Zinc is an extremely important micronutrient that has many roles in plant health and deficiencies are widespread, even if unknown to the grower. Recommendations for zinc levels in soils are dependent on crop, soil type, pH and other nutrient status and can range depending on which institution is offering the recommendation. Generally speaking, below 1ppm on your soil test indicates that you should apply some type of zinc fertilizer. However, growers should pay attention to their soil tests and site-specific factors, because while 1ppm of zinc in one soil type may be sufficient, 4ppm in another soil with zinc antagonists may be a better target.

Deficiency symptoms are generally seen in new growth, early in the life cycle of the plant and result in stunted growth, shortened, sometimes split internodes and discoloration of new leaves—the color of which can vary depending on plant species. Internally, zinc deficiency can result in reduced water uptake, phytohormone (hormones that regulate plant growth) activity and uptake of other nutrients. In corn, zinc deficiency results in a broad band of bleached tissue on either side of the midrib, beginning at the base of the leaf and generally staying in the lower half of the leaf. Severe zinc deficiency may result in new leaves that are nearly white, a phenomenon called ‘white bud.’

Zinc availability is very sensitive to pH, and is therefore reduced by over-liming or by other agents causing high pH. However, rates and acidifying forms of N commonly used in agriculture generally alter the pH enough in the rhizosphere to enhance zinc uptake. Zinc is also well known to interact with P; where zinc is deficient, P uptake is increased in certain plants and vice versa. Zinc deficiency is also more common on cool and wet soils with low organic matter. 

Specifically, we are interested in the interaction of zinc and calcium, a topic on which there exists little information. Feedback from growers indicates that when zinc levels are not sufficient, they don’t see a good response from our products containing calcium. Why this happens, we are not exactly sure, however, we theorize that perhaps the limiting factor is zinc, rather than the calcium, which results in no visible effects from the application. One thing we do know is that alkaline earth cations, specifically calcium, can inhibit zinc uptake. This may have something to do with the fact that a large amount of basic cations in soil generally result in higher pH values, which is known to inhibit zinc uptake. One way to combat this problem is to apply some slightly acidifying N fertilizer that will cause a temporary shift in pH—favorable to zinc uptake—in the rhizosphere to combat the inhibitory effects from calcium. The take-home message is that if calcium-based products are needed in your system, it is prudent to pay attention to your zinc levels and adjust with a zinc fertilizer, or another method to ensure your plants are getting the requisite amount of zinc. 

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. 

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.

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. 

 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.
 
I completed my Ph.D. at Iowa State University in May 2012 in horticulture, with a research specialization in turfgrass science. I know that may not equate into corn and soybean agronomy at first glance, but one of the purposes of obtaining a Ph.D. is to show you have learned how to subjectively think about problems and use the scientific method via research to answer them. Although my concentration was in the turf world, I have a well-rounded education that can be applied to any area of plant science. I started part-time with CPI in October while finishing my post-doc work at ISU and started full-time January 1. We have been busy exploring new avenues and expanding existing ones for research and development opportunities.
 
On-farm strip trials are one area we are exploring. CPI has been doing these for quite a few years, and the idea is to increase product awareness by putting it into the hands of the farmer through our Prove-It program. Sometimes the dialogue between scientist and farmer gets lost in translation; when a farmer talks to another farmer about what worked it’s very effective. What better way to spread the message of soil health than through our customers? We put the power in your hands to realize how our products can help your bottom line. We are looking to involve as many farmers and co-ops as possible into our Prove-It program, as well as the Iowa Soybean Association’s On-Farm Network, which has been a great cooperative venture we hope to expand in the future.
 
University research is another area we are starting to increase R&D efforts. CPI has been involved with this in the past, however, cooperating with universities is often a tedious process and can involve considerable cost depending on the intensity of the experiment. We have identified key areas in soil science that involve our products in need of up-to-date research and information. It is our goal to help drive the science to answer these questions and increase the available knowledge base in these areas.
 
We are also increasing our in-house research efforts. This is where the ‘D’ of R&D comes in; we are always aiming to improve the physical characteristics of our products to ultimately benefit the end user. We do not simply manufacture a product in the cheapest and easiest way and sell it. On the contrary, we put considerable time, research and money into producing the best product available so we can help growers improve their soils. Beyond the ‘D,’ we are also looking at small-scale trials with different coatings for our pellets to expand into different agricultural and horticultural markets. Further, we are conducting small-scale experiments on different crops with our existing products to determine what benefits we can offer growers beyond the corn/soybean and turf markets.
 
Finally, we are always interested in knowing what problems and/or questions growers have for us. Often, these interactions with growers are what spawn new product ideas and research. So, please do not hesitate to contact anyone in the company if you have an idea for a research project or need a question answered about how any of our products work!

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. 

For those of you that somehow missed it, today is Valentine’s day. Did you get your special someone a token of your love? Maybe a card, flowers, chocolate or perfume?

Speaking of perfume, did you know that corn plants use perfume to woo beneficial growth-promoting microbes to live among their roots? These bacteria can make iron and phosphorus more available to plants and stop harmful bacteria. Very cool!

So tonight, pull that someone special close and whatever you do, DO NOT tell your Valentine about corn perfume. Just forget about corn plants for an evening, it's Valentine’s day!

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.

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.

My sister made this fabulous salad over the weekend and many asked for the recipe so I'm going to share it here too! It's so refreshing and simple!

Fresh garden salad

• tomatoes
• cucumbers
• red/green bell peppers
• mozzarella
• basil leaves (chopped up small)

• balsamic vinagarette
• sugar
• olive oil
• shakes of garlic & onion powder
• a jar of basil pesto (or fresh if you have it)

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.

The Calcium Products family wishes you and your family a very happy, sparkly, patriotism-filled fourth of July! It feels a bit weird to celebrate mid-week but Independence Day is such a wonderful thing to celebrate. Hope you have time with family/friends, get to see a parade &/or some fireworks and taste some yummy Americana dishes like ice cream, sweet corn, homemade pie or burgers from the grill!

Over the past week I have driven from Minneapolis, MN to Topeka, KS. I am seeing more delayed and uneven tasseling/flowering this year then I have for a number of years.

To achieve high yields it is vitally important that silking and tasseling (flowering) happens all at once.

Could uneven flowering be a sign that your corn is sulfur deficient?

Determining if sulfur is deficient

If you follow this blog you know sulfur deficiency can result in a general yellowing of the plant in corn, as interveinal chlorosis, similar to magnesium or zinc deficiency. Sulfur is not easily translocated in plants, so symptoms will appear first and be most pronounced on the younger, upper leaves. Deficiencies of mobile nutrients such as nitrogen will appear first on the lower leaves as nutrients are remobilized to growing plant tissues. 

Sulfur deficiency symptoms follow a similar pattern in other crops such as soybean, wheat, canola and alfalfa, with yellowing of the plant in the youngest tissue. In canola, early season deficiency symptoms include yellowing between leaf veins, cupped leaves and stunting. Late season symptoms are slender, cupped leaves that may be purple along the edges, delayed flowering and pale yellow or white flowers.

I have had the opportunity to work with canola growers over the last year. The one thing that really stands out in canola is that sulfur deficiency affects rapidly growing parts, especially reproductive structures. Since sulfur has a low mobility within the plant, symptoms are usually observed early in the season on the youngest leaves which are greenish-yellow compared to the normal bluish-green. If sulfur deficiency occurs around flowering, leaf symptoms may not be obvious, but flower petals may become paler. Yellow and white petals may even exist side by side on a single flower. (See the photo: flower on the left was treated with SuperCal SO4, control on the right)

The lifespan of sulfur deficient petals is shortened to one day instead of two or three, and pollen production is greatly reduced. In addition, sulfur deficient petals are egg-shaped compared to more round petals on plants with sufficient sulfur. By podding, sulfur deficiency becomes more distinctive. Pod number and size and seed number per pod are reduced significantly. Pods may be pale green, often with purpling and can be compressed or flattened. Sulfur deficiency can lead to a big reduction in yield and quality, namely a reduction in oil and protein.

Canola isn’t corn, but is this what we are seeing in this year's corn crop?

I have had trouble finding scientific journal relating flowering in corn and sulfur fertilization. However last year we delayed flowering in our trials. (picture at right: SuperCal SO4 trials on the right; control on the left).

Historically, sulfur deficiencies were thought to be a concern strictly on sandy soils, but in recent years, deficiencies have become more prevalent across a variety of soil types. Sulfur deficiencies may appear on hilltops or slopes where soils are eroded and low in organic matter soils. Sulfur deficiency symptoms are typically not uniform across the field, more often appearing in spots or streaks due to field variability. Symptoms may also appear in places where soils are colder or wetter, such as low spots or high residue areas. This is because the rate of sulfur mineralization and the supply of available sulfate are reduced in those areas.

