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Kaskaskia Island - Cover Story
Tenacity, tradition, tribulations
by ANDREW B CHURCH

Planting for premiums
Niche markets give producers incentive to grow non-GMO crops
by ALLISON JENKINS

Q&A with MFA
Learn more about your cooperative leaders (Click for flipbook version)
by WAYNE NICHOLS, MFA Chairman of the Board of Directors

FDA takes veterinary feed directive to next level
All forms of animal antibiotics will soon be prescription only
by ALLISON JENKINS

2021 MFA Foundation Scholarships announced
(external link - MFA Foundation)

Producers trust in Health Track
MFA’s own preconditioning program continues to provide value-added opportunities.
by LAUREN QUINLAN

OPINIONS AND EXPERTISE

Invest in P and K instead of Fe this fall
Farm equipment may be hard to come by, but soil fertility is money well spent
by DAVIN HARMS

Stretch your forage resources
Treated corn stover can provide alternative when faced with shortages
by DR. JIM WHITE

Country Corner
Help wanted is a sign of the times
by ALLISON JENKINS

UPFRONT/BLOG -
Soaring through a century
MU seeks input for land rental rate survey
Taking back control

MARKETS - (Click for flipbook version)
Corn: Next crop production reports will clarify supply demand
Soybeans: Prices sensitive to weather in U.S., South America
Cattle: Prices headed higher as inflation returns
Wheat: Production of all wheat down significantly

RECIPES - (Click for flipbook version)
Herb-ivorous

BUY, SELL, TRADE - (Click for flipbook version)
Marketplace

Viewpoint
Shaping the ag workforce
by ERNIE VERSLUES

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Click below to view our flipbook version of the 2021 August September issue of Today's Farmer Magazine here:

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When new FDA guidelines go into effect in two years, only veterinarians such as Dr. Jessica Stroupe of Fayette, Mo., will be able to prescribe animal antibiotics that were previously available over the counter.New guidelines issued in June by the FDA will effectively end over-the-counter antibiotic use in animal agriculture.

The agency’s guidance for industry (GFI) 263 puts more “medically important” animal health drugs under veterinary oversight. It’s a follow-up to 2017 FDA rules that took feed-through and water-soluble forms of these products to prescription status, requiring a veterinary feed directive for purchase and use. The intent was to eliminate the use of antimicrobials for production purposes, such as growth promotion, and only allow veterinarians to prescribe them when necessary for the treatment, control or prevention of specific diseases.

This latest document requests that animal health companies voluntarily start labeling, marketing and distributing the remaining forms of over-the-counter (OTC) antibiotics—injectable, topical and oral products—as prescription-only. Once the change is made, these medications can only be used in animals under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian.

According to the FDA, about 96% of medically important antimicrobials used in animals are now under veterinary oversight. The remaining 4% will be covered by the new guidance for industry. Dr. Tony Martin, MFA Incorporated manager of animal health, said current OTC products that will be affected include penicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin, sulfamethazine, sulfadimethoxine and tylosin, among others.

“This situation is not totally new information,” Martin said. “We knew shortly after the VFD regulation went into effect in 2017 that the remaining OTC versions of these same antibiotics would likely be the next group to be scrutinized and regulated. The new FDA guidance confirms that the change is now underway.”

Implementation of the new regulations will take place over a two-year timeframe. FDA plans to work with affected stakeholders and state partners to answer questions and provide assistance in the transition process.

“Producers need to be preparing to access the affected products either directly from their veterinarian or through use of a written prescription provided by a veterinarian for their acquisition and use when this process is completed in two years,” Martin said. “When it is all said and done, MFA and other retail locations will no longer be able to legally stock and sell the affected products.”
Jake Taylor of Columbia, Mo., is in the process of converting his row-crop farm to certified organic production. Some 160 of his 500 acres are now certified, and around 400 will be certified next year. During that transition, he’s growing non-GMO soybeans in this field, where an innovative implement called a Chopstar helps control weeds through cultivation.
PlantingPremiums

The 12-row cultivator, made in Austria, uses a high-tech camera to pinpoint the soybean rows. The camera signals the machine to adjust the harrows accordingly, targeting only the weeds, not the desired plants. Taylor said the implement has been a“game-changer” when it comes to solving weed-control challenges in organic production.
PlantingPremiums1

Matt Moreland shows his daughter, Kinze, the settings on the controller of this DJI drone, which is equipped to spray a field of non-GMO soybeans on the family farm in Harrisonville, Mo. Moreland also uses the spray drone to control weeds in the pumpkin patch at his agritourism operation, Red Barn Ranch.
PlantingPremiums2

Mike, left, and Matt Moreland farm about 2,700 acres, which include corn, both GMO and non-GMO soybeans, hay and pasture. The family also raises Holstein show cattle and runs a 150-head cow-calf operation. Mike’s brother, Jay, also farms along with the father-son team.
PlantingPremiums3

Mike Moreland scouts a field of non-GMO soybeans for weed pressure. He said staying on top of weed control is one of the biggest challenges in growing a non-GMO crop, as compared to those that are bred with herbicide-tolerant traits.
PlantingPremiums4

Jake Taylor, a first-generation farmer, chose to grow non-GMO and organic crops to make his 500 acres more profitable. “Our acreage is pretty small in the grand scheme of row-cropping,” he said, “but pretty big for organic production.”
PlantingPremiums5
Jake Taylor of Columbia, Mo., is in the process of converting his row-crop farm to certified organic production. Some 160 of his 500 acres are now certified, and around 400 will be certified next year. During that transition, he’s growing non-GMO soybeans in this field, where an innovative implement called a Chopstar helps control weeds through cultivation.

