Digital Corner

Yield Report Books

By Dale Cowan

New this fall we will be providing Yield Reports as you share your yield data with us. When we receive your yield data we will process it and produce a report of yield , moisture and a crop removal map for MAP and Potash. Yield maps this year will be very representative of the areas of abiotic and biotic stresses that have occurred as result of the environmental conditions this growing season. The crop removal maps for MAP and Potash fertilizers offer insights into how much nutrient was removed and where. The best approach is to use a current soil test to determine if any build applications are required and the yield map is used to calculate the removal of nutrients. Nonetheless our Crop sales Specialists will have run a nutrient recommendation. If the soil test levels are optimum then the crop removal is all that is required. If soil tests are above the target range then a drawdown adjustment is made to reduce the crop removal application. This takes advantage of stored nutrients without fear of yield loss.

Our 4 R Nutrient Management goal is to optimize nutrient use while maintain yields and reducing the size of the environmental footprint. We aim to have soil tests in the target range , neither too low or too high.

Sharing yield data through Fieldview, Agfiniti, John Deere Operations Center or an usb stick will allow us to create the Yield Report Book. It will be sent by email with a link to access your reports. You can also view your yield data in your myFS on line account.

The experience is further enhanced with a visit by your crop specialists to add additional analysis with Normalized Yield maps from multiple years. A Profit Map to look at opportunities to improve income and gain insights from your own data. We have the ability to look at all layers on line to see management impacts on agronomy programs. Any MiField strip trials will require additional analysis to look at yield impacts by product. Setting up product trails in the spring with as applied mapping technology followed by a yield map makes it easier to evaluate treatments.

Experience our Digital Ag Strategy by sharing your yield data. 

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Sulfur... Not Just for Grass Crops

By Mark Mckerrall

I recently had a customer bring in his yield data and while analyzing the data we saw a distinct yield advantage on one side of the farm. Upon questioning the customer, he told us he had spread the remainder of his corn starter at 100 lb/ac on this area. This added 8N-14P-13K-12S of plant food netted a 13 bu yield increase. The history on this farm is sandy loam with good fertility levels and a fall soybean broadcast that supports a 60 bu crop removal. What nutrient was the biggest contributor to the 13 bu yield response? Here is what I found while researching S response in soybeans.  

Purdue studies show S applications spike soybean yields 10 to 15 bushels per acre on sandy or coarse-texture soils with less than 2% organic matter. Applications of S also spur a 4- to 6-bushel-per-acre response on heavier soils with 2.5% to 3% organic matter.

Form and Application

Normally, a yield spike of 2 bushels per acre is needed to cover product and application costs. "This can fluctuate depending on market prices and product costs, but it's been a fairly consistent number," Casteel says.

When to apply S is often the larger issue.

"To get the most bang for the buck, you need to apply it in early [soybean growth] stages, from planting to V2 or V3," says Casteel.

Twenty pounds of S applied in the form of ammonium sulfate (AMS) close to planting or during early vegetative growth is a good starting point, he observes. 

What To Do

Unless S can be applied at planting as a starter, broadcasting S requires another field trip. This costs time and money and can delay planting.

"I would rather have growers’ plant timely when fields are fit, and then come back with the sulfur application," Casteel says.

Yield responses may also vary, even on S-deficient soils. "In 2019, responses were not as high as in other years, even on normally responsive sites," he reports.

Reference strips to which no S is applied and in-season tissue tests can gauge S application effectiveness. This information can help farmers determine which fields are most likely to show an S response in future years.

"These huge responses do not occur on every field and in every situation," Casteel points out. "But these responses are happening with enough frequency that they should be considered, especially for those who are pushing planting dates and higher yields."

Nitrogen Boost

Sulfur starter or broadcast fertilizers that also contain nitrogen (N) may also garner an additional yield response due to the inclusion of N.

"We don't see it every year, but there can be a benefit from the nitrogen in a product like AMS [ammonium sulfate] or ATS [ammonium thiosulfate]," says Shaun Casteel, Purdue University Extension soybean agronomist. "You won't have that with calcium sulfate or gypsum. The nitrogen helps stimulate plant growth, especially in cooler and wetter fields. The sulfur is a cofactor for nodulation and nitrogen fixation."

This was an unexpected surprise to see the yield increase in the area that received the extra fertilizer. While we cannot be certain it was all attributed to S it does suggest expanding on a trial next year. Considering we receive less than 5 pounds per acre of sulphur from annual rainfall and the soybean crop needs 25 pounds of S for total uptake to support growth it stands to reason we need to pay more attention to crop nutrition in soybeans. It may well be time to move from talking only on N, P and K to shifting to N,P,K and S. 

Contact your local AGRIS Co-operative Crop Sales Specialist and ask how you can maximize your soybean yields.

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Strategy for Controlling Resistance Weeds, Starts This FallWith INFINITY/INFINITY FX in Winter Wheat

By Jordan Sisson

Soybean harvest is well under way, albeit, slowly but surely thanks to mother nature as well as the last push from growers to get their winter wheat seeded.

In a season like the one we are having where not everything goes according to plan due to circumstances that are out of our hands, it can be easy to lose sight of the importance of fall weed control in your wheat fields as you shift focus from planting wheat to corn harvest. 

BENEFITS OF INFINITY APPLIED IN FALL

• Improved uptake on actively growing hard to kill weeds before they get too much growth i.e. fleabane, chickweed, dandelion
• Starting clean, reducing competition to protect yield potential
• Spring fungicide flexibility to go at T1 or T2 without having to worry about herbicide timing with varying weather conditions in the early spring application window
• Crop safe for under seeded red clover come spring time after fall applied infinity or infinity FX

Chose Infinity or infinity FX: can be applied at the beginning at first leaf in the fall.

• Infinity rate is 0.335 ml/ac.   20 acres per 6.7 L jug
• InfinityFX rate is 405 ml/ac   20 acres per 8.1 L jug

Reach out to your AGRIS Crop Sales Specialist to learn more!

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