A key component of sulfur for plant growth is the soil mineralization path. The amount of sulfur released from residues will depend on soil organic matter. Plant residues are decomposed by soil microbes, releasing sulphate. Like nitrogen, the sulfur mineralization rate is quite slow, and can not match the uptake rate of growing plants. Sulfur oxidizing bacteria are most active under warm, moist, well-aerated conditions.

So are we seeing uneven flowering due to the drought or from lack of available sulfur?

The answer is likely both. Sulfur may not be available to the plant due to the dry conditions. It is also in lower supply due to clean air laws. While this is a topic that definetly needs more research, be sure to make sure that your start your crop off right by supplying, at the least, grain removal rates of a good sulfate sulfur fertilizer like SuperCal SO4.

Related links:

http://blog.calciumproducts.com/posts/isa-on-farm-trial-update.cfm

http://blog.calciumproducts.com/posts/sulfur-in-soybeans.cfm

http://blog.calciumproducts.com/posts/isa-nutirent-management-benchmarking-project.cfm

http://blog.calciumproducts.com/posts/iowa-soybean-association-spotlights-limestone.cfm

http://blog.calciumproducts.com/posts/is-your-nitrogen-still-there.cfm

Sources:

http://www.canolacouncil.org/chapter9.aspx

https://www.pioneer.com/home/site/us/agronomy/library/template.CONTENT/guid.7786411D-9BC0-C084-8A66-CC7BE3A9C8E9

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 VP of sales and marketing at Calcium Products. Find other articles by Craig and guest writers at http://blog.calciumproducts.com.

There's nothing better than a fresh ear of corn with butter, salt & pepper. (Am I right?)  I usually steam it but I also like it grilled. Either way I've always shucked it then cooked it. So I am eager to try the shucking technique this guy shares: 

Have you ever done that? Looks pretty slick! 

How do you prefer to eat fresh summer sweet corn?

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! Learn more about the field days and how you can attend.

Here's the full lineup:

• MAY 31, AMES
• JUNE 5, BREDA
• JUNE 9, WAUKON
• JUNE 12, SHELBY
• JUNE 13, MAXWELL
• JUNE 14, WAVERLY
• JUNE 20, MANNING
• JUNE 21, OSAGE
• JUNE 21, KNOXVILLE
• JUNE 23, OXFORD
• JUNE 24, SOLON
• JULY 7, MCCALLSBURG
• JULY 15, DECORAH
• JULY 18, LOVILIA
• JULY 20, WAVERLY
• JULY 23, LAKE VIEW
• AUGUST 1, ALTA
• AUGUST 3, ADEL
• AUGUST 4, WAUKON
• AUGUST 7, STANTON
• AUGUST 9, WINFIELD
• AUGUST 17, KEYSTONE
• AUGUST 21, TAYLOR COUNTY
• AUGUST 24, BRANDON
• AUGUST 26, MARSHALLTOWN
• SEPTEMBER 8, SOLON
• SEPTEMBER 13, JEFFERSON
• SEPTEMBER 14, RIVER FALLS, WI
• SEPTEMBER 15, WAPELLO
• SEPTEMBER 16, IOWA FALLS
• SEPTEMBER 18, PAULLINA
• SEPTEMBER 22, POLK & STORY COUNTIES
• SEPTEMBER 26, EMMETSBURG
• OCTOBER 4, MECHANICSVILLE
• OCTOBER 7, KNOXVILLE & LACONA PASTURE WALKS

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?

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!

Check out this page to download their presentations. We'll have video of each talk coming soon!

 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!

There is a lot of apprehension in the upper Midwest about the condition & size of the 2011 corn crop.  Many dealers & farmers have shared concerns that the yields will not match up with what we have come to expect, or with the market demands.

Why not?  Many factors, including:

• Delays in getting the crop planted in many areas
• Slow growth & development due to cool growing condtions
• Significant flooding along the Mississippi & Missouri river corridors, and their tributaries
• Very warm conditions during the critical month of July.  Pollination & grain fill typically happens in July
• Drought in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas & the southern Plains.  This has moved east & north into Illinois, Indiana & Ohio recently
• Summer storms with high wind & hail.  I have heard of at least several hundred acres in IA & NE that were destroyed by a storm last night. http://meteorologicalmusings.blogspot.com/

The beef industry is already preparing itself for smaller corn supplies.  Will cattle feeders use less corn in the future?  Here's 1 opinion: http://beefmagazine.com/cowcalfweekly/0819-beef-industry-transition-away-corn/

How are crops in your area?  What is the outlook?

Glen Howell is a contributing writer to Yield Starts Here, a blog for farmers, focusing on increasing yield and profitability by focusing on the soil.  His other interests include severe weather & old farm tractors.  Find additional articles by Glen and other writers at  http://blog.calciumproducts.com/

 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

On Tuesday Calcium Products attended the Midwestern Bio Ag field day. The weather and the turn out was great. Lots of questions on the benefits of Calcium and HumaCal.

While Gary Zimmer and MBA may be known for Organic Production it is only about 25% of what they do. They can help you grow better crops whether your organic, biological, conventional, or agnostic.

Just in-case you are thinking about organics, Gary thinks this year he may break the 250 bushel barrier! The below picture was taken at the field day.

Thanks for having us out and thanks to all the farmers that stopped by to talk with us!

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/ .

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/

Glyphosate & crop nutrient interactions have been a topic of conversation during many of my recent visits with agronomists & dealers.  Some articles that discuss this in more detail:

http://blog.calciumproducts.com/posts/losing-the-glyphosate-resistant-pigweed-battle-we-can-help-you-get-back-in-the-fight.cfm

http://blog.calciumproducts.com/posts/controling-3-major-yield-robbers-in-2010.cfm

http://blog.calciumproducts.com/posts/glyphosate-induced-micronutrient-deficiency.cfm

I also found this article by Dr. Don Huber a very good summary of what is going on: http://www.fluidjournal.org/1gsdgfs-S10/S10-A4.pdf

With the recent rainfall events, now is a great time to make sure that the nitrogen you applied earlier is still there. 

Jim Fawcett, ISU Extension Agronomist, posted some comments about doing this www.iowafarmertoday.com/blog/?p=732

The Iowa Soybean Association, through their On-Farm Network, has some great information on the impact of spring rainfall on nitrogen.  You can review their 2010 Conference Presentations here http://www.isafarmnet.com/2010OFNConfPresentations/ofnpresentations.html.  Iowa's guide for nitrogen recommendations is http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1714.pdf 

Ohio State University has 5 questions to Help Evaluate Your Nitrogen Loss http://cornandsoybeandigest.com/inputs/fertilizer/five-questions-evaluate-nitrogen-loss-0525/

Remember that plant available sulfur is in the sulfate (SO₄)^- form, which makes it susceptible to leaching.  Make sure to include some sulfur (like SuperCal SO4) in your sidedress application!

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.

Elwynn Taylor, ISU Climatologist, talks about the ocean temperature changes which may impact our summer weather.

http://twitpic.com/1qo7wd

You might find this tool handy for calculating growing degree days for your location. 

http://www.weather.com/outlook/agriculture/growing-degree-days/

Growing conditions have stymied crop development in the Midwest recently.  Some of the neighboring corn fields have been planted for nearly 4 weeks, & are just starting to poke through today.  Getting the crop off to a good start seems to be a problem in recent years. 

Bob Nielsen, from Purdue University, explains why corn seems to experience this every year.

"During this important transition from dependence on kernel reserves to dependence on the nodal root system, corn seedlings are easily sidetracked when growing conditions are not adequate for maximum photosynthesis and rapid development of the nodal root system. Consequently, the appearance of corn seedlings during these early leaf stages can be downright ugly during extended periods of cloudy, cool weather. Throw in some excessively wet soils plus a little soil compaction plus a pinch of frost damage and you have a good start on a recipe for "crappy" stands of corn. The best remedy for most fields of yellow-green corn seedlings suffering from the effect of "crappy" growing conditions is the return of ample sunshine and warmth."

The entire article can be found at: www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/timeless/UglyDuckling.html

Here's to hoping for sunshine & warmth!

From:

CROP NOTES for March 30, 2010

Iowa State University Extension Information for Northeast Iowa
By Brian Lang, ISU Extension Agronomist
911 S. Mill Street, Decorah, IA 52101
563-382-2949
 

Great Time to Setup a Sulfur Fertilizer Strip-Trial
Research trials on sulfur fertilizer for corn in northeast Iowa show positive results about 100% of the time on sands, 70% of the time on silt loam soils, 60% of the time on loam soils, and only 14% of the time on clay loam soils (all of these fields were without any recent manure history).  If you are on a silt loam (Fayette, Downs) or loam soil, how do you know if you will benefit? 

