Farming Podcast | R-Stage Fertility for Higher Yields | XtremeAg

00:00 Tips to get your R stage fertility dialed in to make you more bushels in the bin come harvest time. 00:00:05 That's what we're covering in this awesome episode of XtremeAg's Cutting the Curve. Welcome to XtremeAg's Cutting the Curve podcast, where real 00:00:13 farmers share real insights and real results to help you improve your farming operation. And now, here's your host, 00:00:21 Damian Mason. Hey there, welcome to another fantastic episode of XtremeAg's Cutting the Curve. I got a great one for you today. We did a webinar on this topic about R 00:00:29 stage fertility and how important it is. I learned something a long time ago. I was at a field at Kelly Garrett's, and I said, "These soybeans look like s**t, 00:00:37 Kelly." No, no apologizing. And he said, "Damian, they're also early on. They're in a completely early on vegetative stage." Do I want to spend a bunch of 00:00:45 money in fertility and getting these soybeans looking really, really good so the neighbors can talk about when they're driving to church? 00:00:51 Or do I want to spend my money on fertility when it actually matters, when we're putting beans in the pods and test weight on the plant 00:00:58 so that I can put more beans in the semi hopper and take it to town? And so that's exactly right. So I got Mike Evans with Calibrated Agronomy. 00:01:06 He's an agronomist over there for Kelly at Garrett Landing Cattle, and he also runs as partner in Calibrated Agronomy, 00:01:13 that is helping us here at XtremeAg. And so this is a really good topic that you covered in the webinar, and I said, "Why don't you just come on and give me some of the big tips and some of your big 00:01:22 takeaways?" Because at a webinar, it's very interactive and we have other people that are dialing in and their specific stuff. Big takeaways from your standpoint. 00:01:29 Mine is, don't spend all your money in fall, don't spend all your money at planting time, don't even spend all your money at vegetative. 00:01:36 Make sure you've got the R stage fertility, which is coming up depending on where you are geographically. So now is when it really matters, and now is where I think 00:01:44 you can make a big... But I'm not the agronomist here, you are. I think it's when you're going to make a big, 00:01:48 huge move. Am I right? Yeah. R stages, we've gained a lot of yield and lost a lot of yield in the R stages in some of the work we've done at Kelly's over the years. 00:02:03 Early if you pull back at the vegetative times, right now we're post spraying a lot of corn and beans. But you're always setting up 00:02:11 the plant for yield potential at these stages. But when you get to R stages, you kind of know where you're at as far as ear size in 00:02:21 corn and how many pods you got on beans. And when you get to R stages, you can realize that potential or you can go the other way and 00:02:31 not realize it, so it's very important. So is the biggest mistake that you think that producers make is that at R stage, they've already spent their fertility budget, or they don't think that they can 00:02:41 still make an impact at R stage, and then they just don't spend it because they just think it's... Is it they run out of money or that they think it's not a good 00:02:47 investment? Because it seems to me what I've learned from guys like you and Kelly and the other XtremeAg crowd here is you still get a bang for your 00:02:55 fertility buck much later than I thought. And then that chart that I've seen from Tommy Roach and the Nature's crowd is tremendous because it talks about nutrient demand at each 00:03:05 stage of the plant's life. And I'm like, "Well, why in the hell are we putting it out here four months ahead of time?" 00:03:12 So what's the mistake? Is it that they don't understand that it works then, or they run out of money by R stage? 00:03:20 It's more the money's gassed. The capital's spent on the crop. Like you said, a lot of guys put on fall fertilizer and their budgets, 00:03:30 once they get done with post spray, the budget's pretty well chewed up or pretty tight at this point. So, especially in the economics we're in today, 00:03:38 spending $10, $20 an acre, it's not in there. And if they've spent it already, they just don't have the money to do it. Yeah. So I guess first line of, we said tips. 00:03:49 One of your first tips, I guess, would be keep some dry powder, keep some money back for fertility because now is when you can get more bang for your buck with the fertility. 