XtremeAg: Cutting The Curve Podcast

In the past decade or two, soil sampling evolved from pulling a few plugs of dirt from each field to doing so on a grid. Grid sampling — if you’re unfamiliar — means gridding your field into blocks of 5 acre or even 2.5 acres. The more samples from each field, the better to more accurately prescribe your crop inputs. But sometimes dividing your field into 2.5 acre chunks isn’t small enough to straighten out a stubborn problem. Agronomist Robb Dedman and Layne Miles of Miles Farms explain why they sometimes shrink their soil samples to 1 acre blocks in order to diagnose yield problems for which they can’t seem to find the culprit. Presented by Advanced Drainage Systems with support from Agricen.

Mike Evans doesn’t think soybeans get enough nitrogen. He talks about what they are doing with their soybeans to increase the amount of available Nitrogen through a trial with Sound Agriculture's Source.

What’s the difference between a put and a call option and when should you use them? That’s the subject of this discussion with Layne Miles and the guys from Silveus Financial. If commodity marketing is your strength, this episode will be a refresher course. For the rest of us who get a bit overwhelmed by the complexity of commodity markets, this is an excellent explanation of how to use puts and calls to protect your downside or enhance your potential profit upside. The risk of loss in trading futures and/or options is substantial and each investor and/or trader must consider whether this is a suitable investment. Past performance, whether actual or indicated by simulated historical tests of strategies, is not indicative of future results.

Is your water source working against your fertility plan? If you you have irrigation on your farm, you likely sleep a little better at night knowing that you have some control over stress levels of your crop throughout the season. But, as Kelly and Mike discovered, the EC of their water was a pretty big yield limiter for them. They talk about how they are using biologicals as part of the solution.

There comes a time each season when you look at your fields and say, “this crop is made, nothing from here on will change the yield.” But what if we’ve been wrong about that and it’s not too late? What if another pass — even if it’s only a month or so before the combines roll — could make a meaningful difference to yield for a small price? Chad Henderson and Temple Rhodes experimented with late (late!) season corn applications with a mix of fertility products, fungicide, insecticide, plant growth regulators, and sugar. The results were impressive. Chad and Temple explain their experiment and why they intend to “send it” again next year! Presented by AgXplore

Lee Lubbers is all about soil biology. He is also consistently one of the top wheat producers in the country. Damian talks with Lee and Brian and Brad from ProFarm (formerly Marrone Bio Innovations) about how he uses biologicals in his wheat crop to not only deliver higher yields, but to keep his soil full of life.

Here at XtremeAg we like to point out ideas and products that work so effectively, they become standard practice. Sometimes you need to prove to yourself that your standard operating procedure is still viable. Kelly Garrett and his agronomist Mike Evans did that this year when they varied from their standard practice of applying variable rate nitrogen. The results: A 12 to 15% yield drag. The two explain why they’ll never do flat rate “N” applications again and other lessons. Presented by AgXplore

Kevin takes the opportunity to learn from 36 years of agronomy expertise when he talks to Leslie Lloyd, agronomist for Agrigold. An in depth conversation about hybrids, diseases, fungicide responses, application timing, stalk strength, drought stress, kernel depth, row spacing, population, when to combine and perhaps most importantly, a trick for keeping the gnats away. ----- The information contained in this video is strictly based on the opinions, methods and best practices of the XtremeAg.farm team and does not constitute professional advice. Do not assume these practices will work on your farm. Always consult a professional before making any farming decisions. By viewing this video you agree that XtremeAg.farm is not legally liable to any person or business for damages related to the information contained in this video.

After doing a total soil digestibility test, Kelly and Mike were surprised to see the amount of fertility that was in their soil. They don’t need more fertility, they need more availability. That is why they are experimenting with a sort of "fertility enhancer" from Sound Ag.

Water, oxygen and biology help break down and move nutrients into the root zone for uptake by plants. But it is not always a free flow of nutrients throughout the soil, in fact it is often not. So how do you get the nutrients that are below the root zone into the root zone and into the plant? Kelly and Mike talk about how they are "unstratifying their nutrients" with some help from Concept Agritek's Shaun Guthmiller. ---- The information contained in this video is strictly based on the opinions, methods and best practices of the XtremeAg.farm team and does not constitute professional advice. Do not assume these practices will work on your farm. Always consult a professional before making any farming decisions. By viewing this video you agree that XtremeAg.farm is not legally liable to any person or business for damages related to the information contained in this video.