The 12-row cultivator, made in Austria, uses a high-tech camera to pinpoint the soybean rows. The camera signals the machine to adjust the harrows accordingly, targeting only the weeds, not the desired plants. Taylor said the implement has been a“game-changer” when it comes to solving weed-control challenges in organic production.

Matt Moreland shows his daughter, Kinze, the settings on the controller of this DJI drone, which is equipped to spray a field of non-GMO soybeans on the family farm in Harrisonville, Mo. Moreland also uses the spray drone to control weeds in the pumpkin patch at his agritourism operation, Red Barn Ranch.

Mike, left, and Matt Moreland farm about 2,700 acres, which include corn, both GMO and non-GMO soybeans, hay and pasture. The family also raises Holstein show cattle and runs a 150-head cow-calf operation. Mike’s brother, Jay, also farms along with the father-son team.

Mike Moreland scouts a field of non-GMO soybeans for weed pressure. He said staying on top of weed control is one of the biggest challenges in growing a non-GMO crop, as compared to those that are bred with herbicide-tolerant traits.

Jake Taylor, a first-generation farmer, chose to grow non-GMO and organic crops to make his 500 acres more profitable. “Our acreage is pretty small in the grand scheme of row-cropping,” he said, “but pretty big for organic production.”
It’s been 25 years since Roundup Ready soybeans hit the market, an event that dramatically changed agriculture.

Those first commercially available biotech seeds—created through transgenic breeding—revolutionized weed control with tolerance to over-the-top glyphosate applications. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Many more genetically engineered traits have been introduced since then to address issues such as plant diseases and pests, drought tolerance and enhanced nutritional content.

Given the agronomic advantages, biotech seed now accounts for 95% of soybean acres, 93% of all corn acres and 97% percent of upland cotton acres planted in the United States. That means only a small fraction of growers plant “conventional” crops—those that aren’t categorized as genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Missouri producers Mike Moreland and Jake Taylor are among that minority.

Moreland, who farms with his brother, Jay, and oldest son, Matt, in Harrisonville, Mo., grew two varieties of conventional soybeans on about 650 acres this year. Taylor, a first-generation farmer in Columbia, Mo., is converting his 500 acres of row-crop ground into certified organic production. Growing non-GMO crops is part of that process.

“I started farming in 2014 and figured out pretty quick that I had to either get really big to spread my overhead costs over more acres, or I had to figure out a way to make more money on fewer acres,” Taylor said. “That’s when I switched over to non-GMO crops with the idea of eventually going organic. There’s a market for this, and there are companies willing to pay a premium for growing crops a certain way.”

Indeed, there is demand for non-GMO crops in both the feed and food industry, fueled by a complex and controversial consumer-level debate. As such, “non-GMO” labeling is becoming more prevalent on grocery store shelves. Many countries, including a majority of the European Union, ban the production or import of GMO crops. And recent research suggests that the global market for food made with non-genetically modified organisms could increase at an annual growth rate of more than 15% from now through 2026.

In response, manufacturers that want non-GMO ingredients are willing to make it worthwhile for farmers to grow them. Both Taylor and Moreland say the promise of a premium price is the reason they grow non-GMO. Taylor’s organic corn and soybeans are used in poultry and hog feed. He also grows food-grade non-GMO soybeans that will end up in products such as tofu or tempeh, a fermented soy cake often used to replace meat in a vegetarian diet. The Morelands sell their non-GMO soybeans through an identity-preserved contract with a nearby grain company. The beans will eventually be exported to southeast Asia, where soy-based foods make up a large portion of the consumer’s diet and non-GMO products are in demand.

“Even with today’s $14-$15 beans, we’ll still get a premium of up to $1.50 per bushel on top of those prices for growing what these markets want,” Moreland said. “And yields with these non-GMOs have been comparable. We saw 55-plus, even 60, bushels per acre last year.”

However, those premiums don’t come easy. Producing non-GMO crops requires stringent cleaning procedures for combines and equipment, segregated storage, inventive ways of dealing with weed and insect pressures and careful scrutiny by the contracting company.

The Morelands don’t mind the rigorous standards. They have grown seed beans for around 20 years, so the leap to non-GMO wasn’t much of a stretch. They started with about 150 acres of conventional soybeans about four years ago. This year, the Morelands weren’t asked to grow seed, so they devoted those fields to non-GMO, too.

“With seed beans, we were used to the whole system of keeping everything clean and following all the protocols,” Moreland said. “For example, you have to vacuum out the planter between varieties, and make sure every last bean is out of the grain bins. The biggest thing is the combine. It takes four hours just to clean it out. But the extra money we get is worth the extra work.”

The protocols for certified organic production are even more strict, Taylor said, requiring meticulous rules and record-keeping. The fields have to be farmed for 36 months as if they were organic, which means only using USDA-approved practices. Plant nutrition and soil fertility must be managed through tillage and cultivation, crop rotations and cover crops. Animal and crop waste materials and some synthetic products can also be used. Pests, weeds and diseases can only be controlled through physical, mechanical and biological practices.

“It takes a lot of time, and if you’re not a detailed paperwork person, it could be a disaster,” Taylor said. “You have to track every sort of field activity—when you did it, what you did, what you used. Everything’s traceable.”

