Merry Christmas from Sterling Heritage Farms
Explaining the new 2012 reports
Est. 1880 ~ Five Generations in Agriculture ~ december 2012
I have fond memories from my childhood of
listening to stories from the past: my great
uncle winning the corn shucking contest at the
local fair, my Grandpa plowing behind a team
of horses, filling the hay mount with the hay
using the ropes and pullies. From the days of
my youth to now, I’ve seen agriculture transi-
tion: bigger equipment, more computerization,
cell phones, yield monitors, auto-steer, variable
-rate fertilizer and seed, more herbicide
choices. These are just a few of the changes
I’ve seen take place.
Along with all these improvements there have
been challenges created. One of these issues is
Roundup resistant weeds. Since the mid
1990’s, Roundup Ready crops have been a big
part of herbicide programs for this operation,
as well as many others across the county, state
and nation. This has helped reduce costs and
improve yields, to supply an ever-growing
world population. However, over time, weeds
always find a way to adapt and prolong their
species. “Roundup-resistant” pigweeds and
marestail have started developing in our area,
and are predicted to become the predominant
part of those species over the next couple of
years. To help offset this approaching prob-
lem, we are becoming more aggressive on our
herbicide strategies. Multiple modes of action,
as well as multiple timings might be needed.
We have include atrazine (for corn and milo)
and Canopy EX (for soybeans) in our fall her-
bicide applications which were applied in early
November, on most of the fields going to a
spring-planted crop. This will result in higher
herbicide costs now, but will be offset by less
herbicide in the spring, and hopefully, better
weed management. Ultimately we want to
maximize profitability, while minimizing inputs
and herbicide exposure to the environment.
As we move ahead, Sterling Heritage Farms
plans to stay on the cutting edge of technology
and information management. Part of my re-
sponsibilities will be managing that technology
and information to increase profitability of
Sterling Heritage Farms and of you, the land-
owner. Our basic thought is “the more we
know, the better decisions we can make. “
With that goal in mind, I hope to be providing
more information such as fertility maps, fertil-
ity trends, yield maps, yield trends, profit
maps, long-term no till benefits, just to name a
few. We are probably only limited by our
imagination and time. Shortly after the holi-
days, if you are a landowner of ours, you will
be receiving what we are calling, “The 2012
Report”. This will be with first annual install-
ment of yearly reports of what is happening
on your ground. This year's version will be an
abbreviated version of what we hope to send
out in future years, but we are excited about
this edition, nonetheless.
Please call me any time if you have questions
or concerns.
Kenny Tucker, Agonomy & Production IT
Specialist
620-257-8488
“Every tree, every flower, every ripple and eddy of this
lovely stream seemed solemnly to feel the presence of the
great Creator. Lingered in this sanctuary a long time,
thanking the Lord with all my heart for his goodness in
allowing me to enter and enjoy it.”
-John Muir
The Sterling Exchange Sterling Heritage Farms ~Join a sterling tradition!
Contact Us: Jon Oden Cell: 620-278-6410 E-mail: [email protected]
Heather Oden Cell: 620-204-0171 E-mail: [email protected]
Jeff Pieplow Cell: 620-904-7067 E-mail: [email protected]
Kenny Tucker Cell: 620-257-8488 E-mail: [email protected]
Sterling Heritage Farms ~Join a sterling tradition! !!
If you know of anyone else who would like to receive
our newsletter, please call us at (620) 278-2170 or
email us at: [email protected]. Thank you!
Www.sterlingheritagefarms.com
Reminders: Crop insurance deadline is
March 15th
Our web site is up and running!
New pages are being added
and finished all of the time. Visit
www.sterlingheritagefarms.com
for information on weather,
markets, calendar of events,
and more!
Like us on Facebook!
Next newsletter: Spring of 2013
printing date .
Like us on Facebook!
We want to extend our
thanks for the feedback
we have received so far
on the newsletter. Ninety
-nine percent of it has
been positive so far and
we are glad for that. We
have encountered some
concern that some of the
changes we have been
making might mean that
our landowners might not
get as much individual
a t t e n t i o n ; t h a t
“professional” might take
the place of “personal”
connection. On the con-
trary, we intend to con-
tinue the same personal
attention we have always
maintained! The news-
letter, web site, Facebook
page and other changes
we are making will be
there to enhance our
connection with you, not
to take the place of what
we have always done.
Relationships are the
backbone of our busi-
ness. As one of our
mentors always says:
“The most important thing
in life is relationships;
everything else is just
details.” The detail-
oriented work of produc-
ing high quality crops and
practicing great steward-
ship of your land is a top
priority! We are very
aware of the importance
of both our relationship to
the land as well as its
owner. That begs the
question, how will Jon
add the newsletter, web
site, additional reports,
and social media compo-
nent to his day and still
maintain the focus he has
had on the farming op-
eration and our landown-
ers? The answer: He
won’t. He is going to
keep right on doing the
things he has done. He
will keep learning about
how to protect the land
and raise healthy crops.
