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Full Transcript

Michaela Paukner:

Welcome to the No-Till Farmer Podcast, brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment. I'm Michaela Paukner, managing editor at No-Till Farmer. In this episode, technology editor Noah Newman talks to Ron Digman, a no-tiller from Mount Hope, Wisconsin about the planter technology investments and management it took to raise 96-bushel-per-acre soybeans, a yield that earned him second place in the 2022 Wisconsin Soybean Association Yield Contest.

Noah Newman:

Give me the basics of your operation, location, how many acres, what crops you grow, how long you've been farming, et cetera, et cetera.

Ron Digman:

I farm by Mount Hope, Wisconsin. We farm about 800 acres, and I do some custom work besides. I started farming in 2001 when I graduated high school with my dad. We dairy farmed until 2015, and then I took over the farm, 100% took over the farm, and then I converted to beef from dairy. That's the farm history. We farm corn and beans, and we have some alfalfa for our cattle, our beef cows.

Noah Newman:

Take me through the switch to no-till when you first started no-tilling, the motivations behind it, and what was it like when you first switched?

Ron Digman:

When we started out and I got more into no-till, I started renting some ground that came out of CRP, and it was steeper ground, and we started no-tilling in that, worried about erosion. Then that was working well, so we switched it to our good ground, and we've seen actually some very good yields since we've converted to no-till, and we've had way less erosion.

Noah Newman:

And how did you learn about no-till?

Ron Digman:

From some agronomy guys and some meetings I went to.

Noah Newman:

Okay, I got you. Were there any big challenges when you switched to no-till that you could think of, or was it a pretty smooth transition?

Ron Digman:

Until we can get back to the toolbox, the planter I started with wasn't equipped with what I have now, so we had some closing issues starting out. Then I learned patience, that when you plant no-till you can't go super early, you got to wait for ground temps to warm up. You know what I mean?

Noah Newman:

Yeah, I got you. Okay, cool. I guess, getting to the award-winning plot, that was a 2022 contest, correct?

Ron Digman:

Yep.

Noah Newman:

And then what was the yield?

Ron Digman:

96.33.

Noah Newman:

96.33. Okay.

Ron Digman:

And 96.5 won it.

Noah Newman:

Oh, so you barely... It was basically a tie?

Ron Digman:

Yeah. Yep. Yep.

Noah Newman:

So officially then you were second-

Ron Digman:

If I'd have shook a couple of beans out of the auger, and I said, honestly, we're probably 80% no-till on our acres.

Noah Newman:

Okay. I got you.

Ron Digman:

That was tilled on that year before because it was heavy manure ground. We just worked a manure in the top. I told my buddies, and I said... We had this discussion about no-till a couple of years ago, and I said my generation farms so much different than when my dad and everybody farmed, but it's now... We have the equipment, the seed varieties, and the resources to do it. You know what I mean? Them guys didn't have the chem programs and the high-speed corn planters with hydraulic downforce, you know what I mean? That'd be the right way to say it probably. We have a different toolbox to use than our parents did.

Noah Newman:

Yeah, I like that. A few more tools in the shed that you can use to make no-till actually work.

Ron Digman:

Yeah. We can make things work. Yeah.

Noah Newman:

How many-

Ron Digman:

We've farmed some pretty hilly ground. That's why we got started in it. I remember filling washouts in with dozers in the spring when we were kids, and now we've got good sustained waterways and no-till practices, and we're raising more yield.

Noah Newman:

What kind of a seed treatment did you have?

Ron Digman:

Whatever the Pioneer Program was. It might've been ILEVO. I'm not sure.

Noah Newman:

Okay. And then what was your planting population?

Ron Digman:

Planting population was 155,000.

Noah Newman:

I have a question here about the traits. Do you know what that might be?

Ron Digman:

Oh, probably traits in our Xtend beans probably.

Noah Newman:

Oh, okay. Xtend. So seeding rate was 155,000. Do you remember the harvest population?

Ron Digman:

I think we were at 130. Those beans were planted the 10th of April.

Noah Newman:

The 96-bushel ones?

Ron Digman:

Mm-hmm.

Noah Newman:

Okay. And then do you remember the approximate harvest date? October?

Ron Digman:

I would say middle of October.

Noah Newman:

And then you're in 30-inch rows?

Ron Digman:

Yep.

Noah Newman:

30-inch rows. Okay. And what kind of planter do you have, make and model?

Ron Digman:

I have a John Deere 1770 NT with all Ag Leader... I have SureSpeed and SureForce hydraulic downforce on it.

