Profitable Crop Production?

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1 November/December 2017 Steve Okonek, Agricultural Agent (715) , ext. 376 Profitable Crop Production? I get asked a lot, how can I make money growing corn? My answer is and has been for a long time, do not grow corn following corn! Corn rotated with any crop usually yields more than corn following corn. Soybeans provide a nitrogen credit on medium and fine textured soils to reduce applied nitrogen, and less tillage is needed for corn following soybeans or small grains. I will dissect each of these points in this newsletter and I urge you to go to the following website and use your numbers in the budgets to see if the assumptions are correct for your farm. Transgenic corn does not reduce the yield drag from planting corn on corn so do not assume that corn after soybeans and corn after corn will yield the same. You may have fields of corn following soybeans and corn following corn that yield the same. The similarity in yield is due to variation from one field to another and not a valid comparison to evaluate the rotation effect. 1. Corn rotated with any crop usually yields more than corn following corn. Studies in Minnesota and Wisconsin over 29 site years of data show a yield advantage to rotated corn of -11 to 40 bushels per acre. Averaged over the 29 site years the yield advantage to rotation is 9% better than corn following corn. Subsequent studies have shown a 4% yield advantage to rotation. The Minnesota data can be accessed at Looking at data from Wisconsin alone, the yield advantage is 13% for rotated corn corn.agronomy.wisc.edu/aa/a014.aspx. Wisconsin data shows a greater yield advantage under stressful situations and soils compared to ideal growing conditions. No matter what data set you look at, yield is greater for rotated corn. The following graph shows the yield advantage to rotation holds true at all yield levels. 1

2 2. Less applied nitrogen is needed for corn following soybeans than corn following corn. Credit 40 pounds of nitrogen for a previous crop of soybeans. If the recommended amount of nitrogen for your soil is 160 pounds, crediting a 40-pound nitrogen credit from soybeans will result in applying 120 pounds of commercial nitrogen. The credits are real and are backed by many years of research at Mid -west universities. If you are planting soybeans and other legumes and not taking the legume credit when that field is rotated to corn, you are leaving a lot of money behind. 3. Less tillage is needed for corn following soybeans. Tillage helps bury crop residue, allowing soil to warm and dry in the spring so planting can occur in a timely manner. The following table demonstrates the effect of tillage on the economics and yield of corn and soybeans under different management. Comparison of 2007 cost of production (COP) for strip-till (ST) and no-till (NT) to chisel plow (CH) ; Arlington, WI (Wolkowski, et al, 2009). Strip-till was performed the fall before planting or in the spring before planting. Row cleaners and various coulter attachments can be added to the corn planter to clear a path through the residue and allow for soil warming like fall strip-till so only one pass needs to occur. Continuous corn benefits from tillage. In this study the chisel plow system was chisel plow and one pass with a field cultivator. No-till was a straight coulter with no row cleaners. Strip-till and no-till all reduced the cost of production but in the case of no-till corn on corn the yield loss was too great and the cost per bushel was higher by eight cents per bushel compared to chisel plow corn on corn. The yield for rotated corn under all tillage systems was higher than corn on corn using chisel plowing. Soybean residue is very fragile and any amount of tillage on highly erodible land can cause excessive erosion. Strip-till can maintain residue cover while allowing the ground to warm and dry for good planting and emergence. 2

3 3 Applying nitrogen under strip-till planting systems In this section I will examine options for applying nitrogen to corn without incorporating the nitrogen using full-width tillage. Making strips in the fall can leave options open for applying fall nitrogen. Anhydrous, urea, or any form of nitrogen can be applied in the fall on medium and fine textured soils if the soil is cooler than 50 degrees Fahrenheit and a nitrification inhibitor is used. Anhydrous ammonia without full width tillage can be used if the ammonia is applied at an angle to the direction the field will be planted. The resulting channels from the anhydrous applicator can cause erosion if the channels run up and down hill. Applying anhydrous in the same direction as planting can cause planting problems so I don t recommend that practice, although I have seen people apply anhydrous in the same direction as planting and get good results. Urea can be surface applied if rain can be counted on to incorporate the product. Time until incorporation can vary depending on air temperature. If temperatures are 85 degrees or higher hydrolysis and loss of nitrogen can begin to occur in 24 hours. Cooler temperatures can extend the time needed up to a week. Loss due to volatilization can be as high as 60% but is typically around 30%. Urease inhibitors can be added to urea to reduce the loss from hydrolysis. NBPT or Agrotain is the most effective with NPPT and ammonium thiosulfate being second and third, respectively. Of course, there is a cost to using a urease inhibitor that must be weighed in your decision. If potassium or phosphorus must be applied to the field then the urea can be mixed with other products and applied at one time rather than make multiple trips to apply nitrogen and other nutrients. Comparing costs of applying various nitrogen products with and without inhibitors will help you make your decision. Product Price per lb. N Lbs. N /acre $/acre inhibitor cost/acre NH3 no N-serve $ $ NH3 and N-serve $ $31.20 $12 Urea, no Agrotain $ $ Urea and Agrotain $ $36.00 $8.70 ESN $ $ Cost of application varies from product to product. For this comparison we will use the 2013 Wisconsin Custom Rate Guide. Anhydrous application averages $11.40 per acre and dry fertilizer spreading averages $6.00 per acre. Your actual costs may vary. So, let s compare scenarios: Scenario 1: Corn following soybeans, NH3 and one tillage pass. NH3 at 120 lbs. N/acre plus application is $42.60 per acre. Add one pass with a field cultivator to erase the anhydrous marks adds $13.30 per acre for a total cost of $55.90 per acre. If P and K need to be applied add another $6.00 per acre for application of the dry material. Scenario 2: Corn following soybeans, Urea with Agrotain, no-till planting with row cleaners on the planter. Urea at 120 lbs. N/acre plus application and Agrotain is $50.70 per acre. Agrotain is mixed at the rate of three quarts per ton of urea. If more nitrogen is applied per acre then the cost of the Agrotain will increase per acre. The Agrotain could be omitted if rain is expected within a few days, saving $8.70 per acre under these assumptions. Many different scenarios can be compared using these numbers. The point I want to make is that it is important to look at different ways to get the crop planted. Yield differences may exist but it is important to look at the total system and the result of profit per acre before a decision is made. With yields of corn following soybean higher than corn following corn and a lower cost per bushel for rotated corn, growing continuous corn does not pencil out. Use the budgets found at You will notice that corn following corn shows a loss per acre, while corn following soybeans and soybeans following corn show a small return to land and operator. Margins are tight so be sure to question everything! Prices for nitrogen products will vary with the season. The products used in this comparison are from the same dealer.