He will still make per-
sonal contact with you.
The difference is that I
will be working in a more
active role within our op-
eration. I am running
much of the office side of
our operation now, a role
that I have had a hand in
for the last 17 years in
different ways. Addition-
ally, I will be handling
much of the new change
you will see including the
newsletter, web site, so-
cial media, and a few of
the additional reports.
You won’t see less of
Jon…..you will see more
of me! I am looking
forward to more connec-
tion with you and we
hope that you will find
these changes as a posi-
tive asset to our connec-
tion with you.
—Heather Oden
Feedback on our first
newsletter
“The most
important
thing in life is
relationships;
everything
else is just
details.”
We are on facebook
“...agricultural
advisors say
that legislation
requiring farms
to become
environmentally
certified is only
a matter of
time.”
Sterling Heritage Farms now has a pres-
ence on Facebook. What in the world is
Facebook? Facebook is a social media
web site that enables you to keep in touch
with many different people at a glance.
Once you go on Facebook and “Like” us,
you can get updates including pictures from
us throughout the year. It is one more way
for us to be connected.
How do you do it? It depends on whether
or not you are registered on Facebook or
not. If you have never been on Facebook,
here is what you do:
1. Go to www.facebook.com.
2. Follow the directions for signing up on
the right side of the page.
3. Once you are signed up and have an
account, you can put “Sterling Heritage
Farms” in the search box at the top of your
page. As you type our farm name into the
search box, Facebook will start populating
a list of possible choices. When you see
“Sterling Heritage Farms, 1955 18th Road,
Sterling, Kansas”, click on it. That link will
take you to our page. Click the “Like” but-
ton at the top of our page.
If you have a Facebook page, simply go to
Sterling Heritage Farms and click on the
“Like” button at the top of the page.
Now you’ll get Facebook updates from us!
As technology continues
to change the world con-
tinues to become a
smaller and more inte-
grated place, agricultural
advisors say that legisla-
tion requiring farms to
become environmentally
certified is only a matter
of time. We feel strongly
about good stewardship
and safe, environmental
practices, so Sterling
Heritage Farms is volun-
tarily seeking certification
ahead of legislation. We
have entered the first
year of a three year proc-
ess that evaluates the
safety and stewardship of
our farming practices,
machinery, buildings,
grain storage, security,
conservation participa-
tion, and more. Validus,
a third party auditing firm
recommended by Family
Farms Group has a three
year program that certi-
fies farms as environ-
mentally safe in practice
and production. We have
had our first visit and re-
ceived our first evalua-
tion. We’ll keep you
posted as we continue
through the process.
Environmental
certificaTION
Visit us online at www.sterlingheritagefarms.com
SHF is on
Facebook!
“Like” us to
get updates
throughout
the year!
Our office trailer is here! We now have a place to spread out and conduct day-to-day business tasks such as
conducting meetings, grain marketing and tracking, crop production technology, communication management,
and general administration in a much or organized and efficient way. Stop by and see us!
Back to school
Every year the Sterling Grade School 2nd
grade learns about Native American culture.
Annually, as part of their experience, we are
asked to present a program about bison and
how the Native Americans used bison as a
source for food and other necessities. We
enjoy the opportunity to bring out our hides,
headmounts, teeth, other bison-made prod-
ucts (such as a spoon made from a horn and
a berry basket made from a bladder). A
great time was had by all!
Sterling Grade School 2nd Graders learn about bison.
“ We feel
strongly
about good
stewardship
and safe
environ-
mental
practices.”
At a k-state basketball game
Jon
&
Heather
On our mission trip to south dakota
We were fortunate
to get to see and
spend time with
many of you this
past year.
We Wish You a Here is an update
on our family for
those of you we did
not get to fellowship
with. We want to
stay in touch!
J.J. is 14 and in the 8th grade. He is playing
football, basketball, and running track. He
towers over me now (which he LOVES) and is
driving...Lord have mercy. He is in the Youth
Praise Team and co-leads the Worship and
Teaching Team for the Youth program. He &
his friends also developed a resolution this year
based off of The Resolution from the movie
Courageous about living to honor God. He is
the Senior Patrol Leader in Scouts.
Jacob is 11 (almost 12) and is as tall as I am!
He is playing the djembe in the Youth Praise
Team and learning to play guitar. He is in 6th
grade this year and looking forward to playing
rec basketball after the new year. He is enjoy-
ing the accelerated math program at school and
loves to sketch and draw. He also spends
some of his free time writing. He is actively
moving up the ranks in scouts.