Kelly talks about the practices he is doing on his farm that make him money in the carbon marketplace. He also talks with Mariah from Truterra about the other marketplace opportunities besides carbon credits that are coming down the pike soon.

Kelly Garrett had a plan to go heavy on soybean acres in 2022. But that changed in a matter of days when he made the decision to switch 500 acres from beans to corn just a few weeks before the season. This presented a problem since these fields had no fall applied nitrogen on them. Mike Evans turned to a new product from SoundAg that is designed to pull more plant available nitrogen out of the soil.

You probably didn’t realize this, but seaweed has been utilized as a crop input for 40 or 50 years in some specialty crop production systems. Now, seaweed’s benefits are being discovered and put to work in commodity cropping systems. With several of the XtremeAg guys trialing seaweed-derived crop inputs, it was time to sit down and discuss kelp technology in farming. In short, seaweed helps crops because it thrives in cold, dark, salty environments and it’s good at it — kelp has been in the oceans for millennia! Brian Cornelius, Director of Applied Sciences with Agricen explains the stress mitigation benefits of seaweed. Presented by Advanced Drainage Systems

Kelly Garrett and Mike Evans have identified that one of the biggest yield limiters for soybeans is branch strength. They have spent a lot of time getting enough fertility into the plant in order to grow more pods, but if the branches can’t hold the pods, that’s a problem. Kelly and Mike talk about the calcium program they are implementing to increase branch strength in their Agroliquid trial this season.

Garrett Land & Cattle is almost completely no-till farming due to sloping fields and Kelly Garrett’s adherence to carbon programs. Being no-till presents emergence problems for soybeans following high yield corn with massive amounts of stalk residue. Mike Evans with Integrated Ag Solutions and Garrett's business partner, explains the challenges faced and lessons learned with this year’s soybean crop planted into high residue acres. What products to apply, when to apply them, and how to set up your planter — good takeaways here for no-till operations struggling with uneven emergence due to residue. Presented by Advanced Drainage Systems with support from Agricen

The potential for renewable fuels in the future will make soybeans in high demand. That means that US farmers will need to produce more soybeans to keep up with demand. Traditionally, farmers have not grown soybeans on the same ground in back to back years, and there are some good reasons for that. Kelly and Mike from Garrett Land and Cattle talk about their 40 acre experiment to overcome the challenges of growing beans on beans.

If harvest time isn’t upon you, it soon will be. So, what is your fall marketing strategy? How sold are you on your commodities at this stage? Are you one third sold, half sold, not sure? Information from the USDA and WASDE August reports didn’t hold a lot of surprises. However, there is still volatility-induced upside and downside that could be costing you money without a proper commodity marketing strategy. Bryce and Sean from Silveus Financial explain strategies to protect your farm and increase your profit. The risk of loss in trading futures and/or options is substantial and each investor and/or trader must consider whether this is a suitable investment. Past performance, whether actual or indicated by simulated historical tests of strategies, is not indicative of future results.

SourceCorn is a product proposing this promise: Spend $14 per acre for this foliar applied product and you’ll save more than that in nitrogen application and maintain the same yield (or even do better!). This matters as we increasingly are impacted at the farm level by environmental policy or pressure to reduce our utilization of the big macronutrients — N & P. SoundAg is the company behind SourceCorn. XtremeAg is doing some trial work with the company this year. SoundAg’s VP of sales, Eamon Flood, joins me to discuss soil health and the future of using less fertilizer per bushel. Presented by Advanced Drainage Systems

The number of nozzle types/sprayer tips to choose from can be daunting. So how do you know which nozzles are the right ones for the right applications? Chad talks with Pentair Hypro's Nick Fleitz about the nozzles he uses and why he prefers them in each different type of application.

We’ve been instructed since the advent of soil testing on the importance of the macronutrients — nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. But what about carbon? Where’s it on the soil sample, why do I need it, and where do I buy it for my crops? That inability to buy carbon — or for the inputs industry to sell it to farmers -- is precisely why Kelly Garrett says we’ve never been advised on carbon’s importance as a crop input. That’s all changing according to BiomeMaker agronomist Al Toops who says through advanced soil analysis is uncovering the role of carbon in soil biology. As Connor Garrett says, “N,P & K are like vitamins. Take them and they’ll make you feel better. But carbon is food. You can’t live without it.” Presented by AgXplore

Drain tile systems have come a long way in the last 20 years. What started as a functional way to drain water off a field has now become a a complete water management system that delivers precision control of the water table in their field. Damian talks with Darla Huff from ADS and Chad Henderson about the high-tech drain tile system he installed this spring.

