This article was originally published in the AGVISE Laboratories Winter 2023 Newsletter. In the fall of 2022, I hired a custom applicator to haul and spread lime across 238 acres of my family’s farm in western North Dakota. The reason? To increase soil pH on five fields with very low soil pH. One field even […]
This article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Spring 2023 Newsletter The goal of AGVISE Newsletters is to inform you and your customers of important soil fertility information relevant to our area. Often, visuals or graphs are much more powerful at communicating a message than words. With that in mind, I want to share two […]
This article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Fall 2022 Newsletter Soil test results are only as reliable as the soil samples collected in the field. A crucial part of soil sample quality is consistent sampling depth. This is important because all the soil test calibration research and fertilizer guidelines for non-mobile nutrients (e.g., phosphorus, […]
This article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Winter 2022 Newsletter Farmers, like all business owners, are profit maximizers: things are good when revenue exceeds cost. Things are even better when the difference between revenue and costs is substantial. The math behind increasing profit is simple: reduce costs, increase revenue. But, the difficult part is […]
It’s probably more than you think. So far, the residual soil nitrate-nitrogen trend following corn is much higher than average across the upper Midwest and northern Great Plains. This follows the same trend set by the 2021 wheat crop. For many growers in the region, the hot and dry growing season has resulted in high […]
The fall harvest season is a busy time of year. Farmers need to finish harvest, apply fertilizer, and complete any tillage operations before the long winter sets in. Another field operation that needs to be completed within this flurry of activity is soil sampling, and sampling timing is crucial to getting quality and consistent soil cores. […]
This article was originally published following the 2021 drought. The 2022 growing season may seem like a long way off, but spring will be here before we know it. In fact, many growers are already making (or have made) crop choices and seed variety decisions for 2022. One factor that must be considered when making […]
AGVISE Laboratories is proud to announce that Brent Jaenisch has joined the AGVISE team as an Agronomist. Brent provides sales and technical support to AGVISE customers throughout Minnesota, South Dakota, and the northern Corn Belt. You will soon see his contributions in AGVISE newsletters and seminars. Brent is based at the Benson, MN laboratory. Brent […]
AGVISE Laboratories is always trying to make soil sampling easier. Since 2011, AGVISE customers have enjoyed submitting soil samples online through our AGVISOR platform. AGVISOR is the online platform that allows you to submit soil samples (conventional, grid/zone, and soybean cyst nematode samples); save grower and field information (so you don’t have to fill it […]
Plant sampling season is in full swing. Agronomists submit plant samples for analysis for a number of reasons: to confirm visible nutrient deficiency symptoms, to detect “hidden hungers”, and to monitor or fine-tune fertilizer plans. For whatever reason you plan to take plant samples, here is a quick refresher on sampling, storing, and shipping plant samples to AGVISE Laboratories. Sampling […]