The sulfur soil test is no help in determining sulfur recommendations.  Plant analysis works good for alfalfa, but not corn.  We recommend a simple sulfur fertilizer strip trial to help you see if sulfur fertilizer will pay on your fields.  It’s easy.  Get a spreader with Calcium sulfate (gypsum) set to spread about 100 lbs of product per acre.  That will give you about 16 lbs of sulfur per acre.  Spread on your fields of interest leaving a large gap between spreader passes.  E.g. make a 60-foot spreader pass, skip over 120 feet, make a spreader pass, skip over 120 feet, make a spreader pass.  Now you have 6 strips, 3 with sulfur and 3 without.  Do this on as many fields that you are interested in.
 

Calcium Products Tip: Many dealers carry SuperCal SO4 pelletized gypsum!

The importance of nitrogen to profitable corn production has been widely recognized for many years.  Since corn is a grass crop, additional nitrogen is often added to increase yields & profitability.  However, excessive nitrogen application is very expensive-both in terms of cost & environmental impact.  Dr. Kaustubh Bhalerao, agricultural engineer at the U of Illinois, believes that it is possible to "teach" corn how to fix its own nitrogen, through the use of synthetic biology.

Synthetic biology is a new area of research that combines science and engineering in order to design and build or "synthesize" novel biological functions and systems. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_biology). 

Dr. Bhalerao is looking at how to design a system that enable nitrogen fixing bacteria to communicate with the root systems of corn plants.  Article link: http://www.illinoisagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=191

I believe this possibility has enormous potential consequences.  What do you think?

  Summary of Sulfur Strip Trials Conducted in Central and Northeast Iowa

Report extract:

Last fall Sulfur (S) strip trials were conducted by John Sawyer, Professor; Daniel Barker, Assistant Scientist; ISU Extension Field Agronomists Brian Lang, George Cummins, and Mark Wuebker. The product was aplied by Heartland Co-op, Innovative Ag Solutions, and Five Star Co-op.  Calcium Products, Inc. provided the SuperCal SO4 gypsum used in the central Iowa trials with Heartland Co-op.

RESULTS

Six of the ten field sites had a corn yield increase from the S application (Table 1).  The other four sites had no yield difference with or without S application.  This is a 60% response rate to S application, which is similar to other recent small plot research conducted in north central to northeast Iowa on S response in corn.  For the six responding sites, the average yield increase from S application was 9 bu/acre, with a range of 5 to 13 bu/acre.  These yield increases are large enough to more than pay for a S application (for corn, suggested rates are 15 lb S/acre for fine-textured soils and 25 lb S/acre for coarse-textured soils).

This initial strip trial work indicates that S deficiency is occurring across a wide geographic area of iowa from central to northeast Iowa, and at a frequency that justifies continued research on S fertilization and deficiency identification across Iowa corn and soybean production.

Calcium Products would like to thank everyone involved, especially the farmer cooperators!

In the Spring 2010 issue of Liquid Does it Better, from Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers, Cory Schurman the Agronomy Director for Agro-Culutre wrote a very nice article on balancing your soils for better yeilds.

Why would a liquid company talk about lime, sulfur, gyspum, and calcium? The answer is simple, guys like Cory are working for the farmer to help them raise a better crop. If reccommeding a product he doesn't sell increases yield, than you can bet he is going to let his customers know about it.

You can read Cory's article here and download past articles at http://www.agroliquid.com/newsletters/

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/ .

One of the things we here from many of our customers is how much better thier corn dries down and that grain storage problems go away. I don't have independent testing to prove this, but in apples, mellon, and many other fruit crops, high calcium content is highly correlated to longer storage life.

Could use of SuperCal 98G and SuperCal SO4 have prevented this disaster?

 One of my freinds sent me this picture reportedly from Northwest Iowa:

Whether your a corn farmer, cooperative member, employee, or consumer grain quality should be as important as quantity. As a corn farmer and cooperative member, if you can't get the grain to market you lose, as an employee of the cooperative being exposed to that much mold, bacteria and fungas can't be good, and as consumers we all lose, since most of it will be blended in with good grain and end up in our food.

If anyone knows anymore information about this picture, I'd love to talk with you, we may be able to help. High quality and high quanitity start with the soil!

I admit it, I am a weather junkie.  If there is a weather event going on in the Midwest (or other places), I usually am aware of it.  With all of my background in agriculture, I am also constantly looking for signs of the upcoming season & what it may bring.

What weather do you expect this spring?  If you are hoping for an early warmup this year, you may be disappointed.  Mike Palmerino from DTN, is looking for a repeat of the last several years with saturated soils & cool temperatures (http://www.dtnprogressivefarmer.com/dtnag/view/blog/getBlog.do?blogHandle=weather&blogEntryId=8a82c0bc25987ff10125fa799fd80477). 

At a recent meeting, Elwynn Taylor from ISU (http://twitter.com/elwynntaylor), explained his observations that April precipitation in Iowa has been increasing since the 1940s.  As a result, soil moisture has also increased, leading to wetter spring conditions and difficulties in getting crops planted on time.

Will we have a repeat of the Midwest flooding from 2008?  I hope not! 

Will you have time to get your lime spread before spring?  If not, we need to talk about SuperCal 98G!

A few month back we posted on a farmer that was getting some tremendous results with SuperCal 98G http://blog.calciumproducts.com/posts/field-day-update_-verity-farms.cfm

Howard's corn made 214 bu per acre, on $195 of inputs, including seed! This was near La Mars IA.

Thanks for the update Howard!

BRT Ag and Turf, a Calcium Products dealer is having an educational meeting December 16-18th.

This is a three day event in Williamsburg, IA and includes Larry Acker, Dr. Dan Skow, Bob Streit, Dr. Michael McNeill, Dr. Arden Andersen, and Dr. Don Huber.

We are especially excited to have Dr. Huber in Iowa. Dr. Huber is Professor Emeritus of Plant Pathology at Purdue University. His research has shown how herbicides tie up micronutrients and what you can do to minimize yield loss and disease.

For more information click on these links or go to BRT website.

Registration and Information

Speaker Biographies

I was catching up on some reading when I came across this picture.

It is from the October issue of Iowa Farm and Ranch. The caption reads "Fall colors are abundant throughout western Iowa, with corn and soybeans maturing and drying. Vibrant green in the grass and tree leaves make a beautiful contrast of colors. (Photo by Bruce A. Binning)" .

I think they may have a misprint int the caption, the corn and soybeans are "dying" not maturing and drying. I have seen lots of this premature yellowing/dying of crops this year. Hill tops and side hills all over Iowa looked like this.

When crops die early, they don't make it to full matruity and yield is lost. The reasons can be many for the crop dying early but there is only one solution, proper crop nutrition. Ensuring that you have proper soil pH, and proper calcium, sulfur, zinc, and boron levels will help your crop go the distance.

If you have seen your crop "maturing earlier", poor stalk quality, and high disease pressure, give us a call. We can help.

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!

12-17-09 UPDATE: Just spoke to Howard, the corn on this plot avg 214 bu. at 16 moisture! Way to go Howard!

On Monday I attended the Verity Farms Field Day. Howard is doing is really doing some tremendous things to and for his soil. The field that the following video was taken in is Corn on Alfalfa ground. Notice all the earth worm casting, worms, and worm holes. It has been a long time since I have seen a shovel able to be put into the soil its full depth. 

Fertilizer Applications:
 

What's really stunning is these results were acheived with so little applied fertilizer, no fungicide. Notice how green and blemish free the stalk is. There was absolutly no stalk rots to be found any where in this field! Expected yield is 200+ bushels.

We were very excited to be a part of the field day and see the dramatic changes that Howard's program and SuperCal 98G have achieved.  Please contact us or Verity Farms to find out how to return your soil to the soft fertile sponge it was ment to be!

*Pretty exciting that Howard will net close to $400 per acre this year ($3 corn*200 - $200 inputs).

Does your soil need a salt shaker?  Probably not, although it can happen through application of manure and/or byproducts that may contain sodium (Na) or excess salt (salinity), and through irrigation water.

Sodium has a dispersive effect on soil clays.  It can cause the clay particles to separate from each other, the particles will clog the soil pores, and cause a thin layer of slowly permeable material near the soil surface.  This effect is more serious in fine-textured soils than in coarse textured.  Soils with a high water table or poor drainage are more susceptible to salt or sodium accumulation.

Salinity can make plants work harder.  They must expend more energy to extract water from the soil.  Excess salinity can retard cell enlargement and division, as well as the production of proteins.  

Visible crop injury symptoms, such as leaf burn, are likely to occur only at high salinity levels.  However, yield losses can occur at lower levels, depending on the crop's sensitivity.  Corn & alfalfa are classified as "moderately sensitive", while soybeans are classified as "moderately tolerant."