Humic Acid and Fulvic Acid. What's the difference? One is for soil building and one is for nutrient uptake. We break down the details on when and how to use Humics and Fulvics on your farm and how do you know if they are working?

You listened/watched to the debate in part 1 (To Tissue Sample Or Not?), and you've decided you want to be a better tissue sampler now. In part 2, Chad, Molly and Stephanie talk about and demonstrate the best practices for tissue sampling.

The Red River valley of southern Manitoba experienced flooding in Spring 2022. XtremeAg affiliate Riley Anderson had one field submerged under flood waters for more than a month. This would be a problem anytime of the year but with it happening during spring warm up, the flooding killed off soil biology. As Riley puts it, “It smelled like it was dead and rotting.” Now he’s working to revive his soil biology to make it productive and healthy sooner versus later. Because...degraded assets are bad for business and as a farmer, your soil is your biggest asset! Presented by AgXplore

Chad Henderson has been applying sugar to his crop well before it was a "thing." In fact, before it was commercially available for agriculture use, Chad got his supply from the local warehouse supermarket until they stopped selling it to him as they thought he was making illegal whiskey.He knows it increases yield, but is he right? We ask the experts at Teva Corporation: why corn needs sugar?

Each year 10 Million soil samples are pulled in North America. Those samples are sent to labs for analysis and the results are returned to farmers and their crop advisors. This is a good thing — knowing your nutrient and pH levels provides guidance for fertility treatments. The only problem: Much of what we do and how we do it when it comes to soil sampling hasn’t changed since the 1950’s! Al Toops with BiomeMakers joins Kelly and Connor Garrett of XtremeAg to discuss the future of soil analysis and why soil biology testing will change production Agriculture. Presented by Advanced Drainage Systems with Support from Agricen.

An estimated 5% or less of all farmers actually engage in regular tissue sampling of their crops. So, if you are not doing it, you are not alone. But that may not make it right. Chad believes in tissue sampling, sort of, and in certain situations, but he certainly does not live or die by the almighty tissue sample when it comes to his farming operation. Chad debates the value of tissue sampling with Agroliquid agronomists Stephanie and Molly and they discuss the best approach to using the information if you decide to tissue sample.

What's the deal with the second ear? Do you want a second ear? It is another ear of corn after all that contributes to yield, right? Or is it a bad thing that takes nutrients away from the primary ear? So is a second ear a good thing or a bad thing? We pose the question: 2 Ear or Not 2 Ear?

USDA’s June 30th planted acres report sheds light on the reality of what’s in America’s fields (and decreases the amount of soybean acres by a couple million!). Two weeks later, the July 12th WASDE report gave us another batch of information. Between the two reports, commodities are down significantly from just a month ago. What does this mean for your marketing plan? Is now the time to cut your losses? Should you swing for the fences during the next little grain rally? Bryce Guse and Sean Findley, risk advisors with Silveus Financial explain what’s going on mid season and tell us why now isn’t the time to attempt the home run. The risk of loss in trading futures and/or options is substantial and each investor and/or trader must consider whether this is a suitable investment. Past performance, whether actual or indicated by simulated historical tests of strategies, is not indicative of future results.

Farming has changed significantly in the past few decades, and at top of the list in changes has been the increased availability and use of biologicals on modern farms. Will there soon be a time when all crop protection inputs will be biological based? Damian talks to Matt Miles and Trey Curtis from Concept Agritek about the not so far off future of agriculture.

Lee Lubbers farms in a pretty tough neighborhood, weather wise. Gregory, South Dakota receives about 18 inches of annual precipitation — and on dry years Lee reports less than 10 inches of precipitation. So, how does a farmer yield a good crop and produce a profit under such conditions? Lee explains his drought resistant practices and his product selection to produce a crop when it’s dry. Lee also discusses the personal side of farming in a drought and how he goes about managing a healthy mental state in the face of stress. Be sure to listen to the very end as Mr. Lubbers saved his best advice ’til the end! Presented by Advanced Drainage Systems with support from Agricen.

