We’ve applied a ton per acre of calcium sulfate each fall for the past three seasons — and we’ve seen soils mellow out and absorb rain more readily. This week, we saw one new random-rep corn yield trial indicating that there’s a 10-bu. potential corn yield increase following an application of gypsum from stack scrubbers. […]

Usually, foliar-feeding the garden which Jill and I raise is a “last priority.”  If something’s left over in the Hagie sprayer from a field trial I’m doing, I swing out a boom and spray the garden crops. That always generated a lot more butternut squash and other produce than we could eat.  This season, Erik and Jeanene’s

Several of our WakeUP clients are making comments like this: “With $2.65 corn, I’ll simply have to cut back or eliminate fertilizer this fall. Maybe cut spring nitrogen rates too.” Here are several ideas our “biological” farmers are using for reducing crop production costs and putting cash into fertility choices which offer highest odds of a positive

Farmers and research agronomists keep discovering profitable new uses for our two formulations, WakeUP Spring and WakeUP Summer.  Ironically, one proven use is to apply WakeUP Spring in the fall. Sprayed on winter wheat, WakeUP Spring mobilizes more sugars and other chlorophyll-built nutrients into the roots.  The roots exude up to half of those nutrients into

USDA’s Crop Condition Reports reflect little change in Iowa soybean condition this week, but farmers studying bean fields around the state are describing early symptoms of Sudden Death Syndrome. At the Aug. 30 barbecue meeting hosted by consultants Bob Streit and Marv Mortensen at Boone, IA, Bob challenged USDA crop reporters to adjust soybean conditions to

We’re curious about a new “biostimulant” called ISO, which has increase corn yields 26% in at least one independent trial.  Its developer, Lance Beem, will be one of the speakers at the Sept. 8 AgriEnergy Resources seminar in Princeton, IL.  AgriEnergy is a distributor of WakeUP, as our previous field trials have indicated it enhances

This was the first summer that Jill and I have gone without reading and enjoying the “Contrary Farmer” columns written by longtime colleague Gene Logsdon. We miss him. Gene died May 31 at age 84 at his country acreage in Wyandot County, Ohio.  Gene and I were associate editors at Farm Journal in Philadelphia for

The past three years, our field test strips have shown profitable yield response to in-furrow biologicals, nutrients and biostimulants — all mobilized with WakeUP. In a world of low corn and soybean prices, the first place we’d encouraging investment in yield boosters is with the seed, in the furrow. A healthier start at germination gives the crop:

Few field days offer a lineup of leading ag experts like this.  You’ll have ample time to visit and listen to them Sept. 6 at a field day sponsored by BRT Ag & Turf, one of our WakeUP distributors, at their traditional field day location near Stockton, IA September 6. The program is below; BRT asks