Blog

See the latest news, innovation updates, trial results, grower stories and more from Agricen. 
Wheat Crop Benefits from Early Nutrient Availability with Extract PBA
December 16, 2022 — Posted By Agricen

In addition to the fertilizers growers apply each season, crops can benefit from the nutrients that are already in the soil or in surface crop residues. But first, these nutrients must be mineralized and converted into plant-available forms that the crop can use. An application of Extract PBA can make this process faster and more efficient.  

In the photo below taken by the Nutrien Ag Solutions North High Plains branch in the spring of 2022, half of this Kansas wheat field had a fall application of Extract PBA technology on it (right side), helping to break down corn stalk residue and increase nutrient availability, while the other half (left side) was untreated. 

Extract wheat Western KS

The visible improvement in wheat growth and color in the treated part of the field shows the wheat crop benefiting from early nutrient availability with Extract PBA, an improvement that also translated into higher yield.

At harvest, the average wheat yield in the untreated part of the field was 35 bu/acre, compared to an average of 45 bu/acre where Extract PBA was used on the previous corn crop's residue—for a yield advantage of +10 bu/acre with fall-applied Extract PBA. The Nutrien Ag Solutions branch noted that the half of the field treated with Extract PBA was notoriously rougher ground, making these results more impressive.

Whether broadcast on crop residues in the fall, applied with liquid fertilizers and/or pre-emergent herbicides in the spring, or incorporated with sidedress UAN applications in the summer, Extract PBA can enhance nutrient release and mineralization processes, regardless of grower tillage practices. This can lead to greater nutrient use efficiency and improve nutrient availability, including during critical periods early in the season. 

Learn more by downloading our booklet, "Managing Nutrient Release from Crop Residue."

Get the Booklet

 

Read More
Using Extract PBA for Strategic Residue & Nutrient Management
November 29, 2022 — Posted By Agricen

By Steve Roehl, Sr. Technical Sales Agronomist, Nutrien Ag Solutions

At harvest, impressive corn yields also leave behind an impressive amount of leaf, stalk and root mass material in the form of stover or residue. While some may call this "corn trash", the sage farmer and agronomist knows that residue is actually a treasure rich in essential crop nutrients, including nitrogen (N), potassium (in the form of K2O), phosphorus (in the form of P2O5), and sulfur (S). 

Pounds of Nutrients per Ton of Residue

Crop residue also poses some challenges. Fields with heavy residue levels can be slower to warm in the spring and can pose issues related to planting (e.g., stalks and root balls can hamper planter disc openers and depth-gauge wheels) and crop establishment. In addition, heavy amounts of crop residue can hinder the ability of soil microbes to release nutrients from the residue. This is especially true for nitrogen and sulfur, which are effectively "tied up" (immobilized) by soil microbes that use them as a food source to break down residue. These immobilized nutrients only become available to the crop once the microbes finish digesting the residue and release (mineralize) the nutrients to the soil.

For these reasons, some forethought about residue and nutrient management this fall can pay dividends to your 2023 crop. For years, Nutrien Ag Solutions customers have utilized a fall or spring application of Extract PBA to maximize nutrient release from crop residues and the soil, extend the availability of nutrients later into the season, and optimize yield potential. This biochemical-based technology is an effective way to release bound nutrients while also making seedbed preparation and planting processes more effective in the spring.

A planned application of Extract PBA at 1.5-2 gal/acre in the fall with UAN will provide a food supply for residue-decomposing microbes, jumpstarting the breakdown of heavy residue while also mineralizing nutrients from the residue and soil for the next season's crop to use.

Studies conducted several years ago by Dr. Fred Below and Alison Vogel at the University of Illinois provide insight into the potential value of complimenting a corn residue management strategy with Extract PBA. In that research on continuous corn, corn residue was first mechanically treated with standard stalk rollers or chopped using the combine head. It then received either 1.) no further treatment or 2.) chemical treatment in the form of ammonium sulfate (AMS, 200 lbs/acre) or Extract PBA (2 gal/acre) plus UAN (1 gal/acre). At the following corn harvest, the use of Extract PBA with UAN in hybrid 6594SS/RIB led to the highest yield increases across both mechanical treatments compared to either no chemical treatment or to AMS alone, as shown in the table below.

Extract-residue-mgmt-U IllThe value of Extract PBA does not end with the breakdown of crop residue and release of nutrients. It also provides timely and efficient release of nutrients in liquid fertilizer sources and those already in the soil, helping you unlock even more nutrition for your crops.