00:04:00 Yeah. The guys we work with and we talk, we go, "You don't have to go 00:04:06 cold turkey on your dry fertilizer program if that's what you're running or whatever program you're doing." But if you're pulling, say for instance, you're 00:04:13 pulling a lot of fall applied P&K down, cut it back 10%, 20%, 25% of the budget. We've seen in Calibrated you don't really need that today. 00:04:24 I look back at guys who have been fertilizing pretty well for the last 20 years. You've got a pretty good 00:04:30 investment out there in dry fertilizer in that ground already. So cut it back a little bit and try to save some for these important stages 00:04:39 where you can realize that yield potential. Mm-hmm. What about from the standpoint of putting it out there, is there a point where it's too late? 00:04:46 Is there a point where somebody's saying right now, "Okay, I'm in," I don't know, "a southern climate, so my crops are already almost past this 00:04:53 point." Is there a point where you are throwing good money after bad? 00:04:58 Yeah. There are situations where that definitely can be in. We'll take corn for instance. 00:05:06 R3 is probably the last good spot. We've done some work on R5 corn later and seen some weird results. 00:05:18 But if a guy's looking at getting into this today, R3, that grain fill, right before that plant goes into grain fill, filling that seed out, those tend to be the best places to start and the 00:05:30 best return for your money. Got it. So when we talk about the R stage thing and then there's the V stage thing, Kelly has that story about having really, really good looking 00:05:40 soybeans, but they're like my height, and they all blew over. So you could still have that at the R stage also. You could still have plants that are too big at R stage. 00:05:50 Is that a plant growth regulator problem, or is that a fertility problem? Too big of plants that fall over. 00:06:00 Oh, it's a result of too much fertility. When you get a bean plant that's too rank and big, it's consuming a lot of nutrition, but it's not utilizing it efficiently. 00:06:10 And that's why you get the rank growth and it's falling over. That's a 00:06:16 management piece. That's knowing when to use what, when. And it's 00:06:24 not an exact science. I wish I could tell you that today, but it's things we work on 00:06:29 to help that plant be prepared for that yield when it gets into this part-time of year, there are stages, I should say. Okay. Let's go through all the stuff that you're telling your clients right now. 00:06:42 So I'm a client, and I come to you, and I say, "You're Calibrated Agronomy. Help me get my R-stage fertility right." So first thing you tell me is obviously 00:06:48 keep some money back. Don't do that thing where I'm all out of money because fertility now matters. What's the next thing you're going to tell me? 00:06:53 Do I put this on during- I think the biggest- Go ahead. Yeah. I was going to say the biggest thing, and even the thing we talked about on the webinar, was just measuring what you're doing so you know how 00:07:02 to get better. And we spent actually a lot of time talking about sap analysis and the advantages of that, building that data set. 00:07:10 Say you don't have much money in the budget. Let's collect data this year so when you go into 2027, you've got some kind of understanding of what your crop's going to do, and you can make those 00:07:20 adjustments on your budget. Do I need potassium late season? Do I need boron late season? Those are the things you can research now to know in 2027, I can 00:07:31 shave 20 bucks an acre off, so I could spend it in that R stages when I need it. Yeah. So that's the other thing. Getting R-stage fertility out there is 00:07:40 important, probably no matter what. And the thing is, you're saying also if you're going to go ahead and do this, now pull some samples on the sap, and then we know exactly what 00:07:50 type of... Because all R fertility, R-stage fertility programs aren't the same. Yeah. No, it depends on your management. 