From the Cab: Illinois Farmer Dan Kelley on Harvest and Global Farmer Network

For Dan Kelley, harvest is underway and after 55 years of farming, he knows better than most that no two seasons are ever the same.

Kelley, who farms with his brothers near Bloomington, Illinois, started harvest last week. Some of the first corn coming out of the field was planted April 13–15 and has been testing between 17% and 20% moisture.

“We just started harvest last week,” Kelley said. “We were fortunate that we planted some corn mid-April, started April 13th. And the corn that we planted 13th through the 15th is all under 20%.”

The early harvest has also provided some good news on the moisture front. Although yields are running below last year, Kelley said the crop is coming out drier than he expected, helping offset some of the yield loss through lower drying costs.

“I think a lot of 200-bushel corn is going to be the round number that we're dealing with,” he said.

The growing season brought plenty of challenges. Excessive heat in July (hot and dry with temps in high 90s), along with significant rainfall in August, created less-than-ideal conditions for the crop. A storm that moved through the Bloomington area about a month ago also caused some wind damage to the corn, creating an additional challenge as harvest moves forward.

“It was not ideal for the corn crop, but it's coming out drier than we expected, so we'll save a little bit on drying expense to help offset some of the yield loss,” Kelley said.

After more than five decades behind the wheel of a combine, Kelley has learned to expect the unexpected.

That perspective has also shaped Kelley’s work outside his own farm. Over the years, he has been involved in numerous agricultural organizations, including leadership roles with McLean County Farm Bureau, McLean County Service Company (now Evergreen FS), Growmark, and CoBank.

Today, one of the organizations he remains involved with is the Global Farmer Network, a nonprofit organization focused on amplifying the voices of farmers around the world.

The organization traces its roots back to 2000, when a group of Iowa farmers formed an organization called Truth About Trade & Technology. Their goal was to make sure farmers had a voice in conversations surrounding trade and technology and to challenge misconceptions about their importance to agriculture.

Over the past 25 years, that effort has grown into the Global Farmer Network, which now includes more than 300 farmers from 72 countries across six continents, according to Kelley.

“Trade and technology and other issues are common issues for farmers, no matter where you live,” Kelley said.

The Global Farmer Network isn't a lobbying organization. Instead, it works to help farmers become stronger spokespeople for agriculture and share their experiences with audiences around the world.

For farmers who want to speak up, the organization provides opportunities for training in areas such as social media, public speaking and presentations. Farmers can also participate in meetings and other opportunities to share their experiences with different audiences.

For Kelley, that work connects directly back to what he has learned during 55 years of farming: agriculture may look different from one country to another, but farmers face many of the same challenges.

Whether he's watching moisture levels climb across an Illinois field, navigating wind-damaged corn or talking with farmers thousands of miles away, Kelley continues to see the value in sharing farmers' stories.