Learn more about this biocatalyst technology by downloading the Extract PBA booklet.

Download the Booklet

 

Read More
Getting Corn Ready for Rapid Nitrogen Uptake
June 8, 2022 — Posted By Agricen

corn-ready-1200pxCorn undergoes a period of rapid nitrogen uptake after the V8 growth stage and through tassel and silking. If nitrogen is not readily available to the corn plant as it enters this period, it can limit yield potential.

With UAN, this is especially applicable to the urea portion of the fertilizer (comprising 50% of the UAN), which has to be converted into ammonium before the plant can use it. Enhancing a sidedress UAN application with Extract PBA, which accelerates nutrient mineralization and recycling, can ensure that the crop has the nitrogen it needs in that 21-day period of rapid uptake without falling short.

Extract PBA, a proprietary formulation of our proven Accomplish biocatalyst and ammonium thiosulfate, is designed to increase the efficiency of sidedress UAN by influencing both applied and residual nitrogen sources, helping to get nitrogen into a plant-available form and into the crop. This is supported by data from numerous trials over the past decade showing an average yield increase of ~10.1 bushels/acre with Extract PBA. With current commodity prices, it takes less than 3 bushels/acre of yield increase to break even on Extract PBA, providing a high likelihood of positive ROI.

For optimal nitrogen uptake, UAN sidedress applications should be made around the V4 to V8 growth stages. Using Extract PBA at this critical juncture can maximize nutrient use efficiency by increasing the availability of the applied nitrogen.

You can find out more about corn nutrient needs in this short presentation by Dr. Fred Below, who explains the importance of having nitrogen in the system prior to the period of rapid nitrogen uptake by corn.

Learn more about using Extract PBA to enhance sidedress nitrogen applications by downloading the sidedress booklet.

Download the Booklet

 

Read More
A Better Investment by the Day
May 19, 2022 — Posted By Agricen

Wity-radio-down on farmWith planting wrapping up, Agricen’s Scott Lay sat down with WITY Radio’s Dennis Michelsen to discuss how Extract PBA can enhance sidedress nitrogen applications.

Dennis - WITY Radio: With the wet spring, I think it makes a product like Extract PBA even more important this year.

Scott - Agricen: With the later planting, advancing the crop through all of its physiological stages from emergence on out is critical. One way we can do that is by increasing nutrient availability with Extract PBA to hasten maturity and move the crop through its growth phases as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

Dennis - WITY Radio: There’s no doubt from the trials that have been done over the years that Extract PBA really does help improve the efficiency of a sidedress application of liquid nitrogen. How and why does this work so well?

Scott - Agricen: By incorporating Extract PBA in a sidedress UAN 28 or 32 application, we’re able to increase the pool of available nitrogen by mineralizing more nutrients that are already in the soil profile—in other words, converting that nitrogen into an inorganic form the plant can use. And our university studies have shown that we’re able to increase the available nitrate levels by about 10 percent with Extract PBA, giving the applied nitrogen a higher level of efficiency.

Dennis - WITY Radio: When is the optimal time to sidedress nitrogen and use Extract PBA?

Scott - Agricen: In general terms, the ideal timing is starting at about V4 up to about V10 or V11. But why is that timing critical? Dr. Below at the University of Illinois has done a lot of work around nutrient partitioning in a corn plant, and he’s determined that the period from V6 up through tasseling is the time of rapid nitrogen uptake during which that plant will consume 7 pounds of nitrogen per day. So, it makes sense to apply nitrogen in the time frame to coincide with the crop's physiological demand for nitrogen.

Dennis - WITY Radio: There have been some impressive trials with Extract PBA in nitrogen sidedress trials. This has been very effective with all different types of soil types.

Scott - Agricen: The idea of increasing the nitrogen mineralization rate or increasing the amount of available nitrate in the soil translates to any soil type or growing environment. Over our third-party and internal split-field type trials, the average yield response has been about 8 bushels with Extract PBA compared to check. Right now, it takes less than 2 bushels of additional yield to pay for this technology. With today's economics, it becomes a better investment by the day.

Extract PBA is available from Nutrien Ag Solutions. 

This interview was edited for length and clarity. You can listen to the full interview below or on Agricen's YouTube channel.

Learn more about using Extract PBA in a sidedress nitrogen application by downloading the UAN sidedress bulletin.

