Q: What have been the biggest changes to your business in your 12-year career?
Digital ag is huge— access to information is huge. Also, yield expectations at the farm level are higher. It’s evolved in so many different ways, which is good. It’s wild to try to reach out there in the future and think what is to come.
Q: What new thing should farmers try in 2022?
Each operation is going to be different. So we’ve encouraged farmers to look at nitrogen for example, and if you’ve not been using sulfur, that’d be a great addition to your nitrogen program. If you haven’t been using fungicide, let’s take a look at utilizing fungicide. Also, doing tiller counts helps you assess the crop and stage nitrogen properly. We’re trying to encourage growers to do something new because that’s really going to move the needle on yields.
Q:What is the 100 Bushel Wheat Club?
At AgriMAXX Wheat, we are working with growers to continually improve yields and celebrate those who can achieve 100-bu. wheat. Some talk about intensive management. I’ve coined the term intentional management. It’s not always about spending more money. It’s having a game plan and being intentional about the when, how, why and what we’re doing. It’s about controlling the controllables— variety selection, uniformity, proper fertility, diseases, insects and all the yield-robbers out there.
Q: What are common missteps that can be corrected to elevate wheat yields?
It depends on the year. And for drylands wheat, you have to get rain. But some things do happen frequently enough they can be targeted, such as aphids and scouting for those to avoid a 20-bu loss. Another example of managing threats are stripe rust and fusarium head blight— know hybrid susceptibility, scout your fields.
Q: What are you watching this year?
With warmer temperatures through the early winter, we are seeing higher weed pressures. Farmers can’t let that come in and take yield off the table.
Read the Q&A at thedailyscoop.com