Small Grains News 2024: A Year in Review

Farmers kept busy this past year incorporating a variety of small grains in their rotations. Revisit our featured farmers from 2024 while we look forward to another year of growing small grains in the Midwest! 

February 2024: Jude Becker 

Jude Becker raises organic pork on his sixth-generation family farm, Becker Lane Organic, near Dyersville, Iowa. He also grows corn, soybeans and hybrid rye for livestock feed. He shared his experiences and knowledge of the benefits and challenges of growing hybrid rye at PFI’s Annual Conference in January. Jude first ordered hybrid rye seed for fall planting after attending a PFI field day hosted by Tom Frantzen in 2017. In the six years since, he has seen his yields rise and has found countless benefits including year-round green cover, fewer cash inputs, greater weed suppression and profits higher than that of corn at approximately $1,400 to $1,500 per acre.   

Tricky timing: Finding the right place for hybrid rye in rotations can be challenging. Jude recommends planting rye following hay or pastured fields so that you can plant in September rather than planting rye following corn or soybean harvest later in the fall. He values seeding a thinner stand to allow for more tillering and better yield come summer.    

Strength in straw: In addition to replacing corn in pigs’ diets, Jude says hybrid rye produces “mountains of straw,” which come in handy for the pigs’ bedding. The straw also contributes to nutrient recycling, removing potassium and phosphorus that are then returned to the soil through manure spreading. 

March 2024: Rachel and Alec Amundson 

Rachel and Alec Amundson of Osage, Iowa, often frost-seed red clover on their oat and cereal rye seed production ground. In our video filmed in 2021, you’ll learn how using red clover and other cover crops have increased financial resilience to fluctuating nitrogen fertilizer prices.    

“On a year like this when nitrogen costs have gone through the roof, and we’re not sure how much we’ll actually be able to get, and what the price is going to be, the fact that we can use 50, 60, 70 pounds [nitrogen per acre] less and raise just as good of a crop as everyone else is just money in our pocket,” says Alec. Ready for more? 

Ready for more? View our 2023 research report that examines the financial saving of reduced nitrogen applications at 16 farms across Iowa, including the Amundsons’. 

April 2024: John and Halee Wepking  

John and Halee Wepking operate Meadowlark Farm and Mill in Ridgeway, Wisconsin, where they grow diverse organic crops, including food-grade corn, wheat, rye and buckwheat that they mill on site. They pay close attention to crop rotation, keeping the soil covered whenever possible and using different tillage and weeding practices depending on the crop.   

Springtime efficiency: A custom 30-foot Treffler tine weeder mounted with an air seeder helps the Wepkings accomplish two tasks at once. “When we are seeding alfalfa or hay into spring wheat or oats, we do a weed control pass with the tine weeder, scratching the surface while also blowing the seed on,” John says.   

Removing young weeds: The equipment is set up so that the weeding pass can be as aggressive as needed and then the seed is dropped down behind that onto the loose soil, ideally before rain. “From the road, it looks like you just killed your field. But it’s remarkable how small grains will bounce through that. It can really help with mustard pressure and small weeds that get going by mid-April.”   

May 2024: Wade Dooley 

During a wet spring, weed and fungal growth compete with a developing small grain crop, causing many issues and costing valuable dollars when not managed effectively. Wade Dooley of Albion, Iowa, has faced many of these challenges after a decade growing small grains but has learned how to make smart decisions with big-picture finances in mind.   

Is fungicide necessary? Many diseases can run rampant in small grains, but the most problematic appears during the flowering stage and when weather has been warm and humid. Wade only sprays fungicide when those two key variables are expected to align. “I know a lot of folks who spray without checking any climatic conditions,” he says. “Often, it’s not worth the extra cost.” Farmers must be thinking ahead though, because once signs of disease appear, it usually is too late to effectively apply fungicide.   

Staging a crop: To control weeds in his small grain fields, Wade pays close attention to each growth stage of the crop. If the field’s rotation has not successfully mitigated weed pressure, he may decide to spray herbicide, but only when weather conditions and stage of development are safe for application. 

June 2024: J.D. and Dave Hollingsworth 

Southeast Iowa farmers J.D. Hollingsworth and his father Dave Hollingsworth (and son Noah) have been taking steps in recent years to improve soil health and water quality by practicing no-till and cover crops on 100% of their acres since 2015. Rye plays an important role in that equation, helping to maintain living roots and soil cover for as much of the year as possible.   

Crimping considerations: This year, they tried roller crimping on a few of their acres for the first time with the goal of eliminating one chemical pass on the field. But after the rye reached anthesis earlier and on more fields than expected, the Hollingsworth’s decided to use their own 30’ tool with a rolling cutter to crimp rather than borrow their neighbors’ 10’ roller crimper as initially planned. Their tool worked well but they had some issues with the tool plugging up with rye.   

Timing impact: The Hollingsworth’s also grow rye that they then harvest to use as cover crop seed on their farm. J.D. recommends planting rye for seed earlier than cover crop rye to achieve more tillering, leading to more yield potential. This past fall, he planted rye for harvest on Sept. 19 using a 15-inch row planter, one month earlier than the cover crop rye. He expects a 45-50 bu/rye yield and will try to keep 2 feet of standing stubble to provide protection for the soil. 

July 2024: Doug and Kim Adams, Harley Hett 

Doug and Kim Adams and their farm partner Harley Hett grow wheat for cover cropping, relay cropping and seed. Doug, who works with other farmers to reduce erosion and improve soil health through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, understands the benefits that small grains provide for the soil and puts it into practice on his own farm. Used as a cover crop, winter wheat is planted in October and grows through the fall and spring, providing cover to the ground to reduce erosion and prevent weeds from emerging.    

