Tag Archives: April Hemmes

Industry NewsWorld Water Day Brings Awareness to Ag

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Each year on March 22 the United Nations’ (UN) World Water Day is held to increase people’s awareness of water’s importance in environment, agriculture, health and trade.

Farmers are always aware of the crucial water plays in crop development, and after experiencing the 2012 Drought, we really don’t need to be reminded how a lack of water can impeded crop development. World Water Day, however, does provide us with a platform to share our story with others outside agriculture.

April Hemmes combining on her North Central Iowa farm

“My farm received a total of 5 inches of rain between May and October 2012. Normal annual rainfall is 23 inches, so we’re starting the 2013 growing season with a moisture shortfall,” said April Hemmes, who is speaking today in Washington, D.C., as part of a panel discussion sponsored by the Daugherty Water for Food Institute and the Global Harvest Initiative. Other panelists include: Dr. Cathie Woteki, USDA Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics; Mark Svoboda, National Drought Mitigation Center Climatologist, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and Joel Lipsitch, John Deere Director of Business Integration and Strategy;

Soybean yields averaged 6 bushels per acre (bu/A) lower in 2012 for Hemmes, who has farmed for nearly 30 years just south of Hampton in Franklin County, Iowa. Her corn yields were reduced by 10 percent, or approximately a net loss of $70 per acre. When you consider that the average size of an Iowa farm is 333 acres, it’s feasible that each Iowa farm family lost between $11,000 and $23,000 of income due to the 2012 Drought!

“It scares me to think we’re going into the 2013 crop year with almost nothing for moisture,” says Hemmes. “Moisture is especially important to farmers in my area because we don’t irrigate. As much as I dislike late season snowfall, I’m thankful for it this year because now we will at least have topsoil moisture to get the crop planted. If we don’t receive adequate spring rains, however, young plants will suffer more quickly due to a lack of subsoil moisture.”

To help preserve soil moisture last fall, many experts were reminding famers to till less for more water. Seed selection is even more critical in dry conditions as genetics are the most determining factor in whether or not a corn hybrid can handle drought. While corn genetics have come a long way over the past decade and are much better at handling drought stress than ever, soybeans historically perform even better in dry weather.

Current weather patterns are likely to play a role in farmers who have yet to finalize their 2013 seed purchases. Trait packages will likely be especially important this growing season as the 2012 Drought might impact 2013 crops in regard to pressure from weeds, insects and plant disease. Once the seed is selected, and planters have been calibrated, Iowa State University Corn Specialist Roger Elmore says farmers must go “back to the basics” for seeding depth.

Food & Family4-H & Farming Are Hallmarks of this Franklin County Family

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April Hemmes & her daughter. Photo credited to AmericasFarmers.com

April Hemmes of Hampton, Iowa, is a fourth generation farmer in Franklin County. She’s been farming since 1985 on land that has been in her family since 1901, but her operation is a little different from what one might expect. April’s husband, Tom Kazmerzak, has a job in town and doesn’t work on the farm. April is the primary farm operator, and she was named “Midwest Farm Mom of the Year” in 2011.

“One of my fondest childhood memories is riding in the combine with my grandpa, and I learned a lot from him through the years,” says April. “I love that my daughter and my son grew up on the same farm and had some of the same farm experiences that I had,” adds April. “There’s nothing like being a farm kid.”

April Hemmes Combining

Many farm experiences are intertwined with 4-H experiences for April’s children. Her son, Ethan, was a 9-year 4-H member and was a member of the Franklin County 4-H Council. He was active in the Writers Club where he learned to express himself through short and poems. Active in jazz, marching and concert bands, Ethan explored his passion for music through a 4-H self-determined project. He went onto pursue music and English at the University of Iowa.

uth Hemmes was crowned the 2012 Franklin County Fair Queen.

April’s daughter, Ruth, also was active in 4-H for nine years. She earned the State Photography Award and completed agronomy projects and showed beef. Ruth served as president, vice president and secretary of her 4-H club. She also was selected to serve on the Franklin County 4-H Council and participated in the Iowa 4-H Youth Conference. In addition, Ruth was named the 2012 Franklin County Fair Queen.

“Throughout my years as a 4-H member, I learned many things from basic leadership skills in meetings, to club field trips, and a variety of projects. Showing cattle taught me responsibility: I fed my cattle in the morning and evening plus worked with them and bathed them once or twice a week. While I enjoyed all of my 4-H projects, I was especially interested in photography,” says Ruth Kazmerzak, who’s currently a freshman at University of Washington in Seattle where she’s studying Aquatic and Fishery Sciences and Photography.

