Happy New Year!

But is it going to be happy? I think that is up to you and I and how we respond to the challenges that come our way.

Farmers are making their plans for the year right now and that situation is challenging for sure. You can do things as in the past or make some changes. I am no different.

I am planning on more non GMO soybeans right now as we are not that far from the river and the premium is very attractive. I would like to stay in rotation though and if corn gets a little higher and fertilizer gets a little cheaper I will switch more acres from the heavy soybean rotation I am planning right now.

Good thing I told my buyers I wanted to plant more non GMO soybeans than I expected to because the contracts are full every place I talk to through March 2010. They even have waiting lists for those who didn't get their acres in on time.

I like to go C-C-S-S-W-DCS(double crop soybeans) then back to corn. I can't cash flow that right now or want to take the risk of locking myself into that situation. I want to stay flexible until planting day and have the inputs lined up to do that. It seems many farmers feel the same way reading the various ag forums.

If you have found http://talk.newagtalk.com you already know me and what I am thinking. I started posting there back when it first came online and was active on the Crop Scouting forum hosted by www.agriculture.com Whether you have seen my posts there or not, welcome to my blog and post away with those comments!

I love sharing ideas with others and learn as much or more than I give. That is what life is all about for me.

I do hope it is a happy new year for us both but know much of it is in our hands. How we respond to the challenges of 2009 is what will make us smile or grimace this time next year. I am still smiling and hope you are too.

73,

Ed Winkle
HyMark Consulting LLC
3308 Martinsville Road
Martinsville, Ohio 45146
937-685-9365