Taylor said he considers weed control one of the most daunting challenges in both non-GMO and certified organic crops. He uses a specialized cultivator, the Austrian-made Einbock Chopstar, to remove weeds early in the season. As the innovative implement moves through the field, a camera pointed down at the crop continually sends a message to the hydraulics and adjusts the position of its harrows between the rows.

Later in the season, Taylor uses another implement called the Weed Zapper to control weeds that grow above the crop’s canopy. This machine kills weeds by sending electricity down their stems and rupturing the plant cells.

“You’ve got to have the right equipment to do this, and it’s not cheap,” Taylor said. “One thing I don’t like about organic production is the amount of tillage required. That’s bothersome to me, but it’s something we have to do.”

Because the Morelands aren’t growing their non-GMO soybeans organically, they have more freedom in their inputs and practices. They use regular agricultural fertilizers and crop protection products, and all of the farm’s non-GMO ground is no-till. After an effective burndown, the crop only needs to be sprayed once more in season, he said, if conditions cooperate. The family usually relies on West Central AGRIServices to make that application.

“You definitely have fewer weapons when it comes to weed control, so you have to make sure you start clean in order to stay clean,” Moreland said. “We follow a strict rotation of corn and soybeans, and that’s helped. We also have a good residual program that works until we come back in with whatever product we can use in a non- GMO situation.”

Extra weed pressure can also make plant nutrition a challenge in non-GMO crops, said Kaitlin Flick, MFA district agronomist. Those undesirable plants can compete with the crop for soil nutrients, which means scouting becomes crucial to ensure growers keep weeds under control and provide supplemental plant nutrition if necessary. To that end, MFA’s Crop-Trak and Nutri-Track programs can be a tremendous benefit for non-GMO and organic crop production, Flick added. She and other MFA agronomists can work closely with growers to help accomplish their goals.

“A lot of time and energy and money are invested into these special projects, so we want to help growers maximize their profits,” Flick said. “We start by learning about their expectations, where they’re selling the crops and what their yield goals are. Knowing those things, we can check in throughout the season to help keep the crop on target. In niche markets like these, especially, you want to be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to potential problems in the field.”

Careful handling at harvest is also a major consideration, Moreland said.

“They want the beans clean—no weeds, no corn, no mold or mildew—and they want them kept in very good condition,” Moreland said. “We bought a belt conveyor a few years ago, so all the beans go in and out on that belt, instead of an auger, which can damage them. The premium is based on quality. The better the quality, the more money we get.”

During the three-year organic certification period, his crops can’t be sold as organic, Taylor explained. He is growing non-GMO soybeans in the fields that are still in transition. They will bring the $1-to-$2-per-bushel premium offered for non-GMO grain, whereas organic production usually garners twice the regular commodity market price, he said.

“It needs to be about double to justify the extra input costs and the time you put into organic production,” Taylor said.

Ultimately, non-GMO and organic crop production involves the same basic agronomic principles and problems as traditional farming, both Moreland and Taylor point out. They still have to manage fertility, weeds, insects and diseases. They still have to plant and harvest in a timely manner. They still have to worry about the weather, the environment and government regulations. They just have to manage and market their crops a little differently.

“When it comes down to it, we’re really just doing old-school farming with a lot more tools in our tool belt than growers had back then,” Taylor said. “It’s not always easy, but it does pay in the end.”
Mike John, MFA’s director of Health Track operations, has watched the program evolve over the last 20 years into one of the largest and most reputable preconditioning systems in the industry.
HealthTrack

One of Sudbrock’s farm employees, Dyke Dick, unloads the last group of weaned calves after they received a second round of vaccinations and Health Track tags.
HealthTrack1

MFA Livestock Key Account Manager Wendy Flatt Beard, right, helps cattleman David Sudbrock prepare tags while working cattle on his farm outside Centralia, Mo. MFA employees such as Beard take a hands-on approach in assisting cow/calf producers with all stages of the Health Track program.
HealthTrack3

Ag Experience intern Chloe Momphard records information on Sudbrock’s calves as they run through the chute. The data—including the calf’s tag number, sex, color and more—will be uploaded and stored in MFA’s Health Track database.
HealthTrack4

Calves enrolled in Health Track receive radiofrequency identification (RFID) ear tags. The RFID technology captures records specific to each animal and can be updated as the tag passes through various stages of production.
HealthTrack5

Just before he retired in June, Tony Koger, right, MFA livestock specialist, tagged his last Health Track calf on the farm of MFA board member Gerald Eggerman, center. Mike John was also on hand for the occasion. “Gerald managed one of my (MFA) stores, and I was a salesman for him,” Koger said. “I’d help just about every time he worked cattle. We worked together for almost 30 years, since I first started with MFA.”
HealthTrack6
Mike John, MFA’s director of Health Track operations, has watched the program evolve over the last 20 years into one of the largest and most reputable preconditioning systems in the industry.

One of Sudbrock’s farm employees, Dyke Dick, unloads the last group of weaned calves after they received a second round of vaccinations and Health Track tags.

MFA Livestock Key Account Manager Wendy Flatt Beard, right, helps cattleman David Sudbrock prepare tags while working cattle on his farm outside Centralia, Mo. MFA employees such as Beard take a hands-on approach in assisting cow/calf producers with all stages of the Health Track program.

Ag Experience intern Chloe Momphard records information on Sudbrock’s calves as they run through the chute. The data—including the calf’s tag number, sex, color and more—will be uploaded and stored in MFA’s Health Track database.

Calves enrolled in Health Track receive radiofrequency identification (RFID) ear tags. The RFID technology captures records specific to each animal and can be updated as the tag passes through various stages of production.

