News

What should I write about today? So many different things are in ag and other news. People I network with are discussing so many different things from somatic cell counts in milk to rehashing ethanol as a fuel. Here is a good link on somatic cells, or white blood cell counts in milk.

I only try to write about something I am passionate about and lately I am not passionate about anything but being a good person, helping others, and thinking about my work list before spring planting.

Tomorrow I have an important crop insurance meeting with my young banker and my young agent. I don't know why I did this but trying to decipher from one and explain to the other, I gave up and thought I will just try to get all three heads together at once. I have no idea how it will work out but I will let you know. It can't be any worse than trying to pick a policy the last 8 years, can it?

I am trying to help several part time farmers raise corn by email. Now talk about a challenge, one is retired like me but hasn't raised corn before, the others only know what they have learned since they were little and spend most of their energy on their full time jobs.

At least I got them all soil testing. I had to have a basis to start with. We have addressed CHOPKINSCaFeMg(mightygood)food recipe for corn. That is calcium, mangesium, phosphorous, potassium, sulfur, zinc, boron, copper, manganese. Now, how much nitrogen do we put on and how do we do it?

The easiest way is to put half on with the planter and half side-dressed. This requires tanks on the planter and longer fill-ups some farmers won't put up with. Most small farmers don't have proper side dressing equipment so they hire it done and worry they are getting ripped off or losing nitrogen.

Another way is to put a smaller amount with the planter or before the planter, a third or so with the chemical and a third or so side dressed. Any way can work, some are easier to do and others are more efficent but require more investment.

Two years ago I hired it all put one preplant with anhydrous ammonia and N Serve, a nitrogen stabilizer. That worked very well, let me focus on planting and the tissue test and yield said it was the right thing to do. Last year there was no time to do that so we put a big shot on at planting and tried to get the rest side dressed.

This year my soil nitrate is around 50 ppm so I will put on about a third with the herbicide and dribble the rest on before a rain. 28% UAN was $330 a ton three weeks ago at our lowest bidder it will be $400 a ton a planting.

That's what's in the news at HyMark Consulting LLC today. It looks like rain tomorrow then a chance all week. There is lots to do, so have a good week!

Ed