Test Plots

Soybean Plots Put Biological Seed Treatments, In-Furrow Starter and Fungicides To The Test: What Really Pays?

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 21:22:08 GMT

The Farm Journal Test Plot season shifted into high gear this week as Ken Ferrie and his team push to get soybean plots in the ground ahead of the next round of rain.

“We planted until midnight last night to finish two plots, and we’ll finish two more today if the weather holds,” says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

While planters are running full-tilt in parts of central and southern Illinois, Ferrie notes that northern Illinois is just finding its rhythm.

“Where we are today, farmers are just getting started again. If the rain forecast misses us, we’ll likely roll right through the weekend,” he says.

2026 Soybean Plots Take Shape

This week’s planting efforts focus on soybeans, with multiple test plots designed to tackle farmers’ questions regarding fertility, seed treatments and fungicide performance. Four key test plots being planted this week include:

Biologicals: A dedicated plot is focused on the performance of various biological seed treatments.
In-Furrow Starter: In a relatively uncommon setup for soybeans, the team is testing a special starter blend designed specifically for in-furrow placement.
Foliar Micronutrients: Ferrie and team will be applying micronutrients over the top of soybeans to evaluate the crop response and ROI.
Plant Architecture & Fungicide Efficiency: This plot compares non-branching varieties in narrow rows against branching “bush” beans. The goal is to measure how efficiently foliar products reach—and stay on—the target. “We want to see how much product hits the ground versus how much stays in the canopy,” Ferrie explains. “If I’m foliar feeding and it hits the ground, it’s a wasted investment. We’re tracking those efficiencies.”

Corn Is On Standby

While the soybean plots are ramping up, corn planting at the Farm Journal Test Plot sites remains largely on hold as the team waits for a better weather window.

Ferrie notes that while many farmers further south in the state are well underway with corn, his local fields south of Bloomington, Ill., have been slower to reach ideal conditions.

“We’ve given farmers the green light to plant corn in some areas of the state, but our specific ground is just now reaching the right moisture levels,” he says. “It has been a challenge to stay out of the wet spots, but we are ready to move as soon as the soil allows.”

Thank You to Our Plot Partners
The research underway this season in the Farm Journal Test Plots is made possible by: Case IH, Fendt, Great Plains Manufacturing, John Deere, Martin-Till, Pleasant View Ag, Precision Planting, Unverferth Manufacturing Company, Yetter Farm Equipment, B&M Crop Consulting and Crop-Tech Consulting.

How to Dial In Downpressure and Closing Systems for Perfect Stands

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 21:00:35 GMT

Among the recent strides in planter technology, adjustable downpressure is a game-changer, says Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie. It, along with today’s sophisticated furrow-closing systems, can set you up for picket-fence stands and photocopied plants, the foundation of ear count and yield.

Here are some tips to help you dial in the ideal settings for your field’s specific soils and conditions.

May The Force Be With You

“Placing seed at uniform depth requires sufficient downforce on the row units to firm soil with the depth wheels, so the seed trench walls stand up and seed can be placed at the bottom,” Ferrie says. “There should be enough downforce to keep units in contact with the ground 97% of the time.

“Insufficient downforce causes uneven depth of planting, which leads to uneven emergence, or dry soil sloughing off the top of the trench onto the seed,” Ferrie continues. “Too much downforce leads to sidewall smearing, which causes the furrow to crack open afterward. In tilled fields that get too mellow, you may need to apply upward pressure because the row unit full of seed is too heavy, causing sidewall smearing issues.”

Hydraulic downpressure control allows downforce to change in a millisecond, by row and by foot of travel. “That’s not too important in conventionally tilled soil where the field cultivator passes 4” deep in mellow conditions,” Ferrie continues. “But it’s very important in no-till or strip-till because soil firmness changes quickly because of soil type, whether you’re in the center or the edge of a strip, wheel tracks and other factors.”

To set downpressure initially, stop the planter with the units in the ground, then see if you can turn both depth wheels on a few row units.

“If you can only turn one of them with the planter in the ground, back off the downforce until you can turn both wheels. At that point, you are not holding planting depth. Add small increments of downforce until it’s difficult to make at least one of the wheels turn. Continue to check depth wheel setting in all soil types or changing conditions,” Ferrie says.

Continue to check behind the planter as soils and conditions change.

“If you find a seam indicating sidewalls are not being crushed, back off the downforce and see if it goes away,” Ferrie advises.

Precision Planting hydraulic downforce on a Case IH planter responds in milliseconds to maintain accurate seed depth in no-till and strip-till conditions.

(Crop-Tech Consulting Inc.)

Close the Deal

It’s necessary for your planter’s closing system to do three things:

Close the furrow from the bottom up, leaving the moist soil at the bottom and the drier soil at the top.
Crush the sidewall. “If you fail to crush the sidewall, it will result in a seam that will open up later,” Ferrie says.
Firm soil over the seed, so moisture can’t escape. “Moisture is needed for germination and for development of the first and second sets of crown roots,” Ferrie says. “If it rains a day or two after planting, all will be well. Rain will settle the trench and allow the seed to germinate uniformly. But if you get 30 mph or 40 mph wind and 70˚F to 80˚F temperatures, you can run out of water at planting depth in a few hours. If it doesn’t rain for three weeks, furrows that weren’t firmed will be too dry to form crown roots and you’ll have floppy corn.”

The Best System For You

There are many types of closing wheels, designed to close furrows from the bottom up, crush sidewalls and/or firm soil over the seed.

“Rubber-tire closing wheels’ main function is to firm soil,” Ferrie says. “Cast-iron wheels are designed to close the furrow from the bottom up and firm soil. Spoked wheels’ main function is to crush the sidewall.”

Spoked wheels with swept-back tines are good for sidewall crushing and more soil firming. Twisted tines provide sidewall crushing and bottom-up closing.

“Some closing systems are two-stage,” Ferrie explains. ”They have staggered closing disks or spoked wheels designed to close from the bottom up and crush the sidewall, plus a firming wheel. This has been Case IH’s system from the beginning. There are versions from other companies.

“Two-stage systems provide flexibility if you operate across multiple farming systems, such as no-till, strip-till and conventional tillage. They provide more firming in conventional tillage and more sidewall crushing in no-till.

“Today’s technology lets you adjust your planter to handle conventional, strip-till, no-till and cover crop conditions from the tractor cab,” Ferrie summarizes. “Planter setup is more complicated; but the improved ROI from multiple systems that fit each soil type make it worthwhile.”

No matter how much technology you have inside your cab or planter, Ferrie concludes, “It is still crucial for operators to ground-truth. Dig cross sections of the row, checking depth, sidewall smearing and furrow firming. Thanks to technology, you don’t have to spend as much time on your knees as your dad and grandpa did, but you still need to check each of your fields multiple times.”

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Crop-Tech Consulting Inc.

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Crop-Tech Consulting Inc.

Adjust Downforce to Fit Soil Conditions

A Farm Journal study in tilled and no-till conditions illustrated the varying amount of downforce required to keep depth wheels in contact with the surface, firming the soil so trench walls would stand up and seed could be placed at the bottom. In both situations, units exceeded the required 97% ground contact (top photo). In no-till, the average downpressure requirement was 130 lb./ft., compared to 63 lb./ft. in tilled soil.

“Hydraulic downpressure control is especially beneficial in no-till and strip-till because soil firmness changes quickly based on soil type, whether you’re in the center or the edge of a strip, wheel tracks and other factors,” says Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie. “But it’s also valuable in tilled soil, where you sometimes need to apply negative downforce (i.e., upward force), to take some of the weight off the planter units.”

(Crop-Tech Consulting Inc.)

If Your Seedbed Dries Out

“If a seedbed gets dry down to planting depth, it’s almost impossible to get a trench to stand up long enough to get seed to the bottom of the furrow and close it,” says Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie. “Dry surface soil will fall into the furrow before the closing system can operate.

“While this is a seedbed problem, not a planter issue, you can help the situation by changing your planter setup. Lower your row cleaner wheels to push the dry soil to the side and let you plant into moisture. This carries some risk: Your plants will be down in a little valley, so if you get a hard rain before or during emergence, the seed or seedling will be covered when rain washes the soil you pushed aside back into or on top of the row. But the only other option is to delay planting until it rains.”

Test Plot Research Shows Narrow-Angle Row Cleaners Add $22 Per Acre

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 23:24:36 GMT

After four years of rigorous on-farm research, Farm Journal Field Agronomist Missy Bauer has successfully identified hardware and technology changes that can help growers looking to maximize the potential of their 15" soybeans.

Through replicated trials conducted from 2022 through 2025, as part of the Farm Journal Test Plot program, Bauer’s team demonstrated how narrow-angle row cleaners are key to overcoming the “residue hurdle” in narrow-row systems.

By using narrow-angle row cleaners, farmers are able to achieve more uniform stands and more robust early-season growth. The research shows these advantages translated into an average yield increase of 2.14 bu. of soybeans per acre, delivering an average $22-per-acre increase.

Multiyear Research Assessment

Bauer’s team compared Martin-Till narrow-angle row cleaners against no-residue management in diverse environments in south-central Michigan. The study parameters included:

Technology. Row units equipped with Martin-Till ACCR 1345 row cleaners, compact, parallel-link row cleaners designed for high-speed planting and narrow rows. They were paired with the Precision Planting CleanSweep system for cab control.

The research study used row units with Martin-Till ACCR 1345 row cleaners paired with Precision Planting CleanSweep.

(B&M Crop Consulting, Inc.)

“I’m a proponent of the cab control because of how challenging, physically, it would be, and time consuming, if you had to adjust each row manually on your bean planter,” Bauer says. “The ability to easily adjust the cleaners is crucial for adapting to varying field conditions.”

Duration. Multiple replicated trials over a four-year window (2022 through 2025).

Tillage Systems. Evaluations were done across multiple no-till and vertical tillage plots and one conventional tillage plot.

Yield Data. The study results were collected with a calibrated yield monitor, weighed with a scaled grain cart and analyzed across the fields’ management zones.

“Residue Toss” Dilemma

Traditional row cleaners have a 60-degree angle intended for 30" rows. In a 15" configuration, however, these wider angles often prove ineffective and frequently lead to plugging.

“With the traditional 60-degree angle in 15" soybeans, the residue just gets thrown too far and is always covering up the other row, even at slow speeds,” Bauer explains. “The back row will cover up the front row.”

The pitch on narrow-angle row cleaners contains the residue within a tighter path, preventing the neighbor-row interference that compromises uniform emergence and early growth.

Early Planting Advantage

Bauer’s research suggests the benefits of narrow-angle row cleaners are amplified as growers plant earlier. While the four-year average yield bump from the research was 2.14 bu., April-planted soybeans saw an average response of 2.61 bu. per acre.

“As we continue to push planting dates, row cleaners will probably be increasingly important,” Bauer says.

In the cold, damp soils typical of early spring, she notes clearing the furrow of residue is essential for capturing sunlight and ensuring uniform emergence, the foundation of high-yield soybeans.

Soybean Row Cleaner X Planting Speed Study - May 1, 2024

(B&M Crop Consulting, Inc.)

Practical Limits

One of the biggest questions growers with high-speed planters often ask is: How fast can I go and still keep residue where it belongs?

To answer that question, Bauer conducted a speed study with a Case IH 2150S high-speed, front-fold Early Riser planter and Yetter narrow-angle row cleaners in no-till.

“In this part of southern Michigan we have a lot of rocks in our fields, so typical planting speeds are 4 to 5 mph,” Bauer says.

The study was conducted at a starting speed of 4.2 mph and then increased to 5, 6, 7 and 8 mph.

“We’re going to suggest a maximum speed might be 6.5 to 7 mph for running a high-speed planter, if you’re using the row cleaners and are concerned about covering rows back up,” Bauer says.

Bauer notes wheel design plays a vital role, finding traditional Finger wheels offer a less aggressive touch and Sharktooth wheels deliver more throw. She says a hybrid Sharktooth Finger design from Yetter emerged as a top performer.

Bauer’s recommendation to farmers: “Test speed in your own conditions,” she says. “Performance could depend on soil type, residue quantity, planting conditions and row cleaner wheel type.”

Yetter Shark Tooth Finger Row Cleaners

(B&M Crop Consulting, Inc.)

Is the Investment Justified?

Equipping a planter with row cleaners is a significant capital expense, particularly in a lean commodity market. Hardware and installation costs can vary widely by planter and configuration.

However, test plot data suggests narrow-angle row cleaners are a high-probability investment. With a nearly $22-per-acre increase, many operations can achieve a one-to-two-year payback on investment.

Combined with earlier emergence, better stand uniformity and more reliable residue management in 15" soybeans, Bauer’s research suggests narrow-angle row cleaners are not just a useful tweak; they’re a system change that can help growers make 15" soybeans perform up to their full potential, especially for those who want to plant early.

Thank You to Our Plot Partners
This research on narrow-angle row cleaner use in 15" soybeans is made possible by: Case IH, Great Plains Manufacturing, Martin-Till, Pleasant View Ag, Precision Planting, Unverferth Manufacturing Company, Yetter Farm Equipment and B&M Crop Consulting.

Maximize Yields and Savings with Proven Nutrient Strategies

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 15:08:37 GMT

The outlook for fertilizer costs versus commodity prices for next season is a tough one for corn and soybean growers across the country.
With that fact in mind, we have compiled a number of our “best of” nutrient stories from 2025 for your consideration.

Our hope is one or more of the following five articles will help you reduce expenses, reallocate resources and build a solid fertility program for the 2026 that works well for your crops and gives you some peace of mind in the process.

26 Ways To Cut Costs Without Sacrificing Yields
If you made deep cuts to your fertility program this season, are you considering whether you can cut even deeper next year?

If so, be sure to check out this article: 26 Ideas To Cut Fertilizer Costs In 2026 . It offers a variety of suggestions from agronomists and other farmers on where you might be able to reduce product use and reallocate resources.

While there are no easy answers to address the cost of fertilizer and other inputs, having conversations with your suppliers and financial providers now can help you leverage your buying power and minimize potential impacts from marketplace uncertainties. For more insights, check out this article: Navigate 2026 Input Costs with A Proactive Strategy .

Reallocate Nutrients And Still Support Yields
Farmers know that nitrogen is the main gas that fuels corn yields. Other macronutrients and micronutrients such as zinc, iron, and manganese also contribute to yield performance. Be sure to check out our article 300-Bu. Corn Has a Big Appetite for N, P and K to learn more.