Just before he retired in June, Tony Koger, right, MFA livestock specialist, tagged his last Health Track calf on the farm of MFA board member Gerald Eggerman, center. Mike John was also on hand for the occasion. “Gerald managed one of my (MFA) stores, and I was a salesman for him,” Koger said. “I’d help just about every time he worked cattle. We worked together for almost 30 years, since I first started with MFA.”
The ability to capture critical data on each animal in a beef operation is more important than ever as livestock traceability increasingly becomes a focus of producers and consumers in every corner of the globe.

Radiofrequency identification (RFID) ear tags, such as those used by MFA’s Health Track program, assures that the data is accurate. Each tag is guaranteed to have a unique number and is permanent and non-removable. Information such as weaning weights, vaccination dates and more can be tied to that RFID number in a digital database for quick, accessible reference.

“When your cattle receive Health Track ear tags, you are qualified for every single program that wants to trace product all the way back to the original people who produced that animal,” said Mike John, MFA’s director of Health Track operations. “I think that’s a huge benefit not only from a production standpoint, but also for future market access.”

This technology is just one example of the benefits Health Track has been bringing producers since its beginning 21 years ago. It’s one of the oldest, largest and most unique preconditioning programs in the nation with nearly 800,000 head of cattle tagged—and counting. Health Track participants give enrolled calves two rounds of vaccinations, provide MFA-recommended feed and follow a 45-day weaning period.

In addition to helping ensure animal health before and after weaning, Health Track can help producers earn a premium price at the sale barn.

One such producer is David Sudbrock, who raises Hereford and red Angus cattle near Centralia, Mo. Prior to using Health Track, Sudbrock would take his feeder calves straight to the sale barn after weaning. He also tried weaning for 30 days, but the calves usually ended up getting sick before they were ready to be sold.

Since making the switch to Health Track in 2001, Sudbrock says he has seen a significant difference in the overall health and quality of his calves. Nearly 20 years later, the program has become a tried-and-true method on his farm.

“You keep better track of your cattle. You get your weights and proper vaccinations, then you wean them longer,” Sudbrock said. “I also believe they sell better. It’s worked out well for us.”

He says a contributing factor in the decision to stay involved in the program has been his positive experiences with MFA, particularly with Key Account Manager (KAM) Wendy Flatt Beard. She and other MFA livestock KAMs work closely with producers throughout all stages of the program. This includes tagging calves, setting up the vaccination protocols, collecting and inputting data and following up after the calves are sold.

“We not only interact with the producers, but we become part of their operation and they trust us with the information we’re giving them,” Beard said. “If we don’t have that trust built up—proving that we know what we’re talking about—then they’re not going to utilize our services. That’s just what it comes down to.”

In the future, the information captured and stored by Health Track could also influence consumers’ relationship with agriculture by promoting greater trust, traceability and transparency in the beef industry, John said.

It’s not necessarily a matter of if, but when, this will become a reality, he adds. “It’s not going to be anonymous anymore,” John said. “People are going to know where their food came from.”

Putting people first

It’s no surprise that Tony Koger, recently retired MFA livestock specialist, has been called a Health Track legend. Out of the 800,000 calves enrolled in the program, Koger has tagged 104,697 of them, approximately 13% of the total.

Koger retired in June 2021, after almost 29 years with the company. His contributions to the Health Track program and its participants exemplify the program’s focus on customer partnering.

“Building relationships with the producers and people I work with has been one of the most rewarding parts,” Koger said. “As far as the value of these relationships, I’m not sure you can put a number on it.”

During his career, Koger said he truly became part of his producers’ operations. He’s not the only one. Health Track is founded on the partnerships formed between customers and employees, said Mike John, MFA’s director of Health Track operations. He believes this relationship-driven mindset is the main reason for the program’s continued success.

“When we step on somebody’s farm who’s in Health Track, we know that they’re committed to doing something better, and that’s been incredibly valuable for both parties—both for MFA and for our customer base,” John said. “When you start developing that relationship, it gets to be about not only customer service but also results.”
The summer sun rises over KaskaskiaIsland. The Mississippi and Kaskaskia rivers geographically separate the island from the rest of Missouri and Illinois.
Kaskaskia Island

A gentle early-morning breeze ripples through a corn field near the Kaskaskia Immaculate Conception Church.
Kaskaskia Island1

Dan Lankford, left, and his son, Alex, take a break from harvesting soybeans on their farm in November 2020. They farm more than 1,200 acres of row crops on Kaskaskia Island.
Kaskaskia Island2

The rich soil of Kaskaskia is well suited to growing bumper crops of corn and soybeans, even though its proximity to the rivers makes flooding an ever-threatening risk.
Kaskaskia Island3

Kaskaskia historian Emily Lyons looks through the window of the Bell State Memorial toward the church rectory, where historically the village priest would live. While the village church still has a Catholic priest, he lives elsewhere. The church rectory is now vacant and open to tours.
Kaskaskia Island4

The Liberty Bell of the West hangs at the Kaskaskia Bell State Memorial between the historic flags of Great Britain and the United States. Kaskaskia Natives and French settlers received the bell in 1741 as a gift from King Louis XV of France. Kaskaskia would later be captured by the British during the French and Indian War. The bell changed hands again after American Revolutionary War soldier George Rogers Clark captured Kaskaskia from the British in 1778. Clark rung the bell in celebration and gave the artifact its name.
Kaskaskia Island5

Stars shine in a partly cloudy night sky behind the Kaskaskia Immaculate Conception Church. The church dates back to the 1800sand houses historical religious artifacts. Regular services are held for a faithful congregation of Catholic worshipers every Sunday.
Kaskaskia Island6

This aerial view captures what remains of the village of Kaskaskia today. Fertile farmland surrounds the handful of residential homes and historic buildings
Kaskaskia Island7
The summer sun rises over KaskaskiaIsland. The Mississippi and Kaskaskia rivers geographically separate the island from the rest of Missouri and Illinois.