00:07:59 We know in our data sets, like we said in the webinar, it's like Northwest Iowa, heavy manure area, 00:08:05 great soils, high yield potential, but that causes different issues than, say, soils in Southern Indiana that's maybe 00:08:14 more sandy. We go out west in Nebraska, different climate. Yep. 00:08:19 Very dry, sandy soil. So the needs are different based on geography and also management. Are you 00:08:26 irrigating? Are you not? Are you putting on a lot of fertility? Those things. So from a tip standpoint, when I said we're going to give tips, 00:08:35 if I'm sitting here and I'm looking at I've got some fertility budget, and I'm going to use it in July reproductive stage, 00:08:45 where I live in Indiana, let's say. Or at this point some crops aren't even planted, so it could be August. When I'm looking at that, 00:08:54 am I silly to apply for R-stage fertility without a sap analysis? Or should I still put out R-stage fertility and say, "Okay, next year I'll start doing sap analysis"? Does sap analysis have to happen for me to 00:09:05 justify R-stage fertility applications? Well, I think if you want to know if you're making a change. We talk about a lot, too, in Kelly's farm or even just people we talk with, 00:09:17 that we consult with, is like that's one of the tough things is when you do some of these trials, 00:09:23 when we've had at XtremeAg and at Calibrated, you put this trial out, and it does well. You think it's going to do well, and then you get a hailstorm. 00:09:31 And then you can't collect any results on the yield side. But if we have the sap analysis to say, "Hey, I planted a gallon of this 00:09:37 product out at foliar, and it responded to this," we kind of know that at least going into next year. May not have the yield data or something, whatever, but we know it 00:09:47 was effective, or it was the other way. It didn't work as well as it said it would. Got it. And then, 00:09:54 so obviously the product mix changes based on what the needs are, et cetera. All right. One of the things that I said you should make sure you cover whenever we 00:10:01 are going to discuss this, there's somebody that's going to have an excuse. "Well, I can't put it out there because I don't have the right equipment." So if 00:10:08 I'm a producer, and I'm using that excuse, you told me before we ever did any of this topic, there's tons of ways to get R-stage fertility out there. Talk to me. 00:10:19 Best way? Yes. Worst way? Are they all equal? Just got to do them right? No, every way we 00:10:27 run across, it works. We do a lot of aerial here in Western Iowa, helicopter, drone. We've had success with them. 00:10:38 Anybody that does custom rig is all based on the applicator. I've always said that. If you got a good aerial guy that does a good job, you're going to get good 00:10:46 performance. So they'll work. We've seen them. We've proved them here in the hills. Ground rigs work great, well if you want to do that, and then you're good there. 00:10:58 I talked to a grower this morning about some stuff he wanted to do through his pivot and fertigating through his pivot. 00:11:05 We were talking about fungicide time and where he should put it. And Jared Cook talks about the best, that if you got a pivot, it's 00:11:14 a 1,400-foot applicator going around about every week at least. So think about it that way. So things work. 00:11:23 You just got to, whatever you got. Is foliar applied proven to be more effective than soil applied? Does it matter? 00:11:35 Yeah. Foliar is far more effective if you understand how to get it into the plant. What I mean by that is treating your water, giving the things to be successful, 00:11:46 timings. Treat the water, and we've covered this in different things. You mean using something like a water, it's almost like a 00:11:53 surfactant type of product, right? It makes the water- Yeah ... it corrects the pH. What else did it do? 00:11:57 Yeah. Or add a product like a fulvic acid or something like that to help the- Go into the plant, the plant will take it in. Those type of little things will enhance that application. 00:12:08 Timings, all the basic stuff needs to be done to be successful. And 00:12:18 we've had good luck. Even the XtremeAg group, the growers in there have all had good luck with foliar. So it's successful, and I think it's 00:12:25 more effective because you're feeding the plant, and you're not dealing with the soil and all the antagonisms in the soil potentially when you need that nutrient. 00:12:37 Okay. So you hands down recommend foliar for our stage. And if we do that, I've got to make sure that I use a water treatment. And a water treatment, that's because of pH, or it's because of getting... 00:12:47 It's something that's going to help the product get in the plant more, or both? Both. Both. Yeah. Understand your pH a little bit and 00:12:54 use some- Do you have a product recommendation for that, for my water treatment for our stage? 