Farming

Marrone Bio is a 15 year old Agricultural company you’ve probably never heard of if you’re in the business of producing row crops. That’s because Marrone Bio’s roots are in products for horticulture and specialty crops. But that’s changing as the company is bringing innovative, abiotic stress reduction products to the marketplace. XtremeAg farmer Chad Henderson is trialing two Marrone products this year on 500 acres of corn and soybeans. Emergen (applied in-furrow) and Pacesetter (applied as a foliar at time of fungicide application), have one job: to reduce plant stress. Or, as Chad says, “they keep my crops from having a bad day.” And based on what he’s seeing on his farm, you’ll want to do the same.

97% of America's farming operations are family owned. This presents a set of challenges from a business and personal perspective as the next generation — and the in-laws — join the business. Connor Garrett sits down to discuss the challenges, opportunities, mistakes, and takeaways he’s seeing in his first year back at the family operation.

Your crop begins with a seed, and there are plenty of options when it comes to which seed to select. So how do you choose? What criteria should be part of the decision making? With so many seed companies, so many environmental factors, and so much marketing noise, how do you clearly make decisions about what seed to put in the ground? Lee Lubbers of Lubbers Farms in South Dakota and Alan Scott with Corteva, discuss how to sort through the vast amount of information and marketing to choose the genetics that can keep you profitable.

Supply chains the world over have been majorly disrupted since governments began shutting down economies and transit in Spring of 2020. Agriculture has not been excepted from these disruptions — from meat processing to paper goods shortages, we’ve been impacted. But what about Ag inputs — the very goods we require to grow crops and feed the world? Will we have what we need? Right or wrong, many of our ingredients for fertility and chemistry products derive from Asia and that could be — in fact it already is — a big problem. Tommy Roach of NACHURS and XtremeAg co-founder Kelly Garrett discuss strategies to manage input shortages.

Terms like “by-product” and “waste” have a negative connotation. But they shouldn’t! As Ag producers become more scrutinized and even regulated on environmental impact, we have an opportunity to showcase our “green” contribution while enhancing the black on our bottom line. One method to do this is by utilizing by products as fertility enhancements on our farms. Kelly Garrett explains how he capitalizes on free lime and free time while keeping the pH levels on his property where they need to be and saving big money too.

Lee Lubbers of Lubbers Farms in Gregory, South Dakota was a no-till pioneer. In fact, he and his brother attempted to purchase no-till planting equipment back when it was so unpopular, the John Deere dealer refused to order it in for them! The farmers began no-tilling in the 1980s out of necessity — lack of labor, lack of money, lack of equipment. They also looked at it as a way to better utilize their farm land resource — leaving land fallow for a season to gain moisture was common at the time, and they needed a crop every year. Today Lubbers’ entire 17,000 acre operation is no-till. How do they do it, what are the benefits and pitfalls, and what do you need to know to succeed while avoiding tillage? Find out in this episode!

With bigger corn crops come more stover in the field, which can prevent proper seed-to- soil contact following planting. Biologicals such as ResidueRX eliminate this problem, along with preventing disease, maximizing nutrient utilization, and saving you time and money by allowing you to apply during your pre-emergent spray pass. In this episode we discuss residue management to attain bigger yields — especially while reducing planting population.

Fertilizer prices are doubling from last crop season as overall Ag input prices are increasing. Savvy farmers understand the need to squeeze every penny out of their input dollars. Biological products like TitanXC — a fertilizer coating — do just that by making phosphorous and potassium more available for crops. Studies show that as much as 60% of your phosphorous goes un-utilized. Can you afford to let that much of your purchase go unused? Brian and Steve from Agricen join Iowa producer Kelly Garrett to discuss the science and the financial return.

When your farm operates as a "one man band” you wear every hat, but as your operation expands you quickly realize the need to prioritize responsibilities based personality, interest, or aptitude. Nobody can be an expert at everything. Generally, some of us love production, while others of us gravitate to the business side of farming. Stuart Sanderson of Henderson Farms explains how their operation divides responsibilities for a success and harmony. And, no, “harmony” doesn’t mean a lack of disagreement!