A gentle early-morning breeze ripples through a corn field near the Kaskaskia Immaculate Conception Church.

Dan Lankford, left, and his son, Alex, take a break from harvesting soybeans on their farm in November 2020. They farm more than 1,200 acres of row crops on Kaskaskia Island.

The rich soil of Kaskaskia is well suited to growing bumper crops of corn and soybeans, even though its proximity to the rivers makes flooding an ever-threatening risk.

Kaskaskia historian Emily Lyons looks through the window of the Bell State Memorial toward the church rectory, where historically the village priest would live. While the village church still has a Catholic priest, he lives elsewhere. The church rectory is now vacant and open to tours.

The Liberty Bell of the West hangs at the Kaskaskia Bell State Memorial between the historic flags of Great Britain and the United States. Kaskaskia Natives and French settlers received the bell in 1741 as a gift from King Louis XV of France. Kaskaskia would later be captured by the British during the French and Indian War. The bell changed hands again after American Revolutionary War soldier George Rogers Clark captured Kaskaskia from the British in 1778. Clark rung the bell in celebration and gave the artifact its name.

Stars shine in a partly cloudy night sky behind the Kaskaskia Immaculate Conception Church. The church dates back to the 1800sand houses historical religious artifacts. Regular services are held for a faithful congregation of Catholic worshipers every Sunday.

This aerial view captures what remains of the village of Kaskaskia today. Fertile farmland surrounds the handful of residential homes and historic buildings
The sound of a thousand mosquitoes buzzed in their ears as they pushed their way through the thick woods and underbrush of southern Illinois along the Mississippi River. Sweat stung their eyes as they peered toward the Kaskaskia Native American village on the other side, just visible through a gap in the thick foliage of elms and oaks impeding their movement toward the east bank of the river. Wriggling tails of campfire smoke rose slowly toward the moody sky, which promised the imminent return of rain.

It had been raining sporadically but torrentially for nearly a week as Jesuit Father Jacques Marquette, a Catholic missionary, and French-Canadian explorer Louis Jolliet hewed their way from their overnight campsite toward the river bank, back to their worthy boat and across the Mississippi toward the village.

They were hungry. They were tired. And everything they had was wet.

The year was 1675, and only two years had slid by before Father Marquette and Jolliet made their missionary return to this area. The Kaskaskia natives and French traders eagerly awaited their arrival.

The boat carrying the weary two gently ran aground on the bank of the Mississippi, lurching the passengers slightly forward. Jolliet jumped out and into the sticky clay, water up to his knees, to help pilot the boat further inland. Marquette couldn’t help a slight grin as he watched the natives’ excitement. Presently, Jolliet pulled the boat far enough ashore to secure it, and both disembarked onto solid ground. The missionary and his companion explorer were greeted warmly and provided shelter and warmth.

* * *

Later, Marquette would proclaim the nascent church in the village as the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady. Although he died on his way back to Quebec, in 1703 other French Jesuits transferred their Illinois Native American mission from the Illinois River near Starved Rock to Kaskaskia in present-day Randolph County, Ill.

“When the French first came (to Kaskaskia Island), they had to start from scratch with whatever they had,” said Emily Lyons, Kaskaskia historian and former Island of Kaskaskia primary school teacher. “They built it up until it was the most prosperous town in the whole area for many years.”

Kaskaskia had by then become a relatively well-known trade and agricultural stop along the Mississippi River. The relationship between Kaskaskia natives and French traders was peaceful and neighborly, punctuated by fair dealing and brotherly love.

Because the river’s path has changed over time, Kaskaskia Island is the only inhabited piece of Illinois land west of the Mississippi. Hundreds of years ago, the Mississippi and Kaskaskia rivers were slower moving and created a peninsula at Kaskaskia. In 1881, a harsh winter froze the Mississippi, creating an ice dam that dredged through that peninsula. Today, those rivers have changed so much that Kaskaskia is now considered an island, separating it geographically from the rest of Illinois and Missouri.

Islanders grew so prosperous after Western settlement that Kaskaskia was the home of Illinois’ first territorial capitol in 1809 and first state capitol in 1818, after Illinois became the 21st state. Despite Kaskaskia’s historical prosperity, the island has seen multiple, devastating flooding events, often resulting in major reconstruction, restoration and rebuilding efforts. The first village, closer to north end of the island, is partially buried under river sediment or washed away. The only hint of the old town’s original 325 acres is whispered by clusters of standing trees, marking probable structural foundations of houses or businesses. Most recently the great flood of 1993, which submerged parts of the new town in water, reduced the population on the island to a mere fraction of what it once was.

Dan Lankford is one of the last full-time residents on the island. He and his son, Alex, tend more than 1,200 acres of farmland in Kaskaskia—mostly corn and soybean. Lankford also served 12 years as levee commissioner.

“I had 13 feet of water in my house in ’93,” Lankford said. “But it was still standing. We just had to put in some insulation, sheetrock and fix it back up. So that’s what we did.”

