Phosphorus and calcium typically don’t mix. LiberateCa makes applications worry free, as it can be combined with other products –- even phosphorus. LiberateCa is highly available as it is chelated with our Flavonol Polymer Technology (FPT) to allow unsurpassed applica
tion compatibility and extremely effective plant absorption. FPT expedites the translocation of calcium into and throughout the plant for a quick and robust response – whether it is applied in the soil or in a foliar.
LiberateCa can be used on a variety of crops in a variety of timings. It is well-suited to use in-furrow as part of a row starter package for corn, or other row crops, to promote firmness of fruit in horticultural applications, and to decrease the potential for blossom end rot in tomato production.
Only mix the amount you need in a single application as the effects of chelation may dissipate resulting in the development of sediment after being mixed for several days with other products.
LiberateCa Benefits
Corrects or prevents calcium deficiency, stunted growth, and reduced yields
Promotes strong plant cell growth
Improves resistance to stress, drought and disease
Balances soil salinity
Improves water penetration through soil
Easy to apply at planting or throughout the growing season
Plants require 17 essential elements for maximum growth and production. Eight of these elements are micronutrients, while they are required in smaller amounts than macro and secondary nutrients they are still essential for plant growth. Five of the eight essential micronutrients can be found in Micro 500 – boron, copper, iron, manganese and zinc.
Micro 500 is a precision balanced combination of five essential micronutrients: boron, copper, iron, manganese and zinc. Micro 500 utilizes AgroLiquid’s Flavonol Polymer Technology and provides the benefit of synergized nutrients. Micro 500 should be considered when a specific micronutrient deficiency has not been established.
Micronutrient deficiencies are being seen in soil increasingly. Why is that?
Increased yields due to various technologies means higher removal of micronutrients from the soil.
Some micronutrients are no longer contained in high analysis fertilizers and fertilizer materials.
Any type of land preparation which results in the removal of several inches of topsoil can result in a deficiency of certain micronutrients on the cut areas.
High phosphorus levels can induce micronutrient deficiencies.
The chart below shows research from the North Central Research Station. They did a comparison of micronutrients and the additional one and two quarts of Micro 500 gave an additional net return and yielded higher than the baseline and no micronutrients.
In agriculture, we are used to dealing with uncertainty. Weather, markets, the level of uncertainty that exists in our geography, all are factors in making crop input decisions. Trade wars and tariffs, along with Market Facilitation Programs (MFPs), have been harder to predict and factor into decisions and has caused some frustration. But we’ve persevered.
Agriculture Presses On
While much of the country, and world for that matter, ground to a halt as a result of COVID 19, agriculture presses on. Farmers continue to quarantine themselves in their tractors and isolate themselves in fields. The one thing to remember is that COVID 19 is not transmitted through the phone while sound advice can be. Technology provides us a mode of communication that delivers access to resources of expertise and inputs.
The Weight of Uncertainty
With all of the financial news being reported, a great deal of uncertainty exists. This can cause farmers to go in to survival mode and want to scale back input costs to a minimum. Emotionally charged decisions may override rational business decisions. AgroLiquid has personnel that ranks at the top of the industry when it comes to making recommendations and matching fertilizer needs to expectations and economic conditions. While there won’t be room for frivolous spending, a nitrogen only program—which I would consider a survival decision—won’t be the answer either. AgroLiquid aims to add value through guidance from trusted advisors. Someone who is a step removed from the weight of uncertainty can provide insights to help fight off the risk-averse tendencies that creep in with unanticipated risk. The AgroLiquid team can help in a couple of ways: 1) we have a culture of constant improvement to elevate our skills for times like this and 2) we want the farmer to be able to emerge from the uncertainty as an entity that will be on-going… surviving and producing profits for years to come.
As a result, it is in our best interest to make fertilizer recommendations that are in the grower’s best interest. We are used to balancing the expense of crop nutrition with expected revenue, which accounts for current risk.
Evaluating Risk
In times like this, normal risk-takers can turn very conservative. And it is a sound practice to evaluate levels of risk. But as unexpected as this virus and all of the negativity has been, there are often surprise glimmers of opportunity. I’m sure the toilet paper industry never forecasted the demand they are experiencing! Many businesses have been affected. Virtually every aspect of the economy that generates tax revenue for local governments are going to take a serious hit. We’ve seen the Fed set a target Fed Funds rate of 0% in order to make risk-taking less costly. The potential exists for us to see significant spend packages to jump start the economy once the impact of the virus has subsided. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some quantitative easing as we did after the housing bubble burst, which is just the Fed buying back longer term securities to hold on their balance sheet and replaces those securities with cash in the economy to be spent. These actions could devalue the dollar, which then can prop up commodity prices and make our agricultural products more affordable for countries like China. If indeed we see a bump in prices, it will likely be delayed; in other words we’ll have to wait and deal with added uncertainty in the interim. But if a producer faced with difficult decisions cuts too many corners, and then commodities rally to better levels, there won’t be the optimum production to capitalize on the opportunity.