Have more questions?  Start with a soil test.  If you or your agronomist suspect this may be involved, then talk with the lab where the samples are going.  I recommend Midwest Labs (www.midwestlabs.com), but most labs will be able to help you with this.  They may have specific guidelines that they recommend following to help you identify what is going on.

For Randy S. - better late than never!

Back in college when I was an intern for the no longer American Cyanamid, I attended a field day about white grubs. As part of my internship, I was also charged with writing a paper about what I learned. Long story short, I never wrote the paper, I felt like I didn’t really get any answers other than use seed treatments.

A couple of days latter my uncle called me, he had some pretty severe stand loss. After scouting it was determined that in one area of the field he had 2-3 white grub larvae per sq ft. In addition to root feeding, raccoons had managed to dig up the remaining corn in search of the grubs.

So ten years later I am writing about white grubs.

At the field day I attended we looked at white grub damage with thresholds in the 4-5 per sq foot range. The field was on a side hill, with a grassy tree filled creek at the bottom. This was very similar to the field my uncle had problems with.

What do we know about the white grub?
White grubs are the larvae of scarab beetles, otherwise known as June Bugs.

White grubs feed on fibrous-rooted plants, such as corn and grass. 

Larval infestations are greatly influenced by soil type or texture. Infestations by white grub are reported to be more common in light, sandy soils that are well-drained than in poorly drained, heavy clay soils.

White Grub normally takes three years to complete its life cycle in most areas.
The June beetles fly from willow and poplar tress to grassy areas to lay their eggs. The eggs hatch and over winter. In the second year the most damage is done.

Preventative insecticides are not recommended, and shelter belt removal is foolish. Planting tolerant crops and tillage (exposes grubs to birds) might be an option.

What have I learned after 10 years of thinking about a project I never completed and no one missed? Pproper fertility is actually key to white grub management. In soils that have low calcium and soil with an imbalance of soluble salts, grasses like foxtail can predominate, regardless of herbicides use.

Soil with proper pH and proper calcium insure herbicides control foxtails, and reduces weed vigor, making a poor environment for the June beetle to lay eggs. Sounds too simple I know, but in most cases the simplest solution is usually the best.

Visit http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/aginfo/entomology/entupdates/whitegrub/whitgrub.htm for more info on white grubs.

Iowa State University researcher Yanhai Yin has identified a previously unknown growth pathway in plant cells that regulates plant growth.  He and his team examined signaling mechanisms of a plant hormone called brassinosteroids.  The hormone controls the growth of cells.

The brassinosteroids (BRs) have a major impact on how large the plant grows, says Yin. 

"Previously, we knew that steroids promote growth," said Yin. "In model plants like Arabidopsis (a relative of mustard) and crops such as corn and rice, if you have more steroids, you have more growth, and if you have less steroids, you have less growth and the plant is smaller."

Now Yin knows that the HERK1 (named for Hercules -- the Greek and Roman god who possessed superhuman strength) pathway, induced by BRs, is controlling much of that growth.

Identifying what makes plants bigger could have several effects, including improving biomass or grain yields, and forage yields.

If we can build a bigger plant, the importance of having enough calcium for cell formation will be significant.

Wonder what could happen if increased plant growth is combined with increased quality, such as provided with calcium???

Calcium Products, helping you build your plants.

How will corn production be affected by global warming?

An article by Timothy Telleen-Lawton, with the Wisconsin Environment Research & Policy Center, suggests some signifcant effects on corn yields by increases in temperature. Their numbers project a yearly damage in corn production of $1.4 billion, due to global warming.  Iowa is the most affected, with losses of $259 million annually. Follow this link- http://www.wisconsinenvironment.org/newsroom/global-warming/global-warming-news/global-warming-will-cost-millions-for-wisconsins-corn

However, there exists some skepticism over this report.  "A lot of the conclusions they draw really, really stretch the evidence," says Dr. Matt Roberts, Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Developmental Economics at Ohio State University. Roberts says the study portrays "an unfamiliarity with the way agriculture works. The conclusion that the University of Illinois looked came to is actually very benevolent weather, that in fact the last ten or twelve years we've seen some of the most peaceful weather we've seen in the last hundred years," says Roberts. "From an agricultural perspective, weather is getting better." You can read more here: http://www.wrn.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=E8DAD98F-5056-B82A-375D43A0848AA492

So which point of view is accurate?  We probably won't know without the benefit of hindsight.  I believe that much of the increases in yield, are attributable to genetic improvements & crop breeding techniques.  But, as everyone associated with agriculture understands, Mother Nature holds the trump cards.

A report by the National Academy of Sciences, www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/04/27/0901412106, shows promise of helping correct nutritional deficiencies often found in Africa, Asia and South America.

African lines of white corn have been modified by Spanish scientists to produce high levels of beta carotene, a nutrient critical to protecting eyesight.  The grain, which has an orange tint because of the beta carotene, also contains significant levels of vitamin C and folate.

"This achievement, which vastly exceeds any realized thus far by conventional breeding alone, opens the way for the development of nutritionally complete cereals to benefit the world's poorest people," said the article's abstract.

The scientists are working on adding other nutrients to corn, as well as breeding rice for better nutrition.  They are also working on adding other nutrients, including iron, zinc, vitamin E and calcium.

Will this be the answer to world hunger?  Probably not.  Could it be a signifcant improvement in nutrition?  Absolutely.

A farmer recently asked me about the use of elemental sulfur (i.e. Sulfur 90) for crop nutrition. I answered the question with a question of my own-Why were they considering using that product?

Their answer included less cost (questionable) and higher concentration of sulfur (true), along with better agronomic benefits (what???). There was a definite opportunity to provide basic agronomic education, regarding a) what can plants utilize, b) what else is present in the material and do we need it, and c) what other effects does the material have.

Sulfur is taken up by plants only in the sulfate (SO4) form, through the roots. Elemental sulfur must be oxidized in the soil to SO4 before it can be taken up by the plant. The time it takes for this conversion depends on the weather, the soil, and the product used. A great reference is found on the Back To Basics website, www.back-to-basics.net/agrifacts/pdf/b2b29a.pdf and www.back-to-basics.net/agrifacts/pdf/b2b29b.pdf. These 2 articles talk about the differences between sulfate and elemental forms, along with the conditions necessary for the conversion to sulfate.

Elemental sulfur has a place in crop production. It also has some drawbacks including being a very acidic product, and taking a long time before it is plant available.

If you need a plant available sulfur source, you need the sulfate form (calcium sulfate, potassium sulfate, ammonium sulfate). Make sure you understand all of the details about elemental sulfur, before making it part of your crop nutrition program.

In an e-letter I received from AgProffesional.com  there is a good article on alfalfa response to sulfur. Trials conducted by Iowa State are confirming what Calcium Products' customers have always known.

This summer we will be teaming with Dr. Sawyer, and Extension Agronomist Mark Wuebker to continue their sulfur research on corn. http://blog.calciumproducts.com/posts/iowa-state-sulfur-research.cfm

"We are excited at Calcium Products to team with Dr. Sawyer and his staff." stated Larry Moore, President of Calcium Products. "It will be of great importance to Iowa farmers to finally quantify the impact of sulfur on production. I have seen a yield increase from sulfur on the farms I own and for many of our customers, SuperCal SO4 is the last thing they would cut from their fertility programs in tight years."

SuperCal SO4 is high quality natural gypsum finely crushed then pelletized. It contains 17% sulfur and is one the least costly sulfur products on the market today.

Additional Information

Sulfur is a structural component of amino acids, proteins, vitamins and enzymes and is essential to produce chlorophyll. It imparts flavor to many vegetables. Deficiencies show as light green leaves. Sulfur is readily lost by leaching from soils and should be applied with a nutrient formula. Some water supplies may contain Sulfur. For more information of the 20 other important crop nutrients click here.

Past blog post on sulfur and Iowa State

A recent article in No-Till Farmer Magazine spotlights a farming operation in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Eugene and Curtis Lapp have been applying SuperCal 98G with their insecticide boxes at planting at 100 lbs per acre.

They have found it to be more economical and more effective than broadcasting.

Congratulations on the article guys, and thanks for the business!

Read the article "What I've learned from No-Tilling" 

From Iowa State Crop Notes for March 4 2009

Mark Wuebker will be conducting similar trials in the Des Moines/Ankeny area. Anyone interested in participating in these strip trials should contact Mark or Brian.

Mark Wuebker
ISU Extension Agronomist
1625 ADVENTURELAND DR STE A, ALTOONA, IA 50009-2249
Phone: (515) 957-5778
Fax: (515) 967-6164
Email: mwuebker@iastate.edu

Calcium Products will be assisting Iowa State in this research.

Since bowl season is upon us and there are more bowl games than ever, I thought we should talk about the old playing to win or playing not to lose analogy. A team like Oklahoma went out every game and dominated its opponents, while Missouri went out to maintain it’s rankings and almost dropped off the top 25.