Riley Anderson farms 24 miles north of the North Dakota / Canada border. As our newest XtremeAg affiliate, Riley will be providing insights, updates, and product trials from his Manitoba operation. What unique challenges do farmers face in an area that dips down to —40 degrees Fahrenheit? How does the product mix change when you go north of the border? And how are commodity markets navigated differently in the western provinces from where you farm? We dig into those topics and more in this episode! Presented by AgXplore

It's all the same seed in a different bag with different label? Right? Damian asks the question and more with Agrigold's Leslie Rogers and XtremeAg's Matt Miles and Robb Dedman.

A few years ago we didn’t do much in way of fertility applications during the middle part of the growing season. That all changed for Iowa farmer Kelly Garrett after he experienced a 9 bushel yield bump on soybeans after he foliar-applied nutrition products mid season. Now mid season nutrition applications are standard practice for Kelly who’s experienced a 3 fold return on his fertility investment. Tommy Roach of Nachurs joins Kelly to explain the agronomics of higher yields through mid season fertilization. Presented by Advanced Drainage Systems

Crop diseases — and we’re mostly talking about fungal problems — cost you yield and money. The worst part: By the time you know you have a problem, much of the damage is already done. That’s why, in general, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Kim Tutor, Technical Marketing Manager with BASF explains disease issues to lookout for this year — from Tar Spot in corn, to Pythium in soybeans, and DON (that’s an abbreviation!) in wheat. A good looking crop means nothing if you have unseen problems lurking in your fields!

Matt Miles will make11 different foliar passes on his cotton field this season. Seems about right for a plant that Matt says is trying to die from the minute it emerges. 6 of those passes will be part of a trial he is doing with Agroliquid to foliar feed potassium into the plant. He is joined by Molly from Agroliquid and his agronomist, Robbo, to talk about the foliar feeding regimen he plans to implement on this year's crop.

Modern farming operations have a lot of moving parts and, as such, farm operators wear a lot of hats — business owner, equipment manager, purchasing agent, employee supervisor, part time agronomist, and grain marketer. The last role — grain marketer— can be a real challenge given the volatility of commodity prices and the complexity of the marketplace. Because grain marketing is so challenging, the people of Silveus Financial identified the 5 most common marketing mistakes farmers make. Silveus’s risk advisors Sean Findley and Bryce Guse join me to help your farm avoid those mistakes. Presented by Silveus Financial The risk of loss in trading futures and/or options is substantial and each investor and/or trader must consider whether this is a suitable investment. Past performance, whether actual or indicated by simulated historical tests of strategies, is not indicative of future results.

As Fertilizer prices are high, farmers like Matt Miles are looking for ways to increase the effectiveness of their existing nutrients. We talk to Robbo Dedman from Ultimate Ag Consulting and James Paterson of Agrotech USA about increasing plant uptake availability, how it works? and why you need to understand what is happening in your soil?

You’ve likely been hearing about carbon revenue opportunities for farmers for a couple years now. But what’s the deal and how do you go about making a carbon deal? What changes to your farming practices are required and who monitors your practices? Most importantly, how much money are we talking about — because let’s face it, carbon credit deals are still anything but mainstream. We know you have questions, and frankly so do we at XtremeAg. Which is why we devoted our June webinar specifically to carbon markets. Listen in as we discuss everything you need to know about selling your carbon credits with Kelly Garrett, Temple Rhodes, Matt Miles and the folks at Truterra.

Soil compaction is a silent yield robber. Unlike a wind storm or hail damage, you may not see the harm to your crop — but you will certainly see it on your combine’s yield monitor. In the old days we thought deep ripping was the solution to correcting soil compaction but that’s timely -- and with the price of diesel — exceedingly expensive. XtremeAg’s Kevin Matthews discusses the cause and cost of compaction and offers solutions on avoiding or rectifying the problem. From tire pressure adjustments to cover crop utilization and a few other tips, Kevin can help you keep your soils un-compacted! Presented by AgXplore

We've heard of secret agents and talent agents, but what is a plant health agent? And more importantly, do you really need one? Damian talks with Matt Miles and Trey Curtis from Concept Agritek about a 40 acre trial they are running with a new product called Bio Health that coats the plant with hundreds of different strains of bacteria and fungi that increases photosynthesis, respiration and keep the plant from having a a bad day. The theory being that if the plant is healthy it will defend itself from any stressors. So does this mean you don't need a costly fungicide? We ask those questions and many more in this episode of XtremeAg's Short Cuts.

