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Soybeans April 1, 2013 Written By1: Andrew Hoiberg, Ph.D. While reading the 2012 Annual Farm Progress Reports from Iowa State University’s Northern Research Farm in Kanawha, IA, we discovered another trial investigating sulfur fertilization via gypsum on corn. The impetus for the study was the same as the Iowa Soybean Association’s; sulfur deficiencies are becoming widespread in both corn and alfalfa in Iowa and many other midwestern states. The experiment was performed by Dr. John Sawyer and David Rueber of Iowa State University. Four rates of sulfur (5, 10, 20, 40 lbs/A) were applied to two different soils—one with low organic matter and a slope, and one with higher OM and less slope—as was a non-treated control (no sulfur) to compare differences throughout 2011 and 2012. These rates were applied to corn in 2011 and soybeans in 2012. The 2011 plots were planted to corn after soybean in 2011 and planted to corn again in 2012 to test residual effects of sulfur application. In 2012, additional plots were planted to soybean from corn the previous year. In June 2011, corn leaf greenness was visibly different among plots that had sulfur applied vs. those that did not, as well as having taller plants. By late June, there was still a height difference but the color differences were diminished. Despite visual differences, there was no difference in yield between the treated and non-treated pltos. This is where it gets interesting… In 2012, the plots that had received sulfur in 2011 showed no visible differences from those that did not, unlike the differences in 2011. However, when harvest time came, there was an increase in corn yield for sulfur treated plots as a whole when averaged and compared against the non-treated control plots. So, there’s something happening with the sulfur in the soil from year to year that isn’t being accounted for that has increased corn yield as a residual effect. This is similar to what we saw with the Iowa Soybean Association On-Farm Network trials over the last few years; residual activity from sulfur application making a yield difference a year after we thought it would. Soybeans did not show any statistically different response to the sulfur application in 2012. This study will continue in 2013 and we are excited to see the results. March 11, 2013 Written By1: Andrew Hoiberg, Ph.D. In autumn of 2012, Craig Dick and I began discussing a Calcium Products research agronomist and manager of research & development (R&D). I was thrilled at the idea and gladly accepted the position a few months ago.
Yield Starts Here is a blog for farmers, focusing on increasing yield and profitability by focusing on the soil. It is managed by Craig Dick, the blogronomist and VP of sales and marketing at Calcium Products. Find other articles at blog.calciumproducts.com. March 8, 2013 Written By1: Andrew Hoiberg, Ph.D. A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of attending the Iowa Soybean Association’s On-Farm Network (OFN) conference in Ames. One of the highlights of the conference for me was the presentation by Dr. Tracy Blackmer about sulfur. Sulfur application over the past 30 years was generally considered non-essential due to the high levels found in our atmosphere from power plant emissions high in sulfur, thereby satisfying plant needs. Times and emission standards have changed and, as a result, sulfur levels are much lower in atmosphere and soil than they were in 80s and 90s. Dr. Blackmer observed sulfur deficient corn in recent years and even dug out some old photos during his time at the University of Nebraska that showed sulfur deficiencies—at the time unnoticed, which was very surprising to him. Perhaps we have negated the benefits of sulfur application for far too long! Gypsum (calcium sulfate) is a great source of sulfur and our gypsum product (SuperCal SO4) has been included in strip trials—on both corn and beans—within the OFN for the past few years. Some observations from aerial photography have shown strips that received gypsum are much darker green than those that didn’t. Looking further into the data, these same farms showed a corn yield increase from 0.5 to 8.8 bushel from sulfur application, as well as tissue testing that confirmed sulfur deficiency in the untreated strips. There is some thought that the sulfur being present in requisite amounts helps the plant use nitrogen more efficiently. We look forward to further investigation of the benefits of sulfur application on corn in the upcoming season and beyond! Our thanks to all the cooperators within the OFN.