Hemmes Farm History

Picking Corn

The Koch-Hemmes home farm was established in 1901 by J.P. Koch. His mother’s family had emigrated in 1738 from Bignen, Germany, to Pennsylvania where they bought a farm. While other family members remained in Pennsylvania, J.P. came to Iowa because his aunt had written to him about the “riches of the land.” J.P. found more than land upon his arrival; he also took a bride in 1890.

Newlyweds J.P. and Lavina moved to an acreage about 10 miles north of Iowa Falls. Their marriage was blessed with five children: Harold, Gerald, Ralph, Kenneth and Velma. Velma Koch married Bert Hemmes in 1925, and a few short years later, they purchased the farm from J.P. and Lavina.

Bert Hemmes, combining at age 100

Velma gave birth to their first son, Harlan, in 1929 and another, Jerry, in 1934. In the coming years, Bert had to work with his banker to keep the farm running. The Depression years were especially challenging, but Bert took great pride in saving the farm from the “big shot” from Des Moines who traveled north to buy up all the loans. Advised by a local banker to “let things go,” Bert let the weeds grow and the barn door fall off. Mr. Big Shot ended up driving right past the Koch-Hemmes farm, dust rising all the way as he sped back to Des Moines. The next year Bert made his payment, and his farm stayed in the family.

As these hard years passed, Bert and Velma added many more acres to the land they owned. Harlan came home from WWII and then school in the mid-1950s to farm with his father. The two ran a diversified farm of corn, soybeans, hay, cattle, hogs, sheep and chickens.

Harlan married Sally Peterson in 1957, and they had four children: Sarah, April, Harlan II and Heather. April presently resides and farms the land, which she and her husband purchased. In 2001, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture recognized the Hemmes family at the Iowa State Fair with a Century Farm Award.

As a tribute to her German ancestry, today April shares with us an old family recipe for Molasses Cookies. Molasses was first used to sweeten foods because it was more affordable than sugar. The aroma of cinnamon, cloves and ginger mingled with molasses evokes warm memories of grandma’s house. Mix up a batch and bake someone happy!

Hard Molasses Cookies

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup cooking oil
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ¼ cup molasses
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. cloves
  • ½ tsp. ginger
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. salt

Directions

  1. Mix together cooking oil, sugar, molasses, and egg.
  2. Sift flour, soda, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, and salt.
  3. Mix with first 4 ingredients.
  4. Refrigerate overnight.
  5. Roll into 1 inch balls.
  6. Roll in sugar.
  7. Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes.

Industry NewsBlogs from Brazil – Part 4 by April Hemmes

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Thursday, Feb. 23

Our bus left at 7 a.m. for a three-hour ride to an ethanol, sugar and biodiesel plant called Barracool. A group of seven cattle farmers founded this company in the 1980s, and there are currently 27 owners. The plant can run on either sugar or ethanol; it’s presently running 75% ethanol and 25% sugar. Facts that we learned about production here:

  • 86,000 acres are harvested to provide sugar cane to this plant.
  • 38 tons of sugar cane yields 275 pounds of sugar.
  • Workers cut sugar cane by hand for 8 hours and then have 36 hours off. (Yes, you read correctly. Brazil has strict labor laws!)

After visiting Barralcool, we stopped by a school where children learn English. Then we visited a beautiful place that Barralcool helped establish for at-risk kids. Social awareness and volunteerism are apparently alive and well within this company.

Friday, Feb. 24

On our last day in Brazil, we headed to the headquarters of FAMATO of Mato Grosso, which is equivalent to America’s Farm Bureau. We met with the Under Secretary of Agriculture for the Mato Grosso state. He was assisted by representatives from the departments of economics, livestock and the environment.

headquarters of FAMATO of Mato Grosso

The FAMATO presentations were so interesting because they were filled with facts about Brazil. We learned that Mato Grosso, mainly because of its size and climate, is the main state for agriculture in Brazil. Each truck load of grain has to travel 1,000 miles to port since there is only one main road to the ports or rail line.

Interestingly enough, almost half of Brazil’s farms are “small” and are comprised of fewer than 2,000 acres. We had the opportunity to visit some of the country’s largest farms, which were on a totally different scale than what we’re accustomed to in the Midwest.

Our group spent some time reflecting on our trip and talking about the misconceptions we had before touring the country. Most of us thought we would see the rainforest being cut down to make room for production agriculture, but that just isn’t the case. Brazil has had a ban on clearing land in effect since the mid-2000s. Plus, farmers are required to leave 20% of their land in its natural state; 85% of the land must be left in its natural state if it’s closer to the rainforest.

I came home from this trip with the impression that farmers – whether they live in Brazil, Delaware or Iowa – are in the business of producing food for the world while caring for the environment. I no longer see Brazil as our competition, but our ally in production agriculture.