If you’re looking specifically at how to make phosphorus more efficient, be sure to check out our Farm Journal Test Plot article on the topic: 7 Tips To Make Your Phosphorus Work For You

Every agronomist says to soil test your fields to make sure they are up to the challenge of delivering profitable yields in the most cost-effective way possible. While you’ve probably heard that advice a thousand times, it’s still valuable.That’s where this article comes into play, which features national corn yield champions’ perspective: In This High-Stakes Farming Economy, Some Practices Still Deliver ROI

For even more ideas on how to create a fertility plan best-suited to your needs, check out:

The 4Rs of Fertility
Focus on fertility to prevent pollution and boost profits.

The Challenge of Nitrogen
In your quest for high yields, nothing is more crucial, or more difficult, than managing corn’s most important nutrient.

A Moving Target
Preventing corn from going hungry requires balancing nitrogen and other factors, from year to year and field to field.

The Great Escape
Stabilizers and controlled-release products help keep the Houdini of nutrients where your crop needs it.

In the “Lime” Light
Correct acidity to create diverse microbial populations, which decompose residue and release soil nutrients.

Potassium Insight
Drought emphasizes the value of this vital nutrient.

2025 Farm Journal Corn and Soybean College: Making A Stand

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 22:38:21 GMT

A record-breaking harvest of corn or soybeans is built on the foundation of a good stand. That concept is the focus for the 2025 Farm Journal Corn and Soybean College.

Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie and team will be addressing some of the key agronomic practices and tools farmers use to accomplish high yields during the two-day event – slated for July 22 through July 23 – near Heyworth, Ill.

“We’re going to focus on what the elements of a good stand are in corn and soybeans and how you can achieve them through agronomic decisions and the tools you use,” Ferrie says.

The program includes a variety of both in-the-field sessions as well as inside, classroom sessions.

Planter Selection For Your Farm

One of the key topics being addressed this year for corn growers is the planter and how to select one that’s a good fit for your specific farm.

“There are so many different systems out there today, and when it comes to making planter purchases, add-on purchases and such, you have to think through the whole process and how they will work for you,” Ferrie says.

Farm Journal Field Agronomist Missy Bauer will also be on hand to help farmers identify the impact of planting practices on corn and soybean stands.

“Missy will be talking to us about how to identify a good stand and also what contributes to a poor stand,” Ferrie notes. “We’re going to talk about hybrid characteristics and different aspects of the rooting structure of corn. We’ll then blend that information all in with farmers’ tillage practices, including strip-till, no-till, and also cover crops.”

Success With Early-Planted Soybeans

On the soybean side of the two-day program, Ferrie and team will be addressing early-planted soybeans and how to build a systems approach to growing them – from variety selection and planting preparation through harvest.

“We want to talk about row spacing, population, soybean characteristics, when can we stress plants and when to not stress plants,” Ferrie says. “We want to help farmers adopt a systems approach to early soybeans versus just planting them early and then trying to treat them like you would normal beans.”

In addition to these topics, the in-field and classroom sessions at the event will address:

Science behind spray nozzles: selecting the right nozzles for the job and making sure they perform well in the field.

Establishing corn ear count: examining the differences in rooting depth and stand establishment across a variety of tillage practices.

Closing systems: analyzing a variety of systems in different agronomic conditions to demonstrate how such systems impact stand establishment.

Put everything together, corn edition: evaluating everything from hybrid characteristics, leaf orientation, ear flex and how plant height affects light interpretation to ear development and plant stress in conventional corn and short corn.

Put everything together, soybean edition: looking at planting date, variety characteristics, tillage system, plant nutrition, row spacing and population all play a hand in bean stand establishment, overall light interception and yield.

The two-day event brings together presenters, farmers, and industry personnel that are passionate about raising the bar in farming, Ferrie says. “This is an unsponsored event making more time for our agronomists to spend with attendees, getting their questions answered, and more time to spend in the field,” he says.

Day 1 of the Farm Journal Corn and Soybean College starts at 8 a.m., Tuesday, July 22, and runs through happy hour/dinner.

Day 2 starts at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 23, and sessions will go through lunch.

“We will finish the second day with a Q & A following lunch. Our agronomists will be available to answer questions until your questions run out, so be sure to come with your list,” Ferrie says.

Price: $625 (includes access to one-day virtual event in January 2026).

Get the complete agenda details and register here .

7 Tips To Make Your Phosphorus Work For You

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 20:05:31 GMT

The best way to minimize fertilizer expenditure and maximize efficiency is one you’ve probably heard of before. The 4Rs — right product, right rate, right time and right placement — tell you exactly how to accomplish this.

Agronomically, following the 4R best practices keeps corn plants from ever experiencing a bad day — and that’s the key to maximizing your crop’s yield, explains Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie, who cites decades of Farm Journal Test Plot studies.

To help corn plants get off to a good start, they must have sufficient nutrients available to maximize early season growth. Even one stressful day could cause them to dial back their yield. Soybeans, in contrast, are able to overcome some degree of early stress, but it’s important for them to have adequate nutrients during pod-fill in August. This is an example of how timing (the fourth R) comes into play.

“Phosphorus is one of the most important early season nutrients,” Ferrie says, “It drives cell division and elongation.”

Here are seven tips to better manage your phosphorus (P), confirmed by years of the Farm Journal Test Plot program:

Feed Phosphorus Early. “Unlike soil phosphates that must be mineralized by soil microbes, planter-applied fertility is readily available and not sensitive to temperature,” Ferrie says. “The quicker plant roots meet up with starter fertilizer, the faster you’ll see a response: deeper green color and taller plants.”
Place Phosphorus Below the Surface. “Compared to nitrogen and sulfur, phosphate is slower to move through the soil,” Ferrie says. “It must be put where roots will grow into the band. On the surface, phosphate may not be picked up unless and until brace roots encounter it.”
Weigh In-Furrow Pros and Cons. “In-furrow applications trigger the quickest response,” Ferrie continues. “But because of the danger of salt injury, be careful with the rate and quality of product. Low in-furrow rates may not have enough push to get corn to knee-high when nutrients will be mineralized from the soil.”
Use Banding Methods. “Banding phosphate 2" below and 2" beside the furrow is safe, and rates can be high enough to push corn to waist-high,” Ferrie says. “But a 2x2 application is slower to kick in than an in-furrow application.”

There is a way to work around this, though.

“Attachments such as the Huckstep Fertilizer Shoe and the 360 Wave place fertilizer closer than 2x2 — more like ½" to ¾" beside and below the row,” Ferrie says. “This allows for a higher rate without concern about salt burn, and it’s close enough to the roots to eliminate the need for an in-furrow application.”
Double Up on Phosphorus Placement. “Many growers use a relay treatment,” Ferrie says. “They put a light rate of phosphate in the furrow as a pop-up and band a higher rate 2x2. That provides enough phosphorus to carry the plants to waist-high, when soil mineralization has kicked in.”
Explore Equipment Options. Among many equipment options for effective P placement, besides the Huckstep and the Wave, are the Furrow Jet and the Yetter 2968 Fertilizer Opener.

“Picking the right attachment for your planter and soil type is the key,” Ferrie says.
Add Zinc for Better Uptake. “Zinc is a co-enzyme that helps lift phosphate into the plant cells,” Ferrie says. “Whenever we use it in our test plots, we get a more consistent response to the phosphate. If you feel zinc is too expensive, pull back your starter rate until the zinc application fits your budget.”

This Farm Journal study examined the 360 Wave fertilizer attachment in two soil types. The Wave performs two functions: improving seed trench closure and injecting starter fertilizer beside and below the seed. In each soil, improving seed trench closure improved yield, compared to the planter’s standard closing system, and injecting starter fertilizer increased it further.

“There are many equipment options for improving starter fertilizer placement,” Ferrie says. “The key is to find the right one for your planter and soil type.”

This 2024 Farm Journal study in central Illinois demonstrated the value of adding zinc to your starter fertilizer.

“Zinc helps lift phosphate into plant cells,” Ferrie says.

In this instance, adding zinc increased the yield by 4.5 bu. per acre. Tissue testing revealed that adding zinc to the starter also increased the nitrogen and zinc content of the plants.

Your Next Read — Ferrie: Unravel The Mystery Of Ugly Corn Syndrome To Reduce Yield Losses

10 Smart Ways to Start Cutting Your Fertilizer Bill

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 19:46:11 GMT

Fertilizer costs are weighing on many farmers this fall, as they wrap up the 2024 harvest and look forward to next season. Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist, says one of the most important decisions you can make now is to keep your wits about you in the process.

“Don’t get caught up in a fire sale mentality,” he encourages. “Emotional decisions based on what you hear at the coffee shop or read on social media rarely pay in positive outcomes. Instead, take a more controlled, calibrated approach to reducing fertilizer costs.”

Here are nine additional thoughts from Ferrie on how to approach your corn and soybean fertility program for 2025:

1. Figure out what you currently spend on fertilizer. With the facts in hand, you’ll be able to make decisions based on reality and not feelings.

2. Determine the target dollar amount that you want to get to for next year, what will make your cash flow work.

“Your agronomist can help you through this process, but they need real numbers to work with – not just emotions,” Ferrie says. “There’s a big difference between taking $20 per acre out of your program or trying to reduce it $120.”

3. Once you have the target dollar amount in mind, refer to your soil test information.

“Let your soil tests do the talking,” Ferrie says. “They will tell you if you can cut fertilizer costs in a field by 10%, 20% or even 50% without dinging yields short-term. The opposite is true, too.”

4. Keep your rotation in mind as you prepare to trim. For instance, Ferrie says when farmers are building fertilizer levels in lower testing areas, most do that ahead of soybeans.

“So, if you say, ‘I’m just going to cut out all my bean spreads,’ you’re going to be cutting the lowest fertility in the field,” he says. “It usually works better to scale back your corn fertility program for most fields.”

5. Remember that applying less fertilizer than the removal rates will lower soil fertility in the field, and that will need to be reckoned with when profitability finally stabilizes.

“The good news is that most of your farms are in a good place where you can lean them out without damaging yields short-term. That’s the power of knowing your fertility levels,” Ferrie says.

6. However, if you’re dealing with a new farm or one with poor fertility, it’s a tough climb to pull back on fertility in either of those scenarios without adjusting your yield goals. If this is your situation, be sure to check soil pH levels.

“This is where to start. Don’t be too quick to pull lime out of the program,” Ferrie advises. “Adequate lime is important in making all your nutrients work at optimum levels.”

7. Consider where you might be able to trim costs without taking as much money out of your fertility program. Maybe you reduce tillage passes or your seed spend. In addition, there might be some fields where you pull back on fertility and others that you leave alone.

8. Don’t wait until the last minute to start the process. What you end up doing will involve a series of important decisions, and that requires time.

9. Tap into your valued experts who know you and know your fields. They can provide good counsel and partner with you in the process.

You can listen to Ken Ferrie’s full recommendations on how to go about reducing fertility costs as well as his take on how harvest in central Illinois is progressing here:

Your Next Read:
Nutrients Where Needed: How to Prep Your Soil Fertility for a Vertical System
Ferrie: No-Till Farmer Asks at What Depth to Pull Soil Samples?
Use Technology to Build the Perfect Furrow
Put Your Data To Work: Layers Of Information Pave The Road To Higher Yield
Ferrie: Four Steps to Make Sure NH3 Applications Stay in the Ground

2023 Farm Journal Test Plot Soybean Results

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 16:47:44 GMT

Could reducing your soybean seeding rate increase profit per acre by $40 per acre? In the right situation, yes, according to results from 2023’s Farm Journal Test Plots. Of course, the wrong choice will reduce profit. That’s why it’s important to find the best population, row width and plant characteristics for each soil type and planting date.

Choosing the right variety, row width and population has changed a bit since the Farm Journal Test Plots were launched in 1992, says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist. In the early ’90s, farmers planted higher populations to offset lower seed quality and inconsistent spacing and depth control and to aid in weed control. Bushy varieties were recommended for wide rows and straight-line varieties, with less branching, for narrow rows.

In the past 30 years, we’ve learned a lot from the Farm Journal research:

1. On average, narrow rows yield more.
They canopy quicker, which reduces water loss through evaporation and provides better late-season weed control, especially of waterhemp and Palmer amaranth.

2. Population is more about weed control.
“At the same population, narrow rows have outyielded wide rows most years from 1992 to 2023,” Ferrie explains. “The sooner we close the rows, the more sunlight we harvest, leading to higher yield.”

3. Technology has a big impact.
“Modern planters offer better singulation and depth control,” Ferrie says. “Genetically modified (GMO) soybeans opened up many herbicide options. New seed treatments let beans stay in the ground for two or three weeks before emergence, opening early planting windows, and early planting increases yield. Interestingly, early planting reduces the yield advantage of narrow rows because it gives wide-row beans more time to close the rows.”

4. Plant type matters.
While yield is always the primary factor when selecting a variety, bushy varieties are usually the best choice for wide rows, and straight-line varieties are usually best for narrow rows.

After three decades, the Farm Journal Test Plots are still churning out data to help farmers refine production practices.

“We’re continuing to look at population, asking how low we can go,” Ferrie says, “and studying the best uses of bushy and straight-line varieties and the impact of planting date.”

Read on for details on the latest findings from the Farm Journal soybean studies:

Push Population on Lighter Soil

In a 2022 population study, planted in April in 15" rows, 90,000 plants per acre yielded 97 bu. per acre; 120,000 plants yielded 94.5 bu.; and 150,000 yielded 95.1 bu. Reducing population from 120,000 saved $17 per acre on seed. Increasing yield by 1.9 bu. per acre increased income by $23.18 per acre (at $12.20 per bushel). Together, the seed savings and increased yield boosted total profit per acre by $40.18.

But how low can populations go? In 2023, Ferrie tried pushing population lower than ever. They planted 60,000, 90,000 and 120,000 seeds per acre (obtaining final stands of 44,000, 67,000 and 88,000 plants per acre). The northeast Iowa field contained soils with productivity ratings from 34 to 95 (using Iowa State University’s CSR2 productivity index).

This graph to the right shows the results. The highest yield came from the lowest population on the most productive soil. On less productive soils, higher populations yielded more.

Early Planting Pays . . . Usually

This 2023 central Illinois test plot, like earlier studies, suggests planting soybeans early boosts yield — unless weather throws you a curve. Ferrie and his staff compared beans of three maturities, 4.6, 3.7 and 2.6, on April 12 and May 17. The 2.6 maturity group soybeans bucked the usual pattern, yielding more with late planting.

