Farming

An in depth conversation about hybrids, diseases, fungicide responses, application timing, stalk strength, drought stress, kernel depth, row spacing, population, when to combine and perhaps most importantly, a trick for keeping the gnats away.

After harvesting his early planted beans at the end of July, Matt is now facing the next hurdle as he attempts to grow a successful second crop of soybeans in one year. He talks through all the factors that led him to this decision.

Seaweed does not have an easy life. It just might be the plant that experiences the most stress on a daily basis. Under water for part of the day and then in the hot dry sun for another part of the day. Every day! What if we could harness that unique trait and apply it to your crop? Kelly talks with Steve from Agricen about their new seaweed based stress mitigation product that is being used in Kelly's drip-zone trial.

Farming has changed significantly in the past few decades, and at top of the list in changes has been the increased availability and use of biologicals on modern farms. Will there soon be a time when all crop protection inputs will be biological based? Damian talks to Matt Miles and Trey Curtis from Concept Agritek about the not so far off future of agriculture. Also available as an audio Short Cut

Lee Lubbers farms in a pretty tough neighborhood, weather wise. Gregory, South Dakota receives about 18 inches of annual precipitation — and on dry years Lee reports less than 10 inches of precipitation. So, how does a farmer yield a good crop and produce a profit under such conditions? Lee explains his drought resistant practices and his product selection to produce a crop when it’s dry. Lee also discusses the personal side of farming in a drought and how he goes about managing a healthy mental state in the face of stress. Be sure to listen to the very end as Mr. Lubbers saved his best advice ’til the end!

Kelly's big focus this season has been reducing crop stress. He believes that we have enough fertility in the plant, and that in order to bust that yield ceiling he needs to mitigate stress. All of his growing season stress reducers have been applied at the foliar level. Can he reduce crop stress by applying stress reducers at the root level through a drip system? He is teaming up with Netafim, NutraDrip, Agricen and Iowa State to find out this season.

Riley Anderson farms 24 miles north of the North Dakota / Canada border. As our newest XtremeAg affiliate, Riley will be providing insights, updates, and product trials from his Manitoba operation. What unique challenges do farmers face in an area that dips down to —40 degrees Fahrenheit? How does the product mix change when you go north of the border? And how are commodity markets navigated differently in the western provinces from where you farm? We dig into those topics and more in this episode!

The soil is a living thing. When a field is completely under water for a period of time and deprived of oxygen, that living thing tends to die. How do you rebuild that soil biology fast and effectively? Riley Anderson, an XtremeAg Affiliate in Manitoba, Canada, is working with AgXplore to restore biology to a field that was under water. He talks about the first step in bringing life back to his Canola field in this video. Stay tuned as we follow Riley's effort to rebuild soil biology this season.

It's a hot southeast Arkansas day and Matt's corn is starting to roll up. But why exactly is it rolling up? Should Matt rush to turn on the irrigation? Is it a natural defense mechanism that means he has healthy corn? Is it possible to irrigate too soon? Matt and Robbo talking about differing points of view on the subject of rolled corn.