Across the northern Great Plains and Canadian Prairies, weather patterns have ranged from too dry to too wet. For the too wet parts, excessive spring and summer rainfall has resulted in extensive stretches of unplanted (Prevented Planting) acres or drown-out acres. As people think about the fall soil sampling season ahead, we are starting to […]
As harvest gets underway, savvy soil samplers are following right behind the combine and starting to collect soil samples. These soil samplers understand the many reasons why taking soil samples right behind the combine gives them the best quality soil samples and data. In the past, the reasoning to wait until later in the fall […]
A green growing crop is a delightful sight, and it is used by many people as an indicator of crop nutrient status. If you have fields with some yellow areas or slow growth, these symptoms may indicate a nutrient deficiency. Most commonly, yellow-looking plants may be deficient in nitrogen, sulfur, or both. If detected early, […]
As the spring planting season gets underway, agronomists and farmers are asking about the best ways to protect spring-applied nitrogen. How much nitrogen might I lose if I cannot incorporate it? Does vertical tillage incorporate fertilizer enough? We have compiled some resources to help answer those questions. There are three ways to lose nitrogen fertilizer: […]
The spike in nitrogen fertilizer prices over the past month has prompted many growers to think about switching more acres to soybean in 2026. The high nitrogen fertilizer prices are squeezing the potential profitability of any crop requiring nitrogen fertilizer, such as corn, dry bean, canola, or wheat. The symbiotic nitrogen fixing behavior of soybean […]
This article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Spring 2024 Newsletter. Each spring, we get questions about what form of phosphate fertilizer is better. The debate over orthophosphate and polyphosphate has raged for decades. Just when we think we have put the issue to bed, it comes up again! These questions originate from the simple […]
This article is shared annually to help answer frequently asked questions about nitrogen fertilizer applications and nitrogen losses in the fall. October is here, and many people are preparing for fall nitrogen fertilizer applications. Before you hit the field, we want to share these important reminders about fall nitrogen application timing and placement to help […]
This article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Spring 2025 Newsletter. There may not be silly questions, but there are silly answers. Every so often, we get questions about unusual solutions to manage calcareous soils in the northern Great Plains and Canadian Prairies. The most frequent oddball “solutions” involve lowering soil pH with elemental sulfur […]
This article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Spring 2025 Newsletter. Cool and wet soil conditions can limit root growth and phosphorus uptake during the early growing growing season. This is why starter phosphorus placed with or near the seed can be so effective in enhancing early plant growth and development. In small grains, starter […]
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 […]