Diversifying their crop base helps
the Rosiers manage their risk. They
grow soybeans, yellow corn and
white corn, which is shipped direct to
Mexico.
As third and fourth generation
crop farmers, the Rosiers raise corn
and soybeans on mostly owned
land in Holt and DeKalb counties.
A Pioneer Seed dealership helps
diversify their operation.
“We’ve really built our
operation off of a lot of owned
land,” Kirby explains. “I think
what helps us weather through
(the storms of farming) is a lot
of our land is owned. It gives us
a little better profit margin and
appreciation for the land.”
With drought encompassing much
of Missouri this past summer, the
Rosiers seem to take the challenges
it brought in stride.
“This has been a year like
none other,” Kirby explains. He
remembers drought-filled 2012
and hopes for comparable yields
this harvest at around 100 bushels
per acre for corn.
Genetic improvements,
though, helped bring a higher-
than-expected return, he says. “I
6 HEARTBEAT | WINTER 2018
think our yields have been a lot
better than we expected,” Kirby
says. “We had about 7 inches of
rain from the first of April until
the first of August on a lot of
our fields. And since the first of
August, we’ve had somewhere
in the neighborhood of 12 to 15
inches of rain.”
While some might shudder
and threaten to throw in the
towel amid Mother Nature’s
fury, the Rosiers chalk this year’s
obstacles up to part of the business
and direct their sights more on
sustaining their operation for
tomorrow.
DRIVEN BY TECHNOLOGY
Today’s crop producers know
efficiency plays a key role in
maximizing production. As labor
continues to be a factor for many
operations, farmers like the Rosiers
turn to technology to keep their
business on the cutting edge.
“Our farm is heavily invested
in technology, and labor is one
of the main reasons for that,”
explains Dylan. “Getting labor—
qualified, reliable labor—is
such a hard task that we’ve
kind of supplemented that with
technology and replaced some of
those needs that way.”
Moving to larger, more
efficient equipment is one way
the operation has positioned
itself for the future. Innovative
spraying technology helps
reduce overlapping in chemical
application on the Rosier’s farm.
“With our hills, we have a
lot of opportunity for overlap
and over-application of products,
so we’ve used some of the new
technology on equipment to
reduce our input cost,” Dylan says.
“It’s the same concept on some
of our planters. On the precision
side, we also do a lot with our
harvest data, bringing it in to our
computer system. Then, we use a
lot of the Ag Leader® technology. I
also use a lot of SMS™ applications
to write prescriptions and analyze
trials that we do on products.”
Dylan says Ag Leader®
technology has been seamless
for them to use and assists with
collecting data to improve their
operation and future production
decisions.
“We go to some conferences
in the winter just to try and keep
our finger on (technology),” Dylan
says. “We’re not always the first
person to jump to technology. You
just kind of feel out what would
work best for our operation. You
don’t want to get left behind, but
you don’t want to be so out front
with all the bugs in the technology
either.”
RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Generations of experience taught
Kirby Rosier some key lessons
when it comes to keeping expenses
in check and maximizing returns.
He remembers back in the