Rye

Harvest Smarter: How Farmer Neil Denton Slashes Grain Loss With Aftermarket Technology

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 13:22:10 GMT

Neil Denton doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to his crops: His corn today looks to be “a marginal crop” and his soybean yields are “going to be way off” this fall.

His operation, Denton Farms, Barlow, Ky., raises corn, soybeans, wheat, rye and canola in an area known for bluegrass music, Kentucky pit-style barbecue and, of course, bourbon whiskey. But that American-made, caramel-brown legacy spirit can only blunt the sting of a meager crop year so much. Denton has a farm (not to mention a podcast and YouTube Channel) to run, so you can’t really blame him for doing everything in his power to get every single, shiny kernel in the bin.

With that goal top of mind, this spring he pulled the trigger on new crop-specific sets of Bushel Plus concaves to replace the OEM concaves in his John Deere X9 combine. The aftermarket concaves are easy to swap out, he says. Right away, Denton noted the unique grate design, which has helped whittle his harvest losses on soft winter wheat down to 0.7 bu. per acre; that is “phenomenal for small grains,” he says.

Looking to fine-tune his combine performance even more, Denton added the Bushel Plus SmartPan system to his harvest toolkit — a remote-controlled “smart” drop pan and mobile app to monitor and measure grain loss out the back end of the combine. After all, the hilly, western Kentucky landscape presents a formidable challenge when it comes to dialing in header height and other settings for each field.

Denton says he has also enjoyed getting to know Marcel Kringe, Bushel Plus founder and CEO. Kringe is originally from Germany, but today he makes his home on Canada’s canola-ringed western plains, perhaps the ideal location for an innovator focused on harvester optimization.

“He’s one of those guys that’s willing to come out, help you install concaves, and show you how they work,” says Denton. “You just don’t see that very often.”

Denton says he expects to see a full return on investment this year for both the concaves and the SmartPan system. He adds that the ruggedized concaves are built to last, extending their lifespan to far more acres in the combine.

CEO on summer tour

Bushel Plus CEO Marcel Kringe

(Photo courtesy of Bushel Plus)

Kringe is currently amid a multiweek tour of U.S. equipment dealer field days. He says the farmers he has met with are looking for relief from high operating costs and low commodity prices.

“Grain prices right now are a bit tricky, but overall farmers are happy they got planting finished up after a tough spring with lots of moisture down here,” Kringe says. “Right now, they are focused on getting the best out of their crop because margins are tight, right? And if they buy something, they’ll only buy it if it has a good ROI. Our products are all about getting more grain in the bin and having less (grain) loss, and less loss means more money for the farmer.”

Limiting grain lost out the backside of the combine is a passion for Kringe, who got Bushel Plus off the ground from his basement as a hobby. He likens the importance of combine and header adjustments to front-end alignments in the automotive world.

As with tires, if the alignment is off, everything pulls in the wrong direction and wears unevenly, Kringe notes.

“It’s the same idea with a combine. We’re essentially calibrating the machine so it runs smoothly and efficiently — just like aligning the front end of a vehicle,” he says. “Farmers already understand they need to calibrate tools like air seeders, planters and sprayers. Combines need the same attention. It has to be dialed in to perform at its best.”

(Photo courtesy of Bushel Plus)

Kringe has a tagline to remind farmers how often they need to calibrate the combine: New field. New crop. New variety. Any of the three means it’s time to do a fresh calibration.

For growers that have never made aftermarket changes to their combine, but they think now is the time to dive in, Kringe says they should start with a drop pan system.

“You already have a combine with concaves doing the job,” he says. “And while our concaves take that performance further, the SmartPan really gets you thinking seriously about harvest loss. You can only harvest once, and if you’re not measuring what’s coming out the back, you’re flying blind. That’s the one thing you want to have.”

Your Next Read: The Modern Potato Success Story Behind Your French Fry

Next Gen Spotlight: Missouri Farmer Diversifies to 'Roll With the Punches and Grow'

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 19:43:14 GMT

After graduating from the University of Missouri in 2011, Lance Dobson returned to his family farming operation in Lexington, Mo. Today the farm consists of a corn and soybean rotation, but they are looking at ways to diversify. Cattle have been added into the mix following the decision to plant a cereal rye cover crop ahead of soybeans to use as forage. Dobson also started a seed dealership for Beck’s Hybrid to diversify his own income.

Q: Why did you feel a need to diversify?

