Harvesting with NDFB: Corn harvest and kernels of wisdom

In this episode, Alisha checks in on corn harvest with Toby Olin from Morton County, N.D. 

Toby shares more about his diversified operation and his strategies for soil health and passing the farm to the next generation. 

Join us for this episode.

Transcript

[Straight Talk theme]

[00:12] Emmery: Welcome to Straight Talk with NDFB. I am your host, Emmery Mehlhoff.

[00:16] Alisha: And I am Alisha Nord.

[00:17] Emmery: We are your Farm Bureau duo bringing you your competitive edge. On this episode, Alisha checks in on corn harvest with Toby Olin from Morton County, North Dakota. Toby visits with us about his diversified operation and shares his strategies for soil health and passing the farm onto the next generation. Join us as we harvest across North Dakota.

[Straight Talk stinger]

[00:44] Alisha: Hello. Today we are with Toby Olin and he is harvesting corn today. So Toby, why don't you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your family and your family's operation.

[00:55] Toby: My name is Toby Olin. I farm near between New Salem and Almont in Morton County, North Dakota. I've been a fourth generation farmer and I've taken took over the operation about 20 years ago and I have four children, a wonderful wife and we raise a pretty big diversity here from corn and soybeans to buckwheat and cover crops and wheat and barley and things to feed the cattle, of course. And we run, we have a cow calf operation.

[01:27] Alisha: Is this where you grew up? Did you grow up in Morton County?

[01:30] Toby: Yes. Yep. I'm on, I'm on the same farm as my grandpa Arthur. Yeah, my dad took over from him and to me and I have two boys who are really interested in farming and want to do that. So I hope it works out that way that we can get to do that. A son who just graduated college now and he's running the harvester right now. So. Yeah.

[01:51] Alisha: Yeah. That's awesome. So today we're going to kind of focus on your corn harvest. So when did you guys start harvesting corn? About approximately where are you as far as finishing within harvest?

[02:03] Toby: Sure. We started beginning the last week and we're, we really dried up here. We've been really windy and really dry. Those big wind gusts and stuff. We had. There was a few events but there was one that was like 65-mile-an-hour wind gust and it did break some cobs off and you know, that's disappointing. You know, some fields are different and damage wise, but right where we're at right now, we're about halfway through. You know, the yield was really good till the corn or till the wind came and broke some off. Even last week on Thursday we had a bearing go out on a combine and we started a fire. But we were anticipating so we had a disc hooked up and we

[02:43] Alisha: Good

[02:44] Toby: Fortunately, by the grace of God we got around it and nothing bad happened.

[02:47] Alisha: So since you started farming, have you guys always had corn in your crop? Rotation.

[02:53] Toby: When I grew up, my dad just raised corn for silage. And I haven't always raised corn. It's been maybe 10 years in. And it works so good for the, for the cattle to come in and graze and stuff in the fall. And they keep getting better, better on the seed varieties and the hybrids and stuff that really can handle a drought and things in between. And it's worked out pretty good that we can get a good yield and a good average. And then we have that, of course, that follow up the cattle on the corn stocks and. Yep. So they got feed and. And you know, they're incorporating, you know, the matter to dry or the organic matter back into the ground, so.

[03:31] Alisha: Yeah, there's nothing greater than seeing cows that see a field that they get to go graze on.

[03:36] Toby: Well. And sure, you know, in. When you lose these cobs, you know, this situation too, you know, they eat them right up and they turn that into, you know, weight for the calf.

[03:44] Alisha: So that's awesome. So what would you say as far as just farming corn? What has been probably your biggest challenge with growing corn?

[03:53] Toby: Well, you know, where we're at, it's always weather. You know, we're. It's. We're subject to a drought. You know, we're two weeks away at any point in time. But big ones price. This spring, we started out with really, really high fertilizer prices. And, you know, our exports are down and there's a lot of. With price is a big, big problem. It's not as profitable. And yeah, it really, really narrows up the margin.

