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 Bean Stalk.

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!!