Access the Bulletin

 

Read More
Getting More Out of the Nutrients You’ve Already Paid For
April 12, 2022 — Posted By Agricen

Wity-radio-down on farmWith the spring planting season starting, Agricen’s Scott Lay spoke with Dennis Michelsen on WITY Radio’s Down on the Farm podcast about why growers might want to take a look at Extract PBA this year to get more out of nutrients they’ve already paid for.

Dennis - WITY Radio: Input costs are going up for producers, but that’s why they need to take an extra look at Extract this year. 

Scott - Agricen: Extract aids in the mineralization and release of nutrients that are already in the soil profile or in last year’s crop residue. These are nutrients that the farmer has already paid for. The object is getting more of these nutrients in a plant-available form to provide the necessary fuel to increase crop yield.

Dennis - WITY Radio: Extract has a tremendous track record in university studies and it shows a gain no matter what the fertility program is, which I think is a good key to seeing it work in the field.

Scott - Agricen: We've had the product out for six years. In 2022, we’ll treat approximately 2 million acres with Extract. You don’t get to that level without consistent results. We’ve seen an average yield increase of 10.1 bushels per acre in corn and 4.2 bushels per acre in soybeans. With today's economics, it takes slightly less than a 2 bushel increase in corn and less than a bushel increase in soybeans for Extract to pay for itself. The ROI on a per acre basis translates roughly to $45-55 per acre, depending on the price of the commodity.

Dennis - WITY Radio: One of the big factors in that ROI is that growers don’t have to make another pass to put down Extract.

Scott - Agricen: Extract is often applied with a pre-emergent herbicide on corn or soybeans, and it also fits nicely if you are applying your pre-emergent herbicide with UAN or a liquid nitrogen application in corn. We’re not asking folks to change their practice, but rather to employ this technology to get more miles out of the nutrients that are already held in the soil. 

Dennis - WITY Radio: Talking to Dr. Fred Below at the University of Illinois, it appears that Extract improved plant vigor early in the crop season, getting the crop off to a much faster start. A plant that gets off to a good start is going to be a lot healthier to take a little abuse as the season wears on.

Scott - Agricen: Dr. Below has worked with this product for the last seven years and he has found very consistent results. He was the one who took us down the path of “Hey, if it works this well in corn, how about soybeans?” The ability to release nutrients throughout the course of the season with Extract makes for a healthier plant. If you can help prepare the plant for times of stress, that will pay for itself. 

Extract PBA is available from Nutrien Ag Solutions locations. 

This interview was edited for length and clarity. You can listen to the full interview below or on Agricen's YouTube channel.

Learn more about Extract PBA by downloading the Extract PBA corn bulletin.

Get the Corn Bulletin

 

Read More
Congratulating the 2021 NCGA National Corn Yield Contest Winners
March 22, 2022 — Posted By Agricen

With the recent conclusion of the awards ceremony for winners of the NCGA National Corn Yield Contest at Commodity Classic, we wanted to take the time to congratulate all of the 2021 contest winners, with special thanks and recognition to those who used Agricen's biocatalyst technology in their winning programs.

In 2021, five farmers who came in top place nationally and 23 who won an award in their state incorporated one or more of the following products in their programs: Accomplish LM, Extract PBA, Levitate, Prologue, Maritime, and Titan XC.

NCGA_social-2021

National winners included Michigan farmer Don Stall, who took first place in the "Conventional Irrigated" category with a corn yield of 465.77 bushels per acre, and Virginia farmer Heath Cutrell, who took first place in the "Conventional Non-Irrigated" category with a yield of 391.31 bushels per acre. Both growers may be familiar to you from our Last Stand feature-length film and related short films.

All of the Agricen technologies used in the winning programs are available from our partner, Loveland Products, through Nutrien Ag Solutions.

We are very proud to be part of these growers' winning corn nutrition programs and wish them all the best this season.

Learn more about some of the winning growers who use our technologies by watching Last Stand. 

Watch Last Stand

Read More
Where Do Fertilizer Enhancers Fit In?
February 15, 2022 — Posted By Agricen

The Future Faster PodcastAs growers start crop planning for the upcoming season, where do fertilizer enhancers fit in? 

In a recent episode of Nutrien Ag Solutions' "The Future. Faster." podcast, Agricen's Dr. Brian Cornelious discusses where different fertility enhancement products—specifically Accomplish MAX, Extract PBA, Maritime, Prologue, and Titan XC—fit into growers' programs to help them more strategically manage their inputs.

