Blog

See the latest news, innovation updates, trial results, grower stories and more from Agricen. 
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
[WITY Radio] Sometimes the Answer Is Not More Fertilizer
October 4, 2021 — Posted By Agricen
Wity-radio-down on farm

With growers soon to be making dry fertilizer applications after harvest, Agricen’s Scott Lay spoke with Dennis Michelsen on WITY Radio about getting the most efficiency out of dry fertilizer and the role of Titan XC.

Dennis – WITY Radio: It’s not always what you put on your field when it comes to fertility, it’s how those nutrients are used. Can you explain why Titan XC helps you get more out of the nutrients that you’re using on your field?
Scott: Nutrients are a fuel that a crop needs. We all recognize that. But we’ve also come to the realization that sometimes the answer is not more fertilizer. As it relates to Titan XC, essentially what we are doing is employing this technology to increase the breakdown or mineralization of the P and K nutrients that we spread in fall, so that more is available to the crop next year when it needs it. That ultimately leads to very consistent results in terms of early season plant vigor, which leads to better yields.
Dennis – WITY Radio: When I’ve talked to a lot of the experts, they keep telling me that today’s hybrids are going to require a change in how we do business if we want to unlock those high yields. Titan XC might be one part of that answer.
Scott: I think you’ve characterized it accurately. It’s not one thing, but a systems approach, of which plant fertility is a part. We’ve worked with Dr. Fred Below of the University of Illinois since 2011 in evaluating this technology. We’ve had very consistent results from Dr. Below’s trials, which we’ve been able to amplify over nearly 50 million acres across the U.S. over the last 10 years. We are very confident of the consistency of results that folks are going to see.
Dennis – WITY Radio: What sort of return on investment and what sort of boost in yields have you seen in those trials?
Scott:  Over the course of 10 years—and this is university trials, third-party research trials and our internal split field trials on real farms—the average yield increase in corn is just above 10 bushels. As we look at soybeans, it's about 4 bushels. The ROI is obviously dependent upon the price of the commodity, but generally it’s about $6-8 return for every dollar invested.
Dennis – WITY Radio: One of the experts I’ve talked to is Dr. Below. He’s talking about how it’s really important to understand the fertility of your soil, and that these new hybrids with huge yields are really extracting those nutrients out at a much different rate than we’re used to.
Scott: That’s very true. This fall, if corn yields are going to be 220-250 bushel per acre averages in some areas, when you sit down and do the math, that’s a significant removal rate of phosphorus and potash. Step one, certainly, is ensuring we’re applying adequate levels of fertility. Step two—once you’ve spread those nutrients, what are you doing to enhance the availability of those nutrients? Just because you applied 400 pounds of P and K this fall, it doesn’t mean that all 400 pounds will be available to the 2022 crop. Over time, Titan XC works in concert with the biological systems in the soil to provide more nutrients into that plant at critical times that will maximize yield.

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 Titan XC by downloading the Titan XC Fall Fertilizer Booklet.

Download the Booklet

Read More
Making Better Use of Dry Fertilizer Nutrients
September 27, 2021 — Posted By Agricen
Wade Hoffman Titan XC Dassel MN

Grower Wade Hoffman of Dassel, Minnesota has used Titan XC on his dry fertilizer for the last eight years. One of the reasons he keeps coming back to Titan XC is because it helps him make better use of the nutrients in his dry fertilizer, which he typically applies in the fall.

"It gives me more use of the fertilizer and a little more even emergence," says Wade. "It seems like the crops really take the fertilizer up better. We've used it for over eight years now, and it's just real consistent."

Mike Amundson of Nutrien Ag Solutions explains that applying Titan XC to dry fertilizer helps to better break down the dry fertilizer prills for Wade's corn plants. This provides a big advantage for Wade and other growers who use Titan XC on their dry fertilizer by giving them greater utilization of their applied nutrients.

Wade has seen other benefits, too. When asked if he has observed any soil health advantages, he says that he thinks his soil tilth is better since using Titan XC. He also has noticed overall good plant performance, even when conditions have been dry in his area.

"It's been really dry up here, and I think the Titan has worked well in these conditions," says Wade. "I can see the benefits of it. Year after year, it really feels like I'm getting a lot of fertilizer out of it. For the dollars I spend, the plants are getting a lot of use out of the dry fertilizer."

Wade is planning on using Titan XC on his dry fertilizer again this fall. You can hear more about his experience in this short clip.

Learn more about Titan XC by downloading the Titan XC fall fertilizer booklet.