4 Renting Farm Assets Join us for an informative meeting about renting farm land and other farm assets. There will be two meeting times to accommodate different schedules. The first time is 1 pm to 4 pm and the second meeting is 6 pm to 9 pm. Both meetings will be at Riverland Energy, N28988 Hwy. 93, Arcadia. THANK YOU! This Trempealeau County Extension Newsletter is sponsored by these Trempealeau County Community Agricultural Banks: Trisha Wagner, Jackson County UW-Extension, will discuss land prices and what drives rental rates. Steve Okonek, Trempealeau County UW- Extension, will cover conservation clauses in rental contracts and the impact on rental rates. Bruce Jones, University of Wisconsin, will talk about farm profitability in Bruce will give tools to decide if risk sharing and variable cash leases are an option for you or not. Bruce Brovold, attorney with Kostner, Koslo, and Brovold, LLC will cover what constitutes a legal contract and what happens when there is no written lease for land rent. Alliance Bank: Bank of Galesville: Independence State Bank: Pigeon Falls State Bank: State Bank of Arcadia: Union Bank of Blair: United Bank: Waumandee State Bank: This meeting is open to all people involved in renting crop land and other farm assets, whether you are a land owner or renter. There is a $10 registration fee to cover speaker fees, materials, and refreshments. Please call the Trempealeau County UW-Extension office to register, ext Farm Safety This harvest season looks to be especially tough. Be aware that accidents increase under stressful conditions as farmers push hard during the few days that are available to complete harvest. Financial stress adds more pressure as the drive to get harvest completed with out additional hired labor means more hours for already stressed people. Please, get plenty of sleep, eat a balanced diet, and be with us for many years to come! Be sure to take time to enjoy family and friends this holiday season!

5 COME JOIN US For questions or to register for any programs outlined here, please call the Extension Office at ext. 208 or UW-Extension Pest Management Update Meetings Dates, meeting locations, and registration contact information are: -- Monday, November 6th, 1:00p.m.- 4:00p.m.: Marshfield, Marshfield Agricultural Research Station, 2611 Yellowstone Drive. Contact: Richard Halopka, UW-Extension Clark County, Courthouse Rm. 104, 517 Court Street, Neillsville, WI 54456; (715) Tuesday, November 7th, 9:00a.m.- 12:00p.m.: Chippewa Falls, Lake Hallie Eagles Club, 2588 Hallie Road. Contact: Jerry Clark, UW-Extension Chippewa County, 711 N. Bridge Street Chippewa Falls, WI 54729; (715) Friday, November 10th, 9:00a.m.- 12:00p.m.: Sparta, Jake s Northwoods 1132 Angelo Road. Contact: Bill Halfman, UW-Extension Monroe County, County Hwy B Sparta, WI 54656; (608) Presentation topics include pest management information for Wisconsin field and forage crops. Speakers include Mark Renz, UW-Extension Weed Scientist at UW-Madison, Damon Smith, UW-Extension Plant Pathologist at UW-Madison, Dan Heider UW-Madison IPM Specialist and Bryan Jensen, UW-Extension Entomologist at UW-Madison. Meetings will run for three hours and will be in either the morning or afternoon, depending on location. Morning meetings will begin promptly at 9:00a.m. and run to 12:00p.m. Afternoon meetings will begin at 1:00p.m. and conclude at 4:00p.m. Badger Swine Symposium November 10th at 9:45a.m. to 3:00p.m. at UW-River Falls Renting Farm Assets November 13th session one 1:00p.m. to 4:00p.m. and second session 6:00p.m. to 9:00p.m. at Riverland Energy in Arcadia, WI Maple Syrup Conference Saturday, November 18th at Sinsinawa Conference Center, 585 County Road Z, Sinsinawa, WI Cost is $10.00 BUT you MUST register at or randallj@iastate.edu by November 9th. Program runs from 9:00am to 2:50pm with lunch included with your registation. IF YOU ARE ABLE TO RECEIVE THE AG NEWSLETTER BY , PLEASE SEND ME YOUR ADDRESS AT: michelle.rose@ces.uwex.edu This will help us with printing and mailing expenses 5

6 6 For questions or to register for any programs outlined here, please call the Extension Office at ext. 208 or