First Field Day of the Year at Security Seed in Kentucky

So I think field days are a great place to learn about growing crops and the products that make it happen.  You can see for yourself what is working, as opposed to a farm show or company meeting where you just listen to someone talking.  (Oops, there goes my cover for the show season.)  Last week I had the opportunity to attend the wheat field day put on by Security Seed and Chemical at their research farms in Hopkinsville and Morganfield, Kentucky.  There were some grower there, but mostly their agronomists and sales personnel attended from the 14 locations throughout Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana.  I have been working with their research manger Patrick Hurt for several years now.  They do a great job of providing local research to support their products which includes Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers.  Here is Patrick telling the people here in Hopkinsville to load up the wagons and prepare to learn. 

In the field Patrick talks about corn fertilizers.  The dog must have heard it before as he is already a believer. 

Here is a plot that received 300 lb/A of a broadcast dry blend of 9-23-30.  These are 4 row plots, and the dry doesn't measure up very well to the adjacent plots of Liquid. 

They also make applications of experimental products, as in this one with a test formulation of phosphorus plus Kalibrate and Micro 500.  It really responds to the sulfur in these products.  Hopefully we will see this product in the near future.

Here is the test plot planter that they use.  It is a great set-up for the plots here.

Now we are in Morganfield and here is my old friend Lang who is the fertilizer specialist for Security.  Lang is an AgroLiquid alumni, and he and I used to travel a lot together.  He is very knowledgeable of our fertilizer products and speaks about how they work here.  I learn plenty from listening to him talk about the research and on-farm results of Liquid and a variety of product additives.

 One thing that is apparent is the wheat response to sulfur fertilizer inputs.  Plots with Kalibrate and AccesS look very good.  One plot that looked really good was this one where one gallon of ferti-Rain was applied with fungicide at wheat flowering.  It was the biggest and thickest.  Now of course ferti-Rain has 1.5% sulfur in it, and the foliar application seemed to be the right product at the right rate and the right time at the right place.  You can see how it is taller and thicker than the adjacent plots. We predicted that this plot will be well over 100 bu/A.  What could be easier than adding a gallon of ferti-Rain to this application?

 Here I am at Hopkinsville talking about foliar application of fertilizers on soybeans.  Now there aren't any soybeans planted yet, but there will be after wheat harvest, and the best and easiest way to provide nutrition is through well-proven folair application.  After my explanation, I lead the wagons of attendees in a round of singing the AgroLiquid jingle.  No really, there is one.  It was written by Doug Cook many years ago.  "Agro-Culture Liquid is the one to buy. Liquid plant food is the reason why.  Agro Liquid makes your crop tops, so have a Top Crop in every drop."  Now why aren't we still using that?

 Tom Daniels talks about wheat management.  Under the tent is Caleb who talked about the Y Drops that I showed us using at the NCRS and Todd talked about the Soil Scan which gives in field analysis of soil nitrate.  Agriculture gets more high tech all the time.

 We also had the chance to see some vegetable plots nearby.  In fact it was in the town that has the Jefferson Davis monument that I have chronicled in this blog in the past.  Didn't have time to go up it this time.  But here is Billy from Security Seed and SAM Jourdan, MSU intern Quinten and agronomist John slogging through the mud to look at the Liquid fertilizer on tomatoes, cantaloupe and watermelon.  There had been plenty of rain of late, and the fertilizer is being applied through the drip lines and then foliar later.  Can't wait to chow down at harvest.

 So that was a good and informative week.  Thanks to all at Security Seed and Chemical for a well-run field day at both locations.