Lee Lubbers, an XtremeAg grower in Gregory, South Dakota, tried Terramar for the first time in 2022, testing it across fields with different yield environments.
"We were very intrigued by Terramar being a stress mitigation product," says Lee. "We ended up applying about 4,000 acres worth of Terramar on corn."
His first trial was in a field that was traditionally in the bottom one-third when it comes to yield.
"It ended up showing that the Terramar is 7% better than the untreated," he says. "In our yield environment this year, to get a piece of ground to do this, and then to see a 7% increase...If we take that times 120 bushel, that's going to be about $60 an acre to our pocket. I'll take that all day long."
Lee speaks about that experience below.
A trial in a different field also showed him how well Terramar can help growers hold on to yield under tough conditions.
"I was driving by a corn field where we applied Terramar on our side of the road. On the other side of the section line, the neighbor did not," he says. "When we planted we were looking at each other, the neighbor and I, and when we sprayed we were looking at each other. But we...went with stress mitigation with Terramar."
The day Lee checked in on that trial, the wind was blowing 25 to 30 miles per hour, the temperature was 105 degrees Fahrenheit and there had been little precipitation since planting.
"On our side of the section line, the leaves were green and erect. The plant was still functioning," says Lee. "I walked 40 feet across, and the neighbor’s field looked like a field of green onions. The corn leaves were just rolled up tight."
That fall, Lee cut 150- to 160-bushel corn, while the neighboring field got chopped for silage. Based on the strips left for the adjuster, Lee estimates that his neighbor had 40-bushel corn.
"We had to do fertility and our management practices to get to that point, but I know, in that third quarter going into the fourth, Terramar helped us preserve that yield," he says. "Where the neighbor lost, we held what we had."
You can hear about it in Lee's own words below.
Learn more about Terramar by downloading the Terramar booklet.