This time of year many growers are determining their game plan for next year. Some will do what it takes to grow a winning crop and some have been watching too much news and will make dramatic cuts, already planning on not topping last year.

I know the markets are low and inputs are still high. This year things are a going to be a little tougher than the past few years, and planning for the worst only ensures it. Planning to succeed, and looking for a new solution is the only way to maintain production and income in an environment like today.

So when you turn on a bowl game this week and it’s a blowout, take those 3 hours and start planning on blowing out the bins next fall.

Merry Christmas

From: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081017150732.htm

When Under Attack, Plants Can Signal Microbial Friends For Help

The finding quashes the misperception that plants are “sitting ducks”--at the mercy of passing pathogens--and sheds new light on a sophisticated signaling system inside plants that rivals the nervous system in humans and animals.

and

From: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/10/041005075521.htm

How Roots Control Plant Shoots: Biologists Discover Gene That Helps Roots Limit Leaf Growth

University of Utah biologists discovered a gene that allows a plant's roots to tell the leaves to stop growing, presumably when water is scarce, soil is too compacted or other conditions are bad.

I found these two article very interesting, but what does that mean to a corn and soybean farmer? To grow higher yielding crops we really must focus more on the soil. These means much more than just N-P and K, it means making sure that the 20 nutirents for growth are available, that you do not have a hard pan, that the soil drains properly, has a good soil density so that benificial bacteria and biology can thrive to help you crops grow better.

We've been helping farmers develop better soil quality for over 10 years, SuperCal 98G and SuperCal SO4 is a good start... once you've taken proper soil samples. Contact one of our dealers or give us a call, now is the perfect time to get started making better soil!

It seems like the economy is in a tailspin, the Dow is down 2800 points in less than 2 weeks, corn and soybeans are down 30% off their highs. Commodities are dropping which is bringing the cost of fuel down dramatically, and fertilizer is dropping too, though not nearly fast enough.

So what are you going to do with your fertility plan? Cut dramatically due to the drop in commodities? Shoot for maximum yield as always? Cut P and K and wait for the drop in fertilizer? Do you even have a plan?

Yes fertilizer is expensive, yes the commodity market is tanking, but are you going to take a double hit of lower yields and lower prices? While it may not be a yield to build your P and K levels, if they are low (under 15ppm Bray P and 100ppm K at 10 CEC) then it will more than pay to add them in.

What about your pH? Think you can afford to forgo the lime. At a pH of 6 you could be missing out on an additional$200 of income at today's prices , even more if you pH is lower.

The cost of SuperCal 98G has remained relatively unchanged over the past 3 years making it this year's best value. The University of Wisconsin has stated that liming where needed can increase yield 10%-40%.

So even if corn is $3 next year, and you can raise you yield from 150 to 165 a 10% increase and about a 2 to 1 return on investment in the same year when 98G is used (very conservative numbers used). Why spend $50-$100 per acre for tons of aglime and then wait 2-7 years for a return. Apply SuperCal 98G for a fraction of the cost and put grain in the bin in the same season.

With corn silage season coming up this is a good time to talk about nitrate poisoning. Typically associated with drought and rain after dry conditions, there are other factors to that can cause high nitrate in forage crops. High rates of N, low or high levels of molybdenum, low sulfur, and low boron, and events that upset normal plant growth like early frosts.

New pastures are known to be high in nitrate, especially the faster they grow, the more toxic they can become. Hybrid ryegrass is one of the most dangerous. If reseeding pastures this fall make sure to add edible clover which normally do not have high nitrate levels.

Nitrate poisoning has been on the rise in the past decade, this could be due to the reluctance of today's generation to lime pastures (molybdenum levels drop with acid soils), increase use of urea on pastures, and less sulfur naturally being applied due to clean air laws.

Nitrate Toxicity is aggravated by:

• Excess N application in the autumn after a dry period of no growth
• Rain and warmth after a no-grow period
• Fast plant growth
• Stressed plants, from drought, hot wind, frost, and hail
• Low sunshine
• Fast eating by underfed, hungry animals
• Low pasture molybdenum - below 0.5 ppm, 1.6 ppm is optimum
• Molybdenum levels above 4 ppm, especially if pasture sulfur is low
• Low sulfur levels, below 0.25 ppm
• Low calcium and phosphorus levels
• Nitrate is highest in the morning, when rotating cattle wait until mid afternoon

While environment can have an impact on nitrate levels, having the proper soil nutrients in the proper levels is great insurance from nitrate poisoning. As a bonus you'll enjoy better pasture performance, and high gains from your animals.

More bad news on the inputs front from Ohio State (see below), fertilizer prices continue to surge.

Wednesday afternoon, CNBC's Fast Money program interviewed Mike Wilson, CEO of Agrium. Mr.Wilson Stated that demand is not falling off, supply will not meet demand for 3-5 years, they are in effect sold out, their inventory is so low they can't produce enough.

Might be time to really think about your fertilization program for next fall. You certainly don't want to short your yield with the price of corn, but does it really make sense to keep putting on high levels of expensive fertilizer (P-K)?

When was the last time you applied lime? When was the last time you soil sampled? Might be worth a couple of dollars an acre in lab costs to find out what you need and what you don't. When is the last time you applied micros like sulfur, boron, or copper?

Now is the time to start planning that fall fertilization. Lime prices are relatively unchanged and is a bargain compared to potash. It will also make any fertilizer you apply work better!

Call us, or one of our dealers, they can help you reduce your fertilizer costs, and still maintain yields, maybe even increase it!

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!!

From Dave Varner
UNL Extension Educator

The rain continues to fall and questions related to replant decisions are common these days. The following are a few Iowa State University resources that will be of interest to many of you.

1.  Effect of Flooding on Emerged Soybeans (6/1/2008)
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/CropNews/2008/0531PallePedersen2.htm

2.  Soybean Replant Decisions from Hail Damage and Flooded Fields (6/1/2008)
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/CropNews/2008/0531PallePedersen.htm

3.  Replanting Corn – How Do You Get Rid of the Existing Stand? (6/1/2008)
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/CropNews/2008/0531MikeOwen.htm

4.  Replant Options in Corn Fields (6/1/2008)
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/CropNews/2008/0531MikeOwen2.htm

5.  Flooded Corn and Saturated Soils (5/30/2008)
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/CropNews/2008/0530RogerElmoreLori+Abendroth.htm

6.  Now Grow! (No, Not You, Weeds) (5/27/2008)
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/CropNews/2008/0527pope.htm

Last weeks Iowa Farmer Today as an article in it “Crusted soils, uneven emergence prevail”. Its focus is on using a rotary hoe to alleviate crusted soils. It discusses damage to stand and that there is a cost in fuel and time to hoe a field.

While hoeing maybe your only option at this point in the season, wouldn’t be best to adopt practices that reduce or eliminate crusting. Applying 150 to 300 pounds of SuperCal SO4 will prevent crusting on most soil types.

Think you can’t afford it? For $15 to $30 per acre you can apply SuperCal SO4. What is the cost of hoeing, according to the University of Nebraska’s 2008 Custom farming rates, $12 per acre? What about yield loss due to stand count? What if the field is crusted enough that stand is reduced enough that you have to replant?

200 bushel corn, 10% yield reduction due to stand loss, at $5 corn = $100 per acre lost to crusting.

SuperCal SO4 is not just insurance for crusting and yield loss. SuperCal SO4 provides 17% sulfur. It is the only source of sulfur that does not cause soil acidity, is plant available and will cost you less than other fertilizers. Iowa State reports that 82% of the sites had a statistically significant yield increase to applied S fertilizer, and yield increases averaged 15, 18, and 38 bu/acre.

Use SuperCal SO4, eliminate crusting, increase yields, and sell the rotary hoe.

Our customers for years have told us that they are growing better corn and beans than ever with our products. Was it the calcium or the sulfur, or something else? For years Iowa State has told us that Iowa soils have enough calcium and sulfur, well calcium anyway. In the newest research they have found corn does respond to applied sulfur, 82% of the time.

Summary from Evaluation of Corn Response to Sulfur Fertilization in Northeast Iowa, John Sawyer
Corn grain yield increase to S fertilization has occurred with high frequency in these studies. Also, the magnitude of yield increase has been large. Across the two years and three studies, 82% of the sites had a statistically significant yield increase to applied S fertilizer. By study, statistically significant across-site yield increases averaged 15, 18, and 38 bu/acre. Analyzed across S rate, the economic optimum S rate was 14 lb S/acre for fine-textured soils and 24 lb S/acre for coarse-textured soils. This research indicates a dramatic change in need for S fertilization in northeast Iowa, and that S application is an economically viable fertilization practice on many soils.

Read the whole article here.