00:12:58 Oh. Yeah, we've used all kinds. I'm just trying to think off the top of my head. Anything you use like you do with your herbicide would be good. 00:13:10 Yeah. Just don't drop it too far at times. So you've just got to understand your pH of your solution. Biggest mistake you see when it comes to R stage fertility. 00:13:19 Not doing it? Overdoing it? Is there a mistake? Yeah. I personally, and this is personal preference, if we're going R stages, I always got a carbon, specifically a fulvic carbon-type product going along for the 00:13:37 ride. I think it always enhances it. It helps the plant take it on, and the soluble carbon that goes along with that has just been... 00:13:47 A plant needs it. It just improves everything that we do. Some are more expensive than others. 00:13:55 We try to keep it in that $1 or $2 range as an add-on because try to stay budget friendly. 00:14:03 All right. I want to get into the economics and one last agronomics. Before I do that, I want to remind you, if you are a farmer, I want you to imagine 00:14:09 knowing your soil as well as you know your fields. With Earth Optics, you get the most precise soil insights in the industry. Clear, accurate data on fertility, biology, and compaction. 00:14:18 No more guessing, just the information you need to make smarter decisions, optimize your input costs, and most importantly, boost your yields. 00:14:25 Earth Optics puts the full picture of your soil right in your hand so you can farm confidently and profitably. 00:14:32 Unlock healthier soils, stronger harvests, and a better bottom line. You want to learn more? Go to earthoptics.com. 00:14:38 That's earth like the planet where you live, optics like your eyeballs, earthoptics.com. Check it out. Okay. 00:14:44 From an economic standpoint, if I'm in a drought, I should probably not bother with this. Tell me when it's bad money after good. 00:14:52 Tell me when the economic decision, when you advise a client like, "Hey, you know what? I know we preach R stage fertility, but here's when you should pull out." 00:14:59 I'm assuming there's a time when the drought... But I was at your place two summers ago, and we were in a field that looked like such s**t, I thought it was probably needed to be plowed up. 00:15:10 And you guys were actually treating it. And then two inches of rain came like a week later, which I thought was a month too late, and it bailed that field out. 00:15:17 And I remember distinctly it was between the farm and Dow City on the east side of that highway. Do you remember what I'm talking about? 00:15:23 Yep. So answer me that. There's going to be the person that says, "I don't know. Things don't look very good." So what's your rule on when to cut 00:15:31 bait? Oh. Yeah. Once you get to pollination, and if you can get through pollination well, and the forecast looks good, 00:15:48 keep pushing. But if you have a struggle through pollination, I know Matt Miles talks about their issues with the heat and stuff down there through... 00:15:55 If they can get through pollination, they're doing good. And I think it's true everywhere. If you got good pollination and you get through that very well, 00:16:05 the next thing is to fill that kernel. And I've seen things go backwards too because of lack of nutrients. So 00:16:14 I think pollination is probably the key term in my mind, whether you spend it or not, and go from there. 00:16:21 Okay. What about soybeans? I don't pollinate soybeans. Pod count. Go do pod counts. If you got good pod counts, good stands, 00:16:33 that's what it's all driven off of. And for us- If I've got a good pod count, go ahead and put the fertility to it. Yeah. If you got a lot of three beans, even some four beans... 00:16:40 Usually, my rule of thumb for Kelly is if we were going to keep pushing it, if I got 00:16:46 a handful of four-bean pods sitting in on that plant, I know it's still going and humming along. If I'm aborting 00:16:54 pods down to twos at that point, then it's really a struggle to spend more money on that crop because you're chasing, like you said, good money after bad. 00:17:05 Got it. And then from an economic standpoint, where do you think that there's another chance that either you might overspend, because with fertility prices being 00:17:13 where they are and the economic situation being where it is, where's your advice to somebody to either make an extra nickel or save an extra 00:17:20 nickel? Where's the low-hanging fruit, as Kelly always says? In the R stages? 