FALL MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO MAXIMIZE RESOURCES

Achieving cost-effective efficiencies from planting through harvest with your farm machinery is the driving force behind the resources at the Agtegra Innovation Center. Right now the team is in overdrive with fall management strategies that can make a dollars and cents difference at harvest, and as you prepare for next spring’s crop.
 
With corn harvest just weeks away, the focus is on a row crop that was late planted across much of the Agtegra countryside. Getting more corn in the bin is not just about selecting the right genetics. “We don’t like seeing any yield escape from our customers, especially from header loss,” says Precision Ag Specialist Joe Airheart. “Adding the 360 Yield Saver® to the corn heads is a pretty good way of putting more grain in the tank where it belongs.”
 
The specialized gathering chain of the 360 Yield Saver consists of crop lugs and replaceable brush blocks. These provide for more kernel capture by cushioning the cobs to reduce shatter and then directing more kernels into the tank with their bristle action. “This is a pretty effective way to combine additional ROI from your corn crop,” says Airheart. “By reducing stray field kernels, there is also less volunteer corn to deal with next growing season.”
 
Residue management is also part of the fall management conversation. Airheart says it’s one of those strategies that provides a domino effect of efficiencies. “If we can break down the cornstalks more effectively and rapidly, that gets the microbial action working better,” he says. “That can then boost nutrient availability as the crop begins growing.”  
 
Products like the 360 Chainroll provide precision residue management with seven-inch stalk segments that speed residue breakdown. Airheart says the product perforates the stalk pith and then chops them into more manageable chunks. “It’s better for your seedbed in the spring and it helps build better soil,” he says.
 
On the soybean side of residue management, Airheart stresses the importance of having the combine set properly, so residue is spread evenly and not mounded across the field. Fall is also a good time for evaluating technologies for the coming year. “We have the capabilities to retrofit about any type of machine to variable rate fertilize,” says Airheart.
 
Finally, yield monitors are crucial to operations, all season long. The Innovation Center is a full-service resource for Precision Planting® and Ag Leader® yield monitors. “We are pretty passionate about making sure yield monitors are set and calibrated properly,” says Airheart. “It’s your report card for past decisions and the guidance for any changes you want to make for next year.”
 
These options and so many more technology resources, says Airheart, are available from Innovation Center locations at Bath, Bowdle and Wolsey.