With the spring season rapidly approaching, I want to take the time to remind everyone the value of stabilizing your nitrogen fertilizer. Now, I predict the weather as well as the next guy. I heard several experts last February predict that 2016 would be just like the drought of 2012. Well, those people have to be feeling pretty foolish this winter due to our irrigated like conditions this past season. The point I’m trying to make is that like the weather, we can’t predict the potential nitrogen losses that we are going to experience this year. So in my mind, it would be wise to try to protect a crop input as valuable as nitrogen.

Thinking about the nitrogen cycle, our goal of using stabilizers is to keep our nitrogen inputs in a stable form for as long as possible. As a point of reference, the nitrogen cycle generally follows this pattern: urea is converted to ammonium (NH4+) which then will be converted to nitrate (NO3-). The last two forms can both be taken up by the plant with the difference being ammonium is held by the soil and nitrate is prone to being lost from the plant root zone. I’ll go through some of the major nitrogen fertilizers to discuss how we can protect them. When we inject anhydrous ammonia, it reacts with soil moisture to become ammonium which is stable in the soil. When soil temperatures are above 50°F, soil bacteria will convert ammonium into nitrate over time. With abundant rainfall, nitrate will leach out of well-drained soil. If the soil is poorly drained, the nitrate will denitrify into the atmosphere for as long as the soil is saturated. As many of you know, adding a product like N-serve inhibits the nitrification process, working to keep nitrogen in the ammonium form. Nitrapyrin, the active ingredient in N-serve, targets the Nitrosomonas soil bacteria that convert ammonium and renders them inactive for a period of time. The ammonium will bind with the soil colloid, protecting it from leaching and denitrification when we experience large rain events like the 4 to 7 inch event we received last June. Urea containing fertilizers add one more step to the process where nitrogen losses can occur. Urea combines with water to convert to ammonia (NH3) with the help of the urease enzyme that exists in the soil and on crop residue. If the ammonia isn’t worked into the ground by tillage or rain, it can volatilize into the atmosphere as a gas. As long as the urea is worked into the ground in 2 to 3 days after application, significant volatilization shouldn’t occur. Products like Agrotain or Factor X2 contain NBPT which prevents the urease enzyme from binding to the urea. This gives us 2-3 weeks to work in the urea or wait for adequate rainfall (0.25 in.). Volatilization is mostly likely to occur in these situations: high crop residue, high temperatures, high pH, low organic matter, and wet ground that dries out. UAN solutions have half the volatilization potential as urea because UAN is only half urea with the other half split between ammonium and nitrate. Urea containing fertilizers are subject to leaching and denitrification once they are converted to the nitrate form in the soil and can be protected with a nitrapyrin containing product like Instinct II.

To wrap things up, I can’t say that nitrogen stabilizers will deliver outstanding return on investments every year. As I pointed out earlier though, rainfall and time we have for tillage will vary every year so it would seem to be a wise decision to invest in nitrogen stabilizers as an insurance plan for whatever Mother Nature will throw at us this year. Contact an agronomist at WS Ag Center to discuss how nitrogen stabilizers can be integrated into your farming operation.

– Mark Kendall

I sat in an agronomy meeting a few years back and the speaker was talking about setting realistic goals. I don’t remember the name of the speaker, or even where the meeting was at, but I do remember the main point of his presentation. If we want to successfully manage our finances, our employees, or our production, we have to set measurable goals and budgets that we could review and make decisions from. There are many factors out of our control. We can’t control the weather, the markets, or the actions of other people. But there are many things we can control. We can control what we invest, how much we invest, and when to invest it. When we apply this concept to agriculture, we can really change how we look at our operation.

There are around 80 to 90 million acres of corn planted in the US. Most farms have at least 10% of their acres where the yields are lower than the quantity needed to cover our cost of production. If even 5% of these acres that are predicted to be farmed at a loss in 2017 were taken out of corn production, we could reduce the forecasted surplus by almost 50%, which theoretically would increase the market price of corn. We can’t control demand for our crop but we can definitely have an impact on supply. By not taking a loss on that lowest 5% on our farm we have already helped our profitability even if we don’t see an effect on the US
market.

Management decisions that involve knowing which acres are profitable or not on our farm can only be done using technology: at minimum we need a GPS globe and a monitor. The problem with technology has been a lack of support, and having so many different systems available that it’s difficult to know what system to choose. Additionally, each system functions differently so when you have learned one system it’s easy to forget how to operate the next system.

Ag Leader Technology started with the industry’s first yield monitor 25 years ago. Most brands of combines still come from the factory with components designed or made by Ag Leader. The monitors and systems designed and offered by Ag Leader are some of the most reliable and easy to use precision ag systems on the market. We choose to partner primarily with Ag Leader for our technology needs because we can run almost all colors and types of equipment with the same monitor and controls. When combined with our MyWay RTK network we offer our customers a hassle free, accurate, and reliable system to help them measure their inputs and their yields so they can better manage their
operation.  

We build whole farm precision ag solutions for our customers and help them through the whole process of collecting their data and learning how to use that data.  With each of our precision ag offerings we can give you numbers to show the average payback from the technology. For example, a hydraulic down force system on a 16 row planter pays for itself after 461 acres at $3.00 corn. This system gives customers an average $33 per acre advantage.

Call us and let us show you how our precision ag systems and services can increase your profits on your farm.