Noah Newman:

Yeah. I guess, just talking about your planter a little bit, what makes it unique, some of the attachments you have that help you get the job done more easily?

Ron Digman:

I think the hydraulic downforce is your best return on investment you can put on a corn planter and no-till.

Noah Newman:

So you use the same planter for corn and soybeans?

Ron Digman:

Yep.

Noah Newman:

Okay, cool. What kind of harvester do you have?

Ron Digman:

I have a Case IH 2388. I did then. I have a new one now, but that's what I had then.

Noah Newman:

So when it comes to harvest, take me through when you're harvesting that award-winning plot. Any memories come to mind or any tips for success there or anything stand out?

Ron Digman:

Not really. We just harvest when the moisture's correct, and sometimes that doesn't work either. During harvest, we don't really... Nothing really special, I guess. Where we do our plot, the only thing we do in our plot is we actually... We take drone images a few times a year to find the best spots in the field, too.

Noah Newman:

To know where to pull from for the contest?

Ron Digman:

Yeah, we've done it up years now. We just know the spots in the field, looking at years past yield data to find your spots.

Noah Newman:

What was the soil type of the award-winning plot, at least?

Ron Digman:

That was probably on [inaudible 00:06:26]. It's probably [inaudible 00:06:28].

Noah Newman:

All right. I guess now just take me through that plot with the 96 bushels per acre from the contest last year. Starting from harvest the previous year, just take me through how you prepared the field and then what you did from planning to throughout the season to get that high yield.

Ron Digman:

Honestly, dealing with that 107-bushel beans compared to that, that's a 10-bushel difference, but I just think it was a year. You know what I mean? I don't think it had anything to do with the no-till end of it. But I'd say we planted early, we run some Stoller products in furrow, which have really, I think... In our no-till operation, it really helped with early season root growth. We saw it this year planting early, too, in our corn. If you ever heard of the Stoller company, they sell micros in furrow stuff.

Noah Newman:

So those are micronutrients?

Ron Digman:

Yeah, they grow stimulants and stuff. Stoller company sells them. We use a lot of their stuff. We started two years ago with some Stoller products, and it's really been helping what I've seen in [inaudible 00:07:43] rope growth and early season. Then we came in with our first pass of herbicide, and then we came back at flower or whatever those are, whatever, at flower, and we put on fungicide and another pass of micronutrients. We do two passes of fungicide on those beans.

Noah Newman:

And then what kind of fungicides and herbicides and all that do you use?

Ron Digman:

We sprayed it with a Sonic as a pre, and then we came back in with Enlist and Liberty and Dual per residual.

Noah Newman:

Can you just go into a little more detail, so your decision-making process, why you split it up, and why it's such a big advantage?

Ron Digman:

Well, because a lot of people just put on their fungicide with their herbicide, and you're usually a little early on flowering. You know what I mean? So I think pushing it back and putting the fungicide and your insecticide treatment separately later, it's been a big yield advantage, getting it right at flowering.

Noah Newman:

Okay. So let me make sure I have the three passes right. Your first pass is pre-emergence application of Sonic soybean herbicide.

Ron Digman:

Yep.

Noah Newman:

Then followed by a post-emergence application of Roundup. Is it XtendiMax? Is that what you call it?

Ron Digman:

Yep, XtendiMax. Yep.

Noah Newman:

And Dual. Roundup Dual herbicides.

Ron Digman:

Yep.

Noah Newman:

Then the third pass, Warrior Insecticide, Quilt fungicide, and the additional Stoller products?

Ron Digman:

Yep.

Noah Newman:

Okay, got it. Let's see here. Do you have any idea of the approximate rates of all that?

Ron Digman:

I'll have to look into. It's all my sprayer and my stuff, all my [inaudible 00:09:36]. All products use a recommended rate, and then you don't have to put it all in there. You know what I mean?

Noah Newman:

Okay, so you pretty much just use the recommended rates?

Ron Digman:

Yeah.

Michaela Paukner:

I'd like to take a moment to thank our sponsor, Yetter Farm Equipment. Yetter is your answer for success in the face of ever-changing production agriculture challenges. Yetter offers a full lineup of planter attachments designed to perform in varying planting conditions. Yetter products maximize your inputs, save you time, and deliver return on your investment. Visit them at yetterco.com. That's Y-E-T-T-E-R-C-O dot com.

Noah Newman:

And you have your own sprayer?

Ron Digman:

Yep. That's why I'm doing so many passes.

Noah Newman:

I hear. What kind of sprayer is it?

