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Producer is link in many chainsBy Larry Dreiling
The way Mike Brown sees it, he's a part of many chains. As a producer, he's the first link in the food chain. As the primary operator on a farm dating back to his wife's grandparents, Brown sees his work in conservation as just another link in a chain of caring for the land. Brown, a wheat, corn and sorghum producer, operates southwest of Colby, Kansas. He said his wife's grandfather was the first to use summer fallow. The farm currently uses no-till to a great extent and has land entered into several conservation programs. Brown's operation covers about 5,000 acres that are divided in thirds between wheat, a fall crop of half corn and half sorghum along with fallow. "We're all dryland," Brown said. "It used to be wheat-fallow. Now we're trying to extend that out to three crops out of every four years and even eliminating fallow altogether. It's now mainly wheat-row crop-fallow. "That row crop will either be dryland corn or milo, depending on the weed pressure we have to deal with at the time. There are things we can do with corn we can't do with milo, such as take care of grassy sandburs." Matched yields Until a few years ago, Brown said, his corn and sorghum yields were within a bushel of each other. "The seed corn costs were a little higher, but the value of the corn exceeded that of the milo so it all evened out. Now milo is a little more consistent, especially in the really dry years," he said. "I haven't always raised a corn crop even when I planted it. With the milo I usually got something out of it. It may not have been very good, but at least it was something good. "The real determinant for a crop the last few years has been the drought. It's had a devastating effect on the whole area. In the 90s we were raising 80 to 140-bushel corn. It's been years since we've had those kinds of yields. Last year, we didn't have any corn crop at all." It's because of situations beyond his control that Brown said he is always looking for new and better ways to be a profitable producer. He said he's carrying on traditions of thinking ahead from his father-in-law, Lester Barrett, who gave him his first job in farming while in high school "My father-in-law's father was one of the first around here to summer fallow. My father-in-law went from plows and one-ways to sweeps and discs. I'm doing more no-till," Brown said. "There may be controversy about no-till but I'm seeing earthworms in the fields, so I must be doing something right. "Some years, conventional crops do better than no-till ones. I haven't found the perfect way yet, but we're working on it." From fallow to CSP Most of the operation, in the south fork of the Solomon River Watershed, was entered into CSP in 2005. Whether that is good or bad, Brown said, will be seen in the years ahead. "I'm disappointed that this program as it is isn't available to all producers the way it's set up now," Brown said. "I don't think that's right." With encouragement from his sister-in-law, Brown worked to put grass on some terraces. The effort was considered worth it as the operation won a Kansas Bankers Association soil conservation award in 2005. "I admit it's difficult to farm but better for the wildlife," Brown said of the new practices. "We had a little trouble with the drought establishing the grass on those terrace tops because the water runs off instead of stays on. We intend to put some more in as well. We're at a Level II working at a III." Brown, a former president of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, has some suggestions for changing CSP, showing his concern for farm policy issues. "CSP pretty much matches regular farm payments," Brown said. "The problem is they are declining payments compared with farm payments that are supposedly consistent. Some of these conservation rules don't make sense. Like taking trees out of CRP. Maybe in some areas it may make sense but not here." Wheat producer leader With an eye toward conservation Brown still sees the operation as a wheat farm. For this season he's planted a combination of hard red and hard white varieties including Wesley, Jagalene, Danby and NuHills. "I've grown a lot of Nebraska wheats out here over the years since those varieties do well in this climate," Brown said. That's not to say Brown isn't supportive of Kansas bred wheats. As a member of the Kansas Wheat Commission, it's up to Brown to direct wheat checkoff funds to back research efforts at Kansas State University. "KAWG is the political side of Kansas Wheat," Brown said. "The wheat commission's role is education, market development and research. You not only look at the local elevator but the foreign buyers of our grain. On the growers my view was a little narrow, now it's broader." Even with a busy operation and home life, Brown said, it is important that producers take an active role in their industry. "There are getting to be fewer farmers and younger guys don't get involved as even just a few years ago," Brown said. "Many guys are involved with their farms and their families, especially their kid's activities. That's important, those need to come first. But, we need to make room for the industry, not just our operation." One link in the chain One of the things Brown is most proud of during his time on both Kansas Wheat boards is that the groups have changed to reflect an attitude that wheat producers are part of a larger industry. "A lot of farmers think things end at the farmgate and that they are a stand-alone business," Brown said. "They need to understand the quality of what we take to the elevator affects the kinds of prices we receive down the line. If you raise poor-quality grain the customer will go someplace else. If it's good wheat, they'll buy it." Brown said he was particularly excited about the recent wheat summits that brought together many parts of the industry. He said he'd like those conversations to go further toward an idea proposed several years ago by Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh, professor of agricultural economics at K-State. "As business owners, we need to bring all parts of the industry together. Farmers, elevators and millers are interested in just their thing and there needs to be what Barry Flinchbaugh calls a wheat council, similar to the cotton council, where you get the whole industry together," Brown said. "We may not agree on everything, but we farmers have to agree on that millers and bakers are not our enemies. They are part of our industry with concerns we need to know about and address and likewise with we farmers. As long as the industry is fragmented then a lot of issues don't get addressed. The wheat summits are a good first step; it's great to see everyone talking, but there's a long way to go." Still there's no giving up for Brown, who has seen the operation evolve to where it is today and intends to see it continue to evolve. "I liked farming," Brown said, talking about his first experiences helping out his then girlfriend's father. "We liked the small town," he added, discussing a return to the area after a few years away. "We've been farming going on 33 years. We still enjoy it." Larry Dreiling can be reached by phone at 785-628-1117 or by e-mail at ldreiling@aol.com. 11/5/07 Date: 11/1/07
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