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OCR for page 266
CASE STUDY
A Mixed Crop and Livestock Farm
in Southwest Iowa:
The BreDah! Farm
THE BREDAHL FARM IS OCATED N ADAIR COUNTY in southwestern Iowa, 4
miles south and 2 miles east of Fontanelle and about 60 miles southwest
of Des Moines. The elevation is approximately 1,200 feet. The farm com-
prises 160 acres and has been in the BreDah] family since 1927 (Table 1~.
Clark BreDahT began operating the farm in 1974; he and his wife, Linda,
currently cash-rent it from his mother. BreDah] has rented more land nearby,
usually for hay and pasture, but until recently he felt that it would not be
profitable to expand further, given the prevailing low commodity prices. In
1987, however, he planned to rent 160 acres of land on a crop-share basis
for grain and forage production because he believed that it would add to
his net income.
Like many farmers in Iowa, Clark BreDahT is an agricultural college grad-
uate; Linda BreDah! teaches school full-time and, because of teaching
schedules, is available for limited farming activities during most of the year
and full-time farming in the summer.
GENERAL DATA
In some respects, Clark BreDahT farms as his father did, using crop rota-
tions and strip cropping. He raises about 35 to 40 acres of corn, 35 to 40
acres of soybeans, 20 acres of alfalfa, and 20 to 30 acres of pedigreed oats
for seed (the oats are sold as either registered or certified seed, depending
on the opportunity).
The basic livestock enterprise is two flocks of sheep. One is a flock of 40
registered Rambouillet ewes, and the other is a flock of 130 commercial
ewes of Rambouillet x Finn breeding (Finnish Landrace). These commercial
ewes are bred to Suffolk rams to produce three-breed crosses for the sTaugh-
266
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THE BREDAHL FARM
TABLE 1 Summary of Enterprise Data for the BreDahl Farm
267
Category
Description
Farm size 160 acres, 300-500 ewes and lambs, 30-50 cattle, 10-20 sows
Labor and All management, which is intensive because of the highly
management diversified operation, is provided by the farmer. Farm labor is
practices provided entirely by the family, except at haying, lambing, and
shearing times, when additional laborers are hired. The farmer's
wife works off-farm as a teacher.
Livestock management Cattle and sheep glean fenced corn fields and feed on turnips in
practices fall and winter.
Marketing strategies Oats sold as seed bring double the feed price. Soybeans are sold
on the regular market. Corn and hay are fed to livestock. Beef
and sheep are sold on the regular market.
Weed control practices The farmer uses ridge tillage, controlled burning, and rotary
hoeing (both preemergence and weekly for 4 weeks). Disk
cultivation is also used if weeds become a problem. Spot
spraying with glyphosate or paraquat is used to control thistle or
morning glory.
Insect and nematode The farmer reports no problems with insects or nematodes.
control Animals consume crop residues, and the fields are usually kept
in a 5-year rotation.
Disease control No disease problems were mentioned.
practices
Soil fertility The farm's typical rotation is corn-soybeans-corn-oats-alfalfa (1 or
management 2 years). Turnips are sometimes planted with oats. A small
amount of commercial fertilizer is applied to first-year corn after
alfalfa (sometimes 20-40 pounds N. up to 30 pounds P2O5, and
30 pounds K2O, closely following university recommendations).
In addition, 80-120 pounds N are applied to corn after
soybeans. Manure is applied prior to planting oats.
Irrigation practices None
Crop and livestock Corn yield averages are about 100-120 bushels/acre; soybeans
yields yield 35-40 bushels/acre.
Financial performance Costs are reduced by the use of on-farm resources (feeds, nitrogen
fixation, operator labor) rather than relying on purchased
inputs. The farm's cash flow obviates the need for borrowed
capital. Net returns from the farm are adequate to support the
family during most years.
ter lamb market. Some of the F x R crossbred female lambs are sold for
breeding purposes, and usually 100 to 300 additional feeder lambs are
purchased to finish for slaughter.
As opportunities arise, the BreDahIs may purchase 30 to 50 feeder cattle
annually. The swine enterprise on the farm consists of a herd of 10 to 20
white (usually Yorkshire) sows in a farrow-to-finish system. The BreDahIs
move in and out of swine farming as their economic and resource situations
dictate. (They disposed of a cow herd recently because the farm was unable
to sustain it.)