[04:19] Alisha: As far as any farming technologies. What do you guys use as far as equipment for harvesting? And then what has changed over the years or what have you seen as the biggest improvements that you guys have made?

[04:34] Toby: Well, of course, your, your gps, your guidance, your, you know, this. The steering mechanisms is. It's incredible. It's. You know, you're saving. You're saving money, you're doing a nice job. And, you know, it helps you map and keep, you know, records, better records of when you sprayed it, when you planted it. You know, if you forget to write it down, you can always go back in. And most guys don't even write it down anymore. They just, It's all, you know, tied to their phone but...

[04:59] Alisha: Computerized?

[05:01] Toby: I mean, yeah, I'm not very tech savvy, but I sure appreciate, you know, what we got. And, you know, I got a son who's.... Yeah, we're recommending upgrades. So.

[05:12] Alisha: It's amazing. The GPS system. I don't think, I don't think my dad would allow me to get into a tractor nowadays without a GPS because you get in there and I just automatically start weaving and it's amazing, I mean how people did it back then. They had, man they could drive straight.

[05:33] Toby: Yeah. Practice. There was. Yeah. Especially you know we're next to the road here and yeah that first row you had to get set straight so, so it looked good but you know we farm with older equipment and but that's okay. We, you know we keep taking, keep them in good shape and you know things like that. We, you know as time goes on you always, we always upgrade to something newer and better as you know something wears out and things like that. So very pretty basic planter. So as far as technology-wise it's nothing as impressive. It's just a matter of just getting it in on time. Getting it in right. And praying for rain.

[06:01] Alisha: Do you use any cover crops?

[06:04] Toby: Yes. For the past three years I have been putting in been planting multi-species cover crops. Get as many varieties of seeds as you can, you know, with a focus of improving soil health. It started out with a few acres. I started off on marginal land and now we're... I'm trying to get it up to about 1/7 of the of my total acres and work it into a, work it into a rotation. It's. It's far from perfect but it's. We're starting that. Kind of an interesting thing is I've for this is my second year but I used, I treated my seed with compost extract. And injected it actually. And we're doing some side by side yield versus conventional fertilizer. And so far I like what I see. I'm especially in the corn here where we're doing, you know it's very comparable without any phosphorus fertilizer. So we're trying to go that regenerative route but there's still a lot to learn and just figure things out.

[07:05] Alisha: Are any of the cover crops you use able to be grazed by your cattle?

[07:09] Toby: Yes. And that's you know the focus is on, is on soil health. I rotational graze and everything too and my cows are pretty durable and they, they eat just about any kind of plant I put in front of them. But yes, it's really important that the cows get out there and they receive some nutrition from it. But yet they incorporate the, you know, the dry matter and everything into the soil.

[07:36] Alisha: I think the more people that start using cover crops realize how great they are. My dad uses them as well. And just like you said, if you have cattle, I mean it's another sour nutrition but also what it does for the soil health as well.

[07:51] Toby: Sure. And it's, you know, for us, it's really important to have both. You know, we need to, if you're, if you're losing the acres on, you know, a cash crop, you need to. And I've increased the herd to. So that you can maybe make something on the backside with a few more calves and along with building up your soil health and things like that. So, you know, it's a work in progress. We're trying to figure, you know, the best things and, you know, the rain is the biggest factor for us.

[08:27] Alisha: So that leads into my next question. Do you guys irrigate any farmland?

[08:31] Toby: We do not have. No. We don't have any aquifers or anything like that. So we're completely reliant on snow and rainfall.

[08:39] Alisha: What role do you think farmers play in advocating for agricultural policies? We're kind of moving to a different area, subject.

[08:46] Toby: Sure. And it's. I think it's really tough because farmers, right now, you have... We're busy all the time, and to get involved in advocating, you know, Farm Bureau is wonderful, wonderful for that. That's a big reason why I'm involved in Farm Bureau is, you know, we have grassroots. You know, we can take ideas and policies, and there's a structured, smart, relevant organization to help us with that and in our local legislature and of course, on a national level. But, yeah, I wish national policy could sit down with a farmer, and I think it would improve things a lot.