Get the Titan XC Booklet

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
Corn and Soybean Growers See Synergy Between TITAN XC and EXTRACT PBA
June 7, 2021 — Posted By Agricen

TITAN XC and EXTRACT PBA both help growers get more out of their fertilizer investments. But is there any benefit when they are applied in the same growing season? These trials show how TITAN XC on fall dry fertilizer followed by EXTRACT broadcast in the spring with pre-emerge herbicide can lead to improved yields and return on investment for the grower.

All three on-farm trials—two corn, one soybean—were conducted in South Sioux City, Nebraska, to look at the addition of TITAN XC and EXTRACT to the grower's standard practice (GSP). TITAN XC was applied at 1 pint per ton to dry fertilizer that was spread in the fall of 2019. This was followed in the spring of 2020 by EXTRACT applied at 1 gallon per acre with pre-emerge herbicide. 

In both corn trials, fall-applied TITAN XC followed by spring-applied EXTRACT led to a yield increase of over +12 bushels per acre, which was accompanied by a positive ROI.

Titan-Extract-corn-1-1

Titan-Extract-corn-2-1

Similarly, the soybean trial also showed a yield increase (+4.98 bushels/acre) and positive net ROI with TITAN XC and EXTRACT in the grower's program.

Titan-Extract-soybeans

Treating dry fertilizer with TITAN XC, a proven technology for enhancing dry fertilizer efficiency, expedites nutrient availability and uptake from the treated ton, while EXTRACT, whether applied alone or with pre-emerge herbicides, helps to release tied up nutrients in the soil. 

Whether a grower wants to find ways to be more efficient with their crop nutrition, improve sustainability, or stretch each dollar further, TITAN XC and EXTRACT can help, and can even be used together for greater benefits. 

Learn more about TITAN XC and EXTRACT PBA by downloading the Frequently Asked Questions booklet.

Download the Booklet

 

Read More
Agricen's Product Technology Part of Top Corn Growers' Wins
February 3, 2021 — Posted By Agricen

Last season, Agricen's product technology helped some of the highest-yielding corn growers in America take home a winning title in the National Corn Growers Association's 2020 National Corn Yield Contest.

A total of 6 national and 20 state winners used at least one product containing Agricen's biocatalyst technology in 2020. Among them were Don Stall of Charlotte, Michigan, who was the top-yielding grower overall in the contest, Kevin, Shawn, Nikia and Rhylan Kalb of Dubois, Indiana, who took national wins across three categories, and Leonard Truszkowski of Stewartsville, New Jersey, who also placed nationally.

NCGA_social-01

The biocatalyst-based products represented in the top growers' programs were Accomplish LM, Titan XC, Extract PBA, Prologue, Levitate and NexBlu. All are exclusively available from Loveland Products though Nutrien Ag Solutions.

Grower Don Stall came in first place, nationally, in the Conventional Irrigated category with a yield of 476.9052 bu/acre, which was also the overall highest yield in the 2020 contest.

"Titan and Accomplish...turn nutrients into an available, soluble form so we can take them up," says Don. "It obviously works. You can see it, when you run the combine across the field and you weigh it. The results speak for themselves."

The Corn Belt's first place national winner in the Conventional Non-Irrigated Category was Kevin Kalb, with a yield of 385.4405 bu/acre.

"When I talk about raising, potentially, the biggest crop we have, I need to get as much phosphorus as I can into the plant. Titan makes that possible," Kevin says.

Kevin's wife, Shawn Kalb, also took home a first place national win in the No-Till Non-Irrigated category in the Corn Belt (329.0569 bu/acre), while Kevin and Shawn's children, Rhylan and Nikia, each placed second nationally in the Conventional Non-Irrigated (345.9045 bu/acre) and Strip, Min, Mulch, Ridge-Till Non-Irrigated (323.7572 bu/acre) categories in the Corn Belt states, respectively.

If you are interested in more details about these and other growers who have had winning corn yields in the NCGA contest, you can read about them in these posts:

Wishing everyone great success in the coming season!

You can learn more about the biocatalyst technology that is helping top corn growers achieve big yields by watching our film, Last Stand, or downloading our FAQ.

Download the Booklet

Read More
Titan XC Improves Potato Yields in Idaho Trials
December 8, 2020 — Posted By Agricen

potatoes close upAt Nutrien Ag Solutions' Snake River Division in Idaho, Josh Perotto and his team have been looking at the benefits of treating dry fertilizer with Titan XC in potato growing operations over the past two years.

