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See the latest news, innovation updates, trial results, grower stories and more from Agricen. 
December 12, 2017 — Posted By Agricen

Results from corn trials in central Indiana show the potential for big corn yield gains and ROI with fall-applied Titan XC

In the fall of 2016, Titan XC-treated and untreated dry fertilizer (MES10 and 0-0-60) was applied to three fields in central Indiana using a variable rate technology (VRT) system. The fields were planted with corn in the spring. In the fall of 2017, the corn crop harvested from Titan XC-treated parts of the fields demonstrated both an increased yield and an impressive ROI compared to the crops harvested from the untreated parts of the fields. 

In both the first and second trials, the yield improvement with Titan XC was 12 bu/a compared to untreated, with an ROI of more than $35 an acre. In the third trial, the yield improvement with Titan XC was even more impressive at a whopping 41 bu/a, with an ROI of more than $135/acre.

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Learn more about Titan XC by watching our "Fertilizer Breakdown with Titan XC" video. 

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November 29, 2017 — Posted By Agricen

Over the past few years, we've posted several agriculture-related videos that showcase the efforts growers are making to implement new products and practices that help them improve ag productivity and sustainability. If you haven't yet seen them, here are a few of the most popular and most recent.

Prove It to Me (4-min version)

"Prove It to Me" follows 5 growers in Iowa and Arkansas during the course of a growing season. See the issues they face, as well as how they approach using new products—including Accomplish and Titan—as they try to maximize their productivity and sustainability. 


Grower Stories: Chris Perkins, Otwell, Indiana

In this video, you can hear Chris Perkins, a grower and Nutrien Ag Solutions location manager in Otwell, Indiana, speak about how he uses Accomplish and Titan to tap into nutrients in his field, bring up fertility levels, and sustain a healthy soil structure under his corn on corn acres. You will also hear from Dr. Fred Below of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who discusses the success Chris has had raising soil fertility levels and crop productivity. 


Building Sustainable Agriculture Programs

Working together with state and local government, USDA, and others, farmers around Black Hawk Lake in Iowa are testing and implementing conservation practices to protect the lake from nitrate runoff. As part of their efforts, Jeff Frank and some other local growers are using Accomplish and other biocatalyst products to help them be even more sustainable in their agricultural practices, while also keeping their acres productive. See what they are doing by watching the video.

You can also access our biocatalyst technology FAQ to learn more about Accomplish, Titan, and other biocatalyst technologies.

Download the FAQ 

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October 3, 2017 — Posted By Agricen

In a Dyna-Gro corn plot harvested near Cozad, Nebraska, treating MicroEssentials SZ (MESZ) fertilizer with Titan XC led to a 14.4 bushel per acre increase in corn yield compared to untreated MESZ. The corn was harvested on September 20, 2017.

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In the trial, MESZ was applied at a rate of 120 pounds per acre. In the treated rows, Titan XC had been applied to the dry fertilizer at 1 pint per ton. Corn from the eight rows fertilized with Titan XC-treated MESZ yielded 282.7 bu/acre, while the corn yield from the eight rows sown with untreated fertilizer was 268 bu/acre. The previous crop was soybean.

To learn more about Titan XC, please visit the Titan XC information hub.

Visit the Titan XC Hub

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September 6, 2017 — Posted By Agricen

Chris Perkins Otwell Indiana

For the past several years, Chris Perkins, a grower and Nutrien Ag Solutions location manager in Otwell, Indiana, has been running an experimental, high management, continuous corn plot using several products in the Loveland Products portfolio, including Accomplish LM and Titan, so that he can prove the value of the products he sells to his customers.

Many of the decisions that Chris makes in the management of his plot are driven by ongoing research at the university level, primarily that of Dr. Fred Below of the Crop Physiology Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

We spoke to Chris to learn more about how he uses biocatalyst products to tap into nutrients in his field, bring up fertility levels, and sustain a healthy soil structure under his corn on corn acres. We also spoke to Dr. Below to hear his take on the success Chris has had raising soil fertility levels and crop productivity. Watch the video to hear from Chris and Dr. Below. 



"One of the things that Chris does exceptionally well is that he manages the residue so that it releases more nutrients in season, throughout the whole season," says Dr. Below. "Chris took that marginal field and, over the last three years, I've seen him raise yields by 60 bushels. He's done this with a combination of technologies. He's managed the nutrients that are in the residue, he's managed the nutrients that are in the soil, and he's protected the crop."

One of the key benefits Chris has noted from using Accomplish and Titan technologies is an increase in soil nutrient values.

Learn more about the work Chris has done to improve soil fertility on his continuous corn acres.