BreDah] is a careful livestock manager. He protects young sheep and
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ALTERNATIVE AGRICULTURE
swine In the livestock housing facilities and follows the best sanitation
practices to prevent diseases. He also uses veterinarians frequently and win
use any medication recommended for sick animals. However, he does not
routinely use subtherapeutic levels of antibiotics in the animal feed. Protein
supplements, prepared by the local cooperative, are fed along with home-
grown grain. The various rations are determined according to extension
service recommendations.
Climate
The climate of Adam County is typical of southwestern Iowa subhumid
and continental, with cold winters and hot, humid summers. The maxi-
mum mean daily temperature in July and August is 85°F. Average annual
precipitation in nearby GreenfielcL (9 miles northeast) is 33 inches, mostly
in the form of rain; 70 percent of the annual precipitation falls in the months
of April through September (Table 2~. The wettest months are between May
and September, each with about 3 to 5 inches of rainfall. One year out of 5,
the area will experience maximum daily temperatures of over 95°F in May
and June, 99°F in July, and 97°F in August.
TABLE 2 Normal Monthly Temperatures and Precipitation at Greenfield and
Corning, Iowa
Normal Temperature
(OF)
Normal Precipitation
(inches)
Month Greenfield Corning Greenfield Corning
January 19.4 19.3 0.89 0.90
February 25.6 25.2 1.21 0.92
March 35.7 35.1 2.33 2.14
April 50.7 50.0 3.34 3.15
May 61.9 60.9 4.11 4.06
June 70.9 69.8 4.72 4.55
July 75.6 74.8 3.69 4.09
August 73.3 72.6 3.96 4.90
September 65.0 63.9 3.87 4.28
October 54.3 53.1 2.32 2.33
November 38.7 38.3 1.47 1.58
December 26.3 26.2 0.87 0.89
Average annual 49.8 49.1 Average annual total 32.78 33.79
NOTE: The BreDahl Farm is 9 miles from Greenfield and 25 miles from Corning. The normal
monthly temperature is the average of the normal daily maximum and minimum temperatures for
that month from 1941 to 1970. The normal monthly precipitation is the average of the inches of
precipitation for that month from 1941 to 1970.
SOURCE: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 1980. Climates of the States, 2d ed.
Detroit: Gale Research Co., Book Tower.
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THE BREDAHL FARM
269
PHYSICAL AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Soil
Adair County soils were formed under the area's native vegetation, tan
prairie grass. The terrain varies from nearly {ever upland ridges and bottom-
land to moderately sloping uplands. The soils are moderately well-drained
to poorly drained silty clay loams mostly formed on loess deposits. As water
percolates down through the soil's loess mantle, it reaches a relatively
impermeable paTeoso] developed in glacial till. Water tends to move along
this less-permeable material and seeps out along the hillsides leading to
areas that are usually too wet to till unless drainage tile is installed. The
topography of the BreDah! Farm is moderately rolling.
The predominant soil type on the farm is Sharpsburg silty clay loam with
less than 5 percent slope. Sizable acreages of relatively flat Macksburg and
Winterset soil series are present along with Nira silty clay loam on the
steeper slopes (5 to 9 percent). Average expected corn yields under excellent
management on these soils range from 148 to 161 bushels per acre. The
area's corn suitability rating (CSR), which is based on yield and intensity
of production, ranges from 69 to 95—with 100 being the best in the state.
Poorly drained upland Clearfield silty clay loam and CIarinda silty clay loam
have CSR values of 50 and 30, respectively, and are not under row-crop
cultivation. Likewise, the poorly drained alluvial Colo-Ely silty clay loam
complex is not usually row-cropped.
The farm's soils are classified in land capability classes 1 through 8,
depending on the decree of stone and other land-use canabilitv factors.
---rip = -- - - -on 1 ~ ~
_ ~ _ ~ ~ ~ ~ · · ~ ~ ~ · . , · · . . ~ ·.
Fewer than zu acres ot the term are In up.. Department ot Agriculture poll
Conservation Service (SCS) class 4, which has up to 13 percent slope. This
land is used as permanent pasture by the BreDahis; under conventionally
tilled row crops, this class of land would incur erosion probably exceeding
30 tons per acre per year. Even land with only 5 to 9 percent slopes would
sustain excessive erosion if it were in continuous row-crop production.
BreDahT said that when his father bought the farm in 1927, it was run
down and not very productive. This led him to use strip cropping and crop
rotations. Today, much the same type of crop rotational system is being
used. In the most recent soil survey of Adair County, the BreDahT Farm was
found to be one of the few in the county on which the soils were not
classified as moderately to severely eroded.
