7/11/2025

 

  

Plant Health
By Leo Hoiten, Agronomist, Lyons
 

Hope most growers in our trade area are finally starting to wrap up the spraying and spreading as the weather has allowed us to get back in those fields.  With the timely moisture we’ve had this summer the crops are starting to look great. The heat and humidity are finally in the air. This is a perfect time to scout and be checking the crops as we get into reproductive stages in both corn and soybeans.  In corn VT or full tassel is optimal time for fungicide application and in soybeans application at R1 can be beneficial for heavy white mold areas and again at (R3-R4) beginning to full pod.

The risk of disease pressure is increasing so be sure to ask about our fungicide options available at all agronomy locations. I recommend using a 3-mode-of-action product like Delaro Complete. This is a preventive and curative option during grain fill as it moves systemically through the plant profile. Fungicides can increase yield by preventing disease in the crop canopy and help make it through the heat and dry weather by providing plant health. Be sure to contact your local agronomist and we can get you taken care of.

How Smart Pigs Help Pipelines and Protect Our Bottom Line
By Scott Chase, Energy Department Manager

The companies that Central Farmers Coop partner with are committed to maintaining the highest standards of efficiency, reliability, and safety and one of the key technologies they use to achieve that is “smart pigging.” Despite the funny name, smart pigs are serious business. These high-tech tools are designed to travel through pipelines, gathering data about the condition of the interior walls.

Early Detection, Proactive Maintenance
Smart pigs are equipped with sensors that detect corrosion, cracks, and deformations inside pipelines. This approach reduces unexpected shutdowns and saves on emergency repair costs. The smart pig travel at 1.5 miles per hour.

Meeting Safety and Regulatory Standards
Pipeline safety regulations are becoming increasingly strict and rightly so. Smart pigging plays a critical role in maintaining industry and federal standards. It’s not just about avoiding fines; it’s about doing the right thing for communities.

Investing in Smart Technology = Long-Term Savings
While smart pigging does come with an upfront cost, studies show that the long-term savings are substantial. Preventing even one major pipeline failure can offset the investment many times over.

After reading Gerry Crawford’s article about how South Dakota gets supplied with propane and fuel I thought it would be good to tell you all about how the companies do maintenance on pipelines that run in our back yards.

Last of all, I thank you for your business and wish everyone a great summer.

Report Day
By Jake Moret, Grain Originator

It is WASDE report day today. We shall see what opinion that has on the markets later. Things that matter in the market today are what does old crop carry out look like and what is the projected new crop yield. With the large looking crop coming I would suggest doing some research of your own and following those numbers. If we stay around a 1.3 carry out on old corn or see that number decline that would have potential to be bullish. If they start posting us at 185+ new crop yield that’s most likely going to be bearish. Beans have some ground to stand on if we can create some new crop sales and with very minimal physical bushels priced in the market things could be very volatile and I do mean that on both sides of the soy trades up or down. As of today, it’s very hard for me to say we’re not looking at a fantastic crop and no one can afford to build space for those needs. Be in contact with a grain buyer and figure out what type of contracts suit your needs to ensure space at harvest time. We can not deal with space issues without farmer communication and we would love to figure out what’s best to help with those needs.