In a split-farm trial harvested in 2020, the grower's potato yield was increased by +105.1 sacks per acre where his dry fertilizer had been treated with Titan XC to maximize prill breakdown and nutrient release, as compared to yield where untreated dry fertilizer had been spread. There were also fewer culls (unmarketable potatoes) where Titan XC had been used.

Titan - potatoes 01

Titan - potatoes 02 - Idaho

These potato yield results followed the team's findings from the 2019 season, where a split-field trial showed that potatoes grown with Titan XC-treated dry fertilizer outyielded the untreated dry fertilizer by +19 sacks per acre (572 cwt/acre with Titan XC vs 553 cwt/acre untreated).

Josh and his team also noted that they performed weekly tissue testing throughout the 2020 growing season and observed that potato plants grown with Titan XC-treated dry fertilizer showed a trend toward higher tissue phosphate levels compared to the untreated dry fertilizer. 

In Idaho, high lime, high pH soils mean that soil phosphate deficiencies are not uncommon. This is because applied phosphorus will react with calcium in the soil, which makes the phosphorus insoluble and unavailable. By applying Titan XC on dry fertilizer, growers can address this limitation and enhance the availability and uptake of phosphate and other nutrients from dry fertilizer. Titan XC accelerates the breakdown of treated dry fertilizer and helps facilitate mineralization – the conversion of organic nutrients into inorganic, plant soluble, plant available forms. With more nutrients available, more nutrients can be captured by the plant, which can lead to significant yield benefits.

Learn more about Titan XC by downloading the Titan XC Booklet.

Download the Booklet

 

Read More
Yield Increase in Corn and Soybean with TITAN XC on Dry Fertilizer
October 27, 2020 — Posted By Agricen

Recent corn and soybean trials from the Bruce Research Farm at Hopkinsville, Kentucky highlight the opportunities for yield success with TITAN XC on dry fertilizer.

In corn, a replicated trial demonstrated a yield increase of +9.5 bushels per acre when dry fertilizer (300# 9-23-30) was treated with TITAN XC and compared to untreated dry fertilizer, with a calculated net return of $31.48 per acre. (The ROI calculation assumes corn at $4.05 per bushel.) 

10-20_Titan-corn-1

Even with a reduced rate of fertilizer (90% of the standard rate, or 270#), treating the fertilizer with TITAN XC produced a yield increase of +6.3 bushels per acre, for a net return of $24.93 per acre.

In soybeans, TITAN XC was applied to 200# of 9-23-30 fertilizer. Similar to the corn trials, it led to a yield increase of +9.5 bushels per acre compared to the untreated dry fertilizer, for a net return of $94.99 per acre (assuming soybeans at $10.50 per bushel). 

10-20_Titan-soybeans-1

Dry fertilizer is one of the largest investments made in a grower's production program each season, but it can also be highly inefficient. Growers, therefore, can benefit from technologies that enhance their dry fertilizer efficiency.

With a proven track record of performance over a range of geographies, genetics and management systems, TITAN XC is designed to help you get the most out of your applied dry fertilizer. Utilizing unique biochemistry to increase nutrient availability from treated prills, it can enhance the efficiency of dry phosphorus and potassium blends—turning your dry fertilizer into a driver of performance for your farm.

With TITAN XC on your dry fertilizer, more of your applied nutrients will be available to your crop, which can help you drive yield on every acre.

Learn more by downloading the Titan XC fall fertilizer booklet.

Download the Booklet


Read More
Increase in Forage Dry Matter Production & Quality with Biocatalyst Technology
October 19, 2020 — Posted By Agricen

livestock cowsWhen it comes to growing forage and pasture crops as feed for a successful livestock operation, simply increasing the biomass of these crops isn't enough. Feed quality is another important consideration. In fact, it may be the most important variable in livestock and dairy production, as increased feed quality can lead to higher production of meat and milk.

Biocatalyst technology can have a positive effect on these variables, increasing total biomass of the crop and improving feed quality. 

Increase in Dry Matter Production

In Victoria, Australia, a third-party, replicated pasture trial was conducted to evaluate the performance of the biocatalyst technology Titan XC (marketed as Basis XC in Australia) when used in the grower's standard dry fertilizer program. Treating diammonium phosphate (DAP) with the Titan XC technology led to a statistically significant increase in dry matter (+236.1 lb/acre) compared to untreated DAP (p<0.05). Crude protein, an indicator of crop quality, was also higher when Titan XC was used to treat the DAP compared to the untreated dry fertilizer.

Titan XC pasture trial

Improvement in Feed Quality

What about the effect of biocatalyst technology on other indicators of feed quality?

