The Stoller team took to the road and made a quick visit to Mack Marsh’s farm in Tallulah Louisiana on May 1st. Mack farms over 1300 acres most of which is corn.
Some say growing corn is growing corn no matter where you are.
Maybe…
But it’s always interesting to learn what challenges farmers face in their specific region.
Talking to Mack his biggest concerns are keeping crops watered and managing the high heat. To get a jump on both of these issues Mack starts by planting early. This spring he was planting in February. And—at the time of our visit—pollination was only 3 to 5 days away. He anticipates a late July harvest.
His soils vary from sandy loam to buckshot…so he watches his crops close. The key to his impressive yields are keeping the crops happy… or at least as stress free as possible.
While some neighbors think he waters too much…Mack is a big believer in keeping the soil moist.
Keeping Soil Moist
Rows that go on for miles.
Checking Irrigation
Strategy for High Crop Yields Discussed
According to recent LSU Ag Center data a two year high yield corn average is around 159 to 172 bu/acre. Compare that to Mack’s average yield of 216 bu/acre and you know he is doing something right!
Last year Mack gave Stoller’s Bio-Forge a try after learning how other farmers used it to managed crop stress and maximized yields. He applied it to both corn and soybean acres.
While Mack admits he had no clean control and test plots…he did note that “we got 50 bu/acre soybeans in buckshot soil…that came out of nowhere.” It was enough to convince Mack to try Bio-Forge ST, seed treatment in 2012.
Bio-Forge is just one of the products Mack is testing in an effort to push his yields to the next level. Mack considers himself a calculated risk taker…always asking what a product can “make” rather than what it will cost.
We’ll be excited to learn his results. Thanks for your time Mack. It was great getting a quick tour of your corn field.
Maybe next visit the alligator in your nearby swamp will make an appearance!
Illinois growers gathered in Bloomington last week at the first Illinois Soybean Summit. The meeting presented results from the Soybean Challenge Teams that worked to improve yields through innovative products or new practices. Beyond the team results the summit included keynote speakers and break out session to energize the farmers in attendance.
Real Farmers. Real Results.
Kip talks about the top 4″ of soil
Keynote speaker John Baize from Baize & Associates shared the bright outlook for soybean demand. In fact Baize reported a 147% growth in worldwide soybean consumption from 1990 to 2010. Between more people eating and eating better, the need for animal feed and the growing interest in biofuels the demand is tremendous.
Population growth estimates take us easily from today’s 6.5 billion to a worldwide population of over 9 billion by the year 2050.
Keynote speaker Kip Cullers of Stark City, Missouri recounted the strategies that have taken his soybean yields to record breaking levels–160.6 bu/acre in 2010. Kip shared the challenges of growing in SW Missouri vs. the challenges in central Illinois. A couple of take away points that couldn’t be missed:
What works for Kip might not work for you…but try something different if you want to learn something.
Take a few acres and try things. If you can’t afford to “Fail” on a few acres you probably shouldn’t be farming…and you might just learn something that will help you on all acres.
Study your plants. Watch them closely and get in front of issues. Don’t wait for problems to occur.
Plants take up 90% of nutrients from top 4 inches of the soil and you better have the roots to do the job.
Seed treatment is about as close as you can get to a silver bullet for enhancing yields.
Over 400 some farmers from central Illinois gathered at ISU campus to learn how to push soybean yields ahead in the Land of Lincoln.
A feature of the day included break out sessions on topics ranging soil to disease management.
Stoller’s Director of Research and Development, Dr. Albert Liptay, was on hand to present perspectives on foliar feeding as an opportunity to manage crop health.
The toll stress takes on plant health and crop yields is readily understood.
What Dr. Liptay shared is how to manage that stress. Working with antioxidant formulations like those available at Stollerusa.com growers can optimize plant growth hormone balance through stress conditions.
Giving attendees a glimpse of Stoller’s future innovations Dr. Liptay shared the work being done in Epigenetics–where positive attributes are passed on from one generation to the next. The possibilities of plants with hormone balancing traits passing on these yield-enhancing factors to seeds has enormous potential and implications.
The 2012 Commodity Classic held in Nashville, TN last week proved to be another successful show for growers and exhibitors. StollerUSA provided attendees a chance to listen in as contest winners explained how they reached record yields with the help of Stoller products.
David Hula from Charles City, VA was just one of these growers. In 2011 David’s corn contest plot yielded an unbelievable 429 bu/acre! Listen as he tells Farm Director Pam Jahnke about the challenges he overcame by using Stoller products to reach this amazing yield.
With planting season about to start in the U.S. growers across the country are trying to determine the best way to protect their rising seed investment. Judging by the talk at the 2012 Commodity Classic held March 1-3 growers are looking to Stoller’s Bio-Forge ST. The seed treatment option provides an easy and cost effective application process to protect all crops from early stress factors after planting. Cold, wet springs are only some of the problems farmers are facing as they prepare to start planting and with Bio-Forge ST seed germination and early vigor is one less worry on their minds.
Check out the latest on Bio-Forge ST and get your questions answered before planting in your area begins! For more information on other Stoller products to help protect your seed investment all year long click here.
Larry Lintner, StollerUSA Sales Rep talks Bio-Forge with an attendee
The team answers questions about Stoller technology
