Healthy Yields begin with a Healthy Start

Website Editor • August 15, 2016

2016 has been another year of mixed bags of circumstances.  The environment has been extreme from persistent drought conditions and excessive moisture and everything in between.  There are many areas, such as SC, that expect record corn yields.  What has remained constant are the success stories coming from producers who have expressed being thankful that they have either been long time users of premium starter seed applied fertilizers or first time users. Regardless of what you hear or read about starter seed applied fertilizer, when the right product is applied at the right rate, at the right time, and put in the right place…NACHURS seed applied fertilizer works as advertised.  If your planter is not set up for seed applied distribution of starter fertilizer, this fall/winter is the perfect time to do so.  It is not terribly expensive and will easily pay for itself the first season. There are a host of options available depending on your planter, your preferences, and your budget but the most flexibility, accuracy, and distribution comes from hydraulic or electric pumps.  There are, however, many producers still using the easy and dependable ground driven pump.  Whichever route you choose, be sure to have enough pump to maintain at least 25# of pressure.  Other distribution options include using a Keeton seed firmer, Schaffert Rebounder, or Totally Tubular (mainly for use in corn only) to distribute fertilizer into the seed furrow.  If you are planning to use starter fertilizer on oil seed crops such as soybean or cotton, it is best to install a “Y” splitter on the seed firmer. A quality, high orthophosphate, starter fertilizer placed directly onto the seed at planting ensures the germinating seed will have access to vital and immediate availability to plant nutrients as the young seedling establishes its root system.  In many cases, plants with access to a true high quality NPK seed applied fertilizer, as in the NACHURS brand of NPK starters, kept ahead of the rest of non-treated fields all season long.  Just remember, NACHURS does not replace existing soil applied nutrients, it supports it by sending essential plant nutrients into the plant several days ahead of no seed applied starter programs. It is not uncommon in corn to see earlier tasseling and possibly an additional pair of kernel rows at harvest due to the proper use of NACHURS seed applied starter NPK fertilizer followed by a foliar application at V5 of a high quality SRN.  Discuss your seed applied options with your local NACHURS retailer.  They have access to equipment information, NACHURS sales and agronomic staff, and they know your farm and area better than anyone.  Remember, a healthy, fast start right after planting offers your crop the greatest opportunity of maximizing production. -Keith Flaniken, Southern US Sales Agronomist

2016 has been another year of mixed bags of circumstances.  The environment has been extreme from persistent drought conditions and excessive moisture and everything in between.  There are many areas, such as SC, that expect record corn yields.  What has remained constant are the success stories coming from producers who have expressed being thankful that they have either been long time users of premium starter seed applied fertilizers or first time users.

Regardless of what you hear or read about starter seed applied fertilizer, when the right product is applied at the right rate, at the right time, and put in the right place…NACHURS seed applied fertilizer works as advertised.  If your planter is not set up for seed applied distribution of starter fertilizer, this fall/winter is the perfect time to do so.  It is not terribly expensive and will easily pay for itself the first season.

There are a host of options available depending on your planter, your preferences, and your budget but the most flexibility, accuracy, and distribution comes from hydraulic or electric pumps.  There are, however, many producers still using the easy and dependable ground driven pump.  Whichever route you choose, be sure to have enough pump to maintain at least 25# of pressure.  Other distribution options include using a Keeton seed firmer, Schaffert Rebounder, or Totally Tubular (mainly for use in corn only) to distribute fertilizer into the seed furrow.  If you are planning to use starter fertilizer on oil seed crops such as soybean or cotton, it is best to install a “Y” splitter on the seed firmer.

A quality, high orthophosphate, starter fertilizer placed directly onto the seed at planting ensures the germinating seed will have access to vital and immediate availability to plant nutrients as the young seedling establishes its root system.  In many cases, plants with access to a true high quality NPK seed applied fertilizer, as in the NACHURS brand of NPK starters, kept ahead of the rest of non-treated fields all season long.  Just remember, NACHURS does not replace existing soil applied nutrients, it supports it by sending essential plant nutrients into the plant several days ahead of no seed applied starter programs.

It is not uncommon in corn to see earlier tasseling and possibly an additional pair of kernel rows at harvest due to the proper use of NACHURS seed applied starter NPK fertilizer followed by a foliar application at V5 of a high quality SRN.  Discuss your seed applied options with your local NACHURS retailer.  They have access to equipment information, NACHURS sales and agronomic staff, and they know your farm and area better than anyone. 

-Keith Flaniken, Southern US Sales Agronomist

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We are at the point in the year where things are slowing down around the farm and it is time to reflect on the season to remind ourselves what we learned. Over the last couple of weeks, the District Sales Managers and I have spent some time reflecting on what worked well in the field and the challenges we faced too. Here are the top 5 things we learned from 2024 growing season: #1 Split applying Nitrogen and Sulfur is a practice that should be embraced on a yearly basis when growing corn. Do you remember how the planting season started and what happened in the first 60 days after the planters started rolling? Our field conditions started out dry with some areas of the corn belt showing up on the drought map. Then mother nature blessed us with rain that never stopped in some areas making it difficult to finish planting. Growers that had split applied their Nitrogen and Sulfur were able to avoid nutrient loss from the rain but also apply the nutrients when the crop needed it most. In the end yield was better on split applied nitrogen fields compared to fields that had all the N applied in the fall or spring before planting. #2 For the past 2 seasons in the North region, we have seen the benefits of adding NACHURS Humi-Flex FA to the in-furrow starter fertilizer. NACHURS Humi-Flex FA is our fulvic acid and it is becoming a valuable component in our starter fertilizer for many reasons. We are using it to chelate the nutrients in the starter fertilizer especially phosphorus. Humi-Flex FA also buffers the soil pH to neutral in that nutrient band keeping nutrients available in fields that have less then optimal pH for crop growth. Finally, we use Humi-Flex FA to create a healthy soil microbiome that leads to more root mass and nutrient uptake. #3 Nutrient uptake charts for corn and soybeans have been a great tool for our team to help our customers visualize the crops nutrient needs based on timing during the growing season.
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