The farm is not irrigated, but there are four shallow weds for household
and livestock use. A pond was constructed in 1974 with the help of the SCS
and the local Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS)
office. ASCS shared the costs of building the 1-acre pond and buying the
grass seed needed to establish a permanent vegetative cover around the
pond.
Clark BreDah! approves of terracing in instances in which nothing else
will work; but on most of his crop acreage, he feels that he can get the same
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ALTERNATIVE AGRICULTURE
soil conservation benefit at a lower cost by using no-tilIage and ridge-tiliage
systems for row crops along with strip cropping. Another reason for his
preference for these methods is that terracing interferes with some farming
operations and is costly on these soils.
Buildings and Facilities
The BreDahIs have a good set of outbuildings, barns, and feediots. The
barn, built in the 1950s, is 48-by-54 feet with a hayloft. Two open-front pole
sheds (60-by-34 feet and 60-by-36 feet) complete the major general-purpose
buildings. The farm is completely equipped to handle pig, sheep, and cattle
raising. Corn is picked and stored as ear corn. Because the entire farm is
fenced and cross-fenced, after the harvest, cattle and sheep can be turned
into the fields to consume crop residues.
Machinery
BreDah! has been able to keep his equipment costs to a minimum. He
estimates that the current market value of all his equipment would be
approximately $25,000. He has two tractors (a 1967, 65-horsepower model
and a 1966, 45-horsepower model), a 4-row no-tiliage planter, a 4-row disk
cultivator, a grain drill, a rotary hoe, a disk, and a plow. His newest piece
of equipment is a 1980 square baler with hay mower, rake, and hay wagons.
He uses a 2-row corn picker to harvest ear corn. His corn is stored in corn
cribs because both harvesting and drying are less expensive and storage is
simpler using this method. Much of the ear corn is ground on the farm and
fed to livestock both by hand and in self-feeders.
MANAGEMENT FEATURES
Crop Rotation
The BreDahl Farm's crop rotation usually extends over 5 or 6 years,
consisting of a corn-soybeans-corn-oats-alfalfa sequence. Sometimes alfalfa
is kept for 2 years. Turnips are sometimes sown with the oats. By growing
alfalfa for 1 or 2 years for hay, BreDah] said that most of the nitrogen (N)
needed to raise corn (100 pounds N or more per acre) is supplied by the
legumes in his rotation. He may add 20 to 40 pounds N with phosphorus
and potassium fertilizer to sod ground going into corn, depending on the
results of annual soil tests. Generally, 80 to 120 pounds N in the form of
anhydrous ammonia is side-dressed on corn after soybeans.
Soil Fertility
Soil tests are generally in the high to very high range for potassium, and
up to 30 pounds of potassium (K2O) are applied per acre to maintain these
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THE BREDAHL FARM
271
levels. Phosphorus usually tests in the medium range, but is increasing. Up
to 52 pounds of phosphorus (P205) per acre are applied from all sources
(manure and fertilizer). Soil pH is maintained between 6.5 and 6.9. Soil
fertility additions closely follow university recommendations.
Feedlot manure is spread on the soil following soybeans or corn in the
rotation and before the field is planted to oats. In the BreDahls' operation,
it is most convenient to spread the manure at this position in the rotation
because it interferes less with row-cropping activities. Packed manure left
on the soil surface interferes most with the use of a ridge-tillage planter and
the cultivator. Most of the fields in the rotation receive manure once per
rotation, that is, every 4 to 6 years. The manure from 300 to 500 lambs, 30
to 50 cattle, and up to 250 hogs is typically spread over an area of 20 to 30
acres each fall and spring. BreDahl tries to avoid lodging by the careful
selection of oat cultivars following soybeans; he also plans to windrow the
seed oats to alleviate this problem.
The farm's corn yield in 1985 was 140 bushels of corn per acre, the highest
yield ever obtained. Average yields are generally in the 100- to 120-bushel
range, except in 1977, when a drought reduced yields to less than 20
bushels per acre. BreDahI's ASCS corn base yield in 1986 was 107 bushels
per acre, down 3 percent from the previous year. The county average corn
base yield is 96 bushels per acre per year. All of the corn is fed to livestock;
it is shelled for sheep and hogs but ground with the cob for feeder cattle.
The farm has had less success producing soybeans, which average 35 to
40 bushels per acre. In 1986, however, a farm record was set at 45 bushels
per acre. The soybeans are sold on the open market, and the oats are sold
for seed, which brings nearly double the market price. Soybeans and alfalfa
are fertilized minimally. The nitrogen supplied by the soybeans and manure
is adequate to make an excellent crop of oats. Yields over the last 10 years
have ranged from 65 to 100 bushels per acre per year.