[09:27] Alisha: Absolutely. And you said you sit on the Morton County Farm Bureau board, is that right?

[09:31] Toby: Yes. Yeah. I've been a director on there for now about 10 years.

[09:34] Alisha: Wow, that's awesome. Thank you very much.

[09:38] Toby: Well, you know, it's a lot of fun. We do, you know, we have a couple of events, but, you know, our primarily focus is working with kids trying to get into schools. We have an Ag Day in the spring. Kind of show kids what agriculture is about, and that's our biggest event. And we've sponsored meals and stuff, but, you know, every member on the board is really passionate about young people and sharing the good news about agriculture.

[10:09] Alisha: As far as labor and getting help, what do you guys rely on? Do you have hired help? Do you rely on family? How do you go about getting harvest done?

[10:20] Toby: Well, it's been primarily up to me. I do have. I have four children, and ever since they can start driving, they help out on some level or some way. It's really good right now. I have My, I have a daughter who helps tags the calves and her and her brother work well together. So every day they're tagged and they're checked and everything and the pastures are rotated and everything. It's a really big, big help. And then that frees me up to plant and harvest and such. So yeah, I rely a great deal on my kids and I'm trying to incorporate them, you know, where they actually receive a salary and you know, incentives, you know, they get to keep, you know, new cows and stuff. So, you know, there's a year end bonus there when the calves do well. And so, you know, I do well, they do well.

[11:14] Alisha: Right. So when they were younger and maybe couldn't help out quite as much, did you find having help more of an issue or...

[11:22] Toby: I was younger and I just worked. I worked real hard. You know, we, our acres haven't really, haven't really changed, but like I said, I've grown. I went into a rotational grazing and that required a lot more fence. And raising corn is a little more labor intensive than... and soybeans of course. And all that has progressed where I can increase my bottom line, but yet requires more labor to get that out of the land that I have.

[11:51] Alisha: Right. So when you're done harvesting here, where are you trucking your corn to?

[11:57] Toby: Right now we're putting it in the bin.

[11:59] Alisha: So when do you sell corn or how do you go about selling corn throughout the year then?

[12:04] Toby: Well, I'm trying to implement a better marketing plan than, you know, when I have to or when I like the price. So we try to break it up into increments about a third. We just do a contract price with the elevator or the Red Trail and then haul in those bushels at that time. And we try to do it in increments of three.

[12:24] Alisha: Okay, so that kind of leads into my next question. How has the current market and global economy impacted raising corn?

[12:33] Toby: Some guys like sports and I'm into politics and I follow stuff. And it's unfortunate right now, but Russia and China and South America, they formed their own trading like BRICS or something along that lines. It's an acronym, but there's a lot of commodities being traded on that exchange and not through ours. And it's really disheartening as, as a, as an American producer that we're not taking part in that. So China used to buy a lot of stuff from us and you know, now they're, it's down some 90 some percent this year, especially in the corn area. They used to buy a lot of corn and yeah, that direct role with trade falls on the president. And so there's a lot of farmers unhappy with the current administration.

[13:23] Alisha: And we have elections coming up so things can change here quickly hopefully. But where do you see the future of farming going and are there any positive trends that you are hopeful for?

[13:38] Toby: Well, sure, I see, I see. I wasn't even aware of it so much but about a year ago and on the regenerative side of things there is a lot of people going that direction and they sure like the idea of less fertilizer and less chemical and better quality food.

[13:56] Alisha: As far as any long term goals for your farm, do you have any?

[14:00] Toby: I want to grow acres and of course I'd love to get, I have a 21 year old son and I would love to get him going farming and you know whether that it looks like in pasture for more cows or in more crop acres, things like that, that's the basically it's you know from transitioning the farm from one generation to the next is... Right now I'm a middleman here. My purpose right now is to grow it, make it better and get it passed on. I have two sons that want to farm and that's my goal is to get them up and I have a daughter too. She brings home someone. We gotta try to... I want to keep my kids in agriculture as much as I can. If they want to farm, we'll farm.