“That probably was because of the weather,” Ferrie says. “It was dry through June, and the late-planted, 2.6-maturity soybeans — a very early soybean for this locality — probably were able to take advantage of rain that fell late in the season. But when they were planted early, the 2.6 maturity beans were too mature for the late rain to help. So when planting early, plant your full-season soybeans (based on your maturity zone) first and finish with your shorter-season soybeans.”

Population and Plant Type Affect Yield

A 2023 study compared bushy and straight-line varieties at three populations. As with the early planting study, weather — the sixth driest June on record in central Illinois — influenced the results of this plot.

“With the dry June, soybean growth stopped for three weeks, and the rows could not close,” Ferrie says. “That reduced late-season weed control —you could pick out the wide and narrow rows and the high and low populations by the amount of late-season weed escapes. And sunlight that hit the ground was not driving photosynthesis. Consequently, at the lowest population of 50,000, the bushy variety yielded significantly more.

“To maximize yield we must close the rows,” Ferrie emphasizes. “Once rows are closed, population and plant type carry less weight.”

Choose the Right Plant Type

The study below compared the two plant types on two planting dates and two row widths at a population of 140,000.

Thank You to Our Test Plot Partners

AgriGold, Case IH, Great Plains Manufacturing, Matt Shoup, Precision Planting, Unverferth Manufacturing Company, Yetter Farm Equipment

How to Adjust Your Fertility Practices for No-Till and Cover Crops

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 20:42:27 GMT

Government incentives aimed at mitigating climate change are almost sure to motivate you, and your landlords, to move toward no-till and cover crops. That’s the reason for our series of stories aimed at helping you convert to vertical farming systems, where those practices perform best.

As you prepare to plant your first crop in a vertical environment, whether it’s one field or a whole farm, keep in mind the 4Rs of fertilizer management — right product, rate, time and place — might be different from traditional horizontal, full-width tillage systems.

Residue might hamper phosphorus uptake. Surface cover slows soil warming. As a result, soils that test adequate to high in phosphorus might be deficient early in the spring.

“Corn will grow when the soil temperature reaches 50˚F,” says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie. “But Farm Journal’s on-farm studies show phosphorus won’t become available in significant amounts until the soil temperature reaches 65˚F. That’s when soil organisms responsible for releasing nutrients start to become active. If young corn plants run short of phosphorus before that happens, ear girth will be reduced.

“You can prevent young plants from stalling by applying phosphorus fertilizer with the planter,” Ferrie continues. “The roots will begin to grow at 50˚F. When they reach the starter band, they will pick up the phosphorus even if the soil temperature is less than 65˚F.

“If soil tests high in phosphorus, and you wait for 50˚F soil temperature to plant, you might need only a low rate of starter in the furrow. But if you push planting conditions in cold soil, the in-furrow application will help, but it might not be enough to get to knee-high corn. You’ll need a higher rate, placed beside the row.”

Most cover crops raise the carbon penalty. As soil organism populations increase, due to an abundant residue food supply, they consume soil nutrients — nitrogen and sulfur, as well as phosphorus — making them temporarily unavailable to plants.

“In cover crop fields, you might want to apply a higher rate of starter containing all three elements,” Ferrie says.

N, P and S Placement Tips
“Place phosphorus where young roots can find it quickly because it does not move in the soil,” Ferrie says. “Left on the surface behind the planter, it won’t move down fast enough to provide a starter response. Brace roots will pick it up later, but that’s too far along in the growing season, and you will lose ear girth. Put higher rates of phosphorus beside the furrow and close to seed depth or a little below. That sets up a relay system that will keep plants trucking along even if soil temperature crashes after planting.

“Sulfate sulfur can be placed in a band beside the row or left on the surface, where it will move down with rain,” Ferrie explains. “Be careful putting sulfur in the furrow because it can burn the seed.

“Nitrogen can be applied on the surface at planting or incorporated by dragging a chain (but fertilizer may splatter onto the planter in windy conditions). There are many planter attachments that can slightly incorporate nitrogen, but they are too shallow for phosphorus. So, you may need two systems: one for applying phosphorus and one for nitrogen and sulfur. Or you can band everything 2" below the surface and 2" beside the seed furrow.”

How Timing, Placement Affect Yield

This on-farm Farm Journal study shows the potential reward, and the risk, from split-applying nitrogen fertilizer. Trials 1 and 2 were in Ipava silt loam and trials 3, 4 and 5 were in Sable silt loam. A total of 200 lb. of nitrogen was applied. In each trial, 30 lb. per acre of the nitrogen was applied with the planter. The study compared these treatments:

Applying half the nitrogen at the V6 stage always yielded more than applying all of it before planting. But applying half the nitrogen at the VT stage yielded less. “Two factors came into play,” says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie. “First, waiting to sidedress at the VT stage caused the corn to suffer stress during the rapid-growth stage. The secret of high yield is to never let corn plants have a bad day. And then, illustrating the risk of delayed sidedressing, after we applied nitrogen at the VT stage, the weather turned dry. The late-sidedressed corn turned yellow and did not recover until it rained four weeks later, by which time the plants were in the R3 stage.”

Fertility is a Balancing Act

The trick to applying the 4Rs as you convert from horizontal to vertical farming is to use the most efficient product, rate, timing and placement without increasing total fertilizer applied. Besides good stewardship, following the 4Rs might qualify you for payments from incentive programs. Here are some ways to maximize fertilizer efficiency:

Count starter fertilizer as part of your total application, not an addition to it.
Broadcasting nitrogen and sulfur, in dry fertilizer or a herbicide carrier, reduces the amount of planter fertilizer you need to apply. However, a banded application at planting is at least twice as efficient. “You’ll see a bigger response to 30 lb. of nitrogen per acre applied with the planter than to 60 lb. per acre broadcast,” says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie, citing on-farm studies.
Apply a higher rate of starter if you’re dealing with cover crop or continuous corn residue to compensate for the greater carbon penalty. Following a dry fall, remember you will have more residue and a higher carbon penalty the following spring.
Some incentive programs pay growers to reduce their nitrogen rate. Before enrolling, put out test plots to measure the effect. If you do reduce your total nitrogen rate, split your application to become more efficient. Test soil for nitrate at sidedressing time to make sure the crop doesn’t go hungry. “In many areas, the last several years have been friendly to low nitrogen rates because the weather has been dry,” Ferrie says. “Don’t get caught if the summer turns wet.”
Be sure to apply enough early nitrogen to carry corn well into the rapid-growth stage. “The purpose of the nitrogen that we sidedress is for grain fill after pollination,” Ferrie says. “If you don’t apply enough nitrogen up front to supply corn well into the rapid-growth stage, it’s essential you don’t delay the timing of your sidedress application.”

10 Tips to Shorten Your Cover Crop Learning Curve

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 21:58:35 GMT

For years, governments have channeled their support for agriculture through incentives that nudge you in directions they feel are beneficial, such as erosion control, clean water and wildlife habitat. In the near future, those incentives will also include climate change mitigation.

You’ll be rewarded for practices that minimize soil disturbance and sequester carbon, such as no-till, strip-till and cover cropping. Decades of on-farm studies, conducted by Ken Ferrie and the Farm Journal Test Plot program, prove those practices only perform their best in a vertical farming system, as opposed to horizontal tillage which creates yield-limiting soil layers.

Hence our series of articles to help you transition to vertical farming by removing dense and compacted soil layers, balancing fertility and pH through the soil profile and learning vertical tillage techniques. The final requirement to reap benefits from climate-based incentives is mastering cover crops.

“Farmers who learn as much as possible about cover crops now will fare much better than those who go whole hog the first time they plant cover crops,” says Ferrie, who serves as a Farm Journal field agronomist. “No-till and covers need to become part of your farm resume before incentive programs, or climate-conscious landowners, require you to grow them.

“The experience you gain by trying cover crops on a small scale will help you evaluate deals offered by the government or by landowners,” Ferrie adds.

Here are some tips to shorten your learning curve:

1. Set an objective.
Decide what you want to accomplish — for example: compaction mitigation, erosion control, improved soil health, increased biodiversity and nitrogen fixation. Then choose a cover species that accomplishes your goal and fits your climate and farm operation.

2. Think like a scientist — neither optimistic nor pessimistic.
“If you or a neighbor has had a bad experience with cover crops, try to figure out what went wrong and use that knowledge to help guide your new trials,” Ferrie says.

3. Start small.
“Expect hiccups, and learn from them,” Ferrie advises.

4. Seize can’t-miss opportunities.
“While most cover crops do not produce an immediate financial return, there are a few situations where planting covers is a no-brainer,” Ferrie says. “One is planting a cover after silage harvest and grazing or chopping it for forage, and where sandy soil is subject to blowing, planting into a cover can reduce wind erosion and protect the young plants.”

5. Begin with easy-to-manage cover crops that winterkill.
Oats and radishes top that list. “Then learn to manage covers that overwinter and must be terminated in the spring because they will be required for many carbon sequestration incentive programs,” Ferrie says.

6. Don’t expect higher yield or lower production cost, at least not right away.
“To achieve those the first year, all the stars, including Mother Nature, must align, and they seldom do,” Ferrie says. “You will be setting yourself up for disappointment.”

7. Calculate both your financial ROI as well as your true ROI.
“Knowing your actual ROI is essential for evaluating incentive programs, land rental opportunities and your own stewardship goals, such as improved soil health,” Ferrie says.

8. Become an expert terminator.
“Killing cover crops on time in the spring is crucial,” Ferrie says. “Our studies show the quicker you kill a cover, the less yield drag — but the sooner you kill it, the less environmental benefit. If you sign a carbon-based contract, understand how long your cover needs to grow. If you use a custom applicator to terminate your cover crop, let him know this ahead of time. Have a Plan B, such as a plane, drone or ATV sprayer to kill the cover if wet weather keeps your ground applicator out of the field — covers will jump when the soil warms up. Planting into a tall cover crop might look cool on YouTube, but our trials show a stiff yield penalty.”

9. Learn to manage pests.
“Anytime you have a green cover, you’ll have more insects, disease and varmints such as voles,” Ferrie says.

10. Understand the risks.
“Some years, covers delay planting by keeping soil wetter and colder,” Ferrie says. “If it turns dry in June, they might pull out all the soil moisture and lock up the cash crop until it rains. This can have a big impact on yield.”

Calculate Your Cover Crop ROI

“In our studies, we’re excited to see equal yields, let alone a yield increase, following a cover crop,” says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie. “But equal yield leaves no room to pay for seed, establishment and termination of the cover crop.”

“Deciding whether cover cropping is sustainable for your operation requires knowing the cover crop’s financial ROI, income minus expenses, and its true ROI, which includes less tangible factors,” Ferrie says. “Some growers want to reduce erosion, water runoff or nutrient leaching, improve soil health or increase biological diversity. For them, growing a cover crop might produce a negative financial ROI, but knowing they are improving their land creates a positive true ROI.“

Based on Farm Journal studies, the financial ROI from cover crops won’t be high enough to persuade many farmers to plant covers on cash-rented acres.

“Within our customer base, the cost of establishing cover crops ranges from $35 to $85 per acre,” Ferrie explains. “If yield slips, and it often does, that puts pressure on growers.”

That situation is likely to lead to strong incentive programs from government agencies.

“Right now, current incentive programs can offset some of your cost as you learn to grow cover crops and calculate financial and true ROI,” Ferrie says. “With that knowledge, you can evaluate future incentives that might benefit your farm and the environment.”

Nutrients Where Needed: How to Prep Your Soil Fertility for a Vertical System

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 15:42:49 GMT

In some vertical farming systems, such as no-till and strip-till, you will no longer mix nutrients deep into the soil profile with horizontal tillage. Much like you addressed soil density by removing layers , you’ll want to balance fertility throughout the rooting zone before transitioning to a vertical farming system.

Once you balance fertility and pH in the soil profile, and adjust to making small, more frequent applications of lime, you probably won’t need to mix fertilizer into the soil, says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie.

But won’t nutrients stratify?
“When you reduce tillage, you get stratification of some nutrients, especially non-mobile nutrients, such as phosphorus, in the top 3",” Ferrie says. “In the second 3" to 6" we have documented little change in fertility levels over time, thanks to biochannels, earthworms, nightcrawlers and natural leaching. Some of our clients’ farms carry the same nutrient levels at the 3" to 6" depth as they did 30 years ago when they were converted to no-till.”

Although farmers worry about it, stratification near the surface usually is a good thing, Ferrie adds.

“Stratification actually is a form of banding, which increases nutrient efficiency,” he explains. “Most nutrient feeding happens in the top 6" of soil, and the largest portion is in the top 3". The presence of oxygen makes that the most biologically active portion of the soil, where aerobic organisms recycle and release nutrients for the crop. You don’t have that activity at lower levels because there’s much less oxygen; so even if nutrients are present, they might not be available for plants.”

Think about it: aerobic activity in the top few inches of soil is the reason wooden fence posts rot 3" or 4" below the surface.

A well-prepared vertical system carries its own drought-proofing, Ferrie notes. “If soil dries out at the surface, the oxygen-rich layer moves downward and roots feed at the 3" to 6" depth. So you want fertility at that level to be in good shape before you stop tilling.”

Ready your soil to go vertical
Here’s how to make sure your soil is ready to transition to a vertical system:

Review your current program. “If you regularly test soil and maintain balanced fertility levels, you might need only tweaks to your 4R program (right product, rate, time and placement) to enter a vertical system,” Ferrie says.

Test soil. “If you are in a conventional tillage system where fertilizer is routinely mixed through the soil profile, you need a regular 6" soil test,” Ferrie says. “Make sure the top 6" are in a good balanced condition.”

Already no-till? “If you acquire ground that has been no-tilled, but you aren’t sure if nutrients were balanced before going to no-till, test the soil at zero to 3" and 3" to 6" levels,” Ferrie says. “Expect stratification at the zero to 3" depth, especially with pH. If the 3" to 6" level is low in phosphorus and potassium, fixing that issue will weatherproof the field. Either till for a few years to mix fertility downward or use a strip-till bar that applies fertilizer, moving the strips each year until the problem is fixed.”

Your Biggest Challenge: Managing Acidity

“Whether you farm vertically or horizontally, pH is a bigger factor in soil health than any other input,” explains Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist.
“If soil pH is balanced when you stop horizontal tillage and move into a vertical system, switch from applying lime every three or four years to smaller amounts every year or two,” he continues. “Lime will move downward about ½" per year, depending on the porosity of the soil. Some of our clients have maintained balanced pH through the top 6" of soil after 30 years in no-till.”