Turnips are often planted as a second crop on some of the oat acreage.
After the oats and straw are harvested in July, BreDahl typically disks the
ground, broadcasts 4 to 5 pounds of turnip seed along with 50 pounds dry
N per acre, and then disks the ground again, lightly. (This practice is also
used on government-diverted acres.) BreDahl prefers the standard garden
variety of purple-top globe turnips, although he has tried other varieties.
He has learned that both oats as a sole crop and turnips as a sole crop do
better than if seeded together. Seeding the crops separately also makes the
turnip pasture more timely: it comes to maximum production beginning, in
late September and sometimes lasts into the new year.
Government-diverted acres on the BreDahl Farm typically are on the
ground previously planted in soybeans. Thus, instead of planting oats on
all the soybean ground, some of the land is set aside to qualify for govern-
ment support payments. Set-aside land is typically seeded with a cover crop
of turnips prior to the end of June, and the oat acreage is planted in turnips
as soon as possible after harvest in July.
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TABLE 3 Adair County Estimated Soil Losses Under Various Tillage Methods,
1986
Percentage of
Cropland Prepared Estimated Soil Loss
Tillage Method Corn Soybeans (tonslacre/year)
Conventional (plowing) 41.6 23.0 15-20
Mulch tillage (chisel plowing) 45.7 75.4 12-15
Ridge tillage, strip-cropped 1.5 0.2 4-6
No tillage 11.2 1.4 4-6
SOURCE: R. BreDahl, Adam County extension director, communication, 1986.
v ~ ~
~ - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ _ _
Tillage anti Planting Methods
BreDahI's row-crop planting methods alternate among no tiliage, ridge
tiDage, and some moldboard plowing. Using his 4-row planter with 38-inch
rows, Clark BreDah] plants 32 rows of corn or soybeans in eight passes.
Then he plants the same-sizect strip with alfalfa or oats. His fields are
planted, therefore, in approximately 100-foot-wide strips. His disk cultiva-
tor matches his planter.
Depending on weather conditions, he may plant corn without tiliage into
an alfalfa meadow after kiDing the legumes with (2,4-DichIorophenoxy)
acetic acid (2,4-D) (applied at a rate of ~ to 2 quarts per acre) in the spring
when the plants are 6 to ~ inches tan. A residual herbicide is usually applied
at this time as wed. If this system is used, BreDah! does not cultivate the
ground and returns to the fielc! only to harvest the crop. A side-dressing of
fertilizer may be applied at planting. Alternatively, and preferentially, the
alfalfa is plowed under in the spring, and weed control is by cultivation.
After two cultivations, a ridge is formed that win be used to ridge-plant
soybeans without tilIage the following spring.
According to the Adair County extension director and the district soil
conservationist, less than 13 percent of the corn and 2 percent of the soy-
beans in the county are grown using either no-tiDage or ridge-tiDage sys-
tems, even though these systems result in a significant reduction in soil loss
(Table 3~.
Clark BreDahl maintains organic matter in the soil through crop rotation,
by incorporating the crop residue left by his livestock and by the addition
of manure.
Weed Control
By adjusting his cultivator disks, BreDah! can create a ridge and cover
weeds and crop residue. His ridge-tillage planter then levels the ridge and
plants the seeds in the newly opened soil. In this fashion the corn gets a
head start on the weeds. The rotary hoe is used 3 to 4 days after planting,
before the crop has germinated and before weeds are visible. The same
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THE BREDAHL FARM
rat r -- -
273
Procedure is repeated once or twice, weather permitting. The rotary hoe
does its best work netore tne weeds emerge, destroying them before they
break the surface. If weeds become a problem, two pairs of disk hillers are
set on the cultivator, one behind the other (one pair to throw the soil away
from the plant and the other to move it back). The cultivator shields are
always kept in place because even fairly large corn and soybean plants can
be damaged or covered completely by the soil moved by the disk hitters.
BreDahl is not philosophically opposed to using herbicides, but he uses
them sparingly, mainly on corn that has been no-tilled into alfalfa. His
primary contention is that on an operation the size of his farm, mechanical
weed control is just as effective and considerably cheaper than chemical
weed control. The reduced risk of pollution is considered a side benefit.