Everyone thinks Santa loves milk and
cookies, but we know the truth……
Take 2 cups of flour and 2./3 of a cup of
butter flavored shortening; cut them to-
gether with a pastry cutter. Take 1/4
cup of water mixed with 2T. of vanilla
and 2tsp. of almond extract and mix it
into the pastry dough with a fork until it
is a moist ball.
Press it into a pie plate and poor in
cherry pie filling. Bake for 25 minutes at
350 degrees….serve warm and we
guarantee that Santa will come back
next year!
Cream together 1/2 c. butter, 3/4 c. sugar,
1 egg, and 1 tsp. vanilla. Mix together 1 1/2
c. flour, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp.
baking soda, and 1/4 tsp. salt (can also ad
1/3 c. cocoa for chocolate cookies). Shape
into disk, wrap in Saran wrap and chill for
1 hour. Roll to 1/4 inch thickness between
to pieces of wax paper. Cut and place on
ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 for
5 to 7 minutes. Cool. To frost, cream
1/2 c. butter, softened and 1/4 c. shorten-
ing. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla and 4 cups pow-
dered sugar to mixture and milk to de-
sired consistency. Add sprinkles….lots and
lots! Then eat and enjoy!
Cody’s Top Secret
Santa Cookie Recipe
Caitlin’s Most Favorite
Sugar Cookies Ever
Cody is 9 and in the 3rd grade. He LOVES
anything with a ball and can hardly wait until
Sterling rec basketball starts because this will be
his first year to play on a team. He is active in
Cub Scouts and also loves to build Lego models.
He also loves to work in the “Lost Boy’s Hideout”
which is a tree-row-turned-village based on Peter
Pan’s Lost Boys’ posse, complete with huts,
stores, currency, and its own government.
Caitlin is 6 and in Kindergarten this year. She is
loving reading and learning new things, but not a
big fan of waking up at 6:20 a.m.. She is taking
ballet and recently moved up to Level 2 in gym-
nastics after painstaking work at learning to do a
cartwheel. She still loves horses, cats, and
singing. She no longer wants to be the tooth fairy
when she grows up, but is now thinking more
along the lines of becoming a teacher, conducting
class often in her room.
Sterling Heritage Farms
Attended Family Farms
Group training on Market-
ing, Human Resources,
Public Relations, Financial
Practices, Emergency and
Safety Planning, and
Business Development.
Hired Kenny Tucker, our
own crop agronomist
Moved into an office trailer
Started to transition Jeff
Pieplow into Operations
Supervisor
Added a web site, news-
letter, and Facebook page
Implemented financial
SOPs
Invited to take part in
Family Farms national
media day in St. Louis
Our Family
Enjoyed a short visit to
Kansas City for a Royals
Game on the way to St.
Louis for Family Farms
training.
Jon, Heather, J.J., and
Jacob took our first mis-
sion trip; built and re-
stored multiple projects on
the Lakota Pine Ridge
Reservation. Each of us
came home changed.
Attended 27 million ball
games, music programs,
scouting events, and les-
sons of various kinds.
Instituted Family Fun
Night on Sunday nights to
maintain connection with
each other where we have
eaten much pizza,
laughed often, and even
blown up a microwave :)
Highlights of
2012
J.J. working cattle
J.J.
&
Jacob
Jacob playing basketball
Jon is thoroughly enjoying farming. He is still on the USD 376 school board, is active with church
and scouts, and hunts every once in a while with friends. I am loving my new roles within the farm-
ing operation; no two days are the same and I still have the flexibility I need to be a mom. I still run
Cub Scouts, teach in the after-school and youth programs at church, and have started having one-
on-one dates with our kids each week (which we call “raisins” instead of “dates” ;) ).
Cody in uncle matt’ s ghillie suit
Cody
&
Caitlin
Caitlin on kaliel on a visit to k.c.
A Christmas Poem by J.J. Oden, 2010
Baby
Small, gift
Sleeping, laying, waking
Joy, excitement, happiness, bliss
Jesus
Are you willing to believe that love is the
strongest thing in the world - stronger than
hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death -
and that the blessed life which began in Beth-
lehem nineteen hundred years ago is the
image and brightness of the Eternal Love?
Then you can keep Christmas. - Henry Van
Dyke
Christmas waves a magic wand over this
world, and behold, everything is softer and
more beautiful. - Norman Vincent Peale
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is
given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will
be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
Our family would like
to wish you the
Merriest of
Christmases.
May your holidays be
filled with sugar
cookies with lots and
lots of sprinkles, pies
with lots and lots of
cherries, hugs and
laughter and warmth.
Most of all, we wish
you a heart full to
bursting with Jesus
Christ. God’s richest
blessings in your 2013!
Original Pencil Drawing by Jacob Oden entitled
“Christmas Sunrise”