"A lot of the Agricen products are very focused on nutrient efficiency and nutrient availability. And then, of course, we've got other products that focus on stress mitigation," says Brian.

One of the newest products developed by Agricen and available through Nutrien Ag Solutions is Accomplish MAX for liquid starter fertilizer enhancement. Accomplish MAX can help crops better tolerate the effects of environmental stress, while also improving nutrient availability in the soil and uptake by the plant—with the ultimate goal of a healthy, high-yielding crop. 

"If a grower is using an in-furrow or 2x2 application of liquid fertilizer, all he's got to do is bolt that Accomplish MAX technology into that application," Brian says. "One of the things we do at Agricen is we try to be tuned into the grower environment. If we're coming out with a solution, we'd like for it to be a solution that a grower is actually going to implement. We also want it to fit something the grower's already doing."

Titan XC is another easy fit into a grower's existing fertility program. This popular product is specifically designed for application on dry fertilizer blends to increase fertilizer efficiency.

"Titan XC is designed to break down dry fertilizer to make the fertilizer more available to the crop faster," he says. "Because what we often see is that dry fertilizer is not that efficient. So the Titan XC helps with the accelerated breakdown and increased availability of nutrients in those dry blends."

Brian also gets into the details on Extract, Prologue, and Maritime. Extract is designed to help free up nutrition that may be bound in the soil profile and not available to the crop. Prologue helps to increase phosphorus availability while also serving as a zinc source. Maritime is a solution of biologically extracted kelp that can help crops better tolerate stress. The technology in Maritime is also found in Accomplish MAX.

"With Extract, we can do a broadcast application across a manured field, or we can do it with a weed and feed. There are also sidedress opportunities," Brian says. "Prologue is generally designed to go in-furrow with a starter blend, whether it's 10-34-0 or an ortho blend, where zinc is needed in that system. Maritime can be applied as a foliar spray, or that same technology can be used in a starter application in the form of Accomplish MAX. It does a very good job of allowing plants to manage stress."

You can listen to the full podcast here.

Listen to the Podcast

Read More
Striving for Record Corn Yields
December 8, 2021 — Posted By Agricen

How high can corn yield go? In our short video, "Striving for Record Corn Yields," you'll see how some corn growers try to test the limits and push for record-setting yields.

"I wish I could tell you that high yield is a recipe, like following the cookbook. By gosh, it isn't that way. High yield...it is an art form," says Dr. Fred Below of the University of Illinois in the video. 

The growers featured in the video faced multiple obstacles during filming in 2020 — from hurricanes and tropical storms in the East to a derecho that flattened crops and caused billions of dollars worth of damage across the Midwest. 

"We had a tremendous crop out there. The storm just took part of it," says Iowa farmer Kelly Garrett, whose farm was in the path of the 2020 derecho that made records as the most destructive and costliest thunderstorm disaster in U.S. history.

"We had a hurricane come in here the other day. Raise a good corn crop and then it's sad to come in here and watch it laying on the ground the way it is, broke off," says Heath Cutrell, who farms in Virginia and North Carolina.

In addition to Kelly and Heath, the video features growers Don Stall (Michigan) and Kevin Kalb (Indiana). These farmers all have had winning entries in the NCGA Corn Yield Contest in recent years. Agricen's product technologies, including Accomplish, Extract PBA and Titan XC, have been part of their winning programs.

"You have to use products that work if you want to be chasing these kind of yields," says Kevin.

See their stories below.

You can also hear more from each grower by watching the full version of Last Stand, also available on our YouTube channel.

Watch Last Stand

 

Read More
Agricen Presents Last Stand, a New Film about Farming
October 12, 2021 — Posted By Agricen

Last Stand Movie PosterFarmers have a story to tell, and we wanted to capture it. During the 2020 growing season, Agricen hired a film crew to document the experiences of growers from four different farm operations in the United States. The result is Last Stand, a movie that follows some of America's top farmers as they try to grow the highest yields possible in a season full of challenges. The film can be watched by visiting LastStand.ag.

“While you can never predict what the growing season will be like, the 2020 season certainly did manage to throw many surprises into the mix. Excessive rain and hurricanes, the historic derecho in Iowa and across the upper Midwest – and that’s just the weather,” says Michael Totora, president and CEO of Agricen. “We think this is an important film that not only gives viewers a unique glimpse into the lives of the featured farmers, but also into the lives of farmers across the U.S. in 2020.”

