Starter fertilizer application and critical inputs like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are always common topics of conversation this time of year. Kent Klingbeil, a lead agronomist with Advanced Agrilytics, would also include another nutrient on that list: sulfur.
Pull the planter out of the shed, fill the planter boxes and start putting seed in the ground. That’s all there is to it, right? No, and especially not this year with so many variables at play, says Aaron Gault, lead agronomist for Advanced Agrilytics.
Not only has a wet, cool spring presented challenging field conditions, but also input availability, cost, and wild swings in commodity prices have given growers a lot more to think about.
“Even before we dive into the prescriptive side of managing the crop it’s going to be about the planter and planter maintenance that we need to focus on,” Gault says. “A key part of that is making sure we have even emergence. And when you think of everything that affects that emerging seedling it goes back to how it is set into the trench. Are all the seeds planted at a consistent depth and are they all planted into moisture?”
For most growers, the success of a season is determined with the combine passes that tell us final yield. While this measurement has the most direct and tangible impact to a operation’s bottom line, how does each grower decide throughout the growing season if they are “on track” for their yield expectation or whether other measures should be taken? Most of us have important times during the growing season to assess the crop which most often occur at emergence where we assess stand establishment signifying a strong start and during or immediately after pollination to determine yield potential for the remainder of the year. These are key milestones, but another that seems to garner less attention is crop canopy.
Thinking about planting soybeans earlier this Spring? AJ Woodyard, lead agronomist, walks through some key management considerations growers should acknowledge prior to putting seeds in the ground.
Challenges encountered by many Midwestern farmers in 2021 provided the opportunity for a strong review of pre-plant input decision in soybean fields, according to Advanced Agrilytics Precision Agronomist Erika Parker.
Corn fields across the Midwest felt the impact of changing conditions this summer, according to Advanced Agrilytics Precision Agronomist Erika Parker.
As input prices skyrocket across the Corn belt, farmers have reached the difficult balancing-act of managing against variability in their fields and ensuring their input investments are put to good use.
A recent survey of Advanced Agrilytics customers shows that 95% of them plan to continue their relationship next year. For Seth Logan, a precision agronomist
It’s the same old story: farmers making seed and fertilizer decisions in the fall based on what has happened the past growing season. Then, those
The questions are flowing through your head as you plan your fungicide program for the new crop year. What worked in 2021? Will fungicide fit in the budget against other input costs? Seth Logan, Advanced Agrilytics precision agronomist in southern Illinois, reminds farmers of the importance of fungicide in 2022.
Changing weather conditions and plant disease challenges were just a small part of the impacts felt by many Midwestern corn and soybean growers throughout the 2021 growing season.
Wet year? Dry year? What’s coming in 2022? We know you can’t control or predict the weather, but we can mitigate its impact.
