Cost vs Returns
Jan 17, 2022
In the past few months, I have heard more times than I care to mention something about the cost of inputs for the 2022 crop year. We must look beyond the costs, as they are not going down anytime soon, with our nations supply issues on every product that we use in everyday life. As we are looking at products for 2022, we need to look at what value that product will bring to your operation, and what may be lost in returns if that product is cut trying to decrease expenses this growing season. Very little has changed in the overall makeup of corn and soybean production, and we must do anything that we can to keep that competitive edge on our neighbors. Some things to focus on while procuring 2022 inputs for your acres:
- We must start with a seed that will produce top end yields taking advantage of any growing conditions that we may experience in 2022. This seed should also contain traits to help as needed to optimize yields. IE. Insects, weed, fungal, and rainfall.
- We must apply adequate fertilizer with proper placement on your farm to optimize crop growth and development, cheating on rates below that of optimum production only cheats yourself on yield potential. This includes N, P, K, and micronutrients needed to optimize yields. VRT application also allows fertilizer to be applied where needed on your farm to add value to your operation. We have many new and exciting options to VRT fertilizer at SFG using yield potential, CSR, soil types, and soil test information, combing this information gives us the capability to spread fertilizer more accurately than ever, to optimize returns across your acres.
- We must keep our fields clean to prevent weeds from robbing yield from our crops, and keep the weed bank under control for future years. One pass programs have failed many times in the past, so there is no reason to think that anything other than a 2 pass program with multiple modes of action will control weed pressure this year. The weeds don’t care if chemicals are hard to find or that pricing has increased.
- We must protect our crops against disease and insects as needed, by means of fungicide, insecticide, seed treatment, and other forms of protection.