In case you’ve never used sulfur products their price is rising along with other inputs. Many dealers have reported not being able to source enough sulfur. Fortunately since SuperCal SO4 is made in Iowa from a natural mined source, its price has not risen as dramatically as other sulfur products. In fact using SuperCal SO4 in bulk at the universities recommendations will cost you $7.50 to $10.50 per acre, quite a bit cheaper than other products on the market.

While we have been sold out for over a year we have just finished our plant expansion and should be able to meet demand for the coming years. As an added bonus, SuperCal SO4 doesn’t cause soil acidity like ammonium sulfate, thiosulfate, or elemental sulfur does. Though we do sell lime is you want to add more cost to your fertilizer bill!

I was reading an article from the Corn and Soybean Digest entitled “Yield Contest Winner Provides Last-Minute Corn Growing Tips”. I found one sentence particularly interesting, “Everything has to be managed exactly right,” he says. “Fertility is the key, but I experiment all the time to find out what works best for my area.”

The reason it is interesting is because it is the only sentence in the whole article about fertility. I find it extremely curious that every article about NCGA winners talks about what seed type they use, what seed treatment and/or insecticide is used, and the herbicide and fungicides.

In almost every article about NCGA winners you are lucky to find 2 or 3 sentences about the fertility of the farm.

Since the champion growers are planting the same corn, at the same populations, with the same seed treatments herbicides and fungicides as almost every farmer uses, why doesn’t every one grow 250+ bushel corn?

Proper fertility is hard work, results are hard to measure, and it’s not as exciting as “I applied product x and I grew 20 more bushels of corn!” Why do some genetics result in record yields in some fields and the same genetics in your field falls down? Soil quality and fertility might just have something to do with it.

In article from Science Daily, the growth of root hair is key to a plant pushing its roots further into the soil and not popping out of the soil.

“This ability is governed by a self-reinforcing cycle. A protein at the tip of root hairs called RHD2 produces free radicals that stimulate the uptake of calcium from the soil. Calcium then stimulates the activity of RHD2, producing more free radicals and further uptake of calcium. When an obstacle blocks the hair's path, the cycle is broken and growth starts in another location and direction.”

Have hard soil and/or low calcium soil, plan on a poor root system. Even the best genetics cannot over come hard or low calcium soil.

Lots of rain last fall, long periods of snow cover reducing soil freezing, the potential for excessive spring moisture due to melting snow, Elwynn Taylor telling us were in the 19th year. What do they have to do with each other, extra compaction compounded by the threat of drought.

Causes of Compaction:  

Raindrop impact - This is certainly a natural cause of compaction, and we see it as a soil crust (usually less than 1/2 inch thick at the soil surface) that may prevent seedling emergence. Having optimum amounts organic matter and calcium can alleviate crusting.

Tillage operations - Continuous moldboard plowing or disking at the same depth will cause serious tillage pans (compacted layers) just below the depth of tillage in some soils. Corn roots have a penetrating force of 350-400 lbs/sq in. Alfalfa roots can exert up 700 lbs/sq in. Many tillage compaction layers can exceed 750 lbs /sq in of force to penetrate.

Wheel traffic - This is without a doubt the major cause of soil compaction. With increasing farm size, the window of time in which to get these operations done in a timely manner is often limited. The weight of tractors has increased to 20 tons today, from less than 3 tons in the 1940's. This is of special concern because spring planting and fall harvest is often done before the soil is dry enough to support the heavy equipment.

Minimal Crop Rotation - The trend towards a limited crop rotation has had two effects: 1.) Limiting different rooting systems and their beneficial effects on breaking subsoil compaction, and 2.) Increased potential for compaction early in the cropping season, due to more tillage activity and field traffic.

A farmer in Minnesota that has been using SuperCal SO4 and deep tillage for a number of years has reported that his end rows are now higher yielding the middle section. I have recommended that he till half and not use SO4 on that half, use SO4 and not till on the other half. Since SuperCal SO4 “chemically” loosens the soil, and adds soluble calcium and sulfur, I expect higher return on the acres that receive SO4.

A little compaction is good, as it speeds the rate of seed germination because it promotes good contact between the seed and soil. Corn planters have been designed specifically to provide moderate compaction with planter mounted packer wheels that follow seed placement. Too little seed to soil contact can result in rootless corn syndrome.

Soil bulk density is a measure of the weight of the soil per unit volume. The greater the weight of a substance needed to fill up a certain amount of space the greater the density. The more air in a given space the lower the density. Think of a pound of feathers and a pound or rock. They weigh the same but the feathers will take up a lot more space (volume) than the rocks.

While soil bulk density is rarely measured it has a major impact on root growth.

Compacted soils have a very high bulk density reducing root growth. Soil compaction in the surface layer can increase runoff, increasing soil and water losses. SuperCal SO4 provides valuable calcium and sulfur increasing organic matter, and soil oxygen reducing bulk density. This increases water infiltration, and root proliferation, allowing your crop to access more nutrients and water, resulting in a healthier crop, better yields.

In an article in Corn E Digest  OSU Extension Economist Barry Ward says that corn and soybean production costs are expected to increase 24-35%. He follows up with some steps to cut costs.

Mr. Ward why not suggest that farmers make what fertilizer is already in the soil available by liming?

We've discussed this before, here.

At a 5.5 pH, 25% on Nitrogen and Potassium is not available to crops. Over 50% of phosphorus is not plant available.

Seed selection is important, but pH is more important. At a 5.7 pH you lose 17% of your corn’s genetic potential, before it’s planted and it doesn’t matter what hybrid.

Lime price have remained relatively stable compared to other fertilizer products.

Does it really make sense to continue to dump high priced acid and salty fertilizer on you ground when it cost $400-500 per ton? So you bought it a little cheaper in the fall, if 25-50% is not available to your crop, that’s like paying more up front for less.

We know that proper soil sampling, keeping pH above 6.5 (for corn), having proper levels of micro and secondary nutrients (not adequate) will produce higher yields for less than blasting the soil with P and K, even when it was cheap!

We learned at the university that it takes nitrogen, starter, planting the proper hybrid, planting earlier, and increasing population to grow corn. However, most growers don't grow 300 bushel corn, but are doing the above 5 things. So what are the farmers that grow high yield corn doing, they are focusing on their soil.

Soil sample
Not just for P and pH, do a full analysis. While having enough P and the proper pH are some major limiting factors, they are not all of them. Do a full analysis at least every other year. If you're having a field grid sampled, have them pull a couple of extra samples to run a full analysis on.

Budget for soil maintenance
Top producing farmers know that their soil will always perform if they add back what they take every year. Plan on a yearly maintenance program, budgeting money for lime and/or gypsum, P, secondary, and micronutrients. Once you're in a nutrient deficient situation, it takes time and is expensive to correct.

Scout the whole field
Scout the soil, stop scouting only half your crop; know what is happening in the root zone. Most farmers are only concerned with what is happening with their crop above ground. They neglect more than half the plant. Dig next to the row, how are the roots growing, is there a visible hard pan, is moisture making it down into the soil profile, do you have large numbers of earthworms. If you cannot get a shovel in the ground by standing on it, you have compaction and your roots will not be able grow properly.

Proper residue management
Residue management starts with the header attachment on the combine. With corn make sure the header is processing the stalks, and the combine is only processing the ear and husks. Not only will this increase combine efficiency, it will distribute the residue more evenly, resulting in faster decomposition of stalks. Complete and proper decomposition increases organic matter and returns valuable nutrients to the soil.

Figure out what else is missing
For many farmers it is not a lack of N, P, K or pH that is keeping their yields low it is something else. Ignore lack of rainfall, and other things that are out of your control. Think about the things you can change; tillage, micronutrient levels, and organic matter. If your having problems achieving high yields, it is likely due to one or more problems associated with your soil.

Calcium Products, lower input costs, higher yields, better soil

This week I attended the Integrated Crop Management Conference in Ames, IA. This was the first time I attended the program. I thought the group at Iowa State did a great job. I would recommend this program to all of our dealers.

Here are some overviews from 3 workshops.

Ag Weather Outlook, Elwynn Taylor.
 We are currently in a trend of increased demand for commodities. In a volatility measurement from the CBOT, this is the most volatile year since 1988. That volatility was caused by weather. The indexes he uses to predict the weather all point to a 70% chance of below trend yields. Couple the already high demand for grain with drought and the markets could go really nuts.
 As an agronomist looking at the volatility of the CBOT, fertilizer, and weather we should look to help our customers minimize risk.

An update on ethanol, biodiesel, grain markets, and implications for crop rotations for the next year, Robert Wisner

While ethanol continues to drive corn demand upward the main thing to consider is carryout. In 2004-05 carryout was 10 weeks, 2005-06 it dropped to 9 weeks. 2006-07 is estimated at 5 weeks, this is what is driving the markets. Dr. Wisner’s numbers show that over the next three years the carryout should range in the 6-8 week range. This should help keep the markets strong.

