Farming

He thinks he has one of the best starts on beans so far. He does a root check on his R1-R2 soybeans. Here is what he sees so far.

Kelly Garrett’s Iowa farm fields are saturated with calcium, whereas Kevin Matthews’ North Carolina fields are calcium deficient. Yet, they both apply a quart of calcium per acre. Why? Because calcium is a limiting factor for both farmers. Kevin and Kelly discuss with Damian Mason, the role of calcium as a mover of nutrients and more importantly, talk about what they are doing to get it into the plant.

Matt Miles admits, when it comes to his fertility program, he wasn’t an early adopter. “It was old school, it was easy…and easy isn’t always the best.” He now uses frequent liquid fertilizer applications — in-furrow, via Y-drop, and over the top foliar. Matt and Layne Miles explain their fertility program evolution with Damian Mason on this episode of the Cutting The Curve Podcast.

Kelly's wheat is not something to brag about this year, so he is using it as an experimental field now. His goal? Balance the chemistry in his plants at a level that he has never done before. A new level of management that includes Sap Testing instead of Tissue sampling.

Modern production Agriculture has moved into the data realm. Your combine collects data, your sprayer and planter might be collecting data. Hire an agronomic consultant and they’ll go about compiling data. Basically, every juncture of farming is now a data point. But how do you use these reams of data to improve your yields and efficiency without becoming overwhelmed with so much information. Temple Rhodes explains how he collects then applies data for better decision making.

Kelly's biggest issue in his fields is the high base saturation levels of calcium he has in his western Iowa soils. He is adding a new product into his planter applied fertility to see if he can help amend the issue.

Your crops emerged, you have an even stand, and you’re feeling pretty good about things. Now what? Well, now is the time to focus on plant health. What nutrients do your fledgling crops need and when do they need them? How can you tell whether or not your crops are as healthy as they should be? What’s the yield penalty you take for missing cues your crops are giving you about their health? The guys from XtremeAg share their early season plant health practices at the May 4th webinar.

Chad likes what he sees in his corn stand and here is why he is using Accomplish MAX is becoming part of his grower standard practice.

Kelly is not done planting but he is already thinking about his post-chem and fungicide passes.