On a field tour, Precision Planting agronomist Jason Webster highlights techniques used to get the highest corn and soybean yields at the Precision Technology Institute in Pontiac, Illinois.

A look inside the new soil-sampling system unveiled at the field day. 

PONTIAC Ill. — This is a key time of year when farmers visit research centers to glean new ideas or reinforcements for what they are doing.

More than 100 farmers a day are visiting test plots at Precision Technology Institute in Illinois this time of year. Row width, fertilizer studies and strip cropping were some of the most popular field plot stops on an Aug. 2 tour for crop consultants.

Darin Kennelly, an independent crop consultant attending from western Illinois, said he was most interested in fertilizer studies. With the high cost of fertilizer today, the farmers he’s working with want the most bushels per acre for the dollars they spent on fertilizer, he said.

“We’ve worked on fertilizer recommendations for a lot of years, managing fields appropriately, and now we look at what does it mean with fertilizer prices doubled or sometimes more. Can we back off in some of those areas and reduce (fertilizer), or do we need to keep doing what we are doing not to lose bushels?” said the Yates City consultant.

For many farmers, the answer is to determine a certain amount to spend on fertilizer and decide how they can use those dollars most efficiently, Kennelly said.

He was especially interested in looking at the test plots in Pontiac comparing banding to broadcast fertilizer application. In his own trials in western Illinois, he saw significant yield advantages with banded applications.

Precision Planting commercial agronomist Jason Webster said in a 10-year study, banded was the most effective.

“The biggest take-away to growers is to go away from broadcast and go to placement fertilizer,” Webster said when summing up the studies.

Also, for the highest yields, “one and done” doesn’t work.

“You have to spoon feed a little all through the season,” he said. “We don’t want our corn to have a bad day.”

In an effort to help farmers make good decisions about nutrient management, Precision Planting announced a new approach to soil sampling and processing at the field day.

Dale Koch, Precision Planting product manager, said it took six years to develop the Radicle Agronomics system which includes collecting soil samples and processing them so professional agronomists can more accurately analyze the information for farmers.

It was designed to make it easy for the operator, on a utility vehicle in a given field, to collect samples in geo-referenced reusable containers. The system is designed to take away human error in soil sampling and the burden of labeling and bagging.

The specialized reusable soil canisters will be returned to a Radicle Lab at a regional business where they are loaded in the system and analyzed for soil nutrients. The cloud-based software package connects all the steps so agronomists can deliver the nutrient management information to clients using their tablet or other electronic device from wherever they are.

The technology is expected to be available more widely next year.

Back in the field, Webster drew attention to high-yield plots. He uses an on-site retention pond for irrigation and fertigation system drip tape to eliminate a shortage of rain as a yield-reducing factor.

Three years ago, a farmer requested test plots on strip cropping where corn and soybeans are planted in alternating blocks in the same field. The concept is corn will get more sunlight when growing next to a shorter crop, and thus higher yields.

The first year, Webster said he planted too large of blocks because he wanted to work with the equipment he had. Iowa farmers seeing his experiment scolded him for letting equipment dictate his efforts. So following their advice, he worked with smaller blocks. The corn got more sunlight and yields went up.

“Of all the things we did on this farm in 2021, strip cropping came in second in return on investment with an increase of $166 per acre,” he said.

The next step is to learn how to manage strip cropping on a working farm. Weed control, planting and harvest equipment must be figured out, and what the cost would be to change the management system, he said.

An Iowa farmer already uses the practice on 2,000 acres, he said.

Webster was impressed with the high yield he got in a soybean plot using a full package of treatments and practices.

“Last year we got 110 bu./acre yield here,” he said. “Call me greedy. I did it last year. I want to do it again.”

The difference seemed to be the number of four-bean pods in the field.

“I had 12 four-bean pods on a given plant,” the agronomist said.

The problem was the beans were very tall. This year he choose a shorter variety and is hoping to see similar results.

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Phyllis Coulter is Northern Illinois field editor, writing for Illinois Farmer Today, Iowa Farmer Today and Missouri Farmer Today.

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On a field tour, Precision Planting agronomist Jason Webster highlights techniques used to get the highest corn and soybean yields at the Precision Technology Institute in Pontiac, Illinois.

A look inside the new soil-sampling system unveiled at the field day. 

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