Other farmers who did not have as much resolve or resiliency were forced to the surrounding areas. But islanders had seen a perhaps even more devastating flood in 1973, during which the school, homes, businesses and other structures were mostly or entirely destroyed.

“In ’73 there were over 300 (residents of Kaskaskia),” Lankford said. That particular flood destroyed large portions of the new town.

At the same time, as farms and farming equipment expanded in size, the number of farmers needed to do the work shrunk, Lyons said. Many residents found work elsewhere, and an 8-to-5 job displaced full-time farming as a way of life.

The cost to rebuild is still another obstacle to remaining on Kaskaskia Island. Flood insurance is often economically prohibitive, said Lyons. Insurance and FEMA payouts are often not enough to entirely compensate for a total or even partial loss of farm equipment and inputs or rebuilding essential farming structures. And even though some Kaskaskia farmers continue to toil and till, their children may have explored other educational and career opportunities.

Today, Lankford said he is one of the last full-time farmers and only one of about 50 residents who still live on the island. Records show just 11 island farmers continue to grow the Missouri and Illinois favorites there: corn, wheat and soybean. These farmers also rent acreage from several landowners.

So, if flooding continues to decimate crops and property on Kaskaskia Island, why do people persist in farming the land?

“You’re never going to find better dirt anywhere,” said Mary Sulser, full-time island resident and Village treasurer. That dirt is classified as “gumbo,” a heavy, sticky, clay soil that is rich in free-ion potassium, calcium, magnesium and sodium—nutrients essential to healthy crop growth. Kaskaskia’s relatively high water table, in concert with its abundantly fertile soil, helps feed and water hungry crops. Farming on the island can mean big yields and big profits for farmers.

That is, when the Mississippi River doesn’t interrupt agricultural efforts on the island.

To that end, a 21-mile-long levee was built around a majority of the farmland on Kaskaskia by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1916, Lyons said. After the 1973 flood, the levee was reinforced to its present height. Additionally, the section of the Mississippi that curves around the island was dredged and channeled to help mitigate heavy floods, Lyons said. However, that increased river water velocity. So now if it floods, faster, more furious river water pours over the levees of Kaskaskia.

“We came very close to a (levee) breach in 2019,” Sulser said. That year Missouri and Illinois saw record flooding, resulting in devastating losses for many river towns. In Kaskaskia, volunteer sandbaggers and workers helped keep the levee together and the swelling Mississippi River out.

“We don’t always get along, but when push comes to shove, Kaskaskians come together,” Sulser said.

In fact, almost all public service on the island is comprised of volunteers. “We all volunteer in some way,” Sulser said, whether that be maintaining the levee or organizing several village-wide celebration and tourism opportunities. The Independence Day and Labor Day gatherings are boons for the village’s economy. Lyons manages tours of historic properties, such as the Kaskaskia Immaculate Conception Church and nearby Liberty Bell of the West Shrine. And although maintaining accurate historical records, archiving data and the conservation of physical artifacts of the past is a full-time occupation, she doesn’t get paid a gumbo cent to do it.

“It’s a 24/7 job,” Lyons said. “These old places take a lot of maintenance, and there’s always the fundraising to keep that maintenance (going). You answer phones and emails at all hours, and you have to adapt to whatever is going on right now.”

Conservation of the few standing historic sites on the island requires a lot of work and money, especially after major flooding, either from non-draining rain or levee breach, Lyons said. The 1993 flood forced the Kaskaskia church to temporarily relocate its icons. In the flood’s aftermath, the parish made major renovations to the church’s woodwork, altar and interior accouterments involved in Catholic worship and service.

After the 2019 flooding, the historic church rectory partially sank into the ground, said MFA Precision Agriculture Specialist Rob Rickenburg, who grew up in the area. Rickenburg is now assigned to the MFA agricultural district that services Kaskaskia Island.

“I actually watched contractors drill into the bedrock of the island to install lifts under the rectory’s foundation,” he said. “I couldn’t believe what they were able to do. It took a while, but they got it back right.” Retired MFA employee Tom Sutterer volunteered two weekends to reinforce the rectory by filling its basement with concrete, Rickenburg said.

Today, the Kaskaskia Immaculate Conception Church still holds regular services. Inside, various relics and religious artifacts dating back to the early 18th century continue to adorn the bright white walls and complement the intricate stained glass windows. An elaborately hand-crafted baptismal font nestles in the corner of the chancel, near the sanctuary. The ornately hand-carved altar also was restored by professional woodworkers who specialize in historical carpentry. And the original pipe organ with its glinting, polished brass still yawns its hollow tubes toward the vaulted ceiling.

“I just like to make sure that the history of our ancestors and the history and contributions that Kaskaskia has given to the whole state of Illinois are still out there,” Lyons said. “I feel it’s part of my experience or my representation to make sure that the story is told truthfully. There are so many wild stories. There’s some people who are good storytellers but never let the facts keep them down.”

On the other hand, there are some residents of Kaskaskia who never let a good flood keep them down. Mary Sulser and her husband, Mike, the village president, refuse to relocate off the island. They completely rebuilt their home using their original floor plan after the 1993 flooding—but this time on 18-foot-tall stilts. It’s the only house in Kaskaskia built that high off the ground.

“It’s a sense of freedom,” Sulser said. “You don’t have to worry about raising your kids. It’s not like the bigger towns and cities.”

Kaskaskia children attend school in the nearby town, Chester, Ill., and violent crime rates and other criminal predation is relatively low, according to several state data-reporting sites. Children and grandchildren may play outside, explore the island, ride bikes and generally have the idyllic rural childhood.