Yield Starts Here is a blog for farmers, focusing on increasing yield and profitability by focusing on the soil. It is managed by Craig Dick, the blogronomist and VP of sales and marketing at Calcium Products. Find other articles at blog.calciumproducts.com. August 9, 2012 Written By1: Craig Dick We know lots of farmers are having a tough summer with the drought. We have had lots of people ask how some of our long-time customers are faring. We received this note via email last week. Hi Craig, Are you having a drought out your way? We are short of moisture but with using gypsum and lime on my corn and beans plus cover crops and no-till I am looking at 150 bu. plus of corn and 40 plus soybeans. Our county has been declared a disaster area. Some corn in sandy ground is only 2 ft high, the soybeans on clay knobs died from no moisture. I am glad I am no-tilling. Thanks, Larry from Michigan, for that update. It’s great to hear that you will be harvesting a crop this year!
Yield Starts Here is a blog for farmers, focusing on increasing yield and profitability by focusing on the soil. It is managed by Craig Dick, the blogronomist and VP of sales and marketing at Calcium Products. Find other articles by Craig and guest writers at blog.calciumproducts.com. May 10, 2012 Written By1: Courtney Tompkins
Here's the full lineup:
March 13, 2012 Written By1: Craig Dick The Iowa Soybean association in its weekly On-Farm Advance newsletter discussed limestone last week. Overall we thought the article was good, the more information the better. Also Dr. Blackmer did an excellent job in his presentation at the annual conference, which we encourage you to look at. There were a couple of items in the newsletter we wanted to address. See our comments below italicized.
Lime is an added cost that farmers incur on a routine schedule. If you are using N, then you should be applying the equivalent offsetting amount of lime each year to maintain proper balance. Saying lime is an added cost is like saying N or seed is an added costs. It should be a necessary and important first step in any fertility plan. Why put on more P on a 5.0 pH soil? 50% of all soil P is unavailable at that pH.
Different liming products affect soil pH differently. Because they go into solution at different rates.
When buying liming products, be sure you know the composition relative to calcium carbonate (the Calcium Carbonate Equivalent). CCE is based on a laboratory standard (AOAC 955.01) this test has no relation to how a lime material will react in the soil. This is calculated by the fineness of the material as well as its chemical makeup. ECCE is the test which is calculated using a fineness factor and the CCE which is the chemical makeup. However it does not give adequate credit for a finely ground lime material. In Iowa the test stops at 60 mesh, though testing shows solubility of a 60 mesh is very low versus 100 mesh lime and thus the 100 mesh is much more effective at changing pH.
Also remember that surface applied lime will work more slowly to neutralize H ions in the soil than lime that is mixed into the soil profile by tillage. While you do get some soil to lime particle contact and could increase the speed a lime will react, the main component of how fast a lime will go to work is rate of dissolution. This is governed by the geological structure of the lime and the particle size of the lime.
For us at Calcium Products, Inc, is very important that the correct terms are used in liming (ECC vrs ECCE, etc.). There is much confusion in the market place and I believe it is partly due to people not being specific in what they are talking about and partly because lime as always been an after-thought. Our aim is to correct this, lime should be a foundation crop nutrition product and since we think about lime at least 50% of the time (gypsum the other 50% of our time, of course!) we can focus on it and make sure it gets explained properly.
Thanks again to the ISA’s On-Farm Network Staff for the great information and getting people to think about lime!
Yield Starts Here is a blog for farmers, focusing on increasing yield and profitability by focusing on the soil. It is managed by Craig Dick, a blogronomist and sales and marketing manager at Calcium Products. Find other articles by Craig and guest writers at http://blog.calciumproducts.com. March 2, 2012 Written By1: Craig Dick The Iowa Soybean On-Farm Network just sent out an email reporting some data from their trials with our SuperCal SO4. Check out their message:
Sulfur Trials Show Varied Response There’s been much discussion of sulfur deficiency in Iowa in recent years, but few farmers have actually observed it in their field. Individual plant photos here were typical for the differences between the treated and untreated strips. Aerial imagery in early July and again in August continued to show differences between the strips. It’s quite easy to pick out the strips in these images.
