Nebraska no-tiller Kurt Torell readily volunteers that he didn’t like school. After graduating from high school in 1978, he began farming with his family.
The rapid rise in the cost of seed and fertilizer in the past year served as a wake-up call for no-tillers, reminding them that controlling input costs is often the difference between being profitable or not.
Farmers who cut back on high-cost fertilizer inputs in 2009, and then had record yields, are wondering how much fertilizer is actually needed. For 2010, let fall soil tests be your guide. Adequate levels of such nutrients as phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) can go a long way in boosting yield potential, especially if next season brings more "normal" weather conditions.
Crop producers may have shied away from making phosphorus or potassium applications last year due to high fertilizer prices, but don’t let bumper corn and soybean yields fool one into thinking an application this fall may not be needed.
“Not only is each individual element necessary, but a balance of all soil elements is necessary...”— Neal Kinsey. Fertility expert Neal Kinsey covers all the basics necessary for nurturing soils so they become a thriving, productive living system.
An area farmer told University of Nebraska Extension educator Jim Schneider that he recently received an offer to buy his corn residue for as much as $20 a ton or $60 an acre for a 3-ton harvest.
Jack Maloney used to be your typical farmer when it came to managing soil and fertility. He relied heavily on his local co-op for recommendations — after all, their agronomists had spent years in school studying science, chemistry and biology.
Fertilizer was a painful input for most no-tillers in 2008. Growing world demand (up 14% — a growth equal to the entire U.S. market, according to The Fertilizer Institute), high production costs, increased transportation expense and a faltering U.S. dollar all contributed to record-high prices for major nutrients.
With skyrocketing input prices like seed and fertilizer, it pays to measure your production and more closely manage your inputs. One of my favorite management slogans is, “Measure to manage.” Without measuring your inputs and yields, it’s really hard to manage to the highest level of profit.
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On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Montag Manufacturing, growers from across the U.S. share their predictions for the upcoming planting season, including one no-tiller who’s “bullish” about a great spring.
Needham Ag understands the role of technology in making better use of limited resources within a specific environment by drawing on a wealth of global experience to overcome the challenges facing today's farmers, manufacturers and dealers.
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