Here are some tips to maintain a healthy pH in your vertical system:

Adjust lime rates to the amount of tillage you will be doing. “If the recommendation is 3 tons per acre for a 6" slice of soil, but you only work it 3" deep, that’s like a 6-ton application in the top 3",” Ferrie says. “If you spread 3 tons of lime on the surface of a no-till field, that’s more like an 8-ton application. It will drive the surface pH to the upper-7 range, leading to nutrient tie-up, herbicide carryover and nitrogen volatility.”
Apply lime like paint — uniform applications that can be worked in or leached down by water. “You can’t strip lime like phosphorus or potassium,” Ferrie says. “Think of hydrogen ions like weed seeds, scattered in the soil, and apply lime uniformly like a herbicide.”
If soil is highly acidic, apply lime over time, mixing it through the profile with a ripper or chisel. Then return to your vertical system.
Since most acidity develops near the surface, where biological activity takes place and nutrients are applied, a proactive liming program lets you neutralize the acidity before it moves deeper into the soil. Maintain pH with frequent lime applications of 1,000 lb. to 2,500 lb. per acre, and test soil every year or two.
In corn/soybean rotations, apply lime in the fall on cornstalks, before going to soybeans. “This allows time for the lime to be carried into the soil before you make a surface application of nitrogen and run into volatility issues,” Ferrie says.
If you must apply nitrogen on the surface after a lime application, protect it with a nitrification inhibitor.

Want to read more from Ken Ferrie about vertical farming?

Now’s the Time to Transition to a Vertical Farming System

Do You Have Soil Compaction and Density Changes That Impede Roots and Water? Here’s How to Find Out

Shatter Your Yield Barriers One Layer At A Time

Patient Advance

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 16:33:04 GMT

Jay and Cara Myers take farm to new heights with test plots, data

This day in late May is an anomaly. Conditions above the expansive, flat and fertile Red River Valley are warm and dry. Jay Myers is behind in planting corn, the latest he’s ever been at this point in spring. The quiet and patient confidence he projects and his acceptance of farming’s biggest challenge—the weather—would make you think planting season were over rather than just being underway.

Jay is the fifth generation to farm near Colfax, N.D. It is the 11th hour for planting, and another crisis looms; a university researcher is planting test plots for research Jay sponsors and has misplaced some products. He deals with the problem with focused intensity on reality rather than accusation and frustration. Five minutes and three phone conversations later, he arranges for his wife and farm partner, Cara, to deliver the products so the research can be completed.

Jay is like that: cool, centered, solutions-oriented. He doesn’t let emotions get the best of him. Part of that confidence comes from lessons hard-won when he started farming amid the 1980s farm crisis.

“We still can get a good return,” Jay says wryly. He’s sure despite a corn-planting cutoff date nine days away. Less than two weeks later, both corn and soybeans are planted on time. A new 24-row planter enabled 50% faster completion.

That’s one side of Jay. Inside the tractor cab, where he controls a caravan of planting and fertilizer equipment, a different side emerges. An attentive Jay eagerly watches four monitors showing real-time data for planting and fertilizing and identifying problems in need of correction. The monitors provide detailed information not only on this field near his home place but also on operations at fields up to 20 miles away.

Striving to Improve. Although he is a seasoned farming veteran, Jay constantly looks for ways to be more efficient and profitable. For example, though he’s banded fertilizer for years, preliminary research convinced him to band fertilizer on both sides of the rows this year. He will compare the results against those of single-banded rows in a test plot. Jay wants his own farm’s data before he makes the practice permanent.

Delegation of responsibilities and adoption of Big Data are two keys to the Myers’ business success. Cara is a certified public accountant who previously worked at Microsoft. “Cara’s experience gives her a good eye on financial issues,” Jay explains.

Fusing technology with field scouting is critical. A monitor for his Precision Planting unit provides real-time readouts on both seed spacing and plant population. The display connects to his iPad in the cab and to Google Earth. The system allows him to troubleshoot. While planting this spring, an alert on his iPad revealed light plant populations around a disk. Further examination uncovered a bouncing 1.25" ribbon of silicon that had kept the machine from planting correctly. He immediately fixed the problem, which would have produced erroneous test results during the season.

A lifelong learner, Jay holds a degree in agricultural economics from North Dakota State University. He is in constant motion and seeks to run the farm as a tightly managed manufacturing plant. Rigorous testing is a big part of that. This year, six different test plots will allow him to compare competitive fertilizer and seed products. Although company and university trials can provide important information, there is no substitute for replicated tests on individual farms and fields.

“Salesmen have a vested interest in selling seed and fertilizer products in their lineup,” Jay says.

His research has found yield differences up to 15 bu. per acre between competitive products that supposedly have the same ingredients. “In reality, products that are supposed to be the same are not,” he says.

It might not be the active ingredients listed that are different but differences in heavy metals, pH and salt index that can impact fertilizer quality and ultimately yield. “For one product, we replicated the trial three times on different parts of the field,” Jay explains. “Our testing program is a lot of work, but it’s also one of our comparative advantages.”

In addition to conducting rigorous on-farm tests, Jay sends fertilizer products to independent labs for analysis with sometimes surprising results. For example, some products have poor quality that can harm the crop. They can set back or even reduce crop emergence. The experience is like driving an inexpensive car versus a Cadillac. “Cheaper products sometimes are far more costly than a premium product,” he says.

Spinoff Farm Business. The emphasis on testing resulted in a new farm business, AgroValley Solutions. As word of Jay’s research spread, area farmers wanted to take advantage of the results. He started selling fertilizer and, in turn, equipment. Since then, the business has expanded into a regional company.

The approach is not lost on the team of experts with whom they do business. “When Jay started to farm with his father, the size and scope of the original farm was smaller than most other farms in the area,” says Annette Loken, senior agricultural specialist with Wells Fargo. “Jay had to implement new and effective yield/field management to maximize his profitability. Over the years, they have been able to maintain high profits with cost containment.”

Those successful practices are foundational to the couple’s role in the farming community.

“Jay and Cara are teachers,” explains Dennis Dammen, owner of Crop-Maxx, an advisory and consulting business. “They are often asked to provide training and assistance to others.”

Although the couple’s corn and soybean yields are 10% better, on average, than typical yields in the upper part of the Corn Belt, profit per acre is the factor that drives Jay. “I strive to be a low-cost producer,” he says. Armed with data from on-farm trials, he can turn a profit even with $4 corn.

Believers in Big Data. The benefits of gathering data go beyond keeping track of the planter and combine. “We have added the ability to monitor our grain dryer remotely with an iPad and cellular Internet,” Jay notes. “This allows me to have an iPad in the combine and monitor functions on the dryer and everything running at the grain site without someone being there. I can do the job of two people this way.”

An efficient workforce is crucial to farming in North Dakota, where it’s difficult to find and keep good workers amid an oil boom that has pushed unemployment below 4%. The job environment led the couple to devise an incentive pay system that rewards employees for staying throughout the busy seasons. It also prompted them to adopt precision farming tools early. “I use the latest technology with RTK auto steer to make driving equipment less stressful and to be able to hire part-time employees to drive with less experience,” Jay explains.

Evidence of patient and carefully planned progress extends beyond the tractor cab to every facet of farm. It is a reflection of Jay and Cara’s commitment to leaving a legacy for the next generation. They have enrolled in the Conservation Stewardship Program for their fourth year. “This has allowed us to sign up with different enhancements that monitor what we use for fertility through soil tests and fertility tests and tissue tests,” Jay says. “We also practice conservation with strip till and placement of nutrients to become better stewards of the land.”

Teachers and lifelong learners, the Myers hope to farm for many years to come and to pass on their foundational knowledge to the next generation of agriculture.

Now's the Time to Transition to a Vertical Farming System

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 14:45:53 GMT

For decades, moldboard plows, disks and field cultivators, all horizontal tillage tools, have been the go-tos for fieldwork. That’s changing as fears about climate change come into focus.

Sooner or later, you’re going to be pushed (or led, depending on your perspective) toward vertical systems by government incentives.

“The world is asking farmers to fight climate change by reducing tillage and planting cover crops,” says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist.

“Governments want you to adopt vertical systems to disturb the ground as little as possible and keep it covered year-round — essentially what existed when our cropland was covered by native prairie. I expect climate-smart initiatives will include financial incentives for reduced tillage and cover crops. That will create opportunities for farmers in vertical systems. However, soil layers left by horizontal, full-width tillage systems could cause those vertical systems to fail.”

No one argues horizontal farming doesn’t have advantages.

“Horizontal spring tillage lets us plant into warmer soil with more uniform moisture,” Ferrie says. “That gets plants off to a faster start. Weed control is cheaper, and fewer specialized attachments are required on planters. But unfortunately, horizontal tillage doesn’t match up with the climate incentives I see coming down the pike.”

Vertical farming can be profitable, but it’s harder to manage.

“Among our consulting clients, vertical systems — no-till, strip-till and others — produce the highest return on investment,” Ferrie says. “On the other hand, they also produce the lowest. It depends on whether growers understand and know how to manage their vertical systems.”

What is Vertical Farming?

“Merely no-tilling or using a vertical harrow or similar vertical tool does not mean you’re in a vertical system,” Ferrie says. “A vertical system exists only after all horizontal layers, usually caused by horizontal tillage, are removed, and the soil is managed so as to not put them back in.

“A vertical system lets roots grow downward without restriction,” he adds. “The soil’s bulk density changes gradually, versus suddenly, so roots can adjust and penetrate, rather than flattening out along the top of a layer. Likewise, without sudden density changes, water will move downward and be stored in pore spaces. It will wick back up as water evaporates from the surface of the soil or through plant leaves.”

Horizontal Versus Vertical

“Pretend you have a huge vacuum that sucks up all the loose soil following a tillage pass,” Ferrie says. “After horizontal tillage, you would find a flat horizontal plane. Vertical tillage leaves a rougher sawtooth effect.”

Tools for Vertical Farming

Vertical tools include disk rippers, in-line rippers, chisel plows, field cultivators with spikes instead of sweeps, strip-till bars, row warmers, vertical harrows and no-till planters.

“Most farmers mix and match tools for primary and secondary tillage,” Ferrie says. “In horizontal systems, they might use a vertical tillage tool, such as a disk-ripper, in the fall for primary tillage and follow with a disk or field cultivator when spring rolls around. Or they might make one pass in the spring on soybean stubble with a soil finisher or high-speed disk. But all these secondary tools leave a horizontal tillage layer, a sudden density change that roots might have trouble coping with.”

For vertical farmers, typical programs include:

Chisel plowing in the fall and one or two passes of a vertical harrow in the spring.
Vertical harrowing in the fall, leaving a sterile seedbed for planting in the spring.
Vertical harrowing in the fall, followed by one pass with a vertical harrow in the spring to warm and dry soil for planting.

Conventional vertical tillage is fall primary tillage with a chisel, disk-ripper or in-line ripper (shattering soil across the width of the implement) and leveling in the spring using a vertical tool with no gang angle. “The leveling pass is like screeding concrete — knocking peaks off into the valleys, rather than using a sweep to level soil from below,” Ferrie says.

No-till or strip-till after all the old soil layers have been removed.

Most farmers need to implement multiple practices.

“In some fields, no-till might work great on 70% of the acres, but the other 30%, with drainage or soil-type issues, need to be strip-tilled,” Ferrie says. “So the whole field will work better in a strip-till format. Sometimes a more aggressive fall program is required to manage continuous corn residue, wheel track issues, manure application or new fields that need compaction removed or fertilizer mixed in.”

Golden Rules of Vertical Systems

When consulting clients consider transitioning from a horizontal to a vertical farming system. Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie offers four rules he considers essential:

The shallower a horizontal soil density layer, the more it costs in terms of yield and profit. “A 2"-deep layer causes more problems than an 8" plow sole,” Ferrie says.
The last tillage pass before transitioning to a vertical system must not be horizontal (because it will leave a density layer that will last for years).
Keep the seedbed sacred. “Ear count is always of utmost importance,” Ferrie says. “That requires a perfect seedbed, and creating one takes more management in vertical systems. If you’re not ready to put forth the time and management to achieve a uniform stand in a vertical system, it’s better to remain in a horizontal system.”
Allow three years to transition to a vertical system. “It will take that long to acquire management skills and equipment and prepare your soil for a vertical system,” Ferrie says.

The Value of In-Season Nitrogen Use

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 19:37:23 GMT

Keeping nitrogen (N) use front and center is a good season-long management consideration for corn, notes Missy Bauer, Farm Journal Field Agronomist and owner of B&M Crop Consulting, Coldwater, Mich.

Bauer’s work with the Farm Journal Test Plots over the years shows that corn requires nitrogen at various growth stages throughout the season. Some of the key times include these five stages:
1. During the first 35 days after planting, a corn crop needs a little less than 2 lb. of N per acre per day.
2. Starting around V6, N uptake increases sharply to about 4 lb. per acre per day.
3. Between V10 and V14, nitrogen demand can reach up to 8 lb. of N per acre per day.
4. At silking or R1 nutrient requirements drop back to 4 lb. to 5 lb. per acre per day.
5. From late reproductive stages and all the way to black layer, corn requires about 2 lb. per acre per day.

“Historically, farmers fall-applied anhydrous to fuel the next season’s crop or they put all their N on in the spring, but with today’s genetics we know that season-long nitrogen access is important,” she says.

Tune Into Hybrid Characteristics

To support grain fill, hybrids usually benefit from at least one in-season nitrogen application and sometimes even two depending on the growing season conditions and a hybrid’s specific characteristics.

For example, a hybrid that flexes a lot in kernel depth or size requires access to nitrogen at the end of the season to pack on starch (weight) to boost yield.

“That kernel depth is so important with today’s genetics,” Bauer says. “With some hybrids, you can have a 100-bushel-per-acre swing in yield just from kernel depth alone.” (Picture from B&M Consulting below illustrates this.)

Bigger, heavier kernels weigh more so fewer are needed to make a 56-lb bushel of corn – the industry standard for a bushel.

“When I got out of school, we talked about 90,000 kernels in a bushel. Today, our hybrid plots will average 70,000 kernels in a bushel,” she says.

Bob Nielsen, Purdue University Extension specialist emeritus, reports that kernel weight for the same hybrid can vary by 20,000 kernels per bushel or more simply due to variability in growing conditions during the grain filling period.

