The Soil Enjoys Our Company
A Watermelon With Nutrients To Last
Dec 27th
The watermelon was harvested the previous year on September 11, 2003 along with 50 more in varied sizes. The picture was taken in March of 2004 as you can see with Rick Thom. The melon has been in the Earthsoils office all the time in the corner with average temperature of 70 to 72 degrees. The melon held its shape and quality all this time so lets see how long it takes for it to break down! On June 18th of the year 2004 the very top of the melon began to dip—start of breakdown—I thought! I took it outside More >
Wanted: Your Soybean Crop
Jun 17th
The Earthsoils’ program for soybean is proving itself to be an asset in the producer’s toolbox for creating quality, high-yielding beans. Many producers that use a combination of ES-CAL, Micro-Mix, and Manganese have reported yield increases of 8 to as high as 14 more bushels per acre in addition to increased soybean quality. We’ve also had reports of soybean buyers writing letters informing the producer they would like more of the same next year!
We have also received soil samples that reflected the use of non-trait soybeans (conventional) that provided three times more nitrogen than herbicide-resistant soybean. Nitrogen prices may return More >
Soil Composition
Jun 16th
Soil Composition and Crop Quality
This chart reflects a tremendous amount of information available for your understanding of the composition of a healthy productive soil environment. It is based on scientific research accumulated over years of observation on productive soil types throughout many growing areas of the country. The approach to obtaining this insight on soil composition was simple and direct: “What attributes in soil are needed to produce high yielding high quality crops year in and year out?”
The end results you see on the chart are based on experts that know exactly what is required to produce profitable More >
Early Season Corn Comparison
May 21st
The First 45 Days Determine Yield
In this video, Mike reviews several features of early season corn in a test plot. Once again, when the plant is receiving essential nutrition, it happily produces features that will result in greater yield later in the season. It is during the first 45 days of a plant’s life that the yield is determined. The points of emphasis in this video are:
- Leaf Structure
- Root Systems
- Stalk Girth
Make sure your crops are receiving the nutrition they need…in a usable form.
Root Systems and Nutrient Absorption
May 15th
The picture above is representative of the type of root system necessary for any type of crop to be successful in producing its own kind in abundance. The foundation of any successful crop will be its root system. We have developed our entire Earthsoils Program to enhance the root system’s ability to absorb nutrition from its soil environment.
Absorbing nutrition sounds like animal, or better yet, human characteristics of a digestive track. We have all experienced being hungry. It is not pleasant to be in this position for very long:
- Our attitudes change
- Our energy level disappears
- Our ability to perform simple tasks challenges us More >
Taste and See!
Apr 28th
The reports we received from many of you regarding your alfalfa production in recent years have been very gratifying! Especially when you can see forage quality reflected in herd health and milk production. Also, the age of some of these alfalfa-stands managed on the Earthsoils® program are really beginning to add up—we have reports of some fields being nine years old! Happy birthday indeed! Plus, some growers did not have to treat for potato leafhoppers, wow! What is that all about? Oh yeah, it’s called a well balanced fertility program and the plant has more naturally-occurring sugars and increased defense mechanisms! More >
Seed Placement = Yield Potential!
Apr 10th
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Importance of Seed Placement
I want to re-emphasize the importance of seed placement and its impact on corn yields. I can’t tell you how much difference a half an inch can do for your yield potential. In particular, I was in several fields in 2007 where another half an inch deeper seed placement would have put another 40 to 50 bushels per acre into the bin. Regardless of market prices, this leads to a significant loss of income that could had been avoided. By simply understanding the impact seed placement plays in season-long crop performance for More >
Seed Placement 101
Mar 3rd
Tools of the Trade
Here’s how you can effectively find your planting depth. You will need three tools:
- Patience
- An old license plate
- Your shoes
First, get your planter up to operating speed (i.e., the speed you are comfortable driving). Remember, fast works great for auto racing, but not when it comes to planting your crops. When you speed your way down the field, you give the planter less time to react to soil conditions, which usually results in uneven seed placement. Once you are up to operating speed, stop, get out of the tractor, and walk back at least 50 ft. With your More >
Seed Firmers
Feb 23rd
Are they worth the investment? Read this and decide for yourself. A simple, on-farm yield trial was conducted comparing the effects of seed firmers on corn yield. The field was planted the same day with the same planter using the same fertility program and variety of seed corn. It was a White, sixteenrow planter with two transmissions, each running eight independent rows. Rows 1 to 4 had seed firmers, rows 5 to 12 had no firmer attachments, and rows 13 to 16 had firmer attachments.
The yield data was gained by hand-picking corn from rows four and five, which were then More >