It’s not just the relatively low crime rate, or the fertile soil or the rich history that draw people to the island. Maybe it’s also a handshake and a trustworthy smile. Or maybe that it’s a geographical ornament, suspended between two rivers full of fish, where the Milky Way can still be seen at night. Whatever “it” may be, there seems to be something about Kaskaskia that draws people to it through space and time, whether it’s to celebrate special times of year or to stand on the ground where others survived flood, fire and famine.

Kaskaskia’s gravitational pull that beckoned Father Marquette and Louis Jolliet centuries ago and built a classic American town endures just as strong today.

This is Andrew B. Church's first article with Today's Farmer magazine. We are looking forward to his contributions to the magazine.

SEE THE ARTICLE AS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED VIA FLIPBOOK HERE: http://mfa.uberflip.com/i/1396654-augsep2021todaysfarmermagazine/21?
Two breeds. One goal. That’s the motto of Groves-View Dairy in Billings, Mo., where elite Holstein and brown Swiss cattle mingle and milk together in a highly productive combination.

The motto could be, “Two brothers. One goal.” As the fourth generation to run the family’s 118-year-old farm, Todd Groves and his younger sibling, Brad, are taking the dairy to new heights in milk production, forage quality and award-winning genetics.

“Todd and Brad are excellent forage raisers, they have top-notch registered Holsteins and brown Swiss, and they sell bulls locally and all over the country,” said Chuck Hubbert, MFA livestock key account manager in southwest Missouri. “They have quality show cattle, and they also have cows that really milk. I would put them in the top of the state.”

Make that top of the entire industry. Groves-View Dairy is currently tied for No. 1 in breed age average (BAA) with a score of 109.2 among dairies with more than 150 cows, as ranked by Holstein Association USA, the largest dairy breed organization in the world. The BAA provides a way to compare the score of an animal—and the herd average—to other registered Holsteins in the industry, while taking into account age and stage of lactation. The BAA of the average Holstein herd is 100.

It’s only one achievement in a long history of success for the venerable dairy, which was established in 1913 by German immigrants Walter and Lula Luezinger. The farm subsequently passed into the hands of their only child, Emma, and her husband, Jack Groves. Their sons, Lonnie and Darrel, were the third generation to operate the dairy.

Todd and Brad, Lonnie’s sons, took over most of the farming responsibilities in 2008 after their father was seriously hurt by a bull. While the injuries have limited his physical abilities, the elder Groves, now 78, is still involved in farm planning and record-keeping.

“Dad was in the hospital and in rehab for four and a half months,” Todd said. “He didn’t walk probably for a year and a half. In fact, they said he would never walk again, but he proved them wrong.”

At the time, Brad was farming with his dad, but Todd worked in the oil refinery business, which kept him on the road more than half of the year. After the accident, Todd came home to farm full time.

“I worked off the farm for about 20 years,” Todd said. “Well, the whole time, I was here helping when I could, but full time it’s been 13 years ago this June. It was a good job; I was just never home. And when I was, I was either putting up hay or planting corn, and gone again. There were a lot of years I was gone 280 days a year. I learned a lot. Met some incredible people. But I was needed here more.”

Todd’s wife, Sheila, can be credited with adding brown Swiss cattle to the farm’s Holstein heritage. The herd is now a mix of about three-fourths Holstein and one-fourth brown Swiss.

“The Swissies came with my marriage in 1991,” Todd said. “Sheila’s family had Holstein and Swiss, but they milked on two different farms. She brought some Swiss with her, and they just kind of got out of control. Seriously, they’ve been good to us. They bring extra fat and protein to the milk, and they compete really well with the Holsteins.”

HISTORY AND PROGRESS

The Groves-View Dairy of today is a merger of tradition and evolution. Family history can be felt throughout the 700-acre farm—from the vintage blue Harvestore silo to the 1960s-era milking parlor where Todd, Brad and two full-time employees milk 175-180 cattle twice daily.

Progressive changes in the farm’s more recent history include the adoption of no-till practices, electronic production measurement technology and embryo transfers to improve herd genetics. About a decade ago, the brothers also enlisted the expertise of a herd nutritionist and switched their milk cows to a total mixed ration (TMR) feeding program.

Perhaps one of the most influential advancements, however, is an intensified focus on high-quality, high-yielding forages. Todd and Brad raise 150 acres of pure alfalfa, along with wheat and rye, all of which is harvested and stored as baleage. They cut and bale the forage with 55% to 60% moisture, and then wrap it in plastic to create an airtight environment for ensiling.

The system takes a quick turnaround, Brad said. They try to cut one day, bale the next and wrap immediately. None of the baleage is tedded, if they can help it, he added. Eliminating this step not only saves one more pass through the field but also limits mechanical damage to the forage.

Compared to dry hay, the decreased curing time from cutting to baling makes weather less of a factor, helps reduce harvest losses and preserves as much nutrition as possible. It also takes careful, timely management—and dedication.

“It doesn’t matter how many hours we have to work in the night or day, if it’s time and the weather’s right, we put our forage up,” Todd said. “I’ll admit, sometimes we do get carried away cutting and get too much down. A couple weeks ago, I started on the alfalfa at 3:30 a.m., and I walked in the house at 20 after 3:00 the next morning.”

“And we’ve done that twice in the last month, once putting up our rye, and the second time putting up our first alfalfa cutting,” Brad added.