The Path Forward
You’ve heard it before, but we are in unprecedented territory. While quantitative easing could help lower the value of the dollar, currency is still comparative. This means if other currencies don’t come up compared to the USD, then there won’t be much of a benefit. Also, demand will matter and it is difficult (impossible) to know what the consequences of most of the world hiding in their houses will do to demand for commodity products, even once recovery starts. A case can be made for a rally at some point in the future, but it’s hard to predict to what levels we could expect if it does. However, a scenario does exist that a rally could occur that is hard to imagine today. Rational thinking that can weigh the potential for an upside can be an offsetting entry for the brain to balance the thoughts that it will be a long free fall; it might not be.
Your AgroLiquid Team
Agriculture is generally counter-cyclical to the rest of the economy. Agriculture often benefits from the government spending our way out of a recession. So, as you manage through this season, make sure that the irrational behavior that is occurring around you doesn’t lead to a bunch of ill-advised decisions. More surprises may be lurking, but we will emerge. Outside guidance on crop nutrition from the AgroLiquid team can help buffer emotions as the growing season is thrust upon us. AgroLiquid can add value that extends beyond the nutrients we manufacture. Incorporate outside opinions from a variety of experts to make rational, business decisions in an environment that is loaded with emotion.
Pro-Germinator is our premier phosphorus fertilizer. Partnered with nitrogen, potassium, and micronutrients for maximum performance.
Pro-Germinator uses a combination of phosphate, nitrogen, potash and iron along with quick-release and slow-release phosphates that are protected by our Flavonol Polymer Technology. This combination allows for exceptional growth early on and helps plants during critical growth periods.
Product Benefits
Stimulates early growth
Provides steady source of essential nutrients
Reduced risk of leaf burn
Reduced risk of soil salinization and nutrient toxicity
Flexible application methods to reduce manpower required
Can be applied with other nutrients, pesticides, or fungicides
So at the NCRS we have been fortunate to have had some great interns over the years who provided valuable assistance to the research operations. (And we still do today.) But who could forget 2011 when we had these two outstanding Spartans working on the farm. That’s Amanda and Jeff on June 27, 2011 in between tasks.
And here they are almost exactly seven years later at the same NCRS, again in between tasks. Only they are no longer interns, but Ag Professionals. Amanda is now an agronomist with Mycogen Seed and of course, Jeff is a Research Specialist here at the NCRS. And Jeff is still taller.
We have some Mycogen corn planted as part of the AgroExpo seed plots, and she and her district sales manager came by for a look the other day. So of course I had to arrange for a trip down memory lane. I am proud of them for their advancement into the professional world of food production, and am certain that some of what they learned as interns stayed with them. I haven’t seen Amanda in several years and am glad that she is doing well. And of course I am also glad we were able to get Jeff back to the NCRS several years ago. Now get back to work!
So it has finally happened. I have never been on the Facebook, being solely devoted to the Land of Liquid Blog. But some of our crack Marketing staff thought I should branch out as the Facebook reaches far more people. What? Well I finally relented and gave it a try, going kicking and screaming into the twentieth century. It started last week and I am still getting the hang of it. But I can post short videos, pictures and comments of what is happening at that time in research. Check it out and tell your friends. Here is a snapshot of the Homepage with the name on it. I didn’t choose it, but it’s growing on me. (Like a rash).
That picture? It’s me spraying quackgrass (Agropyron repens) at the NCRS in the spring of 1994.
The videos are fun, and short. That’s my favorite part so far.
Now Stephanie also posts on the NCRS Facebook. We’re not in competition (I hope.) Just a different slant, and this one will follow me around the country when I do actually go someplace.
Last week one of the potato experiments was planted. Potato plots are quite a bit shorter than the corn and soybean plots which can be several hundred feet long. But they are no less accurate due to the TLC that Dr. Zouheir provides. He likes to plant by hand in uniform spacing achieved with a rope with tape on it. Seed pieces are sorted for uniformity. Previously he has achieved 100% uniform emergence, so who can argue with that? To do this a trench is made with the planter. Seed pieces are placed, and then I use the backpack sprayer to put a band of the appropriate fertilizer several inches over from the potato and on both sides. Then they are covered up and then we stand back to wait for emergence.
