AgroInsights- Regenerative Ag

Jan 30, 2024

Protecting Rolling Hills for the Next Generation

Jon Craig, Southern Ohio & Kentucky District Sales Manager


     It’s no secret that farming hillsides and slopes can be difficult and often frustrating. However, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that’s especially true when it comes to managing your terrain for production. Whether it's row cropping or cattle farming, we must be able to utilize and maintain the farm ground we have to be able to pass it on to the next generation.


If we were to all look back 100 years ago, I think we all would say farming has changed drastically. One of the biggest changes I have noticed in my own farming operation is the dreaded dead furrow from the moldboard plow. One hundred years ago, the Mold Board plow was a very common farm implement, or at least it was here in the Ohio River Valley. They were utilized year in and year out to work the dirt to prepare a seedbed for crops to be planted. The disadvantage of rolling/sloped ground is potential erosion/soil loss from heavy rains (not just the dead furrows). But thankfully, times change, and so do our methods.


It’s been thought that somewhere around the early 1960s, No-till was in its beginning stages. Thankfully for our farm and many others, that concept was eventually adopted by many, and the farm ground we currently use is still in production to this day. Around the same time, another idea took place called cover crops. Another brilliant idea is to help maintain and hold soil in place to prevent erosion/soil loss.

On topography, similar to mine, cover crops are vital to not only sequester available nutrients after the crop is harvested but also to hold the ground in place for the next year. Cover crops provide many other benefits as well, but soil protection is by far the biggest perk in my eyes. We, as farmers, spend dollars upon dollars figuring out how to get our soils to produce the most they can, and cover crops to me is one of the methods I can utilize to help preserve it for my children.


The challenge to covering crops, besides the expense, is the timing of establishment in many years. Late harvests and early winters can often deter farmers from trying to implement a good cover crop program. Thankfully, with technology coming along like it has, drone applications have helped negate this very dilemma. Pictured below is a cereal rye and daikon radish mix spread into standing corn by a drone two weeks before corn harvest.


Hopefully, as time and technology go along, we can all implement something to preserve what George Washington calls “The most healthful, most useful, and most noble employment of man” ……. Farming!


Contact your local NACHURS® rep or retailer for more information.




10 Apr, 2024
Wayne Becker, District Sales Manager & Agronomy Specialist Blending two NACHURS products (Triple Option® and Balance®) at a 1:1 ratio has proven to jump start soybeans and increase profitability. Many farmers would like to use in-furrow starter fertilizer with their beans but are uncertain of the benefits. When beans are first planted early growth is very important. • It is a race against time between soybeans and weeds, fighting for water, sunlight and nutrients. • The quicker a canopy is established, the less weeds are able to steal resources, which could affect yield potential. Traditional In-furrow fertilization of beans is usually not as easy to visually observe as when it is applied to corn or wheat. However, that does not mean that they are not extremely important. This treatment will provide early season fertility that will help the young crop remain strong and vibrant, enabling them to better deal with stresses like insects, drought or water logging. NACHURS liquid fertilizer has been providing the best in-furrow fertilizer treatments for 75+ years. With NACHURS in-furrow, producers have always been able to safely provide the traditional benefits without decreasing germination because of the fertilizer’s low-salt content and superior availability. New focus on plant and soil health has raised the bar even higher. The NACHURS Bio-K® line of fertilizers is the most available source of K on the market, yet it also promotes both soil and plant health. Because the Bio-K fertilizer is a carbon molecule combined with potassium, applying it in-furrow provides beneficial soil microbes with a food source. This enables microbes to increase nutrient availability – for all types of crops. Legumes use Rhizobia to “fix” their own nitrogen. NACHURS has developed a product specially designed to stimulate early development of these important soil microbes. It is called Balance®. We combine the rhizobia stimulating qualities of Balance with Triple Option which maximizes quantity of other nutrients. The result is improved potential for early season growth and greater profitability of soybeans
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MARION, OHIO – February 8, 2024 – The 2024 Commodity Classic in Houston will be here before we know it. This is one of the best opportunities to spend a few days with some of the most innovative people in agriculture. Commodity Classic is America’s largest farmer-led, farmer -focused agricultural and educational experience. This year is no exception to the continued excellence that you have come to expect. NACHURS is sure to create a lot of buzz with the unveiling of their new tradeshow booth (#2903), the launch of a new specialty additive technology presented by V.P. of Product Development, Tommy Roach during the “Mini What’s New” Session on Thursday morning at 10:00 am, and our in-booth panel discussions on Thursday and Friday at 2:30 pm. Each day will be a riveting conversation with the Xtreme Ag founders who are some of the top producers in the country. We will follow up with a daily happy hour, so please join us! The NACHURS name has long been synonymous with high quality precision placed fertility products. Our products form the foundation of environmentally sound and sustainable fertilizer programs for all crops across North America and beyond. For further information, please contact NACHURS at 800-622-4877 or stop by our booth #2903 at the show. ### About Nachurs Alpine Solutions® Nachurs Alpine Solutions (NAS) became a division of Wilbur-Ellis in 2019. NAS is a 75-year-old specialty chemical business that pioneered the low salt liquid starter fertilizer industry by introducing the first true solution liquid NPK fertilizer. Today, NPK liquid fertilizers sold by NAS are marketed under the NACHURS brand in the United States and under the ALPINE brand in Canada. For more information visit www.nachurs-alpine.com About the Wilbur-Ellis Companies Founded in 1921, the Wilbur-Ellis companies are leading international marketers, distributors and manufacturers of agricultural products, animal nutrients and specialty chemicals and ingredients. By developing strong relationships, making strategic market investments and capitalizing on new opportunities. For more information, please visit www.wilburellis.com
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