Sterling Heritage Farms Receives

“Outstanding Operational

Achievement” Award

Brighton, IL January 21, 2013 – Sterling Heritage

Farms was presented the “Outstanding Operational

Achievement” Award by FamilyFarms Group in

recognition of their active efforts in continual im-

provement of their business skills. The award, pre-

sented in Phoenix, AZ on January 15th, recognizes a

farming operation’s commitment to training, im-

plementation, and excellence in key areas.

“In today’s rapidly changing world, farm families

must be willing to envision the future of crop pro-

duction,” said Allen Lash, FamilyFarms Group CEO.

He continued, “Those who cannot envision and

adapt will be left behind. Sterling Heritage Farms

exemplifies the willingness to invest now in training

and implementation of best business skills which

will help them compete successfully now and in the

future.”

Sterling Heritage Farms personnel, led by owners

Jon and Heather Oden, have successfully complet-

ed training and implementation in the areas of cri-

sis management, communication, employee hand-

books, control systems, marketing and business

development planning, landowner relations and

more. In addition, the Odens actively participate in

their community through leadership, donations,

and involvement.

Sterling Heritage Farms is a family farm operation

in Sterling, KS. For more information about Sterling

Heritage Farms, visit their web site at:

www.sterlingheritagefarms.com.

FamilyFarms Group is based in Brighton, IL. Dedi-

cated to helping farm families compete more suc-

cessfully in the rapidly changing row crop produc-

tion industry, FamilyFarms Group provides consul-

tation, training and implementation assistance to

help producers reach their objectives by develop-

ing enhanced business skills and processes.

Ciao! I’m Otis. That’s me with the bone on the

left. My brother is Milo; he’s the quiet one. We

adopted the Odens almost three years ago and I

must say, it’s a dog’s dream here at Sterling

Heritage Farms. We have a Brittany friend

named Brandi. She’s actually been around here

the longest, but she let’s me pretend like I’m the

leader of the Pack….most of the time. I’m going

to write about our adventures here at the farm

and keep you up-to-date on all of the REAL

happenings here….the behind-the-scenes stuff.

I’ll look forward to sharing with you next time!

The Adventures of Milo and Otis

(and sometimes Brandi)

THE DOGGIE BLOG

Jon Oden oden.jon@gmail.com 620-278-6410

Heather Oden agdiva717@gmail.com 620-204-0171

Jeff Pieplow jpieplow@hotmail.com 620-904-7067

Kenny Tucker kennytucker@gmail.com 620-257-8488

Direct Payments with FSA—

June/July

Dates to

Remember

CRP Sign Up—May 20th

Moisture…a

blessing from the

Lord!

After receiving

few rainfall

events October

through Janu-

ary, things finally changed in February and March,

with four snow and rain events. With approximately 2

inches of moisture in February and 1 inch in March

(as of the 28th), soil moisture conditions have im-

proved quite a bit. Through mid-February many fields

following row crops or alfalfa had moisture only a few

inches deep into the soil. As of this week, those fields

now have 2 to 3 feet of soil moisture, while that won’t

”make” the wheat crop planted into soybean stubble,

it will carry the wheat for the few next weeks as tem-

peratures and moisture uptake increases. Normally

we average 8 to 10 inches of rainfall during the April

to mid-June time frame, so there are still plenty of

chances to add more yield potential. The wheat plant-

ed into last year’s wheat stubble is running 4 to 6 feet

depth of soil moisture, so it has good potential regard-

less of the weather.

Since we talked to you last, we have been attending

meetings, planning for the upcoming growing season,

caring for cattle, winter maintenance, topdressing

wheat, applying ammonia, and numerous other tasks.

We seem to be back to a more “normal” spring with the

wheat actually a bit behind normal in growth. I would

expect most of the wheat to be entering the jointing

stage about the first 10 days of April, which is a week or

two behind normal, and well behind the 2012 season,

when the wheat had flag leaves emerging the first week

of April! That’s not necessarily a bad thing though, since

a slow steady grain fill period often results in good

yields…but that will depend mostly on our April and May

weather. Looking at the weather forecast, I would ex-

KENNY’S CORNER KENNY TUCKER - AGRONOMY AND PRODUCTION IT SPEACIALIST

IT’S HERE!

activities, how you overcome barriers in the AG market, and keep a good work/life balance.”

Heather was one of two speakers for the event. Carol Keiser-Long also presented. Having grown up in

agriculture, Carol spoke of her struggles and victories in a field dominated by men. She now owns two

businesses and advocates on the national level for children’s safety on the farm. Heather spoke about

her changing roles within their fifth-generation operation. Having come from an off-farm background,

part of the rationale behind the sharing of Heather’s story was that many, if not most, of the AGCO em-

ployees do not have farming backgrounds either. The Industry Training Committee felt their target audi-

ence would be able to relate to Heather’s story and hoped that hearing her message would inspire those

with similar off-farm backgrounds to see the changing face of agriculture and how each person’s unique

skills and backgrounds can create success in the changing landscape of agriculture. Throughout Heather’s

presentation, Jon interjected with information from his vantage point. He shared about how their part-

nership now is extremely positive and how their individual abilities actually compliment each other. As

one audience member emphatically remarked after hearing the presentation, “Now THAT is a partner-

ship!”

Take a look at this bad boy! This

is an AGCO Challenger MT765D

and we get to use it for free for 4

months because we are the

recipients of the Outstanding

Operational Achievement Award!

SHF had the pleasure of hosting a group of Delaware youth from Urban Promise. According to their web site: “The mission of UrbanPromise Wilmington is to equip children and young adults through Christ with the skills necessary for academic achievement, life management,

personal growth and servant leadership. Our vision is to be a community in Christ of servant leadership and transformation, seeking a full life for all involved: urban youth, families, staff, and volunteers in the neighborhoods of our city.” The day was filled with farm

tours, tractor and four-wheeler rides, basketball, and food. To find out more about Urban Promise and how you can support them, visit their web site at: www.urbanpromise.org or visit our site: www.sterlingheritagefarms.com and click on “Giving Back”.

Urban Promise Comes to Sterling Heritage Farms

HOPE ON THE HORIZON

Heather Speaks At AGCO HQ

AGCO, manufacturer of farm equipment, hosted an indus-

try training event called, “A Day in the Life of a Female

Farmer.” Melissa Leard, Pricing Manager for AGCO and

chair of the Industry Training Subcommittee contacted

Heather after having been given Heather’s name by Steve

Gorsuch, the Director of National Account Sales. “We

would like you to come to our Duluth Office and speak to

our Women’s Group (AGWN) to discuss your day to day

Heather Invited to Speak at AGCO