Topcon Agriculture is one of many new vendors we added to our equipment lineup in 2017. To learn more about TopCon’s various products, we are holding a meeting on Thursday December 21, 2017 at our retail center (350 Oak Crest Hill Road Hills, IA) from 10:30am to 3:30pm. Dr. Antonio Ray Asebedo of Kansas State University will also be presenting on nitrogen management. Check out the full schedule below:
Ryan Hahn and Katie McWhirter were among 25 people across the US recently named Rising Stars by the Agricultural Retailers Association. The Rising Stars Program was established to recognize, reward, and continue to develop high achieving, emerging leaders in the retail ag industry. Companies that belong to the ARA (Agricultural Retailers Association) were able to nominate employees of their organization that exemplify the qualities of a developing leader in the industry.
With all the confusion and concern surrounding Dicamba use and Xtend Beans, we are hosting a seminar in conjunction with Iowa State University Extension to address these matters.
Where: Johnson County Extension Office | 3109 Old Highway 218 South Iowa City
RSVP: 319.337.2145
By: Dillon Blythe, Precision Ag Specialist
We are firm believers in stabilizing nitrogen to maximize its effectiveness. With that said, we are excited to announce our new nitrogen management aid; N-Zone. This product can be used in anhydrous ammonia, UAN, and liquid manure. The N-Zone formulation focuses on using the soil’s cation exchange capacity (CEC) to bond the positive cations of N-Zone GL to the negative anions of soil and nitrogen. When N-Zone’s polymers and calcium bond with nitrogen, microbial activity increases and gives you a 60 to 90-day residual window regardless of application timing. Essentially N-Zone is converting ammonium to yield.
By: Dillon Blythe
Cover crops have been getting a lot of buzz in the agriculture industry for years with both skeptics and faithful believers. In Iowa, there are approximately 12-13 million acres of row crop ground and of that 600,000 acres are seeded to cover crops; about 10% of total row crop acres. This number has been growing every year with more producers integrating this practice for various reasons.
Every operation is different and various cover crops provide many different benefits such as increasing cation exchange capacity levels, reducing runoff, protecting water quality, soil health, grazing for livestock etc.
By: Katie McWhirter, Precision Ag Specialist
According to National Geographic reports, the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxic (low oxygen) Zone (the Dead Zone), will be 8,776 square miles in 2017. That’s about the size of New Jersey, or 1/6th of the state of Iowa and the biggest it’s ever been. Of course, this will not go unnoticed. Although not the only cause, it’s safe to say that the blame will be placed heavily on agriculture.
Driving around the country side this season, it’s very clear that marestail (horseweed) issues in soybeans are abundant. Although waterhemp is still a big problem, there are also a lot of marestail plants. Like waterhemp, fields need to be aggressively managed for marestail.
By: Katie McWhirter, Precision Ag Specialist
I’ve heard plenty of comments in the last week. “The Pro Farmer tour is saying ‘this.’” “This corn LOOKS good, but across the fence, it doesn’t.” “I think that it paid to do XYZ.” “I think we’re going to see some big variances.” It’s time to ready our combines and ourselves for fall harvest. Yes, it’s that time of year where there is nothing more that we can do for the 2017 crop. The flood of remarks on yield projections and observations reminds me that it is also time to start reflecting and planning.
Here is my challenge for you as you’re in the combine watching the data come across the monitor in real-time:
By: Mo Brenneman, Agronomist
Weed control seems to be getting tougher every year. Especially when it comes to waterhemp. With resistant weeds becoming more of a problem, we all need to get ready. It’s only a matter of time before all fields across Iowa have some form of resistant weeds.
From serving our customers, conquering an escape room, and broadening their agricultural experiences, the 2017 Stutsman interns have had a jam packed internship. This summer has gone by just as fast as it came. After 13 weeks with us, our interns are returning to college.