A: I think it’s important. As human beings, it’s much easier to focus on just one thing. Life has a rhythm, and you know what to expect during every part of the year. However, diversification allows you to roll with the punches and grow. As we get out of our comfort zone, it usually leads to good results. Whether it’s exercising or farming, hopefully diversification in our day will yield results that improve our longevity. I think we’re seeing the need for it right now given the direction our commodity prices are going. So, maybe we need a few more cash avenues or options on the farm.

Q: Why did you become a seed dealer?

A: When I first returned to the farm, I didn’t have a lot of ownership in the operation. I was mostly just an employee helping with the daily operations. After a few years, I really wanted to take on something of my own. I wanted something I could take hold of and build. I had an opportunity sent my way to start a seed dealership, and so I took it. At that time, we were also going through a downturn in the farm economy, and so it was another way to diversify my cash flow. Since then, it’s helped me build a lot of relationships with neighbors and given me the opportunity to figure out how we can all help each other grow our operations.

Lance Dobson introduced cattle and planted cereal rye cover crop ahead of soybeans to use as forage.

(Dobson Farms)

Q: What lessons have you learned from diversifying the operation?

A: Try something new just enough to get a good experiment going so you can see how it could play out on a larger scale, but don’t get in over your head. You don’t want the test to be so big that it’s a real disaster. Right now, it’s hard to try new things when financials are already constrained, but find a way to try. It’s one of the best ways to find new successes. Yes, there will always be failures, but just go learn from them. I think once you make that jump, you’ll be happy you did in the long run. There’s so much personal growth that happens when we can try new things.

Q: What else do you hope to accomplish in the next five to 10 years?

A: A goal for our farming operation is to be more self reliant and resilient. Today, a lot of the constraints we have are based on commodity prices, which we don’t have any control over, and our input prices, which we also don’t have any control over. So, if we can build our farm to where we don’t rely as much on herbicides, or synthetic fertilizers, I think we’ll be in a better place. Similarly, I’d like to build our operation so we don’t rely as much on straight commodity prices. Maybe that means we do more direct-marketed goods, or we sell our corn as value added, somehow differentiating what we’re growing from commodity yellow corn, I think we’d create a lot more resilient and sustainable business.

Your Next Read — Next-Gen Spotlight: Arkansas Farmer Always Willing to Try Something New

Hitting Pay Dirt with Regenerative Ag

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 17:33:02 GMT

By Kathy Meyer

From the farm level to downstream manufacturers of consumer-packaged goods, regenerative agriculture is changing how and what ag retailers sell to their farmer-customers.

“Today we’re at an intersection where agronomy meets conservation,” says Joel Wipperfurth, Truterra director of sales. “Ag retailers are developing their technical assistance with employees that possess backgrounds not only in agronomy but also in data analysis, environmental sciences and biology. Retailers can bring this technical assistance to farmers to help make decisions about implementing or expanding sustainable practices.”

By combining expertise across multiple disciplines, retailers are able to expand their offerings and layer on new products and services for farmers.

“Adding an environmental lens to crop production puts the ag retailer in a good position. Trusted advisers can bring new ideas, products and services to improve soil health, increase nutrient efficiency and sustainability to farmers who want to expand or adopt regenerative practices—all while increasing profitability and the value of their land,” Wipperfurth says.

A go-to resource is key for a new practice.

“Farmers ask questions about barriers to adding new regenerative practices, and that’s where ag retailers see an opportunity to step in and suggest solutions such as seeding equipment, residue management, starter fertilizer, plant growth regulators and others as needed,” Wipperfurth says.

Take Barriers Off the Table
At Illini FS in east-central Illinois, regenerative ag via a cover crop program is quickly expanding business in the retailer’s five-county service area. Drew Hewitt, seed and agronomy manager, reports that almost 3,000 acres of cereal rye were planted into standing corn stalks and soybean stubble in 2022. This past year, the retailer added a second drill—boosting seeded cover crops to almost 4,000 acres.

“Not only are we gaining sustainability benefits from the cover crop acres, we’re also seeing positive yield results,” says Hewitt.

The springboard for the program was thinking about what’s possible rather than obstacles.

“Our business serves farms with flat, black, highly productive soils for growing commercial corn and soybeans,” he explains. “We challenged ourselves to think about how cover crops would be received by our customers. Cover crops aren’t for everyone, but everyone has a fit for some cover crop on their farm. Locally, we feel that many farmers don’t implement cover crops because they don’t have the extra time, manpower or equipment.”

