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Northwood Laboratory
804 Hwy 15 West
P.O. Box 510
Northwood, ND 58267
Phone: 701-587-6010
Fax: 701-587-6013
Benson Laboratory
902 13th Street North
P.O. Box 187
Benson, MN 56215
Phone: 320-843-4109
Fax: 320-843-2074
Canada Receiving Facility
380 Kimberly Road
Winkler, MB R6W 0H7
Phone: 701-587-6010
Probe stuck in the ground? Don’t let it wreck your day.
in Equipment, Troubleshooting/by John LeeIf you have ever had a soil probe come off while in the ground, you have experienced a rare but stressful event! A customer recently called with this situation and a success story about how he recovered the soil probe “MacGyver” style. I think his solution involved barb wire, duct tape and some chewing gum. […]
Zone Soil Sampling and Variable Rate Fertilization: Optimizing profits
in Nitrogen, Precision Ag, Wheat/by Jodi BoeThis 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 […]
2021 Drought: High residual soil nitrate-nitrogen across the region
in Corn, Drought, Nitrogen, Regional Data, Wheat/by John LeeThis article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Winter 2022 Newsletter The 2021 drought rivals the 1988 drought, and it covered much of the northern Great Plains and Canadian Prairies. From previous experience with droughts, we expected that residual soil nitrate-N following crops would be higher than normal, caused by the drought and reduced crop […]
Banding Phosphorus and Potassium: Stretch your fertilizer dollars further
in Fertilizer Placement, Phosphorus, Potassium/by John BrekerThis article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Winter 2022 Newsletter Broadcast or band? For phosphorus and potassium, these are big fertilizer questions. In recent months, high fertilizer prices have prompted farmers and agronomists to consider other strategies to reduce fertilizer costs without jeopardizing crop yield. Among the most common and effective options is placing […]
Controlling Soybean Cyst Nematode: Do you have a resistance problem?
in Disease, Regional Data, Research, Soybean/by Brent JaenischThis article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Winter 2022 Newsletter This is the third year of our soybean cyst nematode (SCN) resistance project. Each year, we have flagged spots in soybean fields and collected paired SCN soil samples in June and September. If the SCN egg count increases through summer and into fall, we […]
Fall-applied Nitrogen Fertilizer: A Couple Simple Rules
in Fertilizer Placement, Nitrogen/by John LeeThe beginning to mid-October is when soil temperatures across the northern Great Plains and Canadian Prairies typically drop below 50 °F (10 °C). This is the soil temperature threshold that we wait to reach before applying fall-applied nitrogen fertilizer. It is important to wait until soil temperatures are cold enough (<50 °F) to help reduce […]
How much residual soil nitrate is left after the 2021 corn crop?
in Corn, Drought, Nitrogen, Regional Data, Soybean/by Jodi BoeIt’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 […]
Soil Sample Before Tillage: Consistent sample depth matters!
in Phosphorus, Potassium, Soil Sampling, Zinc/by Jodi BoeThe 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. […]
Corn Stalk Nitrate Test
in Corn, Nitrogen, Plant Analysis/by Richard JennyTo help evaluate nitrogen management in corn, you may want to try the corn stalk nitrate test as a post-mortem tool. The corn stalk nitrate test is a late-season or end-of-season plant analysis on mature corn stalks. Iowa State University developed the corn stalk sampling protocol and interpretation. If corn did not have sufficient nitrogen, […]
Updated Residual Soil Nitrate Trends (Variability is high this year)
in Canola, Corn, Drought, Fertilizer, Nitrogen, Soybean, Wheat/by Jodi BoeThe 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 crop and variety selections for 2022 is residual soil […]
Brent Jaenisch Joins AGVISE Technical Support Team
in Crop Management/by Jodi BoeAGVISE 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 […]
Understanding high residual soil nitrate-nitrogen following drought
in Drought, Nitrogen, Regional Data/by John LeeSoil testing after small grains is well underway, and we are seeing higher than normal soil nitrate-nitrogen levels, as expected. Crop yields have varied from much below average to surprisingly decent in some locations. It is easy to understand why residual soil nitrate-nitrogen is high in fields where the 2021 drought was severe and crop […]
Sampling Fields for SCN
in Disease, Soil Biological Analysis, Soil Sampling, Soybean/by Richard JennySoybean cyst nematode (SCN) is a microscopic, parasitic worm that attacks the roots of susceptible soybean and dry edible bean, causing unseen or unexplained yield losses. Soybean and dry edible bean are naturally susceptible to SCN, but through plant breeding, most soybeans have some level of resistance, varying in level from good to poor. The most common source […]
Tips for Soil Sampling in Dry Conditions
in Drought, Troubleshooting/by John LeeSoil 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 […]
Lessons (Ghosts) of Droughts Past
in Drought, Nitrogen, Regional Data, Soil Sampling/by John LeeFrom Alberta to Iowa, the region has experienced everything from abnormally dry soil conditions to exceptional drought. In some places, the drought started in 2020 and has continued through 2021. Considering lower than expected crop yields, we expect that residual soil nitrate-nitrogen levels will be much higher than normal in many wheat, canola, and corn […]