This author has yet to write their bio.Meanwhile lets just say that we are proud Andrea Meyer contributed a whooping 41 entries.
Not all Water is Created Equal!! For spraying many herbicides and for all insecticides and fungicides you should know your water pH and adjust it to get greatest efficacy. For most insecticides or fungicides efficacy is improved if the pH of the spray solution is 5.5 or less. When using Procidic it is vitally important […]
As we analyze yield data from our clients each year it is interesting to see what soil test factors have the greatest impacts on yield. This can vary from year to year, but we often see the influence of high magnesium on yields. You can see below from both soybean and corn 2018 yield data […]
There is much that can go into answering this question. Some considerations are what type of hybrid are you planting? What is your current plant population? What is your soil type and texture? Do you have a full soil moisture profile? What is the expected long-term weather outlook? Is your field dryland or irrigated? What […]
Research over the past 15 years has shown that soybean yields are consistently higher when soybeans are planted earlier than most farmers are accustomed. Most producers recognize the importance of early planting in corn in most years and consequently corn planting has taken a precedent. When planting soybeans, soil conditions are as important as it […]
I recently drove across Iowa on I-80 and stopped at the rest area near Casey, Iowa. They have an interesting display outside in front of the building about Iowa Agriculture and the amount of soil loss that has occurred. According to this display the average depth of topsoil in the year 1850 across Iowa was […]
Organic matter tests have changed over the years. A decade or two ago most organic matter was done by the Walkley-Black Organic Matter Test which was a digestion test. Due to the length of time and the cost of discarding the heavy metals from the reagents of the test most labs have moved to […]
In recent years we have correlated some of our customers’ yields to soil test levels. The most consistent direct correlation to yield of all soil test analytes is organic matter. In nearly every case, as organic matter increased both corn and soybeans yields increased as the graph below indicates As everyone knows increasing organic […]
In visiting with producers about their soil tests and soil fertility, I often have noticed that they haven’t tested for sulfur. A recent article in No-Till Farmer magazine stresses the importance of testing for sulfur and adding sulfur in your fertility program. See this link below: https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/7190-sulfur-the-missing-link-in-better-yields?v=preview Figure 1. Alfalfa with sulfur deficiency. […]
This is a question that we sometimes get regarding applications of biosolids. Below is a table from the University of Missouri that was developed referencing EPA guidelines. I think it is helpful information. These levels are for soils with a pH of 6.5 or greater. pH can have an effect on the availability of each […]
