Five things to consider to get your growing season off to the best start possible.
Unfenced: What are the steps a farmer might take to improve his or her preparation for increased success in 2016?
It's an exciting time in agriculture, while the industry is seeing the highest average yields on record due to the advancements that growers are utilizing. These successes call for a celebration, but it's also important for growers to remember that with record yield comes record nutrient removal, which requires replenishing those nutrients for the next growing season.
Nutrient testing equals quality control, according to Dr. Dave Mengel, professor of Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management at Kansas State University.
Chances are, you didn't get into farming for the opportunity to lead a team. In fact, you probably never envisioned a future in which your job would require you to access a small club of confidants just to be able to grow a crop.
"Today's hybrids and varieties are creating higher-yielding crops that require more nutrients throughout the growing season," says Dr. Matt Clover, manager of research and alliances for The Mosaic Company. "A high-yielding crop year equals fewer nutrients that are available to the plant for the next year, and therefore need to be replenished. This is why it is important to make sure that your crops have the right nutrients available to them from the beginning to the end of the growing season."
He knows the land, and the growers. Of course, being so close to the people and the issues has had its hurdles. It has been difficult to make nonemotional recommendations to the families he grew up with. David Schraufnagel says it's also been a little scary to make suggestions that have directly affected the livelihood of people he's known his whole life. But now that he has years under his belt, he's found that being able to support his friends is extremely rewarding.
After each cutting of alfalfa, growers around the country are removing not just record yields from their fields, but also much-needed nutrients for future growth. Applying the right fertilizer is key to improving efficiencies and increasing yield consistently and conveniently.
Today's technology provides the opportunity for increased ROI from crop inputs. Here’s how better utilizing data available from your acres can help you affordably increase yields this season.