“Consequently, the number of kernels per bushel can vary significantly among years or fields within years,” he says in the online article Estimating Corn Grain Yield Prior to Harvest .

“Average kernel weight in several of our recent trials (in Indiana) ranged from 67,000 to 94,000 kernels per 56-lb. bushel, with an average of about 76,000 per 56-lb. bushel.”

Application Methods Vary
Bauer says in-season N applications can be made in a variety of ways, with each method offering some pros and cons.

“You can inject UAN between the rows with a knife or coulter, make a Y-drop or surface-band application, or top dress with a dry product,” she says. Bauer adds that she believes nitrogen efficiencies are gained with banded applications compared to all broadcast application practices.

Be sure to use boots on the ground to monitor the crop and weather to get a better idea of how your in-season nitrogen use affects final yield, encourages Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist. Ground-truthing and pulling nitrate samples is important, as growing environments fluctuate every year and impact yield.

“Corn that is nitrogen-deficient at the beginning of the growing season gives up yield potential,” Ferrie adds. “Nitrogen-deficient corn in the late reproductive stages costs actual yield.”

As part of your in-season N program, Bauer recommends applying sulfur as well – especially in high-yield environments – because it helps corn metabolize N more efficiently. That recommendation is a departure from what farmers needed to do historically. The reason is sulfur deficiencies have dramatically increased in recent years with the reduction of sulfur deposition that has occurred, thanks to the Clean Air Act.

Two Missteps To Avoid In-Season
Bauer cautions growers to take care to avoid these two potential pitfalls with their in-season N program:

1. Gapping: Bauer says because farmers can get through their corn with high-clearance equipment today, they sometimes don’t make their in-season N application in as timely a manner as the crop requires. (The photos here from B&M Consulting illustrate the result of gapping nitrogen.)

“If you didn’t apply much nitrogen on the front end, the crop can run out before you get back into the field with an in-season N application. It’s what we call gapping, and you’ll give up a large chunk of yield in that situation, and you won’t be able to get it back,” she explains.

2. Volatilization: Nitrogen is lost as ammonia gas. Ammonia is the intermediate form of N during the process in which urea is transformed to ammonium. Surface-applied nitrogen products containing urea are subject to this loss.

“Remember that UAN is about 50% urea. The dry environments that prevail over much of the Midwest this summer mean that most corn crops can benefit from the use of nitrogen stabilizers for surface-applied nitrogen,” Bauer says.

“Unlike a lot of years when you’re concerned about denitrification, we’re running stabilizers in these dry environments because we know that any N close to the surface is potentially going to volatilize if we don’t get rain to incorporate it,” she adds. “It’s a good way to protect your surface-applied nitrogen.”

Along with that, Bauer says farmers with irrigation systems have an added benefit in current dry weather conditions beyond just moisture availability. “This year, planning to do some fertigation – applying nitrogen and sulfur through the irrigation system – is a great way to supply corn with late-season nutrients to improve kernel depth and yield,” she says.

Check out the video below to learn more about the issue of gapping:

Ferrie: 5 Reasons To Not Apply All Your Nitrogen Upfront

Seize Your Corn Yield Potential With Sulfur’s Amazing Superpowers

Feed Crops Day by Day

2023 Farm Journal Corn and Soybean College: Learn How to Integrate New Practices Without Giving Up Productivity and ROI

Thu, 06 Jul 2023 15:05:11 GMT

Change is a constant consideration on the farm. This year’s Farm Journal Corn and Soybean College will focus on equipping farmers with the necessary tools to make decisions in an ever-changing environment and integrate new practices without giving up productivity and ROI. Make plans to join Ken Ferrie and team on July 25 and 26 near Heyworth, Ill.

“Our sessions are designed to help farmers make successful agronomic decisions in the face of the dynamic changes they deal with every year — from fickle weather conditions to markets and uncertainties in input supplies, labor availability and government regulations,” says Ferrie, who also serves as a Farm Journal field agronomist.

The full agenda is below, but in-field and classroom sessions will address:

making changes to your crop rotation, tillage systems or nutrient placement
managing early-planted soybeans
evaluating below-ground issues that can impact corn yields
implementing and managing cover crops

The event, now in its 16th year, brings together presenters, farmers and industry personnel from around the U.S. who are passionate about raising the bar in farming. The event is unsponsored, making more time available for agronomists to interact with attendees, evaluating various agronomic situations and answering questions.

Farm Journal Corn and Soybean College starts at 8 a.m. and runs through happy hour/dinner on July 25 and continues the next day through lunch and a Q&A session. Price: $625 (includes access to one-day virtual event on Jan. 9, 2024). Register here.

Agenda: Day 1 – July 25

Is All Change Good (General Session)

Governmental regulations, incentive programs and soil health concerns have a lot of farmers considering changes in their residue management strategies. Is the grass always greener on the other side of the fence? It is vital for growers to be aware of potential pitfalls that might exist within each of the available systems before implementing any changes.

Identifying When Change is Needed (Breakout)

No matter what tillage system a grower is running, from full tillage all the way to no-till, this session will help growers identify impediments that might be costing them yield or profitability and then discuss how to remove them. This in-field session will have attendees looking below ground at soil pits and digging plants to identify below-ground issues that might be costing yield.

Changing How You Play The Cover Crop Game (Breakout)

There are several common pitfalls growers face when trying to implement cover crops. Attendees will have the chance to go to the field and evaluate some different implementations of cover crop practices. Having a good understanding of the implications of seedbed prep, types of cover, termination dates, pest management and 4Rs of nutrient management are all critical when attempting to implement covers successfully.

A “Change” Reaction (Breakout)

Making changes to your system in the form of crop rotation, tillage systems or nutrient placement can have big implications to your overall outcome. Often, growers think of a change as a single decision, not realizing the impact on the rest of their system throughout the season. Changes to the overall system can also affect disease management strategies and applied fertility plans for both micro and macro nutrients.

Rolling With the Changes (Simulation)

Attendees will have an opportunity to showcase and implement what they have learned in the first day of sessions as their team competes to adjust their management style to the changes in their operation to see which group comes out on top.

Agenda: Day 2 – July 26

Game-Changing Soybean Management (General Session)

Implementing early-planted beans involves more than just changing your planting date. Understanding the importance of variety characteristics and how they interact with population, row spacing and weed control is vital to implementing that change successfully.

Eliminating Below Ground Barriers (Breakout)

This live tillage session will help examine ways to fix the barriers or impediments below the surface that were identified on day one. Attendees will get to see what the tillage tools are doing above and below ground and get tips on how to set up equipment to get the best results.

Railroad Tracks and Utility Wires — Nothing to Get Tangled With (Breakout)

What do railroad tracks and utility lines have in common? You don’t want to tangle with either one. We cross road-to-rail intersections with little thought of what takes place as trucks and trains share this small piece of ground. This presentation will provide recommendations of what to do if you are stuck on railroad tracks. With only a few minutes to decide, the blue sign at the tracks might save your life and equipment. The session will also detail life-saving steps to follow if your equipment comes in contact with powerlines.

Early Beans — More Than a Date Change

Attendees will be able to go to the field to evaluate different changes made to implement an early planting system. They will be able to review differences in planting date, row spacing, population, variety selection, cover crops and herbicide programs to see how they fit in this overall management change.

2022 Farm Journal Test Plots Early Results

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 19:44:43 GMT

Ken Ferrie and the Crop-Tech Consulting crew have been harvesting the Farm Journal Test Plots as well as their “teaching plots” the past few weeks. The full results of these plots will be shared in Farm Journal magazine, on AgWeb and at various events where Ken and Isaac Ferrie are scheduled to speak this winter and early spring.

Here is a summary of initial results.

Soybean Planting Date

In this plot, each maturity — 2.6, 3.4 and 4.6 — was planted on April 12, April 27 and May 12.

2.6 soybean results: Planting April 27 versus May 12 yielded a 2-bu. increase. Moving from April 27 to April 12 resulted in a 5-bu. increase.
3.4 soybean results: The plot showed an 8-bu. increase planting April 27 compared with May 12 but only a 1-bu. increase planting April 12 versus April 27.
4.6 soybean results: Yield increased 3 bu. moving from May 12 to April 27 and another 5 bu. moving to April 12 planting.

“It looks like there was a 7-bu. to a 9-bu. gain from planting on April 12 versus May 12,” Ferrie says. “This does surprise me a little bit on the basis it took forever for those April 27 and April 12 soybeans to get out of the ground.”

Read more: 8 Tips for Planting Soybeans Early

15” Versus 30” Rows

Ferrie also looked at the performance of bush beans compared to narrow-row soybeans. The bush beans were planted in six maturity groups from a 2.9 up to a 4.0 in both 15” rows and 30” rows.

“It looks like the narrow-row beans did respond to narrower rows by 3 bu. to 5 bu., meaning they were 3 bu. to 5 bu. better in 15s than they were in 30s,” he says. “It looks like the bush beans had no response to row spacing, which is also kind of interesting.”

Sulfur Products and Application Timing

In this plot, Ferrie evaluated a variety of sulfur products and various application timings and their impact on soybeans. Overall, he saw a positive yield response of between 2 bu. and 5 bu. in the plot.

“The data in these Farm Journal campus plots is not well replicated, but it will be presented this winter at our virtual Corn & Soybean College on Jan. 5, 2023, as a lot of you want to know how those plots do,” he says.

Corn Planter Fertility

Based on his initial findings, Ferrie says there is a yield difference between fertility applications in these plots but not as significant as what he saw in 2021.

His takeaway: “When corn comes out of the ground in four to five days, it probably doesn’t need as much help as we typically would expect. There are responses, but they are smaller,” he says.

Corn Fungicide Plot

In Ferrie’s area around Heyworth, Ill., fungicide plots are not showing a lot of response because disease pressure was less severe this season than 2021. He expects to see more response in plots where more disease pressure was present.

However, Ferrie notes excellent yield results in one fungicide plot where the weather was ideal this season.

“With 15 entries, the plot averaged over 300 bu. per acre. Matter of fact, only one entry went under 300 bu.,” he says. “Dryland plots like that are far and few between.”

Teaching Plots

Ferrie’s team has harvested all the corn teaching plots planted at their facility near Heyworth, Ill. They pulled more than 100 test-weight samples from the small plots which have little replication.

“We’ll put the data from our teaching plots in the virtual Corn & Soybean College on Jan. 5,” he says. “These plots are only teaching plots, but attendees always want to know how the plots did that they visited during the summer. So, we’ll add that into our virtual event this winter.”

Here’s a brief look at results from four teaching plots.

1. Of the four different starter plots this season, Ferrie and team saw a 19-bu. to 21-bu. increase. “That was surprising because this corn came up in five days,” he says. “I don’t expect those gains to hold when we get out into our field-scale plots planted outside of campus.”

2. Sulfur timing and product plots showed a gain of about 7 bu. to 12 bu., depending on the product.

3. Results from the one-and-done teaching plots were surprising.

“Where we put all the nitrogen (N) on in one shot and put it up against what we call the full-meal deal — where we break that same N rate across different timings – the one shot showed a 10-bu. to 12-bu. advantage over breaking the N rates up,” he says. “This is kind of surprising being it was an N-friendly year.”

4. In the small fixed-flex plots, Ferrie’s team planted hybrids at 22,000 (population) and again at 36,000 to measure how much hybrids flexed between those populations.

“In our 22,000 side of the plot the (yield) range was from 180 bu. to 233 bu.; on the 36,000-side of the plot, yield swung from 242 bu. to 307 bu.,” he says. “It seems crazy some hybrids can reach 233 bu. on a planted population of 22,000.”

Full-Scale Fixed Flex

Ferrie and team did harvest one full-scale fixed flex corn plot, which had 16 hybrids. The 22,000 side of the plot went from 198 bu. per acre to 250 bu., with an average of 227 bu., he reports. The 36,000-population side of the plot went from 252 bu. to 285 bu., with an average of 272 bu. per acre.

“Ear samples are taken from these plots for our hand harvest this fall,” Ferrie says. “That’s where we’ll identify where this flex is coming from. The information from these plots is helping to move the needle quite a bit for our multi-hybrid guys.”

Thank You to Our Plot Partners The Farm Journal Test Plots are possible thanks to the contributions of many people and companies: AgReliant Genetics/AgriGold, BASF, Bayer, Wyffels Hybrids, Case IH, Great Plains Manufacturing, Kinze Manufacturing, Martin-Till, New Holland Agriculture, Precision Planting, Schaffert Manufacturing, Unverferth Manufacturing, Yetter Farm Equipment, Yield 360, Crop-Tech Consulting and B&M Crop Consulting

Dive Deep into Starter Fertilizer This Spring

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 02:14:44 GMT

Every year, we learn valuable lessons from the Farm Journal Test Plots due to ever-changing field environments and weather conditions. Regardless of the variations, Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie can pinpoint yield gain and loss thanks to established and consistent protocols. Those procedures were especially beneficial in 2015 when documenting aggressive and consistent yield responses in a starter test plot in Illinois.

What You Need to Know

Plots show an average 25 bu. to 30 bu. yield increase with dual placement of starter fertilizer.
Use the right product mixes and combinations to achieve the needed rate per acre conducive to field environments and conditions.
Don’t just evaluate yield gains; make sure your starter fertilizer applications pay the bill.

Based on past data, we’ve found dual starter placement yields more than just in-furrow or just 2x2 applications. On average, there’s a 7 bu. to 10 bu. response to starter placed 2x2 and a 3 bu. to 5 bu. response to in-furrow application. With dual placement, the plots have shown a 15 bu. to 20 bu. yield increase.

In 2015, Ferrie continued to study the yield responses to different starter fertilizer placements, more specifically the relay effect.

When studying starter fertilizer, all variables must be consistent across the field to accurately analyze the data. Ferrie and his crew followed strict protocols to ensure the same hybrid, population, weather environment and planting dates in order to collect, weigh and evaluate the yield results by management zones.

To ensure accuracy, all applications were replicated up to four times. Even though several starter fertilizer rates and product combinations were tested, the sidedress rates were adjusted so the total amount of nitrogen applied was the same across the field.

The 2015 results support Ferrie’s answers to three of the most commonly asked questions on starter fertilizer. The Farm Journal Test Plots have studied starter fertilizer for more than two decades, but many farmers are still evaluating or fine-tuning the practice.