-Andrew Tucker

It’s exciting to see how big of a crop we can produce. What’s not so exciting is looking at the costs to produce a crop at current market pricing. The outlook does not have to be so dismal however. With proper management and

planning we can still forecast a profitable year barring an unforeseen weather disaster. We have the tools to help our customers calculate their cost of production and compare that to yield goals and commodity prices. World record producer Randy Dowdy has openly shared his cost of production and the factors he includes in his calculations for the two years he broke new records:

2014-503 bushel/acre corn
Input cost of $2.67/bushel
Corn sold for $4.60/bushel
Gross Profit of $970.79/acre

2016-521 bushel/acre corn
Input cost of $2.74/bushel
Corn sold for $4.30/bushel
Gross Profit of $812.76/acre

2016-171 bushel/acre soybeans
Input cost of $7.95/bushel
Beans sold of $10.76/bushel
Gross Profit of $480.51/acre

Costs Include:
Land Rent
Planting Costs
Harvest Costs
Handling Costs
Drying Costs
Seed
Chemicals (herbicides, fungicides, insecticides)
Fertilizer
Aerial & Ground application fees
Tissue and soil samples
Utilities & Fuel
Labor & Scouting Fees
85% Revenue Protection
Liability and Property Insurance
Interest on money for 4 months

Nitrogen is usually what comes to mind when we talk about sidedressing corn, but I’d like to share with you an on farm situation where nitrogen was not a yield limiting factor, but phosphorus and boron were. I received a call from a farmer in mid to late May of last year. He was expressing his concerns about the way one of his corn fields was looking like; not very vigorous growth, small plants with red and purple colored leaves, symptoms of phosphorus deficiency.

When I went to that field to check out his corn, his description was “spot-on” for phosphorus deficient corn plants. My next step was to pull a tissue and soil sample to verify the visual symptoms of phosphorus deficiency and also to check and see if there were any other yield limiting factors in this field. The tissue test results came back showing boron was deficient and phosphorus was low to deficient, the other nutrient levels were fine. The soil sample result showed boron being low and the P1 phosphorus test was medium at 19 ppm…I was expecting a much lower phosphorus reading by the way the corn looked. Calcium was low and the soil pH was extremely low, the other seven nutrients on the soil sample were in good shape. An extremely low soil pH has a negative impact on phosphorus availability, which helps to explain why this field was showing phosphorus deficiencies, even though the phosphorus level on the soil sample was not low.

With the information gathered from the soil and tissue tests, the farmer and I decided to look at a 200 bushel yield uptake of phosphorus and boron and apply 75% of those needs. This decision was made the fourth week of June and the phosphorus and boron were applied as liquid through WS Ag Center’s Miller sprayer, equipped with Y-Drops.

The next question is: Was it worth it? … Yes it was!

We left an untreated check to compare yields, the untreated area yielded 190.7, the treated area ended up at 229.3. These yield checks were right next to each other. The cost of the treatment, including application was $75.00 per acre. When you spread that cost over the extra 38.6 bushels per acre, you realized a cost of $1.94 per bushel on those extra bushels.

In summary, nitrogen is the most widely used nutrient when
sidedressing corn, and always will be. My main goal of the article was to point out the fact that there can be other yield limiting nutrients in certain situations. There is time to properly diagnose and treat those yield robbing situations should they occur. Did I expect a 38 plus bushel response from this situation? NO… but knowing that a corn plant takes up over 50% of its phosphorus after tasseling, the odds were in our favor for a decent yield response.

-Dan Langkamp

I think spring might really be ready to make a full-time appearance soon and the question to ask yourself is are we ready? There are so many new things that have been introduced in the agricultural arena that it is almost impossible to keep up with the new trends. Social media has made it easy to get information, expert advice from numerous sources around the world, planting trends, yield projections, etc., yet one of the most important things hasn’t changed and that’s a connection with an informed and progressive Ag representative. I like to think that WS Ag can provide all of that for our customers.

Alternative fuel options such as E10 and E85 has seen a great demand and in 2016 alone the ethanol demand saw production of 15.3 billion gallons. This will continue to be on the rise in the future due to exports, the environment, higher gas consumption and with lower oil prices, gas consumption will continue to climb. It’s not going away, it’s going to continue to grow. At a recent summit review, there was a presentation on what the successful farmer needs to be in tune with. The progressive farmers are in tune with the newest trends, work on communication to help work with others, solve problems and focus on managing margins. They aren’t afraid to explore new ideas and are willing to think outside the box and explore different points of view. One constant however is to recognize the power of networking and developing close relationships with your suppliers and reps. Even when you do all you can that is humanly possible to be ready for the growing season, your biggest friend is Mother Nature. Next in line is your partnership with WS Ag Center and our experienced staff. We are prepared to help you in any way we can by communicating new trends, marketing strategies, price forecasting, projected crop input costs, informed agronomists, the latest equipment and technology and so much more. We already know that the future for this season is an increase in soybean production and a slight drop in corn acres. We can help maximize your acres and production plus be your partner for a fantastic growing season keeping your costs in mind and helping you produce a bumper crop. Call on us any time, ask questions, pick our brains, we’re here for you. Just let us know what we can do to help you make this season better. Let’s work together. Farm incomes may have dropped, but there is always a bright spot which sees falling prices on fertilizer and energy prices, as well as increased yields.

-Kent Ganske