Temple Rhodes farms on Maryland’s eastern shore, operates a couple other business ventures, and he’s now contributing to XtremeAg. Throughout the season we’ll tune in to see what Mr. Rhodes is doing with fungicide treatments, seed plots, and micronutrient products to increase fertility uptake — a big issue for his geography. Because Temple farms in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, he’s under an environmental microscope. Enjoy meeting Temple and hear about how he runs his operation to “never become complacent.” This episode is presented by AgXplore.

Miles Farms is not only a producer of corn, soybeans, cotton and wheat, but they also manage a significant rice growing operation. Rice is a unique crop that many people outside of the 6 big rice growing states no very little about. Matt and Robbo talk with Damian about the unique needs, growth and care that is required to grow rice in the delta region. Tune in and learn something about a crop you may not know much about in this XtremeAg Short Cuts.

Beef production has a long timeline —more than a year from birth to processed beef and if you count in 9 months of gestation, you’re pushing two years from start to a finished product. So, just like every other form of Agricultural production, beef producers need tools to remain profitable. Jared Clark — a Texas cow/calf rancher and CEO of Silveus Financial and Fidel Burciaga, Cattle Risk Advisor join me to explain the nuances of beef marketing. ____ The risk of loss in trading futures and/or options is substantial and each investor and/or trader must consider whether this is a suitable investment. Past performance, whether actual or indicated by simulated historical tests of strategies, is not indicative of future results.

Cotton is a plant that is born to die. It emerges and then it spends the rest of its life trying to die. Well, maybe not exactly, but, let's face it Cotton is finicky and requires a lot of attention. We are in Matt Miles' cotton field with Molly Alexander and Stephanie Zelinko from Agroliquid talking about in-furrow trials and needs of cotton.

We’ve been hearing about the financial promise of carbon markets in production Agriculture for a couple years. What’s the deal? What is required of you and your farm to get paid for carbon? What changes to your practices will be required? How long is the contract and who exactly pays the carbon bill? How much carbon are you sequestering? And most importantly, is the financial incentive enough to justify the work of signing up? Those questions and more are answered by Mariah Murphy with Truterra. Tune in to find out if carbon can be the next income diversification tool on your farm. This episode is presented by Advanced Drainage Systems with support from Agricen.

Nobody can excel at everything. Your farm operation is not an exception to this reality. As such, most farms excel at production while delicately managing around — or oftentimes overlooking — their weak spot. This isn’t criticism, it’s truth and it applies to every business, farm or non-farm. Reality: Farms are businesses and businesses are meant to be profitable. You can achieve profitability when you discover your vulnerable spots and go about fixing them. Jarod Creed of JC Marketing Services helps Kelly Garrett of Garrett Land and Cattle Company do just that. The two of them work together concentrating on their strengths while complementing the other’s weakness. Presented by AgXplore

Generally when we think of crop stress, we think of heat and drought. However there’s also stress of cold and wet and many other stressful occurrences that arise throughout a growing season. Successfully getting your crop through those stressful times can make a huge difference on your yield monitor. Mike Evans of Integrated Ag Solutions explains practices and products he’ll be deploying for Garrett Land & Cattle as well as his other farmer clients. Presented by Advanced Drainage Systems

Matt Miles's father used to say, “Cotton is always looking for a reason to die.” Matt explains cotton production in the Arkansas delta — from moisture issues to managing a high maintenance crop to capitalizing (hopefully!) on record high cotton prices. As Matt explains, cotton is a high risk, high reward crop. With cotton picking equipment costing $900,000 new, it needs to be. This is XtremeAg’s first cotton-themed recording and Matt does a good job of explaining the nuances of cotton farming, which is in his heritage. Presented by AgXplore.

At the time of recording this episode, the Midwest is cold and wet. Less than ideal conditions for sure and planting progress is considerably below average. Toss record high input prices into the mix and we have the recipe for some very stressed farmers. But Kelly Garrett says, don’t sweat it. “It’s still early and conditions aren’t right.” Kelly defies the common recommendation to hold off on soybeans and race to put your corn in the ground. Listen to his reasons why you shouldn’t panic over the weather. Yet! Presented by Advanced Drainage Systems with support from Agricen.