End of season wrap-up

BREMEN, Ind. — Clay Geyer celebrated the end of another successful year on his farm in northern Indiana.

He shared his final From the Fields update of 2025 with AgriNews.

Q: What were the biggest challenges you dealt with this fall?

A: Prior to harvest, I had one field in particular that was the death of my pocketbook, and no matter how much I fought to keep the weeds pushed back at the property line, it seemed like new starts were popping up everywhere.

We can blame the birds, deer and even the wind that may have stimulated the new plant growth, but it has gradually infiltrated from the fence row of a nearby property line.

Sometimes the natural flow of water reseeds me year after year and after each heavy rainfall event. That particular field will forever be soybeans, so I can manage this pesky weed that sprouts in a drought.

I also thought marketing grain early would be the ticket to success, but as luck would have it once contracts were full I would sell grain from the field and deliver daily throughout harvest for a nickel to a dime less than what my early contracts were written for.

I have very little on-farm storage, so as harvest progressed so did the long lines at the local elevator. We primarily use large gravity wagons to deliver grain to the elevator, and with everyone transporting grain during peak of harvest, it was difficult to find someone who was willing and able to deliver grain by semi.

Q: How are you feeling about grain markets right now as we head into winter?

A: This harvest was nowhere close to the early bird gets the worm. I thought I was ahead of the game when I contracted some grain for fall delivery.

Little did I know the commodity prices would continue to move up on the board for both corn and soybeans. I’m not sure what magic hat the rabbit was hiding in which spurred a jump in demand. But looking back I probably should not have jumped the gun on harvest.

If I had it to do over again, I should’ve left the combine in the shed and gave the corn a few more weeks of drying on the stalk, but with the threat of dry field conditions and increased risk of field fires, it was hard to sit back and wait.

Q: What does your winter work look like on the farm?

A: We still have a group of heifers that we will be raising for another dairy until they’re old enough to breed.

In the meantime, we will still have daily chores morning and night while making sure they have plenty of hay and water and keeping dry bedding under them. There will always be manure to scrape up and spread out on fields, as well.

The machine shed has been carefully pieced to full capacity with no vacancies, but there are a couple projects at the front of the shed we might tackle before tillage begins.

Weekly hay auctions and the deliveries of hay and straw to customers should help fill in the voids during the blustery, cold days this winter.

Q: Are you seeing any early input cost changes for seed, fertilizer or chemicals heading into 2026?

A: The ultimate price we pay each growing season continues to climb and begins with these three inputs: seed, fertilizer and chemicals. I already have a game plan in place for the commodities I intend to plant.

I purchased some seed corn early, but I will not be locking in all of my fertilizer or chemicals just yet. I have already heard fertilizer and chemical prices will be jumping up.

I did sew some soft red winter wheat on all of my soybean acres and broadcasted a cover crop of wheat over most of my corn stubbles. Until someone pops the balloon on the ridiculous prices of seed, chemicals and fertilizer, I doubt the input prices will come down anytime soon.

Q: Looking back, what’s one thing you’re especially proud of this season?

A: I will always be proud of my nephew, Grant, and he has taken a great interest in agriculture. He is eager to learn, very creative and is always asking lots of questions when he sees me working around the farm.

He’s inquisitive enough. He wants to be with me every step of the way. He is not at a loss for words and has become a little more vocal at times when he wants or needs a certain farm toy set.

Every day he surprises me with new words he has learned and makes me smile when he displays compassion with others. As much as I would like to see him grow up, I also want to freeze time and keep him young as possible, so we can continue having more adventures at this fun age.

Q: What are your goals or priorities for the farm going into next year?

A: Is this where we list everything we want with hopes that Santa will bring it? I have been a good boy this year!

Well, I think we all have a list of goals, but this difficult narrowing the list down and prioritizing what is needed most. I’m really hoping Santa Claus comes through because it would be nice to add a grain bin or two and, who knows, maybe even a batch dryer?

My goal or plan this coming year is to cover every acre with a cover crop next fall after harvest and gradually shift to no-till when the timing is right. Other than the grain bins on my wish list, I do not have any large purchases planned as we enter the next growing season of 2026.