The farmers featured in the film have a passion for farming and produced some of the highest corn yields in the nation in recent years. They also have the humor, grit and resilience to help them succeed at the job.

In Last Stand, you’ll meet:

    • Don Stall – A former Marine, Don still reflects on the lessons he learned in the Marine Corps to help him face the challenges of being a farmer. Don farms in Michigan.
    • Kelly Garrett – Kelly farms with his father and three sons in Iowa, where they work cattle and grow corn, soybeans and winter wheat.
    • Heath Cutrell – Heath is a third-generation corn, soybean and wheat grower farming in Virginia and across the state line in North Carolina.
    • Kevin and Shawn Kalb – Kevin and Shawn farm with their children in Southern Indiana, where they produce corn, soybeans and turkeys, and can often be found smashing state and national corn yield records.
    • Dr. Fred Below & Connor Sible – Dr. Below and PhD student Connor Sible are from the Crop Physiology Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where they research factors influencing corn and soybean productivity.

Last-Stand-grower-collage

Pictured above are top producers Don Stall (top L), Kelly Garrett (top R), Heath Cutrell (bottom L) and Kevin and Shawn Kalb (bottom R).

Another factor that ties the growers together is that they have used Agricen's product technologies in their high-yielding programs.

“Several years ago, we noticed that a number of growers with top corn yields at the state and national levels used our product technologies in their production programs,” says Totora. “With Last Stand, we set out to dig into that, but it quickly became much more. Their stories, as captured in the film, are deeply personal, yet also familiar to farmers everywhere.”

Last Stand, filmed by agriculture documentary veterans Light Work Productions, is the second long-form film about farming developed by Agricen. Agricen’s previous film about agriculture, Prove It to Me, which followed five farmers from Arkansas and Iowa during the 2015 growing season, is also available to view.

Explore the Last Stand trailers or visit laststand.ag to watch the full film. 

Watch Last Stand

Read More
Ohio Growers Excel in Wheat Yield Contest with Titan XC & Extract PBA
June 28, 2021 — Posted By Agricen

Quigley Ohio Wheat 2020Cathy and Martin Quigley struck gold in the 2020 Ohio Wheat Yield Contest, coming in first in their district with a yield of 93.34 bushels per acre. 

What were the keys to Quigleys' success? First, selecting the right wheat variety, the right planting date and the right rate was important. The Quigleys, who live in Clinton county, used Dyna-Gro 9862, a soft red winter wheat, which they planted October 7, 2019.

Having an effective and efficient fertility program was another key to their success. Agricen’s biocatalyst technology was an integral part of the Quigleys' fertilizer program, with Titan XC applied at 1 pint per ton to their fall fertilizer blend and Extract PBA applied at spring topdress in a "weed and feed" application with UAN and broadleaf chemistry.

Mike Hacker, a Dyna-Gro Seed specialist and Nutrien Ag Solutions crop consultant based in Southern Ohio, assisted the Quigleys with the selection of their wheat variety and with recommendations for their fertility program. 

Treating dry fertilizer with Titan XC is a sound agronomic practice that can provide a long-term benefit to farm productivity. Titan XC utilizes unique biochemistry to increase nutrient availability and enhance dry fertilizer efficiency. With Titan XC on dry fertilizer in the fall or spring, more of a grower's applied nutrients will be available to the crop to help drive yield.

Extract PBA, with an analysis of 6-0-0-13S, is a biocatalyst that is formulated to maximize nutrient release from crop residues and the soil. Growers can tank mix Extract PBA with herbicides for spring burndown applications, use it with liquid fertilizers to enhance spring broadcast applications, or spray it on crop residues in the fall to enhance nutrient release.

Agricen and Dyna-Gro Seed are proud to be associated with Cathy and Martin, helping them achieve the top wheat yield for Ohio's District 9 in 2020!

Update: Martin and Cathy Quigley were the District 9 wheat yield champions again in the 2021 Ohio Wheat Yield Contest—taking both first and second place with both entries coming in at over 100 bushels per acre. In their winning program, they used Extract PBA on their previous season's crop residue and Titan XC on their wheat fertilizer blend.

Learn more about Titan XC and Extract PBA by downloading the Frequently Asked Questions booklet.

Download the Booklet

 

Read More
<< Prev
1 2 3 4 5
... 7 Next >>