February 6, 2012 Written By1: Courtney Tompkins Hi, my name is Courtney and I'm a city girl that's infiltrating the world of agriculture. Last week I worked the Calcium Products booth at the Iowa Power Farming Show and had a few observations to share. But first, lest you think I'm kidding about the 'city girl' label, you should know that I've never NOT lived in an urban or suburban area. Even though I went to college here in Iowa and graduated with a few majors they were all in the journalism and design fields. The things I currently grow, or have grown, all fit in a backyard garden plot or a lovely counter or porch pot. Much to the consternation of my farm-raised husband, I call everything from a riding mower to a combine a "tractor." I was hired by Calcium Products to help with marketing and to promote our homeowner line of products. But because we're a small company and we all fill in where needed I've been learning more about ag. So, without delay, here's a few things I learned at my first farm show: 1. While most crops flourish the 6.5-6.8 pH range, as home lawns do, alfalfa tends to like a tad higher alkalinity. 2. Farmers are loyal to the brands they love. I didn't even know there were so many options for logo-branded merchandise! I don't think I saw a single person sans logo or name of an ag-related company. I even saw one strapping lad in John Deere hat, shirt and belt buckle — I get it, you bleed green & gold! 3. Even if your soil is naturally neutral or alkaline, the regular application of P&K will acidify it. Often a regular low-dose application of our SuperCal 98G lime will help keep things balanced. 4. Men really are just little boys with toys, they're just bigger. Walking through the large equipment room of the show made me feel about ant-sized. Holy canoli, those are giant tractors! (teasing, teasing!) 5. Many fields are sulfur-deficient. With cleaner air, our soil isn't pulling sulfur from the environment like it used to so we need to add it (via our SuperCal SO4 is a good way!). 6. While everyone is loving this extremely warm/dry winter, we're all worrying about the drought. Did you know regular application of gypsum helps your soil be most efficient with the water it has? 7. Farmers can't get enough pocket-sized notebooks. 8. The ag community is extremely welcoming and friendly. So many folks attend shows just to chat and make new friends. 9. The number one most shocking thing I learned - so many farmers aren't soil testing. They have no idea what nutrients their soil (and therefore their crops) are lacking. They have no idea what their pH range is. This truly blew my mind. I heard so many reasons/excuses/theories I was aghast. One person was applying amendments based on their neighbor's soil tests (from now on I'm going to borrow my neighbor's grocery shopping list. I'm sure it'll be the same thing I need, right?). One guy said he applies ag lime every year even though he hasn't tested in years and had no idea what his pH is. I asked why waste the money since he might not even need it and he said he likes the tax deduction. (Weird, I'd prefer to save money and improve yield!) Several people said they only apply what they apply every year; no changes ever. (If you ate the exact same meal every day, every year, would you get all the nutrients your body needed?) And the story I heard repeatedly that still amazes me - farmers applying based on a soil test from YEARS ago. (If my husband and I applied that same practice to our rental property business, we could just buy 20 faucets this year because that's what we needed in 2006?)
What other things will shock me as I learn more about agriculture? January 26, 2012 Written By1: Courtney Tompkins
Check out this page to download their presentations. We'll have video of each talk coming soon! December 20, 2011 Written By1: Courtney Tompkins We wanted to pass on some info on a January event that sounds fabulous — "Women Transforming the Landscape" is the 2012 Women, Food & Agriculture Network's annual conference. This year it's Jan. 20-21 in Des Moines and includes a keynote by Debra Eschmeyer, program director of FoodCorps. The conference includes a progressive dinner at some local restaurants and a great local winery. Definitely sounds like a great event. Check it out or share it with women you know who may be interested! July 15, 2011 Written By1: Craig Dick If you've been following this blog then you know we are working with the Iowa Soybean Association's On-Farm Network to place trials of SuperCal SO4 around Iowa to compare using sulfur. In a follow up to the report from June 15th, Corn Showing Signs of Sulfur Deficincy, this plot along with two others near Waverly, IA are still showing a visual response to SuperCal SO4. The first field is 3-4 leaves ahead of the check, with plants aready tasseling and silking. The check rows are 3-4' shorter, and ears have not started shooting off the stalk yet. Please enoy these pictures and we'll update you further once ISA has released the final data.
Corn Trial #1 dark green strips SuperCal SO4
SO4 Treatment on the Left, Check on the right
SO4 treatment on the right, check on the left.
SuperCal SO4 was not applied to the endrows
SuperCal SO4 on the right, check on the left
Check strip corn height 4'-5'
Height of SuperCal SO4 Strips, 8'-9' Corn Trial #2 dark green strips SuperCal SO4
Bean Trial, Middle Field October 12, 2010 Written By1: Craig Dick In case you missed it over at DTN, Kip Cullers breaks another soybean yield record 160.6 bushels per acre! Way to go Kip!
