Gain an early season edge for success at harvest

MARLETTE, Mich. — It sounds simple: Control what you can to get crops off to a strong start, so they finish the season even stronger. Yet, doing so is not always so simple in practice when agronomic and daily management challenges arise and demand attention.

Use the following recommendations to do the right things at the right times and focus on the fundamentals of crop success that will net the most efficient return on your investment.

1. Know your soil’s story.

Success begins with the soil. Without understanding your soil’s unique profile, you can’t be 100% sure which nutrients to apply, how to apply them and when to apply them, said Annette Puvaloski, Wilbur-Ellis sales manager based in Michigan.

It all starts with soil health, regardless of what crop you have in that field; that fact doesn’t change. Success begins with analytics, understanding what your field lacks and what its soil can deliver.

For example, use grid sampling results to better address soil fertility issues or other crop-limiting factors. That insight can help you decide whether fixing the issue will pay off.

If you don’t know what your problems are, how do you know what it’s going to cost to remedy them?

2. Take tissue samples. Don’t guess.

Invest in tissue analysis to get the information needed to maximize the benefits of in-season plant nutrition. These results help you and your agronomist spot and fix nutrient gaps before they hurt your yield.

“Tissue samples help us evaluate which nutrients may be missing within the field and help develop a foliar feeding program to give the plants what they need when they need it,” Puvaloski said. “The results tell a story you can’t always see with your eyes, but have a significant impact on yield.”

In a difficult commodity price year, tissue sampling also provides growers with another form of risk management.

“If you have tissue test results and determine exactly what inputs are needed, growers then know their return on investment, making foliar applications less risky because they can make up the money spent with a higher crop output,” Puvaloski said.

3. Scout early and often.

Only with regular scouting can the challenges affecting crop performance be identified and the right solutions be recommended.

“It’s time to be scouting for weeds, and not from the cab of your pickup. Walk your crops,” Puvaloski said. “Good early season weed control is more imperative than ever because of resistant weeds.”

Evaluate the effectiveness of your pre-emergence weed control program and determine if future changes are needed.

Then, carefully plan and execute needed post-emergence weed control programs based on weed pressure and species present.

4. Eliminate factors affecting crop potential.

What happens when you don’t manage early-season weeds? Nothing good.

“I think a lot of growers don’t realize how much yield they risk losing by allowing weeds to get too big or out of control before treating fields,” Puvaloski said.

Research shows that if you plan to spray soybeans when weeds are 4 inches tall, even a two-day delay can be costly. Just those two days can lead to yield losses of 1.5 to 3 bushels per acre per day, adding up to $38 to $86 per acre in lost profits.

Letting weeds get ahead in corn is expensive, too. If they aren’t controlled before reaching 6 inches tall, yield losses can hit 7 bushels per acre, costing you about $32.06 per acre at $4.58 a bushel.

Let them grow to 12 inches, and the damage jumps to 31 bushels per acre. That’s a loss of nearly $142 per acre.

5. Turn off emotions.

Lastly, remove emotions from decisions, as difficult as that may be. Rely on expert, data-based advice from trusted partners and advisers.

Crop prices matter. But in tough years, smart management matters even more.

“Spend your money where it needs to be spent and understand what’s going on in the field to make the best decisions possible,” Puvaloski said.