In a pasture trial conducted at Lucindale, Australia, Titan XC technology was applied on single superphosphate (SSP) fertilizer and compared to untreated SSP. The feed analysis showed that Titan XC treatment improved multiple measures of feed quality, increasing crude protein by 26.4%, total digestible nutrients (DMD) by 6.7%, and estimated metabolizable energy by 7.5%. Titan XC treatment of the dry fertilizer also lowered acid detergent fiber by almost 3% and neutral detergent fiber by almost 8%, resulting in greater palatability and digestibility. 

fresh pasture feed analysis

These improvements in feed quality can lead to more pounds of beef and lamb produced per acre. They can also lead to more pounds of milk produced per ton of forage, as seen in a trial at a large dairy in California. 

In the trial, Accomplish LM, which is formulated for broadcast directly onto the soil, was applied at 1 gallon per acre along with the grower's standard practice (GSP) to a field planted for corn silage. The controls were fields planted to corn silage using just the GSP alone. All fields had a history of manure applications from the dairy. Corn silage that was harvested from each treatment was stored in separate bunkers and the feed analysis was conducted after the ensiling process was complete. 

Compared to the GSP alone, feed quality was improved across multiple parameters, including the  most important one: pounds of milk per ton of silage. Overall, Accomplish LM treatment increased milk production by 501 pounds per ton of silage, 16% more than with the GSP alone.

corn-silage-feed-analysis

A Positive Impact on Livestock Operations

These trials, and others, demonstrate the positive impact that biocatalyst technologies can have on the forage and pasture crops grown to feed livestock.  

Whether by using Titan XC on dry fertilizer or Accomplish LM broadcast on each acre, farmers can increase pasture and forage total biomass and dry matter while also increasing crop quality. This can lead to increased production of meat and milk in livestock operations.

Learn more by downloading the Biocatalyst Technology booklet.

Download the Booklet

 

Read More
How Do Extract PBA & Titan XC Enhance Fall Crop Nutrition Programs?
October 13, 2020 — Posted By Agricen

Steve Sexton Crop ResidueAlready a busy period, harvest is also the time for growers to begin planning for next season's crop. Fall planning can be critical to having a less stressful planting season in the spring. Incorporating Titan XC and Extract PBA into fall plans is one way that growers can set themselves up for success in the season ahead.

Agricen's Stephen Sexton breaks down the benefits of these biocatalyst products and explains where they fit into fall programs.

Titan XC for Dry Fertilizer

Steve says that two key processes occur when Titan XC is applied to dry phosphorus and potassium fertilizer blends and spread in the fall.

First, he notes that the phosphorus and potassium prills are broken down much faster compared to waiting for Mother Nature.

"Remember that phosphorus and potassium fertilizers may have received multiple applications of petroleum-based or vegetable-based oils to reduce dust and maintain prill integrity," he says. "Oil applied to dry fertilizer can delay the breakdown of the prill when soil applied, since oil repels soil moisture. This is not the case when Titan XC is applied to the dry fertilizer."

Then, there are the benefits related to root growth. 

"In the spring, the biochemistry in Titan XC can signal to the plant that nutrition is nearby, which stimulates root growth and feeder tip roots or root hairs, which are the ports of entry for water and nutrition into the plant," says Steve.

Download the Titan XC Corn Bulletin

Extract PBA for Crop Residue, Manures & Poultry Litter

When it comes to crop residues, manures, and poultry litter, that's where the innovative mineralization technology in Extract PBA comes into play. 

"Extract PBA can be applied with burndown applications or alone on crop residues, manures, or litter to mineralize the organic nitrogen and phosphorus into inorganic, plant-available forms," Steve says. 

Plants do not use organic forms of nitrogen or phosphorus. Rather, they can only take up these nutrients when they are in inorganic, plant-available forms. The plant-available forms of nitrogen are nitrate (NO3) and ammonium (NH4+), while the plant-available forms of phosphorus are hydrogen phosphate (HPO4) and dihydrogen phosphate (H2PO4). 

"Both of these key macronutrients are mineralized, or converted from an organic form into a plant-available, inorganic form, by the biochemistry in Extract PBA," he explains.

See the Extract PBA Trial Summary

The Last Word

By contributing to increased nutrient availability and an improved root system, Titan XC on dry fertilizers and Extract PBA on crop residues, manures or litter can lead to enhanced nutrient uptake, better crop performance, and higher crop yields. 

Learn more about these biocatalyst technologies by downloading the Biocatalyst Technology Booklet.

Download the Booklet

 

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