Ron Digman:

A 855 RoGator because I have to do this for corn growers every year, too, and CGA makes [inaudible 00:10:30]. They want all that information. I've done the Corn Growers for five years, I think I've done it now. I've placed top three for the last five years, so-

Noah Newman:

Wow, pretty impressive. Is that no-till corn or-

Ron Digman:

That's on tilled ground.

Noah Newman:

Okay, I got you.

Ron Digman:

Because where we do Corn Growers, we feed 600 head of cattle, so that's where we haul all our manure. See, that's why I said anything... Like I said, unless we haul manure on it, we no-till it. You know what I mean? If I could, I would no-till it all, honestly, because I believe in it. I've watched soil erosion as a kid, and it just blew my mind, these guys around here working these hillsides, and it just made you sick.

Noah Newman:

Yeah. Have there been a lot more people no-tilling around you since you've started?

Ron Digman:

Yeah. It's really turning. I think there's only one big farmer around here that works all the ground anymore, and everybody else, we rotate corn and beans 50/50, and it just works. Honestly, there's years we've had a little trouble. It's been a wet spring, but most years, when it's dryer, our no-till crops will out-yield our tilled ground.

Noah Newman:

Yeah. When it comes to no-tilling soybeans, is there anything that you tried that was different that maybe you thought maybe you wouldn't really try before or anything new that you've done over the past three years?

Ron Digman:

I'd say probably just this planter setup. I would say that's been the most... On the no-till end of things, I think putting money in your corn planter is king. The technology in the corn planter is your best return on investment. I would say that's where we've been pushing it. When I first got the planter, we put hydraulic downforce and this last year we went to high speed, and every year everything we've done on the technology end has huge returns on the no-till end. Before, we had electric drives and eSet meters. We switched to SureSpeed. Our stands are just picket fence now. It was a $40,000 investment, but we saw it this year in our Corn Growers where my stands were so much more even. I think rain was our limiting factor this year. Our bean entry was only 80-some bushel, but we were so dry, and we ended up getting a hailstorm middle of the summer that took a bunch out.

Noah Newman:

Yeah. It was a crazy weather year this year. For the 2022 contest, do you recall any challenges that you had to go through with that one or was it-

Ron Digman:

We had some early season snow on it. When you plant in April, I always get snow on stuff. It doesn't even bother me anymore.

Noah Newman:

Snow? So you weren't too worried. How much snow was it? Was it a lot?

Ron Digman:

Oh, about three inches probably got on it.

Noah Newman:

So they were able to survive that?

Ron Digman:

Yep. They even got a little frost on them and-

Noah Newman:

So planting soybeans early, it sounds like that's a must if you're going to grow high yields. Would you say that's the case?

Ron Digman:

Yeah, pushing the envelope on planting date is huge as long as the ground conditions are perfect. You have to make sure that... The soil condition is huge early. I don't care if you plant the second week of April. Well, if that ground is warm, the ground temperature is close to right, you're okay planting, and then once you get cold weather or rain, you have to quit until it warms back up. There's just always that two-day window early where you can get away with it. You know what I mean?

Noah Newman:

Yeah. So every year is different. You don't go into a year saying, "We have to do it on this date." It just depends on-

Ron Digman:

Yeah, we're not. Plant when the soil conditions are. You're better off planting the first week of May instead of the first week of April if the ground is cold and wet, especially no-till.

Noah Newman:

That's true. That's true. So do you do any soil testing or tissue sampling or anything like that?

Ron Digman:

We do soil testing. All my agronomist has all that stuff. Like I said, he takes care of that end of it, and I take care of the... We actually applied late season nitrogen on those beans last year. I don't know if it was a big yield bump, maybe a few bushel, but if you're... We sprayed Utrisha on them. It's a nitrogen fixing product you spray on and it's supposed to fixate nitrogen from the environment. I don't know how it does it. I don't know. We sprayed it on it, and where we did and didn't, there was a few bushel difference, but if you're going for every bushel...

Noah Newman:

How and when do you soil sample?

Ron Digman:

We do it every three years. We grid sample every three years.

Noah Newman:

And your agronomist helps with that?

Ron Digman:

Yeah. We started doing that a few years ago, and we're actually getting to a lot of these parts where we're back to just straight spreading instead of variable rating now because we've done it enough.

Noah Newman:

Yeah. So what do you learn from these high yielding plots that then you take to all your acres?

Ron Digman:

You have to know your soil and know your soil types. If the ground is capable of producing high yielding crops, the return on investment in all these products is great. If you're planting on marginal ground that doesn't have high yield history, it doesn't pay. If you're not planting in really good farms that's had history of high yields, all these products and all this stuff is not going to have a return on investment. Especially in soybeans, you got to know your... I feel pH is huge and spreading pell lime every year on your soybeans is huge.