"In the past three years, we have taken a field that was in the mid-20s on phosphorus and, by running biologicals such as Accomplish and Titan with our fertilizer, we've pushed those levels to over 150 lbs per acre," says Chris. "We have all of these nutrients in the field from my dad, from my grandpa, and probably even from my great grandpa, and that's what we think has come in with the Accomplish technology, which breaks those nutrients down for us so that they can continue on through the new crop."


Find out more about the biocatalyst technologies Chris is using and how they can help your operation by accessing our biocatalyst technology FAQ.

Download the FAQ

 

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August 1, 2017 — Posted By Agricen

In this field trial on corn, root digs show a more developed root system in plants fertilized with Titan XC-impregnated dry fertilizer compared to untreated dry fertilizer. The corn trial was conducted by Nutrien Ag Solutions in New Brunswick, Indiana. 

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Photos from the trial also show that stalks are denser and healthier with the Titan XC biocatalyst applied to the grower's dry fertilizer.

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All photos were taken in early July.

Learn more about using Titan XC to enhance your dry fertilizer application by downloading our fertilizer breakdown study.

Download Titan XC Prill Breakdown Study

 

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June 5, 2017 — Posted By Agricen

Corn crop.pngAlthough it’s tempting for growers to put out all of their nitrogen early in the season when it’s easier to apply, splitting the application into a pre-plant and a sidedress application can be an effective way to ensure that the corn crop has enough nitrogen to meet its needs at peak demand. This can be especially beneficial in wet years where leaching of pre-plant nitrogen is likely to have occurred.

Peak nitrogen demand for corn is right before tassel and continues through grain fill, a period that corresponds with the V8 through VT/R1 corn growth stagesGenerally, 1 to 1.1 lbs of nitrogen per bushel of corn is a good way to estimate total crop need for the season. However, the applied nitrogen still has to be taken up by the plant to deliver yield. Sidedressing with supplemental nitrogen by V6 (right before the crop’s nitrogen needs are greatest) allows growers to better manage this critical input. 

Growers can use Extract PBA as a supplemental technology with their sidedress nitrogen application to increase nutrient availability and facilitate uptake. This technology can be used alone or combined with a nitrogen stabilizer to help protect the applied nitrogen from denitrification and leaching.

Learn more about using biocatalyst technology to enhance a sidedress nitrogen application by downloading the Sidedressing Nitrogen for Maximum Yields booklet.

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May 31, 2017 — Posted By Agricen

Below we answer three common questions on corn nitrogen demands and discuss ways to make the most efficient sidedress application.

11.2-CornShoots

When does a corn crop need most of its nitrogen?

Growers often want to put nitrogen out early in the season—when it is easier to apply—to get their corn crop “up and going.” However, actual peak nitrogen demand for corn is right before tassel (V10 – V14), continuing on through grain fill. Making a sidedress nitrogen application can be an effective way of making sure the crop has the nitrogen it needs when demand is greatest.

How do I know if I am supplying enough nitrogen to meet peak demand and to carry through to grain fill?

Generally 1 to 1.1 lbs of nitrogen per bushel of corn is a good rule for estimating total crop need for the season. However, the nitrogen still has to be taken up by the plant to deliver yield. Nitrogen lost through volatility, denitrification and leaching is no longer available for plant uptake. In addition, poorly developed root systems have less opportunity to take up the nitrogen that is available. Using a split nitrogen application—that is, making part of the application at pre-plant and part at sidedress—can deliver nitrogen when the crop needs it most. This can be especially beneficial in wet years where leaching of pre-plant nitrogen is likely to have occurred.

How can I ensure that the nitrogen I applied is available and taken up by my crop when it needs it?

Many growers prefer a program that both protects the nitrogen and ensures efficient uptake and utilization. To get the most out of applied nitrogen, growers can use a nitrogen stabilizer to help protect nitrogen from denitrification and leaching, combined with a biocatalyst technology like Extract PBA to help increase nutrient availability.

Learn more by downloading our booklet, Sidedressing Nitrogen for Maximum Yields

Download the Booklet

Extract Powered by Accomplish is a registered trademark of Loveland Products, Inc. 

 

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May 15, 2017 — Posted By Agricen

One of the key ways to positively impact soybean and corn yields is by optimizing nutrient availability to the growing crop throughout the season. A number of trials conducted across the Midwest show that an application of Extract PBA is an effective and consistent way to achieve this.

By helping to mineralize soil nutrients more effectively and getting more nutrition into soybean and corn crops, Extract PBA can enhance crop vigor and yields, as seen in the soybean and corn trials shown below.

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An aerial image from that same soybean trial clearly shows where an application of Extract was made.

