Editor’s note: This is the second story in a series highlighting the first full year of farming for a young family from mid-Michigan. They are the daughter and son-in-law of editor Jennifer Kiel. Read the first story here: First-time farmers plant seeds with hope.

Wheat was mature two weeks early on the Malkin farm in mid-Michigan. Going into their first full year of farming, Tyler and Emily Malkin were ready to go with great anticipation.

The 2006 Gleaner was fully serviced, but as Tyler pulled the combine out of the barn, a seal in the hub gave way. After closer inspection, it was more than a seal, necessitating it be sent out for a complete rebuild — an unknown downtime the Malkins couldn’t afford.

“For my husband, who can fix everything and anything, to say we needed to send it out, I knew it was about time we didn’t have,” says Emily, 27.

After an almost made-to-order early-planting season that wrapped by mid-May, this young couple’s journey into their first complete crop cycle had a few challenges en route to filling their bins.

But, buried in the back of the barn was a 1984 International combine Tyler’s grandpa, Warren Malkin, had used before the Gleaner. It hadn’t been out of the barn for six or seven years. Tyler had never operated it, nor had he seen it run since he graduated high school in 2012 and marched off in the Marines four days later.

He greased it up, changed fluids, installed a new battery, turned the key and prayed. It fired, bellowed some smoke, but heartily inched out of the barn into the adjacent wheat field. Tyler, with help from his dad, Steve, and Warren, went to work harvesting about half of his 80 wheat acres in a slow, methodical fashion.

It definitely wasn’t ideal, he says, but improvising is often part of farming. It was slow going, about 1.5 mph maximum. “The Gleaner spits the slug out, but with the International, when the feeder box plugs up, you have to shut it down, get out and wrench it over backwards to turn it out manually,” says Tyler, 30.

A few days later, the part was back. Tyler and Steve put the Gleaner back together through the night and were out the next morning finishing wheat. “It’s been working great since, minus the air conditioning,” Tyler says. “We put a new compressor and receiver driver in it last year, and after a charge, we still have no AC. So, we’ve narrowed it down to the expansion valve that needs to be replaced.”

Ironically, the International’s AC was the one convenience it did offer.

“Grandpa has had it for sale for some time, but now I'm on the fence about either selling it or keeping it for backup,” Tyler says. “When you really need something, it’s a lot better than having to hire a custom harvester, which was not in the budget whatsoever.”

While some farmers were breaking into wheat fields in mid-July, Tyler was done. The crop averaged 14.7 moisture and 70 bushels per acre — 13 bushels below Michigan’s average, but 20 bushels higher than the national average — despite missing a spray before it headed out. The Malkins spot-sold their wheat to ADM.

Wheat acres were burned down in mid-August. A cover crop of oats, clover and radishes was broadcast.

First full year

Tyler and Emily are employed full time off the farm — Emily being the Clinton County soil conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Tyler as a driver and mechanic with Woodhull Construction. They are navigating their first full year managing and working the 362-acre farm in Laingsburg, Mich.

Wanting to keep the farm in the family and not having interest from his own children, Warren, 85, made a generous offer to the young couple, which included a bundle of land, equipment, barns, a house, and a grain drying and storage system. Part of the deal included keeping the farm intact for at least 20 years.

“It really is a privilege, but not one we saw coming just a couple years ago,” Emily says. “We know farming is in a down cycle right now, but we’re determined to make it work.

“This is the life we want for our family,” she adds, referencing their two-and-half-year-old son, Tucker, while also rubbing her pregnant belly in mid-August awaiting the arrival of their second son.

They have melded together in a multigenerational farm and home. Warren spent some time in Florida during the winter and recently had a knee replacement and cataract surgery. “He still helps out when needed and is always doing something,” Tyler says. “But the farm is now my responsibility.”

Emily is proud of Tyler. “He’s done his research and sat down with big ag industry professionals, including Feldpausch Farms and others, for advice to come up with plans,” she says. “He’s constantly watching the market, and he reads all the magazines. Tyler has helped on the farm, but neither of us grew up on a farm, so this has been a learning experience in managing all operations and bookkeeping. I think Warren, who we still seek advice from, feels a little more comfortable with Tyler taking over things now.”

