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 […]
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. […]
Soil sampling in dry conditions can be difficult. The ground is hard, fields are dry, and getting a consistent soil core depth can take more time than usual. To help you take the best soil samples this fall, we’ve put together some tips and tricks for sampling in dry soil conditions that, when implemented, will help […]
As the corn crop begins to emerge, it is time to prepare for sidedress nitrogen applications. Sidedress nitrogen for corn can be applied any time after planting, but the target application window is generally between growth stages V4 and V8 before rapid plant nitrogen uptake occurs. Split nitrogen applications have become a standard practice in […]
Even when fall soil sampling weather cooperates, there is always some soil sampling to do each spring. No matter the spring conditions, the soil sampling window is tight if you are planning to collect soil samples and get the soil test results back in time for spring fertilizer decisions. You will want to pull soil […]
Each year, farmers aim to increase agricultural production and profitability while conserving our land resources for the next generation. These tandem goals drive sustainable soil fertility and crop nutrition decisions on cropland across the world. In 2005, global fertilizer industry and environmental stakeholders began developing a standard theme to emphasize science-based stewardship in soil fertility […]
This submission is courtesy of Dr. David Franzen, Extension Soil Specialist, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND. It was originally published in the AGVISE Newsletter Fall 2019. It is more the rule than the exception that soil sampling begins in mid-September, rather than starting immediately following small grain harvest. However, many producers miss an excellent […]
Your land is variable. Each fall, you watch the combine yield monitor go up and down across the field. You know where crop yield will be the best in wet years and dry years. So, why do you still use a whole-field composite soil test to manage fertilizer inputs and ignore the obvious field variability […]