[14:48] Alisha: So what have you seen as the biggest challenge with this? I mean I know your transition is slow but has there been any major challenges or have things gone pretty smoothly so far or anything unexpected that you were like oh, I didn't see that coming.

[15:04] Toby: Well it is where, where we farm at is we were subject to a drought. You know, 2023 was the most amazing year ever. We, it was so much fun to farm when you have everything turned out good and you had rain and so rain is a real big challenge. But you know it, everything balances out in you know, you look at it at a 10-year and you know you get a few good ones in there and you get a few that you break even and some that aren't quites, and it averages out and you know that takes some of the stress off of, off of farming. You know you just got to look long-term and you know there are some bad ones and there's some good ones but you know just besides the stress of inflation and low prices and you know that's all typical. You know every family, you know, outside of like, you know, I'm at the age now I have an aging father and I have children. I'm trying to launch, you know, that 19 to 21 year old. And yeah, you want them off to start off right. And it's, you know, that's what consumes us right now, you know, is the main, you know, and you want it, you know, farming, you want to get it to the next generation. You're always looking ahead that way and you got to have hope and so, you know, that's, you got to be positive and hopefully, you know, everything you're working on or working for turns out and gets to the next generation.

[16:29] Alisha: Yeah. So what has been your favorite part? I guess two questions. What has been your favorite part about raising corn? And what's been your least favorite part about raising corn?

[16:38] Toby: Corny. Handle a lot of bushels. That's the worst side of it. You know, that side of it. But you can always add grain bins. But the best side of it is it, it's typical across all crops. You know, I enjoy watching things grow and, and being a part of that is, is really wonderful. And, and yeah, like you said, when you get rain and everything works, man, it's, it's just, it just brings everything full circle, makes you feel really good and builds you up to see that you took a, that you had a hand in doing that.

[17:11] Alisha: Yeah. So what, is there any advice that you can give? You know, I know you're trying to start your kids off, so you probably have these thoughts running through your mind constantly, but any future farmers and ranchers that are just getting started out there that might be having a hard time or second guessing.. Any words of encouragement or advice that you would give to them that maybe you were taught or that you wish somebody would have taught you.

[17:40] Toby: Sure. There's, there's always a learning curve with farming. And you know, when you're younger, for me it was, you know, in my low 20s, I thought I knew everything and my dad didn't know much and you know, just be receptive to what your father says, you know, in that case, or if you have a neighbor who's been doing it a while, you know, that's, that's really important. There's a lot of important nuggets in that. But in the same, you want youthful what's coming, what's new, and younger people are in tune to that. So if you gotta put the two together and live a good life, be a good person and the rest works itself out.

[18:26] Alisha: To wrap up today's session that we always ask everybody during the Harvest podcast. Is this year's crop a boom or a bust?

[18:36] Toby: Well, it's. It's right there in the middle.

[18:38] Alisha: Okay.

[18:39] Toby: It's right there in the middle. It was pretty good until the wind got us. So, you know, I would probably say it's closer to the bust because, yeah, the wind broke a lot of the cobs off. 

[18:49] Alisha: So it will be a boom for the cows when they get to go and graze it.

[18:52] Toby: Yes, yes. They will pick up every cob and yep make their calves bigger, so.

[18:57] Alisha: Great. Well, Toby, thank you for taking the time out of harvesting corn. I know you're right in the heat of it, but we really appreciate you as a Farm Bureau member and also telling us about your family's operation in harvesting corn.

[19:10] Toby: Thank you so much. It was an honor to do it.

[Straight Talk stinger]

[19:15] Emmery: You've been listening to Straight Talk with NDFB. If you have any questions or you want to be featured on harvesting with NDFB, email us at emmery@ndfb.org.

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