Illini FS supplies the manpower and equipment to custom-seed a cereal rye cover crop following corn and soybeans. It partners with Great Plains to provide a drill, and Illini FS employees and technical crop consultants ensure timely seeding and follow recommendations for terminating the cover crop and planting the subsequent corn or soybean crop.

Two Prong Benefits
Applying a long-term lens, Illini FS has diversified its business and built a program that has longevity—rather than focus on a one-time change. An important part of that equation has been the financial side and return on investment.

“Cover crops help expand our business while evaluating the soil health benefits and economics for our farmers,” says Hewitt. “Soil health may be enough for farmers to spend the extra money, but they also want to see an economic return. Programs are available for funding, but we want farmers to continue when it’s gone.”

Regenerative ag’s return on investment often requires a different timetable for returns as well as technology to help measure the gains.

Illini FS uses Nu-Tracker Plus, a tracking system that evaluates nitrogen and other essential nutrients in soil. Farmers can compare ROI for nutrient investments in soils with cover crops with ROI in soils that haven’t had cover crops. The system also helps the retailer make variable-rate fertilizer prescriptions.

“Ag retailers can embrace regenerative ag practices as a way to bring innovations and ideas to farmers,” says Ryan Locke, Nutrien Ag Solutions’ director of sustainability partnerships. “We’ll continue to sell synthetic fertilizers and ag chem, but changes in local practices and sustainable products will create a pathway for getting new systems and technologies adopted.”

Part of the Future
Nutrien invests in education to arm retail locations with the information and tools to make sustainable agronomic and economic recommendations, says Locke. “We’ve put technical resources in the hands of our retailers to advance practices such as low-carbon fertilizers, variable-rate precision application, drone analysis and soil testing—plus all the ‘nuts and bolts’ of data analysis.”

Locke says Nutrien is also applying technology to enable ag retailers to show farmers the changes possible and measure the results.

“Our retailers can also access the Agrible digital platform, which connects farmers to local agronomic experts to measure environmental outcomes as they continue to make a sustainable impact,” he says.

Working together, ag retailers are helping amplify and scale regenerative ag among their farmer-customers.

Locke adds, “Farmers are being challenged with ‘big asks’ to profitably and sustainably produce more food on the same soil while maintaining the land’s resiliency for future generations. It’s a race to feed a growing population, and ag retailers play an important role in shaping how farmers win the race.”

Russia May Suspend Grain Exports Until June 30

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 18:25:19 GMT

Russia may suspend exports of wheat, barley, corn and rye starting Tuesday and lasting until June 30, the Interfax news agency reported on Monday, citing the agriculture ministry.

Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter with Egypt and Turkey among the main buyers. It competes mainly with the European Union and Ukraine.

“The agriculture ministry and the trade ministry have prepared a draft government decree that would introduce a temporary ban on exports of the main grains from Russia from March 15 to June 30,” Interfax quoted the agriculture ministry as saying.

The agriculture ministry did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.

A global food crisis looms unless the war in Ukraine is stopped because fertilizer prices are soaring so fast that many farmers can no longer afford soil nutrients, Russian fertilizer and coal billionaire Andrei Melnichenko said on Monday.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Jan Harvey and Nick Macfie)

10 Reasons Why You Should Love Winter Rye

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 13:00:00 GMT

When it comes to forage and cover crops, winter rye offers rock-star versatility that makes it easy to love. Agronomy experts at the University of Vermont , North Dakota State University and the University of Wisconsin offer these reasons why:

1. It’s a nitrogen scavenger – Rye has the ability to take up excess soil nitrate from a previous crop or fall-applied manure, decreasing the risk of run-off and overwinter leaching. Fall-planted rye has been shown to take up and hold as much as 100 pounds of nitrogen per acre until spring, with 25-50 pounds being more common. In addition, it’s also an efficient utilizer of phosphorus. Agronomists estimate about 18 pounds of P are removed per ton of dry matter harvested.

2. Soil stays put – As a ground cover, rye effectively holds soil in place and reduces wind and water erosion. Its extensive root system also can improve soil tilth and reverse compaction damage.

3. Planting is flexible – As long as soil contact is available, winter rye likely will grow. It’s a cold soldier, and has been shown to grow at temperatures as low as 33°F. In fact, for winter rye to flower, it has a “vernalization requirement” of about 30 days of soil temperatures below 45°F. Spring seeding also is possible, although most of the crop will remain strictly vegetative and will not head out.