Weed control is frustrating

Soybean fields were sprayed with Enlist twice, but weeds — mostly crabgrass and foxtail — are breaking through the canopy.

“With so much rain, everything has taken right off, including weeds,” says Tyler, noting his off-farm job — while flexible — has made it challenging to stay on top of things exactly when the window opens.

“I'm really kicking myself for not spraying them again, because they're tall, lush and producing,” he says. “We investigated having a late spray, but it was cost-prohibitive, and it would impact yield.”

He expects weeds to be a hindrance at harvest. “We just need to keep up on the machine and go nice and easy,” he says.

Before the beans canopied, Tyler also walked his bean fields with a backpack sprayer. “I hit anything poking through with a combo of Roundup and 2-4,D,” he says. “So, it’s frustrating to see them now.”

Despite the weed issues, beans are chest-high on 5-foot-11 Tyler. “As of early August, we have strong beans with 23-24 pods per plant and still growing,” he says.

Corn outlook encouraging

With the monitor malfunctioning, Tyler planted his first 10 acres of corn before he discovered two plugged hoses supplying liquid starter fertilizer on his six-row planter. “It was noticeable in the beginning with the corn being a little stunted and yellow, but you can't tell now. It's all evened out,” he says.

Anhydrous ammonia was sidedressed June 11, which was delayed because of rain. “We got so much rain this year, and it continued with about 10 inches in July,” he says. “It’s been consistent all year with a constant soak every couple of weeks. It’s been a good year, and if it wasn’t for our weed issue, I’d be ecstatic.”

Coming home after 5 p.m. and headed out with the sprayer, Tyler put down Roundup, surfactants and residuals the week after anhydrous.

In mid-August, he pulled a few corn ears. “Corn is doing well,” he says. “A couple of those ears had 544 kernels. We’ll see what that looks like on the monitor and what I actually get.”

Storage issues

With 14,000 bushels of corn in storage, Tyler was pleased when a marketer called wanting his corn. “We had sold some earlier, and my corn fit the exact parameters they were looking for,” he explains.

In emptying the bin, crusting and clumps blocked the center auger from draining the bin. “So, with some engineering between Grandpa, Dad and I, we attached a chute to the side door and an auger to send it to the pit and up to the overheads,” he says.

But, by doing that, the corn was not distributed uniformly in the bin, creating pressure points and potential for the bin to tip over.

At Emily’s urging, Tyler borrowed a harness and respirator from nearby Zeeb Farms to enter the bin and shovel the corn from one side to the other.

With about 3,800 bushels now emptied, “It’s low enough to where I can get in there and hopefully bust that up and get it feeding the right way,” Tyler says. “I cycled the corn three or four times last winter, but I’ll do it more in the future to prevent this.”

Deer damage continues

Like last year, when a 15-acre rented cornfield was devoured by deer, the Malkins are again seeing massive deer damage losses on fields abutting woods.

“They have annihilated the whole south corner of soybeans behind the house,” Emily says. “It’s a herd of like 30 or 40, and it’s getting worse. We have off-season deer control permits and have several people hunting, but it’s not really making a dent.”

They are no longer renting that field and are helping the landowner to put it into the Conservation Reserve Program.

The couple carries insurance on all their crops. They also take advantage of government programs and were recently selected for the Conservation Stewardship Program, which rewards their cover crops, reduced tillage and nutrient management practices. Both being military veterans, they qualify for a premium rate.

It also rewards new practices. In addition to leaving a certain percentage of grain standing for wildlife, the Malkins are planning to enhance an existing pollinator plot, create a new one, and improve forestry management through snags and dens.

They’ve gotten a lot of encouragement, especially since their story first appeared in the July issue of American Agriculturist. “It’s nice to hear from long-standing, established growers and know that you can't get it perfect every time, and even if you do, you're never going to do it again,” Tyler says.

Even when you do everything right, the weather is still the wild card. Storms with 60-mph-plus winds knocked over their sprayer in late August, which will require repairs and more expense.

Tyler and Emily are pleased and thankful to be part of this generational farm family legacy. It’s one they hope their expanding family will also enjoy and appreciate.

Time will tell, but Tucker is already intrigued with all things tractor-related and is a frequent ride-along buddy. And, he’s happy to share his fascination with little brother, Tommy, who arrived Aug. 25.