Test Plot Details

Farmers: Don Schlesinger and Dan Reynolds, south of Weldon, Ill.
Field size: 70 acres
Field specifics: No-till, 30" rows, corn following soybean rotation
Soil types: Hartsburg silty clay loam, Sable silty clay loam, Catlin silt loam, Ipava silt loam
Planting date: May 1, 2015
Hybrid: Stone 6404 Rib
Plant population: 34,000
Sidedress timing: May 19, 2015

Is a low salt starter in-furrow placement a substitute or equal to a higher 2x2 starter rate?

To evaluate this scenario, the plot compared 3 gal. of 10-34-0 Zn Avail in-furrow to 10 gal. of 7-22-5 Zn in the 2x2 application. Per acre, that breaks down to 3-10.2-0.3 Zn Avail and 7-22-5 Zn, which is equivalent to 100 lb.

Notice zinc was added to both the in-furrow and 2x2 mixes, and Avail was added to the in-furrow mix. Based on previous Farm Journal Test Plots studies, Ferrie recommends adding zinc to starter. His research also shows Avail gives starter fertilizer more horsepower (3 gal. acts like 5 gal.), but it increases overall cost.

In 2015, the in-furrow application averaged a 9.1 bu. advantage compared with a 16.5 bu. gain in the 2x2 applications across all management zones and soil types in the field.

“We visibly saw these huge responses throughout the entire growing season when scouting the field and through aerial imagery,” Ferrie says. “These huge yield responses are not always normal.”

To apply starter in-furrow and 2x2, an eight-row Kinze planter was outfitted with Schaffert Generation 2 fertilizer disks and Keeton seed firmers. The Schaffert attachment cuts a trench 2" away from the seed and 2" below the surface and uses an injection nozzle to apply fertilizer.

Can I just use nitrogen in 2x2 applications instead of starter and not sacrifice yield?

At the Weldon, Ill., plot, Ferrie used three combinations: 10-34-0 in-furrow, 10 gal. 7-22-5 Zn in 2x2 and 15 gal. 21-0-0 in 2x2, which is equivalent to 30 lb. ammonium nitrate.

There was an average 6 bu. advantage using 10-34-0 in-furrow, a 10 bu. gain using 15 gal. 21-0-0 in 2x2 and a 16.5 bu. advantage using 10 gal. 7-22-5 Zn in 2x2. After Ferrie calculated the cost savings, the 10-34-0 in-furrow application yielded a 2.5 bu. gain, the ammonium nitrate 2x2 showed a 7.5 bu. gain and the 7-22-5 treatment in 2x2 yielded a 9.5 bu. advantage. Yield results show the ammonium nitrate 2x2 application does yield higher than 10-34-0 in-furrow but can’t keep up with 7-22-5 application in 2x2.

“This shows the plot is responding to front-end nitrogen, which is likely due to the 16" of rain we received in June,” Ferrie says. “Overall, just using nitrogen has enough yield advantage to pay the bill, but the yield results show it still can’t keep up with a full rate of starter fertilizer.”

The effects of starter fertilizer can be visibly seen at harvest across all replications. Planted to the exact same hybrid, there are clear color differences, as well as distinct ear and leaf differences.

Is there a yield advantage to using 2x2 in addition to an in-furrow application for a relay effect to manage the carbon penalty?

Ferrie used two dual placement combinations: 15 gal. 21-0-0 in 2x2 and 4 gal. 6-18-6 Zn Sulfur Avail in-furrow versus 10 gal. 7-22-5 Zn in 2x2 and 3 gal. 10-34-0 Zn Avail in-furrow. The 15 gal. 21-0-0 in 2x2 and 4 gal. 6-18-6 Zn Sulfur Avail in-furrow combination yielded 25 bu. more, and the 10 gal. 7-22-5 Zn in 2x2 and 3 gal. 10-34-0 Zn Avail in-furrow tallied a 32 bu. gain.

These yield results show the strength in dual placement, also known as the relay effect. The power is in using both in-furrow and 2x2 applications to keep the plant satisfied.

“We call it the relay effect because the fertilizer positions hand off the baton, so the roots find the nutrients when needed,” Ferrie says.

Overall, the 2015 yield results increased the Farm Journal Test Plots average responses to starter fertilizer. Combining the past two years, the plots showed a 6 bu. to 10 bu. response to in-furrow, a 16 bu. to 20 bu. response to 2x2 and a 25 bu. to 30 bu. response to dual placement.

As mentioned, these yields are uncommon, but other plots in Illinois, southern Michigan and northeast Indiana showed more typical responses to starter fertilizer and placements.

In 2015, across five plot locations in Michigan, there was a 3.2 bu. advantage using dual placement or the relay effect compared with 2x2 alone. The individual responses from each plot ranged from 0.6 bu. to 6.1 bu.

Across six growing seasons in Michigan, there was a 4.7 bu. gain average, respectively, in 2x2 applications and in-furrow compared with 2x2 alone. The lowest response was in 2012 with a negative 1.7 bu. loss and the highest response in 2009 with a 14.8 bu. gain. In certain years with cool, wet springs, Bauer saw a 10 bu. to 14 bu. per acre response to dual placement.

“It’s important to see the range of yields across six growing seasons because it shows the positive and negative effects of starter fertilizer,” Bauer says. “As a rule of thumb, advancing maturity through in-furrow placement is a good thing eight out of 10 times. However, it can be negative when pushing maturity into poorer weather conditions, which results in more kernel abortion, as seen in 2011.” (See “Yield Gains With Dual Placement Versus 2x2” below.)

In 2015, Bauer also conducted two starter fertilizer plots, one in 30" rows and one in twin rows, to evaluate the effect of starter placement in-furrow. Both plots used a 6-12-2 starter fertilizer in-furrow and a 21-12-0 blend at 15 gal. per acre, which was surface- dribbled after the closing wheels and drug in with a chain.

The twin rows with a 3 gal. starter in-furrow rate saw a 8.4 bu. gain compared with the control (surface- dribbled with 15 gal. 21-12-0). In the 6 gal. starter in-furrow rate, yield jumped 6.2 bu. compared with the check. In the 30" rows, at a 3 gal. starter in-furrow rate, there was a 14.2 bu. gain compared with the check and in the 6 gal. starter in-furrow rate, a 11.5 bu. gain versus the check.

“The yield results show the 6 gal. starter in-furrow rate was too much for our sandy loam soils,” Bauer says. “Our plots show big in-furrow yield responses so if you don’t have 2x2 placement, the in-furrow placement is even more important.”

Regardless of the mixes, combinations or placements, it’s essential to consider the economics of starter fertilizer in all situations. Choose the combination that best fits your yield goal, soil types and pocketbook.

Across six growing seasons, field tests in southern Michigan and northeast Indiana showed there was a 4.7 bu. average, respectively, using 2x2 and in-furrow placement compared with 2x2 alone.

Thank You to Our Test Plot Partners
Case IH, Jay Barth, Bill Hoeg, and CJ Parker; Great Plains, Tom Evans and Doug Jennings; New Holland, Mark Hooper, Daniel Valen, Ken Paul, Mike Kizis and Sheldon Gerspacher; Burnips Equipment and Carl VanderKolk; Versatile and Adam Reid; Central Illinois Ag and Kip Hoke; Kinze Manufacturing, Susanne Veatch and Phil Jennings; Marco N.P.K. Inc; Schaffert Manufacturing and Paul Schaffert; SFP; Unverferth Manufacturing and Jerry Ecklund; Wells Equipment; Apache Sprayers; Trimble, Frank Fidanza and John Pointon; AirScout and Brian Sutton; Geovantage; Ag Leader and Luke James; Yetter Manufacturing, Pat Whalen and Scott Cale; Blu-Jet and Nick Jensen; Fast and Dan Liening; Greenmark Equipment and Chad Kasprazak; Schertz Aerial Service Inc. and Scott Schertz; Yamaha; West Central and Joe Schubert; Don Schlesinger and Dan Reynolds; Lawrence “Shorty” Olson; Crop-Tech Consulting, Isaac Ferrie, Brandon Myers and Eric Douglas; LDK Farms and Leon Knirk; Bob Minor; B&M Crop Consulting, Bill Bauer, Amanda Anderson, Jared Haylett

Farm Journal Test Plots Pledge
You can count on our test plots to be conducted on real farms with real equipment using a high-touch set of protocols. The information will be completely independent and actionable. Our hands will always be in the dirt researching the production practices and technology that are best for you.

Old Made New: Transforming a Toolbar Into a High-Tech Corn Planter

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 02:14:05 GMT

For several years, Missy Bauer, Farm Journal Field Agronomist, has been in the market for a planter — specifically a corn planter she could call her own to use in plots. She focused her search on a used eight-row bar with liquid starter fertilizer and finally found a Kinze 3500 at an auction.

“There is nothing wrong with starting with an old toolbar, as long as it’s in good shape,” Bauer says. “The plan was to strip down the planter and rebuild with proven technologies. We sought out several Farm Journal Test Plot partners to help build the ultimate plot planter.”

From the onset, Bauer’s goal was to create picket fence stands and photocopied plants and ears. Picket fence stands are created by eliminating vibration in the seed transmission system, singulating seed at the meter, reducing seed tube bounce and minding planter speed, Bauer explains.

“One of the advantages to rebuilding an old planter is to eliminate many problems with traditional seed transmission systems, such as bearings, chains, cable drives and hex shafts, and move to an electric drive and meter system,” she says.

Precision Planting provided vSet 2 meters and a vDrive system, powered by a 20I20 Gen 3 monitor.

Photocopied plants and ears come from placing the seed in a uniform microenvironment allowing for even germination and emergence. That microenvironment is created by managing planting depth, down pressure and gauge wheel settings; closing and firming the trench; and planting on a uniform seedbed.

“Down pressure is difficult to get set right on a planter,” Bauer says. “The addition of Precision Planting’s DeltaForce hydraulic down-force cylinder with sensors for automated control helps ensure we run at the proper down pressure across the field.”

Cab-controlled row cleaners improve the ability to move residue and reduce issues with residue pinched in the seed trench. Martin-Till ACCR1360 fl oating row cleaners with Precision Planting CleanSweep cylinders help manage residue.

In addition to updated technology, Bauer used heavier-duty parallel arms, bolts and bushings; heavy-duty cast hub disk openers from GBGI ; new guards for the WaveVision seed tubes ; Copperhead Ag RK Products gauge wheel arm repair kits with new arms; and new spoke gauge wheels from Yetter Farm Equipment .

Roll over the yellow buttons below to get a closer look at the upgrades that were made.

Closing Wheel Swap

Because this planter is set up for closing wheel plots, Bauer used two quick-attach tail assemblies: The Tru Closer from Yetter with drag chains and a standard tail with the Copperhead Ag RK Products closing wheel ball bearing repair kit and Yetter’s interchanger. In future plots, Bauer plans to evaluate SI Distributing cast iron and Finger-Till closing wheels, Yetter 6200 Twister cast and poly closing wheels, Copperhead Ag Furrow Cruiser Complete and Precision Planting FurrowForce.

Don’t Forget the Nutrition

“The planting pass should also be a nutrition pass,” Bauer says. “The ability to apply fertilizer with the planter is critical to get corn off to a good start.”

Bauer worked with Precision Planting and Schaffert Manufacturing to add three liquid systems to the planter. A 2x2 placement adds nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and zinc, which helps improve early plant growth and nutrition.

Farm Journal Test Plot research has found adding a “relay” system for starter fertilizer to the planter is beneficial. Bauer used Precision Planting‘s FurrowJet to apply 10-34-0 into the sidewalls of the seed trench to safely get quick nutrition to the plants before handing off to the 2x2 placement.

The FurrowJet also allows an in-furrow application, which Bauer set up with a Dosatron from Schaffert for direct injection. Electric pumps from Schaffert run the liquid systems for the FurrowJet, and a hydraulic drive from Precision Planting powers the 2x2 system. All liquid systems are equipped with vApply HD from Precision Planting to ensure uniform application.

Ask for Help

The idea of rebuilding an old planter with new technologies is an option for farmers as well. However, having good dealer support is critical for success. Missy Bauer partnered with PM Precision Ag, Charlotte, Mich.; Mavis Meter Max, Edgerton, Ohio; and Schlipf Precision Ag, Milford, Ind.

Farm Journal Test Plots: A Phantom Lurks in Your Corn Fields

Thu, 18 Aug 2022 21:51:24 GMT

As harvest approaches, it’s important to recognize there’s an invisible enemy lurking in your corn fields. Phantom yield loss occurs when a crop is allowed to naturally dry down to a certain point before harvest.

Does the elusive dry matter lost equate to bushels? If so, is it enough to justify switching up harvest timing and paying for drying? Those are the questions Farm Journal Field Agronomist Missy Bauer set out to answer in 2019 and 2020.

Today’s genetics have changed, Bauer explains, and kernels are taller, wider and deeper.

“I’ll date myself, but when I graduated from Purdue, we divided yield calculations by 90,000 kernels per bushel,” Bauer says. “In 2018 and 2019, our hybrid plots averaged 70,000 kernels. In 2020, because of the dry weather, we’re a little higher at 76,000, but that’s nowhere near 90,000. That means kernels are different today than in years past.”

Kernel is Alive

When studying if phantom yield loss is a bigger issue today, with fewer kernels per bushel, Bauer learned several key takeaways.

“Even though the crop is at the black layer stage, the kernel is still alive, and that kernel is going to continue to go through respiration, which can result in the loss of kernel weight,” she explains. “Basically, the weight loss is a result of the metabolic activity within the kernel.

“That kernel is going to remain alive until we kill it with heat. When you dry it down in your dryer to 15%, then we’re basically killing it at that point,” Bauer adds.
When the crop remains in the field it’s burning itself up, so to speak, with respiration. That’s the concept of phantom yield loss.

Combine is Not to Blame

When studying phantom yield loss, Bauer and her team monitored harvest loss counts on the ground. They found no difference when comparing the earlier versus later harvest dates. It wasn’t that as the corn dried down there was more shatter and shelled at the head and more kernels on the ground. The difference came from phantom yield loss.

In 2020, Bauer selected one hybrid in an irrigated field to study in terms of phantom yield loss.

A portion of the field was harvested early, on Sept. 23, when the stalks were still green to a large extent. On Oct. 30, the remainder of the field was harvested, which was a little later than Bauer preferred, but that’s how harvest goes some years.

On average, the corn harvested early had a yield advantage of 15.6 bu. per acre at 214.2 bu. versus 198.6 bu. for the corn harvested in late October. Across management zones, the earlier harvest yielded from 11.6 bu. to 22.4 bu. more.

