Agronomy

Meet Adam Guy, the newest member of our agronomy team. Adam is a familiar face at Stutsmans from his time as a crop scout intern. Adam grew up in Brighton, Iowa on his family’s 1,400-acre row crop farm and was active in 4-H and FFA throughout his youth. It was through FFA competitions that Adam gained an interest in the agronomy field.

The biostimulant market is crowded and growing rapidly. I understand that the biostimulant market must look a little like the Wild West to growers who are wondering if any of these new products can improve their farm’s bottom line. I know that I am confused. Which products should our team represent? How do they work? When do they work? What problem is that specific product able to solve?

Even though he didn’t grow up on a farm, it didn’t take long for Sam Roth to find his way to the agricultural industry – whether that was being an extra set of hands for friends’ families who had cattle, row crops or hay. He also dabbled a little with helping load out turkeys. Sam’s interest in agriculture led him from his hometown of Packwood, IA to Hawkeye Community College for a degree in ag business then to Iowa State University for a degree in ag studies with a minor in Agronomy. After gaining internship and farm experience, Sam joined the agronomy team in July 2022 as a developmental sales agronomist.

By: Tyson Miller | ProVantage Advisor

Farming and crop production have always been a balancing act with Mother Nature, and this year was certainly no exception. The dry conditions experienced at the end of the 2022 growing season carried over into the start of 2023. These conditions were compounded by excessive cool temperatures in the last two weeks of April. As the crop emerged and began to develop into the vegetative stage, some drought-induced deficiencies symptoms appeared — phosphorus and potassium notably. This was not a rare sighting for some of the historically lower performing parts of a field, but it was abnormal for these deficiencies to also show up in higher-yielding and well-fertilized areas, in both corn and soybeans.

Seed placement can be a challenging task for anyone to accomplish. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be a daunting task if we have yield goals, field history and yield potential in mind. There are numerous ways to place hybrids, but I like to break a field down into three categories when determining hybrid placement. This method helps simplify the seed placement process.

By: Justin Hunter | Agronomy Sales

Many have heard agricultural companies promoting their products as “increasing yield” or “adding bushels.” This common advertising tactic captures the attention of the farmer and creates an interesting conversation piece, but in reality, input decisions farmers make can only protect yield – not increase it. It is easy to get caught up in the hot topics of biologicals and foliar nutritionals, but if other, more fundamental factors like soil fertility aren’t prioritized then additional crop inputs may not provide a return on investment.

If you frequent any ag forum, chances are you will see discussion on cover crops with opinions ranging from growers who have had success to growers who have given up on them. Cover crops do have the potential to increase organic matter, provide weed control, reduce compaction and erosion, and produce feed for livestock. However, they also come with some potential downfalls and their own set of challenges. Whether you’re on the cover crop train or not is entirely up to you, but if you’re even just a little bit curious, here are a few things to consider for fall cover crop seeding in Iowa and across the Midwest.