Relay cropping wheat and soy: In addition to cover cropping with wheat, Doug has started relay cropping – planting beans into growing wheat in the spring. He planted beans on May 19 this year and was happy with the moisture soaked up by the wheat prior to planting. At wheat harvest in mid-July, the grain is direct cut close to the head to avoid damaging the soybeans, which may get smashed a bit by the combine, but usually bounce back.   

Mid-summer planting: In addition to relay-cropped fields, the farm raises acres of winter wheat for cover crop seed. The wheat seed is later used on the same farm and after it is harvested, it provides an opportunity for a subsequent multi-species summer cover crop mix that fixes nitrogen, controls weeds and retains moisture for future crops. 

August 2024: Andrea Hazzard 

Andrea Hazzard operates Hazzard Free Farm near Pecatonica, Illinois, where she grows heirloom corn; hulless oats and barley; wheat; rye; flax; and other small grains, oilseeds and dry beans. She mills all her grains on-farm, creating flours and meals that are sold to local bakers, restaurants, grocers and co-ops.   

Food-grade status: To achieve food-grade status, the vomitoxin levels in the grains must be below one part per million. Andrea asserts how vital it is to keep equipment clean. She sends in each variety of grain to be tested before running any of it through the mill. In between grain varieties, she uses a brush and air compressor to ensure that all the milled grain is removed from the mill. Magnets in the mill can also help remove any small flecks of metal that may have come off equipment during harvest.   

Getting started with small-scale grains: Andrea continues to expand her operation and is working on getting a larger mill up and running so that she can process 300 pounds per hour rather than the current mill’s pace of 60 pounds per hour. She recommends others interested in small-scale grain farming and processing to go slow when getting started.  

Andrea says, “Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Have mentors and a support network for equipment, seed and information. People in these networks are so helpful and always excited to share.” 

September 2024: Dan Dietz 

Dan Dietz farms with his son Drew near Nashua, Iowa, where they grow corn, soybeans and rye. Dan also finishes 900 head of cattle, which he purchases from Drew and his wife Shannon. This year’s harvest: Dan harvested 115 acres of Aroostook Rye, 30 of which were fed to his cattle and the remainder sold as cover crop seed. Following harvest, he applies manure to the field and then plants a cover crop mix that includes kale, radishes, turnips and red clover.   

Preparing to plant: Rye follows both corn and soybeans as a cover crop on 600 of Dan’s acres. When planting to harvest the following summer, Dan plants his rye after the harvest of his 110-day corn, predictably around Oct. 15. Since his operation is 100% no-till, he uses a John Deere 1590 no-till drill to plant the rye seed 1-inch deep with 7.5-inch row spacing at a rate of 120 pounds per acre. In contrast, his cover crop rye is planted at a rate of 60-90 pounds per acre.   

Quick calibration: The no-till drill has both a scale and an acre meter which makes calibration simple. “It’s very accurate. You just have to watch the scale and then check the acre meter and make adjustments as needed. It only takes about five acres to get the rate dialed in,” Drew says. 

October 2024: Andy Bensend 

While its peak corn and soybean harvest across the Midwest, it’s also an opportune time to consider the impacts of small grains in crop rotations. In 2024, 60% of farmers enrolled in PFI’s small grain cost-share reported increased yields and lower production costs in their corn and soybeans grown in extended rotations. One of those farmers is Andy Bensend who farms in Barron County, Wisconsin.  

As an advocate of crop rotation, Andy advises, “While we can produce high yields in monoculture, over time, input costs will increase.”    

Keeping production costs low in corn: By following his wheat with a summer mix containing medium red and crimson clovers, Andy can reduce his fertilizer in corn by 50 to 70 pounds of nitrogen per year. He notes his yields are the same as, or better than, his corn in a two-year rotation. However, Andy is purposeful about the amount of fertilizer he cuts. “Every year we take a look at our cover crop biomass and evaluate how many credits may be available,” he notes, while also sharing that they typically perform a Haney Test to see available soil nitrogen.   

Increasing yields in soybeans: The biggest benefit Andy has witnessed for his soybeans in extended rotations is weed control. “When we harvest wheat midsummer, we put a nail in the coffin for those weeds that go to seed later in the season,” he says. Lowering the weed seed bank of species like giant ragweed, marestail and water hemp is essential for Andy’s non-GMO soybean management. 

November 2024: Ryan and Nick Peterson 

Brothers Ryan and Nick Peterson farm with their family near Clear Lake, Minnesota, growing seed corn, field corn, soybeans, dark red kidney beans, black beans and hybrid rye. They added hybrid rye to their rotation a few years ago when experiencing soybean cyst nematode pressure and it effectively curbed their pest problem.  

Planting a piece of the puzzle: Hybrid rye yields higher than cereal rye and has the same growing cycle. Fall planting and summer harvest helps Ryan spread workload throughout the year. Following either seed corn or another crop, the Petersons plant their hybrid rye in late September or early October at a rate of 800,000 seeds per acre using a 455 John Deere Box Drill.   

Putting it in perspective: The Petersons harvest in early to mid-August using a combine with a draper header. Once harvested, their grain is delivered to Brooks Grain or CGB and straw goes to a neighbor dairy farmer. They plant a clover-turnip-radish mix following rye harvest which ties up nutrients in the soil. Ryan reflects, “Hybrid rye is not always the most profitable in the moment, but it can benefit other years. It’s more of a long-term play for your farm than a one-year payout.” 

PFI Small Grains Resources 

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