By Brian Hefty
A few years ago I met a farmer named Kip Cullers. You may have heard of him, as he is producing more soybeans per acre than any other farmer in the U.S. today, despite the fact that he farms thousands of acres and raises several other crops. When I first met Kip the thing I came away with from our conversation was that there was no silver bullet to raising high yields. It just took A LOT of effort. Kip was talking about how he got up most mornings at 4 a.m.; how he was studying crop production and talking to researchers all over the country all the time; and how he was running lots of experiments in his fields. He was putting in a tremendous amount of hours to make his crops better. My summary: he was beating me in yield because he was simply outworking me!
It’s the same story with Francis Childs who raised 400+ bushel corn quite a few years ago before he passed away or Herman Warsaw who raised 300+ bushel corn in the early 1970s. These farmers had the ultimate focus on producing better crops profitably, and they did it.
Here’s my point. If you want higher yields, you may have to think outside the box just a little bit, and you’ll definitely want to learn more about crop production. While my brother Darren and I are certainly not the most knowledgeable agronomy guys in the world, we will do everything we can to help you reach your yield goals, just as we are trying to reach ours. What we have always tried to do is learn as much as we can about the complicated world of agronomy and then put that information in a form you can use.
At this year’s free Ag PhD Winter Workshops, we have put together our best agronomy book yet (155 pages) just for you, and we’ll talk through many of the toughest crop issues you will face on your farm in 2013.
Each workshop will be a little different, depending on the local area and the questions we receive that day, but here is a list of some of the topics we plan to cover:
- Weed resistance
- Rootworm resistance
- Spider mites, insects, and other crop pests, along with how to stop them
- Drought-proofing your crop
- Fertility – nutrient stratification, carbon to sulfur ratio, how to pick the right fertility program to maximize yield & profit, creating your own variable rate fertilizer maps, how to read a soil test, new nutrient removal charts and how Monsanto’s new IFS program will affect your fertility plan
- Tank cleanout
- Crop diseases and what you can do about them, especially new ones like soybean vein necrosis
- Pesticide & biotech safety
- Suggested corn, soybean, wheat, sunflower, cotton, rice, lentil, field pea, canola, and pasture pest control programs for 2013
- On-farm trials & field tests throughout the region
- Return on Investment with various crop inputs
- Corn & soybean growth and development – in North Dakota only
- New pesticides & seed traits for 2013 and beyond
- Estate planning – at Scottsdale only
- How agriculture is under attack, and what you can do to help
- iPhone & iPad apps you need
The reason we do these workshops is to say thanks for watching Ag PhD TV. We feel truly blessed to have done the show for almost 15 years now, and we really appreciate your support. At our workshops, you get the chance to ask questions, visit with other top farmers from around your region, get a great meal, and go home with a free agronomy book. Darren and I both want to do everything we can to help you raise better and more profitable crops, which in turn helps rural America.
February 2013 WINTER WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
Click each location below for more information and directions.
Monday, February 11 – Alexandria, MN – Broadway Ballroom (11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
Tuesday, February 12 – Grand Forks, ND – Alerus Center (9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.)
Friday, February 15 – Scottsdale, AZ – Hilton Scottsdale Resort & Villas (9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.)
Thursday, February 21 – Fort Ransom, ND – Titan Learning Center (10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)
Thursday, February 21 – Fort Yates, ND – Prairie Knights Casino & Resort (10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)
Monday, February 25 – Havre, MT – Town House Inn (9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.)
Tuesday, February 26 – Great Falls, MT – Best Western Heritage Inn (8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.)
Tuesday, February 26 – New Town, ND – 4 Bears Casino (1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
Wednesday, February 27 – Bottineau, ND – Twin Oaks Resort (9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.)
Click Here to Register for an Ag PhD Winter Workshop!