By Brian Hefty

If you farm 1000 acres or more, over the next 20 years you will likely invest $5 million to $10 million in fertilizer!!  Think about it for a minute.  If you intend to double your yield in 20 years, that means you will also double your fertilizer use.

So here’s the question:  If you are going to invest $5 million or more in anything, shouldn’t you know a lot about it?  I know, you probably say, “My fertilizer guy takes care of that for me.”  I realize you may like your fertilizer guy.  You may even trust him or her, but are you seriously going to just give that person millions of dollars and know nothing about whether or not those millions of dollars are used correctly?  Sounds crazy to me.  Think about it this way – Before you buy a pickup or a tractor or a combine, don’t you learn something about those things so you can make the best investment for your operation?  Of course you do.  If you’ll do that for things you’ll spend thousands of dollars on, why won’t you do that for something you’ll spend millions of dollars on?

My guess is this:  You think it’s too complicated.  Well, you are in luck because this winter Darren and I are hosting two free Soils Clinics.  Even if you know nothing about fertilizer, soils or soil tests, by the time you leave our clinics you will know how to read a soil test and how to make your own fertilizer recommendations.  If you still want to use your same local agronomist, that’s fine; but now you will know what questions to ask, and you’ll find out if that person actually knows what he or she is doing.

Here is what we intend to cover at our Soils Clinics:

  • How to read a soil test from start to finish.
  • How to make your own fertilizer recommendations.
  • Which fertilizers commonly get oversold and which fertilizer products you most commonly need but don’t get.
  • How to make your own variable rate fertilizer maps in less than 10 minutes.
  • During each Soils Clinic, we will also take up to 10 soil tests from farmers in the audience and talk through them with the group.  If you want us to go through one of your soil tests, here’s what you need to do: take grid or zone samples in one field, have those samples tested at Midwest Labs in Omaha (if everyone uses the same lab it will be easier for us to compare samples from one farmer to the next), and e-mail your sample results no later than Feb. 10 to me at brian@agphd.com. Your name will be kept anonymous if you want, so don’t be afraid to send me samples that look good or bad.
  • We will have approximately 20 agronomists at each Soils Clinic who can go through your soil tests with you either at our lunch break or after the clinic if you want to make sure you are on the right track when it comes to reading your own info.
  • By the time you leave this clinic, you should have all the information you need so you can reduce your “costs” on fertilizer and make better fertilizer “investments” going forward.  If you are a crop farmer looking to improve yield and profit, whether you already know a lot or a little about soil fertility and soil tests, you won’t want to miss this free clinic!

Friday, February 21, 2014 – Larchwood, IA – Grand Falls (9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.)
Monday, February 24, 2014 – Fargo, ND – Holiday Inn (10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.)

Click Here to Register for a Soils Clinic!


Immediately after each Soils Clinic, Darren and I will be broadcasting a live Ag PhD Radio Show from 2 pm to 3 pm.  During that time, we will be answering your questions and talking more about soil fertility.