Numbers don’t lie. 2019 on-farm trials show farmers who applied soil and plant-health enhancing products saw a $60-per-acre return on their investment.
21.9 percent increase in soil microbial activity
5 percent increase in stand count
7.57 percent increase in nitrogen uptake
15 percent reduction in green snap after wind events
7 bushel-per-acre yield increase
2 points greater dry down
3.5 pounds increase in test weight
“Especially in tough years like 2019, it’s important to use products that perform from emergence through harvest to give you an edge. It doesn’t take very many bushels to turn a negative cash flow into a positive,” Paul Zeug explains.
A fifth-generation farmer, Zeug has been testing products on his Lucan, Minnesota farm since 2014 when he became the third generation to operate Zeug Farm Seeds.
“I like to use products and experience them in my own fields so I can look other farmers in the eye and say this is what I recommend based on what I saw in my field,” Zeug explains.
Healthy plants are resilient plants.
Healthy plants can withstand growing season challenges: cool soil temps at planting, excess moisture, drought, inadequate growing degree days or wind events. Easy access to nutrients is key to plant health.
Generate and Procure bolster corn’s natural ability to access nutrients through a patented Microbial Catalyst® technology.
Even though he will once again be planting into fields with excess moisture this spring, Zeug counts on Generate and Procure to aid in nutrient absorption.
“I no longer apply a starter fertilizer, because these products allow the plant to access the nutrients it needs. Instead of me guessing, and applying what I think the plant needs, the plant is able to access what it needs from the sun and soil,” Zeug says.
Generate works below the soil surface stimulating soil microbial communities. More microbial activity means seeds have easy access to nutrients necessary for strong emergence.
Once they emerge, young corn plants continue to rely on the soil to provide them with all the nutrients they need for strong standability. Nutrients, like iron, which increase the plant’s ability to absorb nitrogen from the soil.
Within 48 hours, the plant starts to perform photosynthesis to capture energy from the sun to increase its nutrient uptake from the soil. Working above the soil, Procure for Corn enhances corn’s ability to capture energy from the sun.
Across the Corn Belt, farmers like Zeug who applied Procure and Generate witnessed increased emergence, root mass, stalk size – and overall, more uniform and healthy corn stands.
Bottom-line, all these benefits pay off at harvest, Zeug says. “All season long, these plants were ahead of the control. A few days of better maturity really made a difference in 2019. Most of our corn was running just out of range of getting docked. If it had been a pound lighter, I would have seen docking at the elevator.”
Throughout 2019, Procure and Generate performed well in soybean and sugar beet fields as well. To learn more about Procure and Generate, and how these Agnition products help crops thrive in spite of Mother Nature, visit Agnition.com or contact your local Agnition dealer.
About Agnition Agnition is a brand of Ralco, a third-generation, family-owned multinational company with distribution in more than 40 countries. Ralco is a leading global supplier of livestock nutrition, animal health products and crop enhancement technologies that support large segments of the livestock, poultry, aquaculture and crop production industries. Learn more at https://www.ralcoagriculture.com/.