00:17:26 Yeah. Yeah. As far as nutrition, potassium's always a go-to. Potassium, boron seem like they always just rise to the top. 00:17:39 Those are the two that are most efficient at R stage. Yeah. They seem to be the ones that you need. You're moving sugars at that point, sugar, starches, plants, and those are kind of 00:17:50 the key drivers of it. Zinc would be next. Calcium could be an ideal spot there too as well. 00:18:00 But those are the ones. Then sulfur. Potassium, sulfur, and boron. Got it. 00:18:09 And then from the standpoint of what you told everybody the other day or what you tell your clients then, is there anything we've not asked you about R-stage 00:18:16 fertility that you think can help somebody make a nickel in these trying economic times? 00:18:26 Yeah. I think we kind of covered it all. I still go back to if you're going to do this, and I think the things that make us successful is measuring everything we do, and if 00:18:38 you're going to make that application, measure it, take the sap analysis, get the results, know what you're doing, 00:18:48 and bring it forward to next year. Because that's the one thing that agronomy struggles with is we got one shot a year. 00:18:56 We can't iterate 14 times a year. We got one, and we have to move it over to the next year. So 00:19:04 if you miss it once, you got to wait another year. If I have to use hired aerial application or drone application because I don't have maybe the right equipment, 00:19:17 can I still get my ROI out of that? Yeah, we do it here. We do it at Kelly's. We'll hire a helicopter to come in. 00:19:26 You said that. Yeah. You said that, so that's going to be striking. I know you said it. That's why I wanted you to say it again, because there's going to be a lot of 00:19:33 people say, "Well, I don't have the right equipment," or, "The crop got too big for me and I can't get out there. I'm going to knock too much stuff over." And so 00:19:39 you're saying it does pencil out. Yeah, we've had lots of success driving yield with a helicopter. 00:19:48 But I'll tell you, too- Even in these commodity prices, it still can justify it. So that's how important R-stage fertility is, is what you're telling me. 00:19:56 Yeah. We might shave off some stuff in here. Budget's real, but there's 00:20:02 certain things we will not give up, excuse me, in those blends. Potassium, boron, like I said, sulfur, those are going to go in. 00:20:09 They have to go in. Are we going to put anything else in there? Well, we'll see what time comes and make that decision when we 00:20:17 get there. But there's two consistent not to. Is there usually a micro that's most important this time of season? For me, it's boron, zinc. 00:20:27 Yeah. Those are the two top ones. Yep. I remember you guys saying that you pulled samples and at a certain point in your crop, you didn't find any that weren't zinc deficient. 00:20:37 Yeah. Boron and zinc. All right. His name's Mike Evans. You want to learn more about this, R-stage fertility is very important. I hope you kept some money back and didn't blow it all in the fall. 00:20:45 And if you don't know what I'm talking about, you can check out that chart. Our friends at Nature's put a chart out there. 00:20:50 It's fantastic because it shows all the nutrient demands of a plant of corn, I think they have it for soybeans also, throughout the season because let's face it, 00:20:58 you can't eat your meal on June 1st and then expect that still you're going to have the right nutrition come the middle of the month, right? Same thing with your plants. 00:21:08 If you want to learn more about what Evans is doing, where do they go, Evans? Calibrate Your Agronomy? 00:21:14 We actually are at calibrateyouragronomy.com now. We upgraded. Oh, fantastic. Good for you. Anyway, his name's Mike Evans. My name's Damian Mason. 00:21:22 Thank you for being here. Remember, there's a whole entire library of information, episodes like this, Cutting the Curve, videos of these guys like Mike Evans do in 00:21:29 the field, and it's all at XtremeAg.farm. Also, go to our YouTube channel, hit subscribe. While you're at our YouTube channel, make sure you check out The Granary. 00:21:36 That show's been going now for almost a year and a half. It's shot here at my farm in Indiana, and it's a lot of fun, so pull up a 00:21:43 chair and join us at The Granary. Thank you very much for being here, and thank you for supporting. If there's a 00:21:49 topic you would like me to cover, be sure to send a comment and we will put it on the schedule. Until next time, thanks for being here. I'm Damian Mason. 00:21:56 This is Xtreme Ag's Cutting the Curve. That's a wrap for this episode of Cutting the Curve. Make sure to check out XtremeAg.farm for more great content to help 424 00:22:04.892 --> 00:22:08.152