When it comes to moisture levels, the corn harvested on Sept. 23 was at 27.9%. By Oct. 30, moisture levels fell to 18.4%. That 9.3 points in moisture dried “for free” in the field.

Obviously, an early harvest means drying corn is necessary. That can cost from 1¢ to 4¢ per bushel per point of moisture, depending on on-farm or elevator options.

At the time, corn was at $4.20 per bushel. After paying the drying cost, the corn harvest in late September made money — anywhere from $5.95 to $45.76 per acre, depending on drying costs.

In 2019, there was nothing early about harvest after a late start to planting due to the wet weather. For Bauer, early harvest occurred Oct. 29 and late harvest was Nov. 18. With three weeks difference, the late October harvest had a 10.6-bu. advantage (266.4 bu. versus 255.8 bu.) with a 2.7% difference in moisture.

“In terms of economics, at 1.5¢ for drying costs per bushel per point we put $31.40 an acre back in the farmer’s pocket,” Bauer says. “Even at 4¢ per bushel per point drying costs, he still made money.”

Take Advantage of Half-price Drying

When considering drying costs, don’t forget some elevators and ethanol plants will offer half-price drying in early fall.

“In September and sometimes even the first few days of October, elevators and ethanol plants in our area in Michigan need corn, so they’ll offer half-price drying. Take advantage of that,” Bauer says.

There’s also something to be said about starting harvest earlier. Take advantage of warmer weather, Bauer adds, and stretch out the harvest window to ease up on logistics when there’s not enough hours in a day.

Thank You to Our Plot Partners

BASF, Bayer Crop Science, Pioneer, Case IH, Clarks Ag Supply, Great Plains, Kinze, New Holland, Unverferth, AirScout, Trimble, B&M Crop Consulting, Finegan Farms and Welden Farms

Farm Journal Test Plots: How the Right Hybrid Pays Off

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 13:57:35 GMT

How important is it to pick the right hybrid for each field? A 2021 Farm Journal study suggests the correct selection can increase revenue by as much as $88 per acre. And you can gain even more profit by managing that hybrid properly.

Defensive Zones
The study involves a 318-acre field, farmed in a no-till vertical environment with no compaction layers to limit water uptake.

Around 200 acres (64%) are light soil with lower organic matter and Illinois Soil Nitrogen Test (ISNT) values, meaning the soil has less water-holding capacity and is less able to supply nitrogen (N) during the growing season.

Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie treats these areas as “defensive” management zones, requiring lower plant populations, higher N rates and defensive hybrid selection.

The remaining 114 acres in the field are heavier “offensive” soils, which can support more plants per acre.

“The defensive soils in this field run out of water during grain fill, in normal to dry years,” Ferrie says. “The offensive soils handle dry conditions most years without losing much yield.”

In other fields, “defensive” could refer to issues such as PH or the presence of disease.

The study mimicked decisions corn growers must make about hybrid selection, population and fertility. It compared two hybrids, one offensive and one defensive (both selected with the help of Wyffels and AgriGold seed experts), planted at 32,000 and 35,000 plants per acre. Nitrogen was sidedressed the first week of June, using an Unverferth bar, bringing total application to 240 lb., 270 lb. and 300 lb.

A Corn Grower’s Goal
“As producers, we want to capture 97% or more of available sunlight by the time the plant reaches the VT (tasseling) stage, and then turn it into grain,” Ferrie explains. “Capturing sunlight is a function of plant height and leaf characteristics.”

The taller the hybrid, the more sunlight it can capture. Hybrids with more pendulum-type horizontal leaves capture more light at lower populations, he says, so look for that kind of hybrid for defensive soils. In offensive zones, choose upright hybrids that respond to increased population.
A farmer’s first decision is what hybrid to plant. Because the majority of the study field contains defensive soil, the answer proved to be a defensive hybrid.

The study showed if the defensive hybrid was planted on every acre at the recommended population of 32,000 plants per acre, it would have produced $88 more revenue per acre than the offensive hybrid planted at its recommended population of 35,000.

Right Hybrids = High Revenue
The study showed how managing each hybrid can increase revenue. All examples are based on 2022 values of 90¢ per pound for N, $300 per bag for seed and $7 per bushel for corn. The revenue numbers reflect increased income minus cost of additional seed and fertilizer. Here are key findings:

In defensive management zones, the defensive hybrid at 32,000 plants and 240 lb. of N per acre created $113 more revenue than the offensive hybrid at 35,000 plants per acre.
In offensive zones, the offensive hybrid at 35,000 plants per acre at the 240 lb. N rate produced $107 more revenue per acre than the defensive hybrid at 35,000 population. This shows the defensive hybrid did not respond to higher population.
In offensive zones increasing the population to 35,000 and the N to 300 lb. per acre increased revenue for the offensive hybrid by $398 per acre. “That response occurred partly because the additional nitrogen helped delay plant death due to tar spot disease and the extra nitrogen extended the grain-fill period,” Ferrie says. “Throughout the plot, the biggest factor in increasing revenue was nitrogen rate, not population.”
The study showed if an operator planted each hybrid at its recommended population in the appropriate management zone (using a multi-hybrid planter) and increased the N rate to 270 lb. per acre in the defensive soils, it would improve the return by $112 per acre.
Higher N rates helped both varieties withstand the effect of tar spot, which robs nutrients from plants, and also improved standability.
The defensive hybrid did not respond to increased population. “In fact, higher population decreased yield, indicating more plants did not capture more light but just added stress,” Ferrie says.
The defensive hybrid responded to higher N rates, regardless of planting population.
The offensive hybrid responded to higher population. “It captured more light as the population increased,” Ferrie says.
The offensive hybrid also responded to higher N rates. “Part of that response resulted from how the hybrid flexes ear size,” Ferrie says. “Kernel size is reduced if the plant is left wanting for nitrogen during the last 30 days of grain fill.”

“The study shows picking the right hybrid for each field is the biggest factor in maximizing revenue,” Ferrie summarizes. “If you can plant different hybrids in defensive and offensive management zones, you can push revenue even higher.

“Every hybrid you buy should be targeted to individual field or management zone,” Ferrie adds. “The days of backing up to the shed and loading your planter from the pallet of seed closest to the door are over.”

Thank You to Our Plot Partners

Farm Journal test plots result from the contributions of many people and companies. We express our sincere appreciation to the partners who assisted with this study: AgReliant Genetics/AgriGold , Wyffels Hybrids , Case IH , Kinze Manufacturing , New Holland Agriculture , Precision Planting , Unverferth Manufacturing Co. , Yetter Farm Equipment , Mike Craig

6 Factors That Influence Soybean Yield

Wed, 09 Feb 2022 01:17:49 GMT

To reach your destination, it helps to know where you are starting from. With that in mind, let’s review how we maximize soybean yield today in our quest to reach the next level.

1. Understand Your Mission

“A soybean producer’s job is to use the big three factors that produce yield — light, water and nutrients,” says Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie. “How you capture and manage each factor affects the three components of yield: pods per acre, beans per pod and the size of the beans.

“Pods per acre correlates to nodes per acre and plants per acre. But, while plants and nodes per acre are important, they are less significant than with corn because soybeans quickly adjust growing factors to their environment.”

2. Plant the Right Population

“You need enough plants and nodes per acre to support the number of pods necessary to hit your yield goal,” Ferrie says. “You need enough vegetative growth to capture all the available sunlight and to close the rows. Row closure minimizes water loss to evaporation and aids in weed control.”

One of the longest-running Farm Journal Test Plot studies tracks population and row spacings ranging from 120,000 to 220,000 plants per acre in 7½", 15" and 30" rows. “We’ve learned varying population from 120,000 to 220,000 plants per acre had little effect on yield most years,” Ferrie says. “Narrow rows did not respond to higher populations.

“Pushing population above 200,000 plants per acre tended to reduce yield in all row spacings,” Ferrie continues. “A population of 120,000 plants per acre did not reduce yield, although there were more weed escapes, especially in 30" rows. Based on yield, the data suggests 120,000 plants at harvest is adequate to maximize yield. Higher populations produced more nodes than we were able to fill.”

The same study revealed a yield advantage of 3 bu. to 5 bu. per acre for 7½" and 15" rows versus 30" rows at the same population. Ferrie attributes the narrow-row yield advantage to better water use and light capture.

At 120,000 plants per acre, weed control was noticeably better in narrow rows than wide rows, Ferrie notes. He attributes that to faster canopy closure.

3. Rolling Plants Can Boost Yield, But Timing Is Crucial

Rolling with a land roller (normally done to keep rocks out of combines) and applying certain herbicides can stress soybean plants, causing them to respond with more branching, which results in more nodes.

“Rolling plants at the V1 to V3 stage, we saw a 2-bu.-to-5-bu.-per-acre yield increase, but we also found 1-bu.-to-3-bu. yield decreases,” Ferrie says.

“If you roll too early, at VE (emergence), you can break the plant’s neck (the hypocotyledonary arch) or knock off cotyledons,” he adds. “The cotyledons provide the food supply for plants through V1. At the V3 stage, the plants can become too brittle to roll; they will break off below the first growing point.”

To stimulate branching, the sweet spot for rolling turned out to be the V1 or V2 growth stage. “But even in the sweet spot, you must consider daily conditions for each variety in each field,” Ferrie says. “Sometimes in the morning, plants are more brittle and likely to break, but they can be rolled later in the day.”

Before you roll a field, step on some soybean plants and see if they spring back or break off. “If they break, they are too brittle to roll,” Ferrie explains. “When you roll soybeans, check to make sure you aren’t doing more damage than good.”

As with rolling, timing is the key to promoting branching by applying herbicides. “When you apply a herbicide that tends to burn soybean leaves, such as diphenyl ether, it triggers a defense mechanism that causes the plants to add branches,” Ferrie says. “In our test plots, we saw increases up to 5 bu. per acre.

“The time to stimulate branching and increase yield is typically the late vegetative to early reproductive stages. If you apply the herbicide during late flowering and early pod set, the stress it produces might cause flower and pod abortion.”

4. Soybeans Respond More to Soil Versus Applied Fertility

“Keep soil nutrient levels in the optimum range, especially pH,” Ferrie says. “Acid and alkaline soils give soybeans trouble.”

For soybeans to produce their own nitrogen, rhizobia bacteria must be present in the soil. “Fields void of soybeans for two or more years tend to respond to seed inoculants,” Ferrie says.

5. Protect Against Pests

“In our Farm Journal Test Plots, we see some of the biggest responses to insecticide when we are able to stem off insects when plants are already stressed by weather,” Ferrie says. “Actually, we are not seeing a yield response — we are reducing the loss.”

With water molds, tests show seed treatments can increase emergence and improve stands. “In wet years, they can be the difference between keeping the existing stand and replanting,” Ferrie says. “With increased emergence, you might find you can plant 130,000 seeds, rather than 150,000, to get a stand of 120,000 plants. It was difficult to get a consistent yield response from seed treatments, but we saw better emergence almost every year.”

6. The Rules Change With Late Planting

“When soybeans are planted late, they reach the R5 stage faster and stop growing. Shorter plants have fewer nodes per plant,” Ferrie says.

In that situation he recommends more plants, so pushing up population and narrowing rows is more important. In late-planting studies, narrow rows responded better at 160,000 plants per acre than at 120,000, and 30" rows responded to population increases all the way to 200,000 plants per acre.

“Unlike corn, where you shorten maturities for later planting, you want to stay the course with soybeans or even lengthen your maturities,” Ferrie explains.

”Flowering is influenced more by night length than planting date. Plants stop growing at R5, so if you shorten the maturity, you risk having short plants.”

Girth? Length? Depth? How Hybrids Flex

Fri, 10 Sep 2021 19:13:43 GMT

In Michigan, Farm Journal Field Agronomist Missy Bauer has been looking at the consistency of hybrid flex across years. Her data shows the amount a hybrid flexes is dependent on the year and environment, but how it flexes is consistent. For example, a hybrid that flexes a lot in girth did so in 2018, 2019 and 2020. The same is true for length and depth of hybrids.

Bill and Missy Bauer do a little show and tell from 2020 hybrid plots.

Farm Journal Test Plots: How Early Soybean Planting Pays

Wed, 28 Jul 2021 17:36:40 GMT

A 2020 Farm Journal study confirms earlier planting can boost yield, even if plants are nipped by a freeze or frost. That’s exciting news because, in many areas, products that control Sudden Death Syndrome have removed the last obstacle to early planting. Planting early allows soybeans to start flowering before the summer solstice, if they get big enough, instead of after the solstice as with normal planting dates.

“The earlier soybeans flower, the longer they spend in the reproductive stages, potentially resulting in more pods and more beans,” explains Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie. “Of course, you still must have adequate water and nutrients to fill those pods and produce big soybeans, but planting early can set the stage for higher yield.”

In the study (see graph below), Ferrie planted soybeans in maturity groups 2.4, 2.9, 3.5 and 4.1 on April 16 and June 1. Although all maturity groups were slow to emerge, and then had their stands thinned by frost, they all outyielded the June-planted soybeans by a considerable margin. “That’s because they all began to flower early,” Ferrie says.

“Most years, with June 1 planting, the 3.5-to-4.1-maturity soybeans would have outperformed earlier-maturing varieties because they take longer to reach the end of the R6 stage,” Ferrie says. “But with no rain in August (the 13th driest on record in this area), the 4.1-maturity beans fell off in yield because they were trying to finish bean-fill without water. This was evident by the large number of small beans in the pods. That’s why we like to mix maturities to mitigate risk — we never know when a dry spell is going to show up.”

In the future, Ferrie hopes the ongoing study will shed more light on various aspects of early planting management listed below:

Row spacing
So far, the study shows little yield advantage to 15" rows over 30" (compared with a 5-bu. or 6-bu. increase with normal planting dates). But narrow rows might aid weed control.
Population
The study has revealed there is no need to push soybean populations higher than 120,000 to 140,000 seeds per acre. “Higher population is not where yield comes from with early planting,” Ferrie says. “It comes from putting on more pods per acre — in essence, more beans per acre.”
Maturity
Soybean maturity comparisons have been inconclusive. “One thing we can say with early planting is to plant a mixture of maturity groups,” Ferrie says. “Plant your full-season varieties first, and finish with shorter-season varieties — the opposite of what you do when planting normally.”
Seedbed preparation
A little seedbed preparation, such as strip-till or vertical tillage, often results in faster emergence. In 2020, that sometimes proved to be detrimental — the early emerging soybeans looked good, but they were thinned out by frost; seeds planted in no-till or cover crop residue emerged more slowly and escaped the frost. “With this year’s results, we can’t prove earlier emergence made any difference in yield, compared to no-till,” Ferrie says.
Seed treatments
“In the Midwest, a seed treatment to protect against Sudden Death Syndrome is essential with early soybean planting because seeds may lay in the ground for 20 or 30 days,” Ferrie says. “There will be pressure from other diseases and insects, so an insecticide/fungicide seed treatment is always a good idea.”
Starter fertilizer
While starter fertilizer sometimes produces a visual response, the study has provided little evidence early appearance translates into increased yield.

