Get a Bird’s-Eye View with Climate FieldView App
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You can’t solve a problem you can’t see, but with Climate FieldView™ “you can see your fields like never before and solve problems before they occur,” said Robby Reinking, Federated agronomy and petroleum sales rep at the Albertville location.
Climate Fieldview uses satellite imagery to take pictures of fields every time the satellite passes overhead, providing 2-3 or more images each week – delivered seamlessly to a grower’s smartphone, tablet, or computer via the Climate app (see photo above).
With a bird’s-eye view of every field, a grower “can see images of their crops better than before,” said Reinking.
With Climate, growers can monitor plant health and heavy weed pressure – and more. This app offers growers the ability to:
- prioritize field scouting;
- identify disease, insect, or fertility issues early;
- gain clear real-world insights into what’s going on in any field.
“Through satellite imagery a grower is able to identify areas of concern . . . [which] allows the grower to be efficient in scouting their fields and . . . treat the area to keep their yield,” said Reinking
Additionally, Climate provides information useful for nitrogen management and seed scripting. It also offers current weather updates, and gives Federated Agronomists added tools for analysis of test trials.
Talk to your
Federated Agronomist for more info, and visit the Climate website to read about the app.
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Topdress for Top Quality Alfalfa
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In today’s markets, no one can afford to discount a high-value crop like alfalfa, and that’s even more true for
quality alfalfa.
“Your fields need to have high soil test results to produce a high-quality crop,” said Craig Loen, Federated agronomist at the Osceola location.
Top dressing after first crop and then again in the fall will help replenish the large quantities of nutrients alfalfa removes from the soil, especially N, P, K, S, and Ca.
Loen offered this example: “A yearly crop yield of 6 tons/ac. of high quality alfalfa, will need 500 lbs./ac. of potash [applied], preferably in a split application.” He offered these notes on specific nutrients:
- Blendable gypsoil is an excellent calcium (21%) and sulfur (17%) source for high-yielding alfalfa fields. Blendable gypsoil (see fact sheet) is pH neutral, “perfect for alfalfa; it loves neutral soils,” said Loen.
- Boron helps the alfalfa plants in the reproductive stages, so it is best applied in the early season application at a rate of 5-7 lb./ac.
- A foliar application of micro-nutrients can further boost alfalfa’s value. Versa Max ACU (see fact sheet) is a good option, Loen recommended.
In addition to nutrient applications, Loen said, “alfalfa can benefit from fungicide applications after each harvest, after some regrowth has occurred . . . to keep the alfalfa plants healthy and increase the value (quality) of the crop.”
For livestock producers, Loen said, “Remember you need to feed your alfalfa crop in order to produce a high-quality product for your livestock to reach their full potential.”
Protect the value of your crops with good nutrients and contact your
Federated Agronomist with questions.
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Adding Adjuvants to Multiply Effectiveness
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Array: On Target
Hard water diminishes the effectiveness of crop protection products, and thus, many of the chemistries use AMS to help soften the water. “One of Federated’s go-to products for spray grade AMS is Array,®” said Jake Hansen, Federated agronomist at the Rush City location.
Array is a proprietary blend of AMS and polymers that helps treat hard water and prevent “antagonism” with the chemistry, Hansen pointed out. The result is better performance as the polymer helps with spray deposition and droplet retention on the leaf, and it also slows the drying process – “which allows for more time for chemical uptake into your targeted weeds,” said Hansen. The end result is better return on the investment in crop protection chemicals.
Plexus: Cool the Burn
“Another product that does wonders for chemical applications in soybeans is Plexus,®” said Hansen. In post-merge applications, the most common mode of action (MOA) is Group 14 PPO inhibitors, also known as “the burners,” said Hansen.
Because of their tendency to “burn” the crop, most PPOs (for example, Flexstar® GT 3.5, Ultra Blazer®, and Cobra®) require a crop oil concentrate (COC) or methylated seed oil (MSO). Plexus is Federated’s recommended MSO because it allows the herbicide chemistry to get maximum coverage into the canopy and helps improve plant uptake.
“The most noticeable advantage from using Plexus with your in-crop PPO applications on soybeans is that it reduces the time it takes for the soybean crop to ‘recover’ from being ‘burned,’, but still gives you the same or better efficacy as using a straight COC or MSO product,” said Hansen.
“Help reduce the wear and tear from using a ‘burner’ on your beans, and still knock out those annoying weeds,” said Hansen. Contact your
Federated Agronomist
to get started with Plexus.
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Minimizing N Loss to Maximize Yield
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Maximizing corn yields can be a matter of minimizing the loss of nitrogen (N) due to volitalization. What’s lost into the air can’t be used by the crop.
Factor®, a urease inhibitor, protects the N in applications of urea or UAN. Federated offers urea impregnated with Factor to keep more N available to the corn crop.
Thanks to the late spring, the possibility for N loss due to volatility has increased; soil temperatures above 50 degrees also provide favorable conditions for N loss.
Factor is an environmentally sound option to help protect side-dress applications of UAN or urea against volatility for up to 14 days. (
Fact sheets offer additional info.)
Russ Overaas of Rosen’s said, “Keep your nitrogen fertilizer crop-available and reduce losses from surface volatility” with Factor added to your N application plans. Talk to your
Federated Agronomist about Factor before scheduling your side-dress applications.
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