During the growing season, the Groves family harvests the alfalfa on 28- to 30-day intervals and usually gets five to six cuttings per year. Todd said they consistently achieve more than 6 tons of dry matter per acre, which removes a relatively high amount of soil nutrients. Ensuring adequate soil fertility for the legume is another key to their successful forage production.

“You’ve got to feed that crop—and it takes lots of potash and sulfur,” Todd said. “We don’t put any nitrate on at all, and we don’t have to apply any phosphate. Usually, it gets 220 to 240 units of potash per year in split applications, once after second cutting and last cutting. And I put 30 pounds of sulfur on the first application.”

“Our phosphate is done with cow manure,” he added. “Neighbors tell us that’s cheating, and I tell them we’ve got to have some added benefit for milking cows. All the manure is put on during the corn years.”

Todd explained that once an alfalfa stand has “played out,”

usually every four to five years, the field is rotated to corn, which is no-tilled into the forage stubble. The Groveses then raise corn, mostly for silage, back-to-back for three years, before re-seeding those fields into alfalfa again.

“In that first year you put corn into an alfalfa stand, the yield is mind-boggling,” Todd said. “It will outperform everything on the place.”

BALEAGE TO BRAG ABOUT

The agronomic attention pays off in feedstuffs with outstanding nutritive quality, which, in turn, translates to impressive milk production. The farm’s forage tests regularly break the 200 mark in relative feed value—an RFV over 185 is considered to be the highest ranking of “supreme.” And the dairy’s average milk output is 86 to 87 pounds per cow, per day—more than 10 gallons—well above the average of 75 pounds the Holstein Association reports.

“I like seeing how far we can go, what levels we can reach,” Todd said. “But it all comes at a cost. You’ve got to decide if it’s worth it or not.”

The value of those efforts was affirmed last summer when Groves-View topped the alfalfa haylage category of the hay show at the 2020 Ozark Empire Fair in Springfield, Mo. The winning entry scored a relative forage quality of 276—one of the highest RFQs ever recorded at the competition. The farm was also awarded reserve champion for another entry with an RFQ of 264. Both entries were the same alfalfa variety, WL 375HVX, which features Roundup Ready technology and the HarvXtra low-lignin trait.

It was the first time the brothers had entered the hay contest, but they said it won’t be the last.

“When we got our forage test results back last spring, Chuck Hubbert saw them and said, ‘Why don’t you enter a hay contest?’” Todd said. “I said, ‘Because we never have.’ So, he sent somebody up here from Extension to pull samples for the show. Those tests came back better than what we sent in. I knew it was good, but I didn’t realize it was that good. We’ll definitely enter again. Brad has pulled samples from this year’s baleage, and it’s pretty impressive, too.”

When it comes to managing their cattle, the Groveses are just as meticulous as they are with their forages. Lactating cows are provided a TMR in the feed alley prior to milking. The ration formulation fluctuates depending on the nutrition levels of the corn silage and baleage. Weaned calves are fed MFA Stand Out Dairy Calf Starter, then transition to MFA Trendsetter developer ration at 5 to 6 months of age.

“It all begins when the cow is pregnant, making sure she has plenty of feed and a clean, dry bed,” Todd said. “When calves are born, they get colostrum within an hour, and then they get all their vaccines. We wean the hutch calves at roughly 3 months old, and then they transition over to feed.”

SUCCESS IN THE SHOW RING

Such attention to cow care and quality genetics has helped Groves-View Dairy build a reputation for top-performing Holstein and brown Swiss cattle, highly regarded for both milk production and on the show circuit. Through the years, the family has received numerous awards in the industry and at livestock shows all over the nation. In 2020, one of the dairy’s home-bred cows was named “All-American” by the Brown Swiss Association in a program that recognizes outstanding animals exhibited at state and national shows during the year.

The Groves family is also known for selling embryos and bulls from the farm’s deeply pedigreed lines. But as dairy numbers continue to dwindle, so does that business.

“It used to be 80 bulls a year. In 2015, we sold 128. Now we’re under 40,” Brad said. “But you look at how many dairies are gone, and it’s no wonder. In 2000, there were 128 dairies in Christian County, and there’s only seven of us left.”

For Groves-View, there’s a fifth-generation poised to continue the farm’s legacy if they desire. Brad and his wife, Gail, have a son, Taylor, 22, a mechanic by trade, and a daughter, Kiera, 20, who runs her own laser-engraving business. Both work on the dairy part-time.

Todd and Sheila have three children, Bailey, 19, an animal science major at Missouri State University; Grant, 20, who just graduated from Kaskaskia College in Centralia, Ill., with an animal science degree; and Brittany Whitehill, 27, who works for the Farm Service Agency. The three siblings are active in the show circuit and help out on the dairy when needed.

“This year, they’ve got big plans for attending the World Dairy Expo in Madison (Wisconsin) and the Southwestern National Brown Swiss show in Stillwater (Oklahoma),” Todd said. “And they’ll hit all the state shows, too.”

Whether any of the children will return to the farm full time is yet to be seen. “Who knows?” is the only answer Todd can give. What he and his brother do know is that, despite the industry’s challenges, the Groves family plans to stick with dairying as long as they can make it work.

“I wish there were more money in it, but now’s not the time to bail, even if we wanted to,” Brad said. “It’s not easy, but we really love what we do.”

Visit grovesviewdairy.com or follow on Facebook to learn more about the farm. For more information on MFA feed and alfalfa varieties, talk with the experts at your local MFA affiliate or visit online at http://storelocator.mfa-inc.com/.

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