Yield Starts Here is a blog for farmers, focusing on increasing yield and profitability by focusing on the soil. It is managed by Craig Dick, a Blogronomist and Sales and Marketing Manager at Calcium Products. Find other articles by Craig and guest writers at http://blog.calciumproducts.com/ . September 10, 2010 Written By1: Glen Howell Is Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) appearing in your soybean fields this year? If so, you are not alone! Many producers & dealers have been shocked at the amount of SDS & how rapidly it has evolved this year. Here is an excellent video from Iowa State Extension discussing SDS & how it affects the entire plant: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/video/v/Sudden_Death_Syndrome_Video Conclusions: Mother Nature still holds the upper hand in crop development, but management makes a difference too! Make sure to include SuperCal SO4 as part of your management strategy for next year. It can offset some of the effects from saturated soils, as well as providing a soluble source of calcium for healthy plants.
July 5, 2010 Written By1: Glen Howell You have likely seen several articles about the need for continued increases in food production to meet a growing population. Dr. Harold Reetz, formerly with the International Plant Nutrition Institute, recently wrote a very good article about the need for new champions to help raise the yield bar. Please read more here: http://www.fluidjournal.org/article1.php I have an enormous respect for the farmers & others who have been seen as stretching the yield barrier. I grew up surrounded by farm magazine articles about fantastic corn yields by Herman Warsaw and Francis Childs. Recently Kip Cullers has been doing the same with soybeans. We definitely need to continue striving for more production, but we also need to verify that we grow food that is healthy & nutritious. Many farmers, agronomists, & consultants are working together to help in this effort, recognizing that there is more to a successful outcome than just the "Big 3" nutrients. Glen Howell is a contributing writer of Yield Starts Here, a blog for farmers, focusing on increasing yield and profitability by focusing on the soil. Glen is an agronomist & sales representative at Calcium Products. Find additional articles by Glen and other writers at http://blog.calciumproducts.com/
May 26, 2010 Written By1: Glen Howell Soil testing is a regular practice for many crop producers. Some livestock operations regularly check feed samples, but why shouldn't both be done? I have noticed that many cattle producers have never tested their soils or feed, yet still expect maximum efficiency & productivity from their forages. I think this article http://cattletoday.com/archive/2002/May/CT205.shtml is a great read for all cattlemen & women. If we don't have a good handle on what the soils are able to support, and we don't know what the forages are testing, how can we manage? When I was growing up, there were many local farms with cattle. Today most of those operations are no longer present, and many of the current producers continue to practice management techniques that have served them well in the past, but not necessarily today. Soil & forage testing is every bit as valuable to livestock producers, as it is to row crops.
May 24, 2010 Written By1: Glen Howell Elwynn Taylor, ISU Climatologist, talks about the ocean temperature changes which may impact our summer weather.
May 24, 2010 Written By1: Craig Dick
US researchers found that soybeans associated with naturally occurring rhizobia had lower aphid densities than either the artificially fertilized plants or the plants inoculated with commercial rhizobia. They also found the same level of nitrogen in both soybean plants inoculated with natural rhizobia and those inoculated with commercial varieties. The researchers do not yet know what the natural nitrogen-fixing bacteria do to repel aphids. To have proper nodulation you need oxygen in your soil and sulfur. SuperCal SO4 should be in every soybean blend. SuperCal SO4 provides sulfur in the plant available sulfate form. SuperCal SO4 helps naturally aerate soils too! Without air and sulfur rhizobia cannot do their job and provide the soybeans with adequate nutrition.
Yield Starts Here is a blog for farmers, focusing on increasing yield and profitability by focusing on the soil. It is managed by Craig Dick, a Blogronomist and Sales and Marketing Manager at Calcium Products. Find other articles by Craig and guest writers at http://blog.calciumproducts.com/ .
