Mother Nature has a pretty good formula for restoring the health to soils: using microbes to help break down organic matter. While chemicals can help replenish lots of the nutrients, they don’t provide the natural, living spark that helps turn that matter into energy and food for plants. That’s where Bio S.I.’s AG Select comes in. It restores all 16 … Read More
Be Part of Nutrient Management Solution
This is the third of a four part series on Nutrient Management sponsored by FS/GROWMARK There are lots of good reasons to be proactive about nutrient management in agriculture, not the least of which is the threat of government regulation and litigation. “If we aren’t part of the solution, regulations and legislation will define agriculture and how we farm,” says … Read More
Great Lakes Restoration Plan Announced
The Obama administration today announced a new Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Action Plan that outlines steps that federal agencies will take during the next five years to protect water quality, control invasive species and restore habitat in the largest surface fresh water system in the world. “We’re currently engaged in the largest conservation initiative in American history, with more … Read More
N-Watch Program Growing
This is the second of a four part series on Nutrient Management sponsored by FS/GROWMARK Two years ago, GROWMARK started a pilot program in the state of Illinois called N-Watch to help farmers determine the concentration, form and location of plant-available nitrogen. It started with about 45 sites in Illinois and it has grown quite a bit since then. “Right … Read More
Crop Sensors Improve Nitrogen Application
Sensor-guided nitrogen application can save corn producers money and increase yields, says Peter Scharf, University of Missouri Extension soil scientist. Scharf showed how crop sensors diagnose variable nitrogen needs at a recent farmer technology field day at MU’s Bradford Research Center. In the last decade, on-farm demonstrations have been carried out in more than 100 cornfields and a dozen cotton … Read More
GROWMARK FS Promotes N Management
The FS STAR Energy/GROWMARK tent was the place to be at Farm Progress Show to learn more about nitrogen management. I discussed that topic with GROWMARK western region agronomy marketing manager Nate Pierce, senior field sales agronomist John Grandin, and Chuck Webb with AGRILAND FS in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Pierce says FS started introducing nitrogen management as a system several years … Read More
Time Nitrogen Delivery to Key Plant Growth Stages
Nitrogen (N) is essential to plant growth and grain fill, making it critical for growers to monitor soil N levels at key points during the growing season. Wet conditions in May and June have raised concerns that Rescue applications of N may be needed as this essential nutrient can easily be lost from the soil by leaching or denitrification with … Read More