Noah Newman:

I've heard that from someone else, where they variable rate applied lime after harvest.

Ron Digman:

Yep. We spread pell lime every year, 150 pounds of pell lime an acre.

Noah Newman:

What's the biggest thing that helps with?

Ron Digman:

On our soybean ground, we just use it to keep our soil pH in check. We use pell lime other than regular ag lime because it's more readily available.

Noah Newman:

Yeah. You mentioned soil pH level is important to pay attention to. Why would you say that's such a big thing that farmers should look out for?

Ron Digman:

In soybeans, yeah, if your soil pH is off, it's... Soybeans are like alfafa. If your pH is off.... That's why we haven't spread any ag lime in years because we've had great luck spreading pell lime [inaudible 00:16:23].

Noah Newman:

Anything new you're looking to try next year or...

Ron Digman:

We were going to try singulating soybeans and dropping population, but when I plant so early, I'm just nervous if I lose any type of stand. When you're planting super early, I just feel like the soybeans need each other to get out of the ground. You know what I mean? We haven't tried any of it yet, but we're thinking about maybe trying it in the future. Singulating beans would be like instead of planting 150,000, we drop down to 90,000, and we try to get the beans, the plants spaced like corn. You know what I mean?

Noah Newman:

Yeah. I've heard of people doing that. The guy in Georgia who broke the soybean record, I think his seeding rate was way down there. He really dropped it.

Ron Digman:

Yeah. I know where we tried to do it one year, and them beans all worked together and pushed themselves out. You know what I mean? I just feel like the technology on your corn planter and all that stuff is the biggest thing. In your soil sampling, make sure your fertility is there. You know what I mean? I honestly feel like your planter is the key. If you don't have the stand, you don't have anything. You know what I mean? Anything else after that bean plant comes up, you can put on it, you know what I mean, by tissue sampling and spreading fertilizer later. But if you don't have a stand, you don't have anything.

Noah Newman:

Like you said, all the products in the world, there's all these products out there you could make adjustments in season, but if it's not planted the right way, then you're behind the eight ball.

Ron Digman:

Yeah. When people ask about, I've had some 300-bushel corn waves, "How do you raise 300 bushel of corn?" I said, "A 300 bushel corn plant can't have a bad day." That plant has to come out of the ground and look good every day of its life. It's like a prom queen. You got to treat it perfect or it's not going to produce.

Noah Newman:

I like that. That's a good analogy. Any other key attachments like closing wheels or any kind of stuff on there we should mention?

Ron Digman:

Yeah. Well, we use poly twisters or whatever, but I know everybody's claiming that furrow [inaudible 00:18:25] is the thing they switch to. But I've got an AgLeader, so I can't really run it because I can't run it automate. You've probably heard of that system, right, the new furrow [inaudible 00:18:35]. We run a FurrowJet in furrow, which is precision planning. That's where we put our micronutrients on with that.

Noah Newman:

What's the thing you like most about that?

Ron Digman:

We just like in the no-till situation where it slices the sidewall, so you get less sidewall compaction.

Noah Newman:

Yeah. So it helps a lot with the compaction.

Ron Digman:

Less air pockets in the seed trench no-till.

Noah Newman:

Yeah. You mentioned that having a good stand is the most important thing. Do you need all this equipment to ensure you get that good stand?

Ron Digman:

Yeah. Honestly, the hydraulic... Anybody, if you ever talked to, you want to get into no-till, I think hydraulic downforce is your best investment in no-tilling because you get that constant pressure in the variable soils. Not every field's the same. So if you're rolling along and you see it's [inaudible 00:19:27] rocks and black dirt five feet, with the hydraulic downforce, it really seems to pay.

Noah Newman:

Yeah. And then how important is late season management with soybeans?

Ron Digman:

I got that stuff we put on them, Stoller products, about late season. They make products like this called Sugar Mover and some other growth stimulants that we've worked with that have worked well in the last couple of years on our 100-bushel bean way and this that have really, I think, pushed yield. We've seen probably the 10 bushel difference in side-by-sides within products.

Michaela Paukner:

Thanks to Ron Digman and Noah Newman for today's conversation. A transcript for this episode is available at no-tillfarmer.com/podcasts. You'd like to learn more bin-busting, no-till soybean secrets? Check out No-Till Farmer's special report about high yield no-till soybeans in the 2022 issue of No-Till Farmer Magazine or find the link on the webpage for this episode. Many thanks to Yetter Farm Equipment for helping to make this no-till podcast series possible. From all of us here at No-Till Farmer, I'm Michaela Paukner. Thanks for listening.