May 21, 2010 Written By1: Glen Howell You might find this tool handy for calculating growing degree days for your location. http://www.weather.com/outlook/agriculture/growing-degree-days/ March 15, 2010 Written By1: Craig Dick There have been tests conducted that show SuperCal SO4 reduces the impacts of white mold. There are also well known University of Wisconsin plant pathologists that will attest (off the record) to gypsum's ability to reduce white mold. Fertilizer and pesticide labeling laws will not allow us to say that SuperCal SO4 reduces white mold, since this would constitute a pesticide claim. To find out more on White Mold and how calcium (a nutrient found in SuperCal SO4) improves plant health and defends the plant from white mold click here.
Yield Starts Here is a blog for farmers, focusing on increasing yield and profitability by focusing on the soil. It is managed by Craig Dick, a Blogronomist and Sales and Marketing Manager at Calcium Products. Find other articles by Craig and guest writers at http://blog.calciumproducts.com/ .  Calcium Products Craig Dick Blogronomist white mold reducing white mold stopping white mold get rid of white mold supercal so4 gypsum October 27, 2009 Written By1: Glen Howell It is October 27th (my birthday), and I am acutely aware of the sizable acreage of crops remaining to be harvested in the Midwest. I think back to previous years and how we always strived to be done harvesting by now, but often ended up finishing closer to Thanksgiving. I also think about how we used to be satisfied (elated?) with a corn yield of 180 or a soybean yield of 45. Not in today's environment. My wife occasionally suggests that I am a pessimist. I disagree, instead choosing the term realist. The difference is that I think the critically important things, in whatever you are doing, get done. Some of the less important ones do not. The ability to identifiy & target the most important things are what make farmers, farmers. I am in awe of the diversity, aptitude, skills, and persistence of the American Farmer. From personal experience, I know that farmers somehow, someway, get things done, and done well. This fall will be no different. The harvest will be completed, crop nutrients will be applied, and some tillage will be performed. Will everything get done? No, but the things that need to get done, will. A safe harvest to all! May 6, 2009 Written By1: Glen Howell When I decided to start farming in 1993, a neighbor took me aside and gave me some words of advice. “It’s ok to not have the biggest yields, but it’s not ok to have the weediest fields.” His words came from a lifelong battle with weeds, without the benefit of transgenic crops that we almost take for granted today. However, a potential oil seed crop, pennycress, is typically labeled as a weed in today’s agriculture. Pennycress is receiving attention in Illinois & other areas because of its high oil content. Its seeds contain more than 35% oil, while soybeans typically have 16-18% oil. This means that an acre of pennycress could produce 115 gallons of biodiesel per acre, according to www.growpennycress.com. Another significant potential benefit is that pennycress is a winter annual, meaning that it completes its life cycle in the spring. That may lead to the opportunity to produce two crops on the same area of land in one year, also known as double cropping. If it happens, double cropping offers farmers the opportunity to diversify, helps in reducing crop sensitivity to weather, and spreads out the overall risk. Pennycress. Does it offer promise for the future? Maybe, but there will be a number of associated challenges. Agronomic, economic, and perhaps most importantly, social considerations will all have a significant impact on the ultimate outcome.
April 30, 2009 Written By1: Glen Howell When I was an agronomist in retail sales, one of my biggest challenges was soybean aphid control and management. It seemed like the season started earlier every year, and it did not end until the end of the growing season. One of my observations was that some fields seemed to be a magnet for infestation, while nearby fields remained nearly free of aphids. I was unable to figure out why. Now, researchers at Penn State have identified that the choice of bacteria used to inoculate soybeans , may provide protection against aphids. Read more about what they have found here: www.cornandsoybeandigest.com/e-digest/0429-natural-nitrogen-fixing-bacteria/?smte=wl I found this article quite interesting. This is an example of how little we understand about the complex relationships found between plants, bacteria, and the soil. It also illustrates the importance of soil health and management. March 5, 2009 Written By1: Craig Dick Just saw this article from Ag Proffesional:
Phytophthora root rot is a disease commonly a associated with low avialable soil calcium and low soil oxygen. See our previous article on root rot. Increasing the calcium increase root growth and vigor. Adding calcium to the soil will also increase oxygen to the soil helping to slow the pathogen. Even if you have high pH you may be short on calcium. Hydrogen is the only thing that pH measures and has nothing to do with calcium availablity. SuperCal SO4 increases soil calcium and doesn't rasie pH. SuperCal SO4 is an excellent way to inexpensivly reduce root rots. As an added benift you'll see a reduction in white mold too. Calcium Products Craig Dick Ag Proffessional Phytophthora root rot pythium white mold supercal SO4 calcium February 20, 2009 Written By1: Craig Dick Last year a did a blog on A Pictorial of High Quality Soil. I talked with the farmer soon after that and set up a trial. We added 400 lbs of SuperCal 98G in one strip. The farmer has a yield monitor and we weighed the strip. It was 20 bushels better than the field average. This was on soybeans. When looking at the soil analysis it is not hard to predict such a response.