If there is a widespread drought next year, carryout could drop to 3 weeks. This is a critical level, and the markets will react with extreme volatility. This tells me that it may be more important to protect the downside of pricing, and not forward contract too much. Being conservative in marketing, while everyone else goes nuts will be the winning strategy.

Soybean White Mold: What we have learned since 1992, Craig Grau

The occurrence of white mold can be reduced by reducing factors that increase yield, or you could plant wheat. Not exactly things that are practical for most farmers. After the meeting I approached Dr. Grau, and asked him if he knew of any soil fertility situations where white mold could be reduced.

He said that increasing or decreasing certain fertilizers would make an impact on white mold. He then said that Gypsum would make an impact and would be a very good product to reduce white mold. Calcium Products conducted a study on using SuperCal SO4 to reduce white mold. Our research indicated a 9.8-bushel advantage from using SO4. This testing was done in 5 replicated trials.

I found it interesting that the message of the meeting was to reduce white mold, you should use techniques that are used in low yield environments. If there was an inexpensive product to add to your fertilizer program that is proven to reduce white mold, why not discuss it? At $5 beans SO4 would return $2 for every dollar spent. At $10 dollar beans SO4 would return over $4 for every dollar. Sure beats settling for 30-bushel beans.

• An often-overlooked component in a plants ability to manufacture sugars is carbon dioxide (CO2).
• The goal is to build up the carbon reserves in soil in the form of humus, so CO2 is released as gas during the growing phase of the new crop.
• Iowa crop advisor Mike McNeil maintains that CO2 release and amount of nighttime buildup is a quality indicator of soils.
• The greenhouse industry has known this for many years and regularly enhances the CO2 level in greenhouses to several thousand parts per million. The result: significant yield increase.
• Older farmers will remember what happened when they cultivated young corn—it would grow six inches almost overnight after cultivation. Why, soil conductivity was increased and CO2 release was sped up. Combined these two factors caused tremendous crop growth.
• Limestone is calcium carbonate, CaCO3. Not only does it provide calcium, it also provides carbon. Did you know that a 500 lb. application of high calcium limestone provides 190 lbs. of calcium and 60 lbs. of carbon?

As reported in past blogs about the importance of soil quality (A Pictorial of High Quality Soil, Improving Water Infiltration, and Quality Soil Update) I promised that I would run soil tests on the field and the garden (I am waiting on tests form another lab). There were some striking differences. The garden had almost double the organic matter, much better pH, and double the calcium content.

One of the main differences is pH, the field has a pH of 5.0 compared to the garden, which had 6.5 pH. 

Fun Facts: 

At a pH of 5.0 the potential yield of corn is reduced by 27%, soybeans by 21% and alfalfa by 91%.

At a pH of 5.0 1/2 of N, 1/3 of P, and 1/2 of K is unavailable for plant uptake.

At a pH of 5.0 nodulation is reduced up to 40%

Click here to view lab report

With the high costs of fertilizer and fuel, wouldn't it make sense to make those inputs work harder for you? Working to improve you soil quality makes high priced fertilizers more available to your plants, resulting in decreased costs. High quality soils allow irrigation water and rainfall to infiltrate into the pore space, making it available to plants. Ponding is the first sign that water is not entering the soil, eventually causing de-nitrification, and evaporating, wasting fuel, fertilizer, and lowering yield.

Adding SuperCal 98G pelletized lime and SuperCal SO4 pelletized gypsum to your fertility program will ensure your soils maintain the proper pH, superior infiltration rates, reduce future input costs, decrease soil erosion, and increase yields.

Calcium Products, lower input costs, higher yields, better soil

I just read an article from Corn and Soybean Digest by John Pocock. The main trust of the article is that 250- bushel average corn yield will be the norm by 2025. If that is the average there will be farmers averaging 300 bushels. The story states that to attain those yield goals either more irrigation is needed or a drought tolerant corn will need to be planted.

In order to reach 200 bushels a corn plant needs around 22 inches of water uptake. To reach 300 bushels the plant would need close to 33 inches of water uptake. The problem is that it usually only rains 16-21 inches a year in the corn belt.

I have two thoughts on that, instead of irrigation, increase the water infiltration rate of your soil, and variety won’t matter if you soil has as hard pan 4” down, the best hybrids will fail.

If your soil is a silt loam, it is going to hold about 2” of water per foot. If you topsoil is 5’ deep then the soil could hold 10” of water. In the case of the field in my previous blogs, I could only push a shovel in about 4”. That soil will only hold a little over 1/2” of water! Anything over that 1/2” will sit on the surface and evaporate or runoff.

With all the rain this we have had this fall, your soil profile should be full. However if you have a hardpan, sealed soil surface do to incorrect salt level or over tillage, than most of it ran off to the nearest river or lake. SuperCal SO4 pelletized gypsum, helps open you soil so more water goes into the soil to be available for plant use next spring.

It’s pretty amazing that the technology to reach high yield is already available. We are currently in the planning stages for testing to prove how SuperCal SO4 will increase the water infiltration. We’ll keep you posted!

Calcium Products, lower input costs, higher yields, making new technology work better

This week I have shown pictures of the difference between a quality soil and poor soil.

Since my last update on Wednesday we received an additional half in of rain through Thursday. This brings the 7 day total to close to 3 inches. The really neat thing is that the top 1/2 inch of the quality soil in the garden area is already dry! We have had one day of light wind and sun. The field/poor soil is still sopping wet. (Note I will also be taking soil samples so we can compare them that way.)

So with more rain in the forcast for early next week if you had quality soil you would be back in the field harvesting while your neighbor watches.

You can start improving you soil, plant sooner and harvest quicker or watch your corn and beans shell and lodge. As a bonus for having quality soil it compacts less when you do have to operate in less than optimal conditions and will stick to your boots and equipment less making it a little more tollerable to be working.

Thanks for reading, have a great weekend, and I hope everyone gets back into the field really soon!

Calcium Products, lower inputs costs, higher yields, harvesting before your neighbors

I as I drove across Iowa last week I couldn’t help but notice that there was a lot of silage being chopped. In some areas the corn was extremely good with yield estimates in the 220 range, while others areas yields were estimated at 70 bushels.

This fall will you treat the fields chopped for silage like the fields where just the grain was harvested? Will you adjust fertilizer rates in the sections of the fields that were chopped?

When 200-bushel corn is chopped for silage the following nutrients are removed.

Phosphate 120#       Potash 260#     Calcium 42#     Sulfur 32#

When 200-bushel corn is harvested for grain the following nutrients are removed.

Phosphate 70#         Potash 52#       Calcium 4#      Sulfur 14#

Chopping generally requires that the extra nutrients removed be replaced with increased fertilizer rates. Removing the stover removes 10x as much Ca, 5x as much K, 2x as much S, and 2x as much P. In addition to the nutrients lost, removal of up to 6 tons of stover can lead to a decrease of organic matter since it is not returned to the soil.

Please do not misunderstand; I am not against chopping corn for silage, there are many great benefits to it as a feed source. I am against poor soil. Soil that is low in nutrients such as calcium, sulfur, phosphate, and potash grow poor crops.

Low organic matter is the main cause for many other problems; compaction, poor structure, poor nutrient holding capacity, poor water holding capacity, erosion, crusting, diseases and carbon dioxide release. Crop residues are about 40% carbon. Residue turns into organic matter that releases CO₂ throughout the growing season.

Having poor OM can short your corn crop the number one nutrient needed for growth (we’ll get into this more this winter).

The bottom line is SuperCal 98G is the best source for lime, and a great source of carbon dioxide. 100 pounds of 98G will supply all the calcium removed by chopping and supply some carbon that is removed as stover. SuperCal SO4 is a great source of soluble calcium and sulfur. 100 pounds of SO4 will supply half the calcium removed and all the sulfur. Whether you have high pH or low we can help you grow high yielding corn.

Calcium Product, lower input costs, higher yields, more silage

With harvest fast approaching stalk quality is a hot topic. This time of year the only thing one can do to minimize loss from disease is harvest early. However it is time to take steps to reduce or prevent rots and disease for next year.

Now is the time to soil sample and plan lime applications.

Low pH may also be the cause of many stalk and stand problems. Having proper pH can reduce the amount and severity of diseases, while increasing the availability of nutrients already present in the soil.  According to Plant Pathology, by George Nicholas Agrios, calcium reduces the severity of rhizoctonia, sclerotium (white mold), fusarium, and nematodes. The Plant Pathologist's Pocketbook states, calcium generally enhances resistance against disease, including post-harvest diseases.

Soil pH, calcium level, nitrogen form, and the availability of nutrients plays a major role in disease management. Adequate crop nutrition makes plants more tolerant of or resistant to disease. A direct correlation between adequate calcium levels, and pH, and decreasing levels of Fusarium occurrence has been established for a number of crops, including tomatoes, cotton, melons, and several ornamentals.

