A visit with the ISA chairman
CHAMPAIGN – Steve Pitstick is enjoying his role as chairman of the Illinois Soybean Association.
The northern Illinois farmer was at last week’s Soybean Summit at the I-Hotel and Conference Center learning about agronomy, talking soybeans, planting and fertilizer.
“I’m getting a little excited about getting home and smelling some diesel smoke in the shed,” Pitstick told The Central Illinois Farm Network.
Pitstick, who farms about 50 miles straight west of Chicago, had a good year overall in 2022, just not quite as good as he hoped.
“We lost two weeks of early growth that resulted in a couple less nodes and less pods.”
His chairman responsibilities keep him busy with plenty of meetings to attend.
“I probably spend two or three days a week from the time we get done with harvest all the way thorough until about the first of April,” explained Pitstick.
Current issues for the ISA include soy diesel, sustainable aviation fuel, carbon programs and plenty of other things coming.
A small group of board members recently had the opportunity to visit Egypt, which is the third largest customer behind Mexico. Pitstick enjoyed seeing where those investments have paid off.
Pitstick feels crop prices today are fantastic compared to what he thought a good price was a few years back.
“We need $10 or $11 beans just to pay the bills,” Pitstick admitted.
He hopes for continued good prices paired with strong yields.
Comments