4. Two crops are better than one – Following a spring rye forage harvest, dual cropping with corn, soybeans or alfalfa is possible in most climates. If the rye crop is taken all the way to seed harvest, options become more limited, but still include sorghum-sudangrass, millet, or a new alfalfa stand. In between, it also creates a valuable summer window of freed-up acres for manure application.

5. It’s a dry matter maker – Compared to other cereal grains, rye grows faster in the fall and produces the most dry matter the following spring – up to 10,000 pounds per acre, depending how long it is allowed to grow.

6. Feeding options abound – Early fall-planted rye can be grazed in the fall or spring. Spring or early summer cuttings can be taken for hay or silage. As dry matter increases, protein goes down and fiber content goes up – both rather quickly. So, if intended for lactating rations, harvesting at or before early boot stage is recommended. Stands harvested at head-emergence stage can produce reliable heifer and dry-cow feed. Rye straw from seed-harvested crops also makes beautiful bedding, and can be chopped into dry-cow and heifer rations.

7. Weed-fighting capabilities – Rye’s aggressive growth means it competes well with small-seeded, light-sensitive weeds like lambs quarters, some pigweeds, foxtail, velvetleaf. It also has been shown to provide natural, allelopathic suppression of kochia, horseweed, marestail, ragweed, that can reduce the need for herbicide application to the next crop.

8. It’s not picky about soil type – Heavy clay, sandy, highly acetic, low-fertility and roughly prepared soils – it appears winter rye can handle them all. Rye can withstand a range of soil types and conditions where other cereal grains may fail. Optimal soil pH for rye is 5.0-7.0, but it will tolerate a range of 4.5-8.0.

9. Moisture may vary – Because of its prolific root system, winter rye also is more drought-tolerant than other cereal grains. At the same time, it is a helpful crop to have in place during wet conditions, as it will utilize excess soil moisture and return it to a more ideal condition for the next crop.

10. It plays nicely with others – Winter rye is an ideal partner to seed together with legumes like hairy vetch and/or clovers. It will initially grow faster than the legume seed, protecting the soil, scavenging nitrogen, and acting as a nurse crop to the legume(s). In the spring, it provides structural support for the climbing legumes. The high-nitrogen legumes reduce the overall carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) ratio of the forage mix, and increase the nitrogen available to the following crop. A rye/legume mix also typically produces a larger dry-matter yield compared to a pure rye stand.

John Phipps: The Power of a Pollinator Plot

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 20:58:33 GMT

I realized it has been almost exactly 2 years since my first report on my pollinator plot. As you can see and might remember, I was not exactly optimistic it would amount to much in the beginning. Thanks to experts and friends, and the fact the only thing you can really do about it is…nothing, things have gotten better.

I am standing almost exactly where I was last time and notice the ragweed and foxtail have largely melted away. Last year was an improvement, but this year, thanks to persistent rains and the magic of perennial propagation it’s chock full of flowers and stuff.

I’m shooting this on July 14, so the mid-season flowers are blooming. I have become an overnight expert on these species so let me point some out: there is the familiar yellow one, the taller droopy yellow one, the little bitty yellow and white one, and the purple one. And of course, Queen Anne’s Lace which is normally a roadside weed, but looks pretty good in here.

There is also a good stand of some kinda rye I think, but it’s not on the seed mixture tag.

If I hadn’t been obsessed with planting in May, I could also have shot the explosion of white flowers with my favorite name: foxglove beardtongue that showed up then. It was spectacular. Other species will flower later this summer. The plot is head high, and this being the third year, I’ll have to renew one third of the plot this fall by a light disking or burning. Neither Jan, nor Aaron, nor the the fire department nor my insurance agent likes the sound of me with a match, so I may have to settle for a disk.

I’ll keep you updated, but this project is turning out pretty cool.

Considering a Cover Crop? This Chart Will Help You Choose.

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 20:56:49 GMT

If you’re wondering which cover crop might be best for your farm, you’ll want to check out the Cover Crop Chart from the USDA’s Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory.

The interactive PDF outlines more than 50 cover crop options, from alfalfa and clovers to barley, oats, millet and more.

Click on the crop of choice—say, cereal rye—and you’ll go to a quick list of growing requirements and attributes as well as a few photos. Cereal rye, for example, is a self-pollinator that’s “rated ‘very good’ at scavenging nitrogen from the soil.”

The chart also provides crop sequence effects for various plants, in case you are unsure how plant residue might affect the performance of a particular cover crop.

You can download the chart here . You may need to provide a limited amount of personal information to o access it.