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See More Soybean Data

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See More Corn Data

Nutrien Ag Solutions crop consultants note that, on average and under current market conditions, it requires only a 1.2 bushel yield increase in soybeans and a 3.5 bushel yield increase in corn to make an Extract investment break even. As you can see from the trials above and additional trials in soybeans and corn, there is a high probability of positive net return. 

Learn more about using Extract PBA to enhance nutrient release in your fields by accessing the Extract PBA booklet.

Download the Booklet

 

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August 29, 2016 — Posted By Agricen

If you've seen our farming film, Prove It to Me, you may be wondering, "What were the growers' yields?" 

For the Iowa growers who were trialing Accomplish LM, corn yields increased by an average of about 5 bushels/acre when the Accomplish LM biocatalyst was added to the grower's standard fertilizer program. Individual grower results can be seen in the chart below, with yield bumps that range from +0.12 to +10.74 bushels/acre.

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"Twenty years ago, 140 or 150 bushel corn was really good...By the year 2030, we'll need to average 280 or 300 bushel corn," says Iowa grower Scott Poen. "We've got to have products like this."

Based on their 2015 yield results, the growers are using Accomplish LM on all of their fields this year. 

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Learn more about using Accomplish biocatalyst technology by downloading the Biocatalyst Technology FAQ Booklet 

Download the Booklet

 

 

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June 30, 2016 — Posted By Agricen

Chris Perkins Otwell Indiana-1Chris Perkins, a Nutrien Ag Solutions location manager in Otwell, Indiana, likes to practice what he preaches when it comes to the products he recommends to growers. If he’s not familiar with something, he tests it on his own family farm and carefully evaluates the data to make sure the product is living up to its claims.

“My dad lets me have 17 acres for a community plot where we’re doing corn on corn,” says Chris. “I want to show guys ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing, and this is what we’re seeing because of this product, management practice or hybrid.’”

Over the past few years, Chris has been evaluating Accomplish and Titan on his 17 acres, and he’s seen both his yields and his soil nutrient values rise. Along with the fertility added by the continuous corn, he credits the Accomplish and Titan technologies for contributing to a good portion of those increases.

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“These acres have received moderate fertilizer levels, but not enough to support the rise in soil nutrient values we’re seeing, much less the yields being attained,” says Chris. “We’re testing soil from the same spot in the same way and at the same lab, and that’s how we noticed something big going on with potassium and phosphorus. There’s something happening in the soil. And even when I work the ground, it has more tilth to it than I’ve seen in years.”

As part of Chris’s program, he has been applying Titan on dry fertilizer before planting, then running Accomplish with starter in furrow. In the fall, he runs Accomplish with nitrogen and works the ground. Chris recognizes that continuous corn contributes to the fertility in the field by moving minerals to the surface through residue. But his other corn on corn acres aren’t doing as well as those where he uses Titan and Accomplish.

“In fall 2013, we were in the low- to mid-100s [lbs per acre] on potassium and low- to high-20s for phosphorus. From a fertility standpoint, there were really no available nutrients there for the crop,” says Chris. “Then, when you look at the soil samples from January 2015, we’re at the mid-60s for P and over 300 for potassium, and that’s after we took off a 230 bushel corn crop. By February 2016, my potassium was in the 400s and phosphorus continues to rise, right on the heels of the fall harvest of a 260 bushel corn crop in 2015. At the fertility rates being run, that’s just not what I’m expecting to see.”

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Abbreviations: BpH=buffer pH; OM=organic matter. Nutrient values reported as lbs/acre unless otherwise specified; averages are taken from 2.5-acre grid samples.

“Putting it another way, over the course of three years, I’ve put on 500 lbs of DAP—about 230 lbs of phosphate—and harvested three corn crops. Technically, there wasn’t enough fertilizer in there to have the soil test at 96 lbs per acre this February from the 20s back in 2013,” says Chris. “When you calculate what we took away with the grain, it’s about 235 lbs of phosphate. Those three crops only got 230 lbs and we went up almost 70 lbs in the ground.”

To check how much nutrient release he might be getting from stover, Chris compared nutrient values with his other fields in corn on corn production. 

“Where I just work the ground and don’t apply Accomplish in the fall, my potassium levels increased by about 30-50 lbs per acre in corn on corn rotations. But where I run Accomplish with nitrogen, the levels have increased over 100 lbs per acre,” explains Chris. “My soil nutrient levels speak for themselves. I keep doing the math and looking for explanations on why our fertility rates are getting better, and I really think it has something to do with these products.” 

Download our biocatalyst technology FAQ to learn more about Accomplish and other biocatalyst technologies.

Download the Booklet

 

 

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