In the picture Zouheir and Alex set the rope for the next plot while Jenna and Cami lug the potatoes ahead for planting. Quinten works ahead to make the trenches. What’s the test about? Well it’s a second year of PrimAgro P and K compared to Pro-Germinator and Kalibrate, C-Tech timing and also a new foliar P product will be tested. Can’t wait to see how this ends!
So Tuesday was busy as usual. Only we had some extra help from our summer interns on their first day at the NCRS. They are all from MSU and more information to follow. But so far they are a great bunch. And as usual, they were put right to work. In the last post I showed our dry fertilizer spreader. Well here is intern Alex applying some potash on some plots on Farm 7. It does a great job of uniform application as the inset pics show. (This picture is also for those uninformed people who question our research intent and integrity with conventional products in our plots. Our goal is to prove performance through accurate testing of AgroLiquid against standards. It does no good to cheat. So there!) And don’t worry, intern Jake will be prominently featured later.
Also on the farm was planting corn seed plots for the AgroExpo. One of the pains of this operation in the past was vacuuming out the planter boxes with a shop vac and then dumping the seeds back into the seed bags. Well after some inspiration from the Pioneer folks that planted some silage plots last year, Tim and Ron conspired to make our own quick and easy system. And of course it changed our lives. Now with powerful suction the seed goes into that shop vac cone base…..
…and pull out the bottom door and it falls into the bag. Then load the seed for the next plot. Interns Cami and Jenna don’t know how easy they have it compared to the old days. But that’s progress.
And off goes Tim on the next plot. Make sure you come to the AgroExpo on August 14 and 15 to see this and so much more.
And of course it will change your life. (For the better that is.)
So sorry for the lapse in regular blog posts….but I’ve been busy. Now who is in the mood for one last blast from my visit to CA earlier this month? Good. We visited a different kind of field this day. Below we see Chris, Dylan and Keston from Retail Partner LA Hearne in a field of celery near Watsonville. What’s different? Well it’s Organic celery. It seems that there are a fair amount of acres of organic vegetable production in this area.
LA Hearne not only sells organic fertilizer, but also is in the custom application business. In this case it is 1200 lb/A of chicken litter pellets. You can see the application bands that are partly uncovered in the middle and also on the right where the side of the bed has fallen away. Now that is a lot of material, but it seems to work.
You’ve heard that “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” AgroLiquid does have one OMRI listed product in C-Tech. But Chris assures us that organic products that have nutrients in addition to microbes are not too far off. In fact we are testing organic P and K experimental products at the NCRS this year. So AgroLiquid should have an organic product line someday. We will see if the sun is blotted out from the sky as I never would have thought that would happen. But Chris has told me that It’s the best Jerry! The best! Indeed.
In addition to plot and field visitation, Chris and I were also in CA as speakers at a CCA Seminar in Exeter, near Visalia. There were a variety of speakers providing information on different production ag topics for continuing education credits for Certified Crop Advisers. Below we see Chris speaking about how crop nutrition can help ward off insect pests. Did you know that? I lead off the session with a riveting rendition of Improving Soil Vitality and the effects on crop nutrition. Now I had titled my presentation to be about Soil Health, which is all the rage these days.But it seems that you can’t say Soil Health in California as that is not an acceptable term there. Kind of like the name Pro-Germinator. So fortunately I had some time to make the change on my title slide, as I did not want to be in violation of pc statutes. They are rough there in California.
But it was a good presentation. In fact they told me: It’s the best, Jerry! The best!
Did you know Ag PhD regularly features AgroLiquid experts on their daily radio program? Ag PhD Radio is on Rural Radio Sirius XM channel 147 every weekday at 3 pm Eastern, 2 pm Central. You can also access previous shows at http://www.agphd.com/ag-phd-radio-on-siriusxm-player/.
Scheduled:
March 1 – Brady Boyd – Wheat Fertility and Application
March 14 – Aarron Stahl – N Stabilizers
March 15 –Jerry Wilhm – What to Put In-Furrow on Corn
March 21 – Tim Duckert – Calcium
March 28 – Stephanie Zelinko – Sunflower Production
So that is quite a line-up. Hope you can tune in. I haven’t decided exactly what to talk about regarding What to Put In-Furrow on Corn. Right now leaning towards fertilizer. Make that: AgroLiquid Fertilizer.
