan it will make the trip a lot easier.

 

[farmer2009]

Find out more about the organic before you jump in. Wish I had of. The certified organic is a USDA program. Check their web site if it is still up. The naturally raised doesn't require as much certification as organic may look at that route.

Good luck.

 

[TSO]

Before you jump head first into organic farming you are most likely going to have to ammend the soil. What I mean by this is that if that land was already ideally suited for corn most likely somebody would have corn in it. Get some soil off to get tested to see what you are working with in Ph, N-P-K, organic matter and other micronutrients. Odds are you have some soil ammending to do. I can just about assure you that your first crop will have to be a legume such a alfalfa, soybeans, or clover. Something that can draw N from the atmosphere and put it in the soil.

Corn is a heavy Nitrogen user and manures won't generally meet the demand for corn. Legumes are really the only surefire organic way to add N back to your soil. Organic farming is also very dependent on tillage so the soil loses it organic matter at faster rate. That being said, Only plan on maybe a 1/3 or at best 1/2 of your crop being corn. The soil not in corn is basically put in rehabilitation.

A 95 Hp tractor would be fine for 50 to 80ac. You can easily handle an 8 row planter and a 4 bottom plow. Cultivators don't require much drawbar power so you are good there and I wouldn't see a problem with up to a 12 or 16 foot disc.

Best advice I can give is start small and don't plan on a whole lot of revenue from it the first couple years. Going all organic you are going to have a serious battle with weeds the first few years and your soil most likely isn't going to be ideal for corn so your yields will be lower.
10 acres of 100 bushel will net you much more profit than 20 acres of 50 bushel. Start researching and prepping your soil and have a plan. Talk with people. Any organic dairy farms in the area that might be interested in organic silage so you could sell your crop by the ton instead of the bushel? Jumping head first into organic farming is a hard path no doubt but if you can go in with some sort of plan it will make the trip a lot easier.

Been watching this thread. .. Great post. Thanks for the info.

 

[firecatf7333]

Thanks for the replies. It will take me 3 years before I can get the land I want to buy Certified Organic. Open pollinated corn can't be planted the same time(and pollinate with conventional corn). I don't plan on using open pollinated anyhow, but if I did i'd have to plant a few weeks after/before neighbor. I've been researching Organic and have learned a lot, but have a lot more to learn.

Organic has more risk, but also more reward($) I think for smaller acreage organic is more profitable, but also more work. As mentioned....weeds will be the biggest challenge, but can be managed if you stay on top of them and also use cover crops. Example... I know a local organic grain expert who seeds confectionary mustard few weeks before he plants soybeans.....helps with weed control

Here is how I see some numbers:

Conventional may yield more, but not significantly more to offset the price. In my area NY....100-150 bushel is average. Some guys get 180-200 but they put a lot of fert into it and seed almost twice as much. Right now corn is paying 4-5 while organic is paying 12. Soybean is paying about 25. Idk what conventional soybeans are paying.


I will keep posted what happens and how my experience goes.