When half of the cationic nutrients are hydrogen, which isn't used for growth, it's no suprise that you would have a dramatic yield increase. When I spoke to the farmer recently asking if he was liming this the rest of the field he astutly said "Yes, liming doen't cost, it pays!" January 20, 2009 Written By1: Craig Dick On Monday I attended a meeting put on by International Ag Labs titled Soybean Summit - Pushing the Yields on Soybeans, in Fairmont, Minnesota. I number of experienced agronomists spoke on many items. Here are some of the notes I took;
To Control Insects:
For Higher Yields on Beans
And what you been waiting for my notes from Kip's talk (In my words)
There was much more discussed but my key take-away was fertilize properly first, get your soil balanced and working then move on to other things. This was a great meeting for any farmer looking to improve yields. I highly suggest trying to make it to one of International Ag labs next meetings. Calcium Products Craig Dick Kip Cullers INternational Ag labs increasing soybean yields high yield soybeans beans December 24, 2008 Written By1: Craig Dick Not satisfied with you soybean yields? Take a day to listen to Kip Cullers and other talk about what it takes to grow high yielding soybeans. International Ag Labs is sponsoring the Soybean Summit - Pushing the Yields on Soybeans, January 19th, 2009 in Fairmont, Minnesota. You can bet that I will be there! November 10, 2008 Written By1: Craig Dick
With all the saturated fields we had this past spring many farmers found large patches of soybean fields dying out. This is known as dampening off or Phytophthora root rot.
Did you know you have options other than replanting… if you start now with fall fertility.
Current recommendations to control root rot are:
Many growers will not want to reduce their applied potash for fear of yield loss, fungicides have shown to help, tilling can improve drainage, and the variety that may yield the best under normal conditions may not have resistance to root rot.
What if there was a product that could improve soil drainage, making tile work better, add nutrients to increases soybean yields, and helps with potash uptake? What if you could replace a fertilizer you are already using and it costs less?
Lucky for you there is, its called SuperCal So4 pelletized gypsum. You can use it as your primary sulfur source since it has 17% sulfur in the sulfate form. That means it works right away in any pH. SuperCal SO4 help drainage tile works better, increases yields, and increases nutrient uptake.
While no University is currently doing any research on reducing root rot on soybeans with gypsum, lots are looking at gypsum on other crops. Gypsum has shown to reduce root rot on many other crops.
Root Rot in Avocado Infection of avocado seedlings by Phytophthora cinnamomi in infested soil was decreased by 71% by the addition of gypsum soil amendments in replicated greenhouse experiments. From: Effects of Gypsum Soil Amendments on Avocado Growth, Soil Drainage, and Resistance to Phytophthora cinnamomi. B. J. Messenger, J. A. Menge, and E. Pond, Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside 92521 Red Stele in Strawberries Gypsum applied at 6 tons/acre either in the fall or spring prior to planting strawberries significantly reduced the incidence and severity of red stele (Red stele is caused by the soil borne fungus Phytophthora fragariae) in the spring, one year after planting compared to untreated soil. The severity of red stele remained significantly lower in plots amended with gypsum applied at 6 tons/acre in the spring, compared to untreated plots for up to 2 years after application. From: Effect of rate and timing of gypsum soil amendments on the incidence and severity of red stele in strawberries M.J. Celetti, C. Kessel, P. Fisher, J. DeEl, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Guelph, Ontario; Simcoe, Ontario
Note: Customers of ours have reported better results with 300# of SuperCal SO4 than 3 tons of gypsum sourced on the west coast.