Ultra Early Reaps Almost $18 Per Acre Advantage

The goal of planting soybeans ultra early (before April 15 in Michigan) is to maintain or increase yields while spreading out the workload at planting.

“After planting, seeds don’t just lay in the ground, they quickly imbibe water and start the germination process. However, growth and emergence can be slow,” says Farm Journal Field Agronomist Missy Bauer. “In our 2020 plots at two locations in Michigan, the ultra-early soybeans took 36 and 32 days to emerge. They were snowed on multiple times. Despite the delayed emergence, populations were within 3% to 4% of the normal planting date [late April/early May].”

An earlier planting date allowed flowering to occur near the summer solstice (R1 on June 21 and June 22), which was seven to eight days earlier than the normal planting.

“It appears early flowering extends the reproductive stages and improves pods per node,” Bauer explains. “There were more nodes with pods on the ultra-early soybeans, which led to more pods per plant. Both the number of pods and seeds per plant were higher with the ultra-early planting as well.”
However, at both locations the timing of the rainfall in 2020 was more advantageous for the late April/early May soybeans in terms of seed size. The larger seed size made up in part for the lack of pod and seed count in the normal planting, narrowing the yield advantage of the ultra-early soybeans.

Even so, in 2020, the ultra-early soybeans in Michigan averaged 2 bu. more per acre than the late April/early May soybeans for a $17.76 per acre average advantage

Thank You to Our Plot Partners

The Farm Journal soybean planting study is made possible by: AgriGold Seed/AgReliant Genetics, Case IH, Great Plains Ag, Kinze Manufacturing, Kubota Tractor Corporation, Martin Equipment, McFarlane Ag Manufacturing, New Holland Agriculture, Precision Planting, Unverferth Manufacturing Company and Yetter Farm Equipment, Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee, B&M Crop Consulting, Crop-Tech Consulting.

Farm Journal Test Plots: How to Profit From A Changing Climate

Thu, 24 Jun 2021 19:07:56 GMT

Who would have guessed there’s a bright side to climate change, at least for some farmers? A long-term Farm Journal study suggests Midwestern crop producers can turn today’s more extreme weather patterns into more bushels per acre. It involves managing drainage water, explains Farm Journal Field Agronomists Ken and Isaac Ferrie.

The outlook: Warmer, more rain, more big storms

If you’ve noticed more volatile weather on your farm, you’re not alone. Analysis by Eric Snodgrass, principal atmospheric scientist at Nutrien Ag Solutions, shows these trends for the Midwest:

Over the past 50 years temperatures have increased by an average of 1˚F.
Nighttime low temperatures have increased by 2˚F.
Frost-free days have increased by six to nine days per year, all occurring in April (so the last frost comes earlier).
Rainfall has increased by 5½" per year.
Rainfall events of 2" in 24 hours occur twice as often in Illinois and three times as often in Iowa.
Despite nine more frost-free days in Illinois, the additional rainfall has reduced the number of
planting days in April and May by five days, compared with 1980.
The average minimum temperature in Illinois has increased by 3˚F since 1970.
Relative humidity has increased by 6%.

What a changing climate means for farmers

“Climate change isn’t all bad,” Ken says. “In fact, it’s good for corn and soybean growers in the Midwest and Canada. More water and a longer growing season translate into more bushels of grain.”

But, he says, farmers must learn to farm around the negative aspects: fewer days to do spring fieldwork and more frequent heavy rain events.

“A well-designed controlled drainage system can move a lot of water in a short time, when necessary, while storing some of that water for use later in the season,” Ken says.

How to gain planting days

The farm-scale Farm Journal drainage study has been underway since 2002. Installing tile drainage in poorly drained soil increased corn yield by 7 bu. to 12 bu. per acre (and by 60 bu. per acre in one extremely wet part of the study field).

Since 2016, the study has included controlled drainage, in which adjustable gates are used to maintain the water table at the desired height, while allowing excess water to exit normally through the tile outlet. Water remains available, but crop roots don’t get saturated.

The study also showed installing a traditional tile drainage system increased the number of days available for field work during a 48-day period in April and May.

With no tile, only four days were fit to work. Tile increased that to 16 days with lines on 120' spacing, 22 days with 60' spacing and 38 days with 30' spacing.

How gated tile systems boost yield

“Almost every year — not just drought years — we run short of water sometime in the growing season,” Isaac notes. “If a gated tile system lets us hold back just 1" or 2" of water in July or August, we might be able to improve ear fill.”

If soil contains lots of macro- and micropores and/or surface cracks, rain rushes straight to the tile line and escapes. “In multiple rain events in July, the gated side of the field gained 0.1" to 0.15" more useable water in the top foot of soil per rain event,” Isaac says. “When there were four rain events over two weeks, we saved 0.3" to 0.5" more useable water in the top 1' of soil. That’s where we want our useable water because that’s where the soil nutrient load is highest. And this doesn’t include the water we gained deeper in the soil profile.”

A gated system does not simply shut off drainage; it just holds the water table to the desired level, Isaac explains.

“On one occasion, we got 2" of rain, but we did not saturate the root zone,” he says. “When water rose above the gates, it flowed out through the tile lines.”

One year, after a 2" August rain, water began flowing from ungated tile lines in a few hours. On the gated side of the field, the lines never flowed. “By holding back the water, the soil was able to reabsorb it,” Ken says. “That 2" of water, at that point in the season, could add a lot of bushels.”

In 2020, gated tile on 30' spacing increased corn yield about 16 bu. per acre, compared with non-gated tile; on 60' spacing, about 6 bu.; and on 120' spacing, 1 bu. to 2 bu.

Over five years and across all tile spacings, gated systems averaged about 9 bu. per acre more for corn and 4 bu. per acre for soybeans.

Overall, gated tile lines on 30' spacing have performed best in the study. “But we are seeing a yield boost from all spacings (on top of what we gained from the tile itself),” Isaac says. “During the five years, gated 30' spacing is returning about 12 bu. per acre on corn and 6.8 bu. per acre on soybeans.”

Gated systems save fertilizer

“Slowing water’s departure from the field gives soil more time to capture the water, leading to less nutrient loss,” Isaac says. “Depending on spacing, we’ve observed a 20% to 40% reduction in nutrient loss with controlled drainage during large rain events.”

A new role for tile systems

“These results suggest we need to change our strategy from merely getting water out of the field quickly to actively managing that water,” Ken concludes. “That can help us not merely cope with climate change, but actually see benefits from it. Fortunately, controlled-drainage technology is continuing to improve.”

Thank You to Our Test Plot Partners

Agri Drain Corporation; GroGuru; Kinze Manufacturing; Lance Landford, AgriMeasures; McLaughlin-Dooley Farms; Prinsco; Unverferth Manufacturing Company; Sentek Sensor Technologies; Williamson Farm Drainage

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Ken Ferrie: Go Vertical For High Corn Yields

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 18:30:41 GMT

The “sins of spring” sounds like the title of an old-time dime store novel, but that’s not the case. Instead, it’s a presentation by Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie that addresses the way various tillage practices in a 2020 test plot influenced corn yields in soils compromised by compaction layers.

At first blush, some of the results Ferrie shares in this week’s edition of Boots In The Field are surprising.

Ferrie says at face value it makes no sense that a no-till system in a plot with two compaction layers (one at 2” and the other at 4.5”) would deliver higher yields than a one-pass-and-plant system running over a single 4.5” compaction layer. But, that’s what occurred. The no-till system averaged 258 bushels per acre, while the one-pass-and-plant program produced an average of 243 bushels per acre.

To add to the confusion, Ferrie throws in yield results from using a vertical tillage system in a portion of the plot. This entailed chiseling out the two compaction layers in the fall of 2019, making a pass in spring 2020 with a vertical harrow and then planting. The vertical tillage system produced 270 bushels per acre on average.

Why did such a large yield spread occur between the three tillage systems? Ferrie says a significant part of the answer has to do with how soil density and water availability impact root growth and development, particularly when soils turn dry in summer heat.

Listen here to get Ferrie’s complete, in-depth answers to the agronomic puzzle his team faced and worked through last season:

Fertilizer Shortage? Ken Ferrie Weighs In on Fertilizer Issues This Spring

Boots in the Field: Banding Vs. Broadcast Nitrogen Efficiency

Boots in the Field: Beetles, Rootworm and Nutrient Deficiencies

High-Speed Planting Keeps Promise

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 23:21:49 GMT

In the ’80s classic movie Top Gun ace fighter pilot Maverick’s rally cry is something you can probably relate to when you head to the field each spring: “I feel the need—the need for speed.”

Today, with the ability to supercharge your planting process with high-speed machines, the question is: Can you cover those acres faster than before and still do a good job of placing the seed in the ground?

The results from two seasons of testing high-speed planting in the Farm Journal Test Plots Program show the short answer is yes. But with high-speed planting, it’s more important than ever to achieve good downforce pressure and maintain full ground contact, says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

When too little downforce is used, farmers usually plant seed too shallow. That often results in one of two common problems, notes Matt Duesterhaus, who helps with the Farm Journal Test Plots. “Shallow-planted seeds in dry soils might not imbibe water and will germinate later, resulting in plants with small ears or barren plants,” he explains. “Or, shallow-planted seeds in soils with adequate moisture might emerge sooner, but can develop as rootless corn.”

Excessive downforce is a negative as well. It creates seed trench compaction, which leads to sidewall smearing and sometimes “hatchet” roots that grow up and down the furrow rather than in all directions.

Planter downforce reaction varies depending on the system used to create it—springs, pneumatic or hydraulic. Duesterhaus says hydraulic systems can react quickly with adequate amounts of downforce, and will probably become the industry standard. Pneumatic systems allow for easy adjustment across the planter width, but they don’t usually react fast enough or on an individual row basis, which is necessary to be successful with high-speed planting.

“Some farmers set down pressures higher in pneumatic systems when they’re picking up speed, but they end up with too much downforce in some areas of the field just to have enough in other parts,” he explains.

In 2016, Ferrie’s team conducted three trials to evaluate high-speed planting with different speeds and pounds of downforce.

One of the three trials was planted with a Case IH 2150 Early Riser high-speed planter, evaluating both downforce and speed. In that trial, Duesterhaus says the field required 170 lb. of downforce at 10 mph to keep 99% ground contact, which ended up being the standard setting. Downforce was also reduced to 130 lb.

to evaluate a light setting. The speeds used to evaluate downforce pressure in this trial included 5 mph, 8 mph, 10 mph and 12 mph.

“We ran the light downforce and the standard setting at a slow speed of 5 mph clear up to 12 mph, changing downforce as we went across the field. We didn’t see any difference in yield until we got to 12 mph using the 130 lb. of downforce,” Duesterhaus says. “At that point, we saw yield start to decrease. But even then, 130 lb. of downforce did a pretty good job of maintaining plant spacing and depth at the 8 mph and 10 mph speeds with the hydraulic downforce.”

In the other two 2016 trials, Ferrie’s team used two John Deere model 1775NT planters, one with John Deere ExactEmerge with pneumatic downforce and the other with Precision Planting DeltaForce and SpeedTube.

“With both planters we set downforce pressure to maintain 99% ground contact,” he says. “As we increased the speed, we were able to maintain yields with both planters.”

In all three of the 2016 trials, the standard deviation was about 1.6.

Ferrie’s research shows farmers should shoot for a standard deviation of 2 or less. A 2 means the seeds planted are within 2" of where you planned to place them.

“If that number starts to get beyond a 2, then we’re going to have to start making adjustments to the tillage or to the planter to get that number back in range,” Ferrie says.

Duesterhaus notes regardless of speed and down pressure, each planter was able to singulate seed well. “That reinforced that we’re more concerned with depth control and ground contact than with the spacing itself,” he adds.

In 2017, Ferrie’s team put in a single high-speed planting trial using a John Deere planter fitted with SpeedTube. The study tested three speeds: 5 mph, 8 mph and 10 mph and five downforce settings: 50 lb., 100 lb., 150 lb. and 190 lb. set manually and one automatic setting that targeted 100 lb. of downforce across the field. The plot was not replicated.

“We maximized yield and efficiency up to about 8 mph with downforce pressure in the 100 lb. to 150 lb. range,” Duesterhaus explains. “Most newer monitors give feedback on ground contact and spacing but you also need to watch the planter to make sure it’s riding smoothly and ground truth with the monitor.”

It only takes a few minutes to check your planting process by digging up a few seeds to evaluate their placement. Those few minutes are a good investment in your crop’s performance for the entire season, he adds.

Two years of field trials have also reinforced that success with high-speed planting requires good seed-bed preparation before the planter ever rolls into the field.

“In areas of a field that are too rough or have had different types of tillage, you might simply have to slow down,” Duesterhaus says. “Just because you have a high-speed planter doesn’t mean you have to push the speed limit all the time.”

Increase Speed, Increase Downforce

Keeping the planter in full contact with the ground is key to achieving uniform depth.
Shallow-planted seeds in dry soils might not imbibe water and will germinate later.
Shallow-planted seeds in soils with adequate moisture might emerge sooner, but could develop as rootless corn.
Good ride and uniform seed depth dictate uniform emergence and growth.
Row unit bounce can cause uneven ear and plant height.

Thank You to Our Test Plot Partners

Our appreciation goes to: Case IH, New Holland, Kinze Manufacturing, Unverferth Manufacturing, Ag Leader, Gingerich Farms, McLaughlin-Dooley Farms and Crop-Tech Consulting

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Make Every Machine Earn Its Keep

Wed, 16 Dec 2020 20:41:22 GMT

Introducing a new production system to your existing practice (for example, adding no-till to conventional horizontal tillage to protect erodible land or please a landlord) will probably require acquiring new implements or attachments. That’s the time to examine what Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie calls your equipment balance sheet.

Click on the image below to download the free eBook.