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
The BreDahl Farm is less than half the size of the average farm in Adair
County (337 acres), but Clark BreDah] maintains that it is not the size of the
operation that is important, but what is left after cash costs are subtracted.
Careful cost containment is a characteristic of the BreDah! operation. A
local farm management tax consultant, who handles a few hundred farms
in the area, indicated that in one year recently the BreDah} Farm was in the
bottom 25 percent of the area farms in terms of gross sales, but in the top
10 percent in terms of net income.
The successful operation of a farm like the BreDahIs' requires a high
degree of managerial ability, a quality the BreDahis seem to have. Their
management strategy has been to minimize risks and to pay off all debts.
They appear to have accomplished both goals. Recent sales of some of their
beef and sheep herds, as well as feeder pigs, have eliminated their debt.
Currently, they do not borrow for operational costs and do not owe money
for equipment.
Data were not available for a detailed analysis of the farm's financial
performance. The BreDahis report, however, that they have internalized
most of their operational costs by minimizing purchased inputs and by
reducing interest expenses for the farm to zero. They provide all of their
own labor except at lambing and haying time; they hire custom shearing of
the sheep this item represents about two-thirds of their $1,600 annual
labor bill. The variety of livestock raised on the farm provides market ani-
mals and income throughout the year. In addition, because the farm is
cross-fenced, the BreDahIs can make use of poor or damaged crops and
crop residue as feed sources instead of letting the crops rot in the fields.
Clark BreDah] reports that in 1986 the average cash rental for corn land
(row cropland in general) was $66.00 per acre in Adair County. The Bre-
Dahis, on the other hand, pay $50.00 per acre (to Clark BreDah1's mother)
for the whole farm they rent. Given that barely half the farm is planted with
corn and soybeans, however, this appears to be a fair rental charge.
Although he has participated in the government's commodity support
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ALTERNATIVE AGRICULTURE
programs, BreDah] feels that the family farmer would be better off without
them. He concludes that these programs have encouraged farmers to con-
vert to a monocrop culture without livestock and that they have greatly
reduced the number of farm families. He does not think that his own
family's way of farming would be as feasible for a farm 10 times the size of
their farm and spread out in various locations. He does feel, however, that
by eliminating price supports, farmers with a good managerial strategy
eventually could be better off.
The BreDahis' crop rotation system of 1 or 2 years in alfalfa, 2 years in
corn, 1 year in soybeans, and 1 year in oats and possibly turnips has
minimized purchased farm inputs of fertilizer and pesticides while main-
taining high roughage production. Similarly, the alfalfa, whether plowed
under or no-tilled, provides nearly all the nitrogen required by the corn
crop. In addition, cattle and sheep glean the corn fields, thereby reducing
the need for supplemental feeding and minimizing volunteer corn problems
in the subsequent crop of soybeans. The farm's actual costs of production
in 1936 (land and cash) were $1.52, $3.10, and $1.39 per bushel for corn,
soybeans, and oats, respectively.
The double crop of turnips provides an excellent feed source for the
BreDahis' sheep enterprise. Animals can begin grazing the turnips in 60 to
80 days, but they obtain optimum dry matter after 90 days. Both cattle and
sheep have been grazed on the crop, but sheep tend to be more efficient,
wasting less of the forage. The turnips provide a complete ration for sheep
as well as 80 to 85 percent of their water consumption. The turnips are
grazed from mid-September through early winter.
When the turnips reach full growth, three-quarters of the root will be
aboveground. The sheep first eat this part of the root and the vegetative
top and then graze the turnip down and cup out the tap root below the
surface. The holes left in the soil after grazing fill with water, snow, and ice,
which help to hold soil moisture and prevent runoff. The BreDahIs have
run up to 200 ewes for 10 days on an acre of turnips that is, 2,000 ewe-
days per acre. More commonly, they average 1,400 to 1,500 ewe-days per
acre. Clark BreDahT estimates that this method provides maintenance at a
current cost of less than $0.04 per day per ewe.
The BreDahis' system of farming could be used by others but only so long
as such farms (1) diversified their operations enough to raise the livestock
and to take advantage of all crop roughages and (2) maintained a small
enough operation to be managed properly. The system works most effec-
tively when a farm is in one contiguous unit and cross-fenced. Careful
budgeting and management are also essential to success in operations such
as this.
The family's financial goal, although not always achieved, has been to
make a living from the farm and to save Linda BreDahI's teaching salary.
This case study illustrates that, given the required management skills and a
conservative investment strategy, a family can still make a living today on a
160-acre diversified farm in Iowa.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
adair county
