Pine Island Farmer's Elevator Company

Agronomy Department:

Now is the time to check for early season grasses and weeds in your corn and soybean fields. By identifying the grasses and weeds you can determine if they will present a potential yield reduction. In most circumstances, the earlier a weed is sprayed, the better the results. University tests have shown that 1-inch grass can reduce soybean yields up to 13 %.

First crop alfalfa cutting time is almost here. Have you had your hay ground soil tested lately ? With today's hybrid alfalfa varieties, tonnage has greatly increased, resulting in large uptake of phosphate and potash. Don't let soil fertility be a limiting factor on your alfalfa yields. We can sample right after cutting and get the results in a few days. One of the most important items on the sample results in the Ph level. Low soil Ph severely affects hay yields. If you would like us to test your fields, just give Jeff or Rod a call.

1999 is the year to consider trying some Global Positioning Technology (GPT) on your farm. The GPT mapping provides the results from the grid sampling to enable our customers to determine the fertilizer needs for the different areas of the field. The recommended steps to this procudure are:

Determine which of your fields show the most variance of soil type, fertility levels, past yeild results, and yield potential.
Start with basic sampling using the grid system to get soil data for each specific area. Soil tests are requred only every three to four years.
Variable-rate spread any fields which would benefit from doing so. Lime potash, and phosphorus are the key products to get in line first.

Note: With the global positioning we have done in our area, we have seen that fields need the same average that a general soil sample would require, but the placement will be different throughout the field. Some areas will require a lot of inputs and some areas will require nothing at all. Teaming this data up with any yield monitor information can help make decisions on crop inputs easier, more accurate, and more economical. There are several options for our customers in regard to GPT.

Option 1: Standard Soil Test with mapping ... $7.10 / acre

Option 2: Standard Soil Test with the choice of Testing of three micro-nutrients with mapping (Boron, Copper, Iron, Manganese, Sulfur, Zinc ) ... $9.50 / acre

Option 3: Standard Soil Test with testing of all Six micro-nutrients listed above with mapping ... $11.50 / acre

Record Keeping ... $1.00 / acre / year

Variable Rate Application over standard costs ... $2.00 - $4.00 / acre

If interested in more information, please see Jeff or Rod for details.

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