Once again, we are ending another cropping season with its own set of challenges. We had nearly perfect weather starting out the year. Then we had very little rain in August and September to finish out the crop. We also had additional heat this year and this matured the corn crop significantly quicker than normal. We had our harvest completed on Oct. 16th this year. This is the earliest completion I have ever had, once we started other than the remnants of the hurricane, we had no rain days throughout harvest. We are getting Lime and Fertilizer spread now, and then followed by fall tillage, fall burndown spraying, and preparation for next years crop.

This year we had a new pathogen come into our area, Tar Spot. I walked more corn fields this year than I ever had in season scouting for its progress. We managed to only have to spray one pass of fungicide this year, but now that tar spot here, we will likely need to make a second pass in the future on our corn acres.

Prices are absolutely terrible; Oct 15th was the low at $3.53 for corn and $9.10 for soybeans. It has recovered to $3.71 and $9.68 respectively as of today. Several factors play against the price, political, over production, wars, China is trying not to buy our product due to Biden cancelling Trumps agreement, etc… This is likely not going to improve quickly over the next years regardless of who wins election. Thanks to God alone for still giving us good yields to offset the price problem.

We are continuing to find new ways to save on inputs, use of biologicals, foliar feeding, investing in technology. We have invested in a Reverse Osmosis system to take all the minerals out of the water for spraying. We have observed an increase in effectiveness of chemistry as they are not getting tied up with the minerals in our well water. I have a passion for making the most of every acre through increased production or savings. This last year I attended several training seasons to learn more about the latest advancements. Ag is changing faster every year.

Other side business: Our Excavation Business is continuing to grow. Last fall we bought a new V-plow, and it has worked great. Duck Creek Ag Supply is continuing to be a growth area. Custom work has picked up for Spraying and Farming.

Family Notes:

Josh has worked with me for five years now. He has two little girls and has started a cattle side business. He has been such a blessing to me and is part of our family at this point.

Dad and Karen are doing well. Karen had both knees replaced this year. Retirement is a lot of work for them.

Mom is still taking care of my 100 year old grandmother and works in the office a couple days a week.

Alaina is working on her Nurse Practitioner license and working full time. She got engaged in April and Married on Aug 4th of this year. Noah, her Husband, is a good match. Both Alaina and Noah have a passion for full time missions. We are blessed to have him become a part of our family. He has one year left of school as does Alaina and then they will likely go off to New Zealand to start their missionary career.

Austin has left Deere and has my passion for farming. He currently is working at Johnson Grain Farms about 20 min west of us. He is learning a lot and wants to come back to work the farm with me soon. We will have to grow to make that happen. Austin is engaged to Jenna, wedding Jan 4th 2025, and has bought the place next to us to live. It is so great to have him back home and Jenna is a perfect match for him.

Ashton is a Senior at Purdue; he has worked for Merristem Ag Solutions the past two summers. He has accepted a position with Consolidated Grain and Barge for after graduation in May 2025. This was

unexpected as that is the same company I started with after Purdue. He will be graduating with a Ag Business degree.

Amelia is a Freshman at Purdue; she has chosen Nursing as her major. She loves school and is always being active in extracurricular activities. She had an car accident this spring resulting in a broken arm, she has had two surgeries so far and is still in a brace. It has been very painful and long recovery, but it doesn’t seem to keep her from getting straight A’s so far and her active social schedule.

Abram(8) and Alilah (6) are growing up too fast. They are both attending ICA this fall. Both are great kids and a blessing to our family.

Cassie has a lot on her plate. She takes care of me, (full time job in itself), then our children, including the adult kids. Turns out adult kids are a lot of work. Cattle, Garden, Sports, Teaching kids at Church, helping watch my 100 year old Grandmother, taking care of her parents, and the list goes on. She is just amazing and a blessing. She is the glue that holds us all together.

Well for Myself, I continue to have the blessed life. God is with me in all I do and continues to bless me with an amazing family, successful business, and good health. I still am blessed to work with the Youth at Bethany Christian Church. The past couple of years I have spent a lot of time learning about the biology of the soil and symbiotic relationship for nutrient uptake in the plant physiology. I believe that this is the next step in making more bushels with less inputs. I am living my dream for sure.

This is an exciting time of life for our family. Older kids are going to college, starting careers, and getting married. Younger kids are growing up too fast. All of our kids love the Lord. For Cassie and I, that is the most important hope for a successful in life.

I need to grow our farm to get Austin integrated into the operation. If you know anyone in the area that might want to talk with me about farming their ground, please let me know or pass along my cell number.

Thank you for choosing us to farm your ground. Please feel free to give me a call anytime with questions or concerns.

PS: If any of your information has changed from last year on Tax ID, address, phone numbers, Etc. please send me updated information. Thanks Again!

God Bless,

Dallas, Cassie, and Family