Raspberry -- Root Rot Cause: Root rot is a major disease complex of raspberry in the Pacific Northwest. Many fungi and fungus-like microorganisms associated with cane fruit root rots are associated with strawberry black root rot. Phytophthora fragariae var. rubi causes a typical wet-soil root rot on some red raspberry cultivars throughout the region. Cultural Control: Amend soil with gypsum (6 tons/A) before making raised beds and planting. Note: Customers of ours have reported better results with 300# of SuperCal SO4 than 3 tons of gypsum sourced on the west coast.
In a world of high priced fertilizers it’s nice that you have alternatives. Not only will SuperCal SO4 cost you less per pound of sulfur than anything on the market, you have the benefits of increased soil drainage, increased nutrient uptake, and reduction in soil borne disease! SuperCal SO4 a real bargain in a high priced market.
Calcium Products Craig Dick Phytophthora root rot soybean gypsum. supercal So4 Red Sstele in Strawberries Root Rot in Avocado Raspberry Root Rot July 3, 2008 Written By1: Craig Dick With the Fourth of July coming up, we are heading down to Hebron, Nebraska to spend time with family. We are planning on spending a day with my brother and his wife and four kids. One of the things I have planned is to tell them the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. You may have heard it, or tell it pretty often. If you plant these “special seeds” all your dreams will come true, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, disease resistance, better standablity, better roots, all leading to higher yield, and more piece of mind. Ok so it’s not the popular version you heard as a kid, but sounds pretty similar. Deep down we all want an easy solution to our problems. It would be really nice to solve all our problems with planting a different variety or brand of seed. We all know this is a fairy tale and can’t possibly come true. While it is important to plant the proper genetics on your soil, the point to not forget is the soil. If you don’t know your soils pH and fertility levels it will be really had to match the right genetic to it. More over having soil that is properly fertilized will always out perform soil of poor fertility, in conditions of drought and heavy rainfall. Properly fertilized corn and beans will also have higher sugar content. This is a natural deterrent to insects, as they cannot digest high sugar plants. The sugar ferments and turns to alcohol killing the little buggers. The good news is high sugar corn and beans will make a better feed source for livestock, have a higher test weight, and dry down better with less storage problems. So when you get done listening to fairy tales thank the seed salesman for the fond memories of childhood, then get out your soil text books and start solving your problems. Have a great Fourth of July!!
June 16, 2008 Written By1: Craig Dick
The cooler than normal weather, all the rain and higher humidity could mean the return of white mold.
White mold, also known as sclerotinia stem rot, is caused by the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. It appears as fluffy white mycelial growth, most prominently on the stems.
White mold is heavily influenced by weather and microclimatic conditions. Progress of the disease is favored by below-average air temperatures, high relative humidity, and soil moisture. When these conditions occur during the two weeks prior to peak flower on the lower stems, the disease incidence can be especially severe. With higher commodity prices growers have been managing for higher yield levels. Many of the practices associated with these trends— shorter rotations, narrower rows, earlier planting—create a less healthy environment that favors white mold development.
At the Iowa State ICMC conference it was suggested to avoid white mold don’t try and grow high yielding soybeans. Thanks for the help!
You could try a variety that is resistant to white mold, but those varieties are usually lower yielding than the susceptible genetics.
If you want high yielding white mold free soybeans, start with the soil. I showed Craig Grau, Professor of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin- Madison our research on stopping white mold. He told me that yes gypsum applied before planting is a great preventative to white mold.
See our research on white mold. Don't give up on high yielding soybeans, start with Super Cal SO4, pelletized gypsum
Calcium Products Craig Dick supercal so4 gypusm pelletized white mold soybeans high yield Craig Grau ICMC Conference |
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We are proud to be a major sponsor of the Practical Farmers of Iowa field days this year. Topics range from pesticide drift monitoring to strip-tillate, organic crops, no-till, GMOs, tree crops and more. You'll hear research results and discuss innovative practices while networking with your fellow Iowa farmer. It sounds like you'd meet some pretty amazing folks and taste some delicious food too! .jpg)
This week we hosted a soil amendment conference for our dealers and about 75 of them were able to attend. We had a wonderful cast of speakers and we'd love to share the presentations with those of you who weren't able to make it!