Too much phosphate can also be critical. Increasing phosphorus rates above the level needed to grow the crop can increase the severity of Fusarium wilt in certain crops. Avoid applying excessive levels of nitrogen. High N:K ratios have increased severity of many diseases. Work to maintain an adequate level of calcium and potassium in the soil

Don’t forget about fall-seeded crops.
In a study conducted by Washington State University, the incidence of Cephalosporium stripe decreased significantly when soil pH was raised from 5.1 to 6.0. Grain-yield and test weight increased significantly with increasing soil pH in three out of four years.
If you’re planning on sowing wheat, don’t forget to lime. SuperCal 98G can be used as a seed carrier to reduce lime costs, and increase yields.

Calcium Prodcuts, lower input costs, higher yields, less disease

According to an article in Iowa Farmer Today, the land value in Iowa has increased 16.5 percent over the past year. That’s great news for investors, terrible news for guys trying to expand their operations.

There is an old saying that you should always buy land, they don’t make anymore. There is also another saying; you make your money when you buy, not when you sell. So what should one do, commodities are at an all time high, increasing acres would mean a substantial gain in income. If prices fall, you’re stuck with high land payments, higher input costs, and possibly not enough revenue to cover costs.

We suggest maximizing yield, over high priced land purchases.

Use the increased revenue to find ways to improve your yields

If the nation wide average is only 150 bushels, and top yields are making 300 bushels or more. Why are you not growing 300 bushels corn? You’re already selecting top hybrids, and following established crop protection guidelines.

Take care of your soil first. By taking an in-depth analysis of your soil, applying the needed amendments, and following established tillage guidelines are the first steps in creating better soil on your farm. Remember First Things First.

Calcium Products, lower input costs, higher yields, better investment

It seems like every week I see more corn blown down. This fall many agronomists and farmers will spend hours finding the right hybrids to avoid lodging next year. Picking the right hybrid for your situation is important, and hybrids with good roots should be used.

How much time will you spend finding ways to improve soil quality and fertility? We think taking care of the soil is even more important than hybrid selection. Soils that have good physical properties will make a strong rooting hybrid perform even better.

SuperCal SO4 increase water and oxygen infiltration in the soil. This creates a friendly environment for beneficial insects and bacteria, which increases rooting, reducing lodging. 

SuperCal SO4 contains 17% sulfur in the sulfate form. Sulfur is key in converting nitrate to ammonium N. Having high amounts of sulfur ensures that expensive nitrogen in fully utilized, resulting in a stronger, better yielding plant.

 DKC 52-40, Winnebago County, IA

Applied 300 lbs, SuperCal SO4	No SuperCal SO4

This customer noticed that the untreated portions of his field had more down corn. A walk of the field showed that stalk quality was much better in the SuperCal SO4 treated area, the ears were bigger and more filled out. In the non-treated area the corn was germinating on the ear!

We will post pictures of the field and will have yield maps available after harvest to see what the yield difference was between SuperCal SO4 and the untreated lodging corn.

Calcium Products, lower input costs, higher yields, better hybrid standablity

Many farmers are bracing for the fall fertilizer season. The cost of dry fertilizers this fall is expected to be at all time highs. For farmers looking to increase production and reach high corn yields while reducing input costs seems impossible.

Soil pH testing is the best place to start when planning a fertility program. Having low pH causes plant nutrients to be tied up. According to research done by Midwest Laboratories, a pH of 6.5 ties up 24% of available phosphorus. If your pH is 6.0, then P tie-up increases to 48%, and 24% of N is not available to your crops.

The cost of not liming soil at a 6.0 pH, 200-bushel corn goal:

$36/a lost in wasted inputs

Yield loss of corn, resulting from low pH, 34 bushels, priced at $3.50 =

$119/a lost in yield reduction due to low pH

The economic loss of farming ground with low pH is astounding. Keeping you soil at neutral pH will pay for itself many times over.

SuperCal 98G can eliminate the yield loss and fertilizer tie-up associated with acid soils. By applying a few hundred pounds as part of a maintenance fertility plan, the high cost of traditional ag lime programs can be eliminated.

The high price of soybeans have you thinking of growing more beans. Low pH creates an even bigger yield loss, 20% with a 5.7 pH. Testing has shown that even 200 pounds can return over 4 bushels on soybeans.

Stop wasting high cost fertilizer, applying SuperCal 98G makes fertilizer work better!

This week I attended an annual meeting for a large retail group. One of the discussions was about the fertilizer situation in the coming year. What was their take?

There will not be adequate amounts for 2008 due to;

Demand world wide is at an all time high

60% of US fertilizer stocks are imported

Freight to the US has tripled in the past few years

Fall needs have been decided in May/June.

With the exception of Urea expect that there will not be enough other products to meet demand.

At Calcium Products we see this trend as well. I attended a meeting last fall and these comments were echoed. I will be attending a number of fertilizer seminars over the next few months and continue to update you.

So what does this mean for the grower?

Customers unwilling to pay higher prices for inorganic fertilizer will need to find alternatives or change crops. If corn pushes above $4 next year, many will increase corn acres, increasing demand for fertilizer. Most dealers have already locked in their fertilizers for 2008, so expect the price of fertilizer to continue higher. Soybean processors will need to pay above $9/bu to offset any increase in corn price.

If changing the cropping system not an option, then the other option is changing inputs.

In trials 80 lbs of N and 200 lbs of SuperCal 98G yielded 173.8 bushels. 160 lbs of N alone yielded 175.6 bushels. With today's nitrogen costs reaching $0.50 per pound the additional cost of N was $40. The average cost of 200 lbs of SuperCal 98G is around $17.

The lower N rate with SuperCal 98G added cost the grower $57 per acre. The high rate N cost the grower $80 per acres. The premium for the additional 2 bushels was $23 dollars!

Urea may be the cheapest form of N available for the 2008 growing season. The prilled nature of SuperCal 98G pelletized lime, allows it to perfectly mix with any dry fertilizer. Less application trips further lowers the cost of inputs.

Give us a call or contact one of our dealers to see how you can lower your costs and increase production.

Hanging in my garage are my great-grandfather's harness he used when he farmed. My wife asked why? Sentimental reasons, I like history, I think they’re kind of cool. They don’t do anything but take up space; I don’t go to nostalgic farm shows and give demonstrations. I certainly would not farm today using them.

There are always improvements in farming. Could you meet today’s productivity with yesterday’s technology? Are you still farming with a John Deere model "720”? Are you waiting to hear grain prices on the news, or do you get real-time quotes on the Internet? Did you plant a triple stack corn or saved seed?

Have you been trying to raise pH and increase yield with AgLime? While applying tons of AgLime looks like your really accomplishing something, unfortunately, like a 720 in a parade, when the dust clears, it costs too much to do, and does not really accomplish much.

SuperCal 98G is the pelletizied lime product to meet today’s ROI and production goals. Why spend 3-5 years for results? Would you wait 3 years for your seed to grow, or your nitrogen to be utilized? If you equipment dealer told you to pay him today and he’d get you that 9660 in 3 years, would you look for a new dealer?

Calcium Products, Increasing yields, reducing costs, for today’s high production goals.

I just read a story about how expensive ice cream has become this summer. The price of a gallon of milk is up 55% the story reports. The price of a small cone has rose from $2.95 to $3.50.

So what does the price of ice cream have to do with soil? I'm getting to that!

The story claims that this is due to the rising price of corn used to feed dairy cows. I don’t doubt that the cost of feed is more expensive, but the cost of fuel, fertilizer, and any other inputs in farming are also up. It’s a vicious cycle, where the farmer rarely wins. It seems impossible to cut costs when the price of finished goods doubles overnight. 

How does one combat increasing input costs, and volatile prices?

Focus on the things you can control.

A study by the Iowa Soybean Association compared the increased profit per acre on many Iowa farms. They found that 50% of their increased profit came from increasing yield. While it is hard to control the price of ice cream it is far easier to manage your crops to increase yields.

It starts with the soil.

It does no good to plant the best Triple Stack seed corn if you do not take care of your soil. According to Midwest Labs, low pH (5.7) will reduce the genetic yield potential of corn by 17%. That’s 34 bushels on 200-bushel farm average! Even if corn were still 2 bucks at least $60 would be lost before planting begins. With today’s prices that’s over $100 dollars in profit lost per acre.

You could spend all that profit applying AgLime and waiting 3-5 years for a return on that money. Another option is to do nothing, cut your losses, and blame poor profitability on falling prices and the rising costs of inputs.

We think spending $15-$25 this fall for SuperCal 98G and increasing yield in the first year is the better way to go. By utilizing SuperCal 98G this fall, you can protect next years profit, and see increased yields in the first year. Check out the data that we’ve been compiling for over ten years.

Give us a call we can help you grow better crops and reduce costs!