How Farmers Can Do More With Less in a Tough Ag Economy
- clrsystems
- 8 hours ago
- 6 min read
“What can farmers do to make more with less this year?” That was the question I was asked recently after giving a grower meeting in Nebraska. When I first heard the question I thought, “Now that doesn’t make sense because no one can do more with less.” However, after giving it some thought, I replied with a basic answer of picking the right products, being timely, efficient, yada, yada, yada.
I’ve since had a few days to think of that question while realizing that growers are looking for answers in this tough ag economy to find help in lowering their costs while trying to maintain yields. There is a lot of noise in our industry from cutting inputs, to using that “miracle product” that will let you cut all your fertility, to cover crops, and finally, just not changing anything.
One could argue that all these approaches have some merit in and of themselves. However, I’d like to look at some things that often go overlooked on many operations: the planter, what type of product are you using for fertility, timing, and are your yield goals realistic?
Let’s talk about the planter. A point of pride for many growers, it can be a touchy subject for many growers because THEIR planter is set correctly. I’m no planter expert, but 28 plus years of selling ag inputs and acting as an advisor on farms has let me see many issues when I walk behind a planter. Depth is usually the first problem, sidewall compaction, soil not being fit to plant, not understanding downforce and how it impacts the planter, good ride, and even a bent row unit can all lead to uneven emergence which can impact yield. I have known of several situations when growers hand harvested a planter pass to represent one-thousandth of an acre on each row, they found greater than 60 bushel variances between the best and worst row. This is REAL MONEY, and with the cost of seed the planter is the first place to start in looking to do more with less. So how do we figure that out?
· Winter is a great time to go over the planter with some TLC. Growers should ask themselves, when is the last time I looked at anything other than the blades or coulters? Parallel arms on planters, the bushings in them, and I have even seen crooked row units cause emergence issues. Any wear point on a planter should be examined as this can affect good ride, placement and ultimately emergence which leads to yield potential.
· For depth setting, I have recommended many growers use the Set-N-Seed tool. It has 11 depth measurements to set each row’s depth and is much better than trying to just dig one row up and then say, “All Good”!
· Downforce: understand it especially if you have hydraulic downforce. I had a grower last year who had stand issues and delayed emergence because the downforce was lifting the planter out of the ground. The shallow seed was in dry soil and coming up slower.
· Is the soil fit? To me this encompasses not just the soil but is the coming weather fit? Planting in front of a large rain may seem like an understood no-no, but I can’t tell you how many times I have seen this in my career even from my more engaged growers. Consider the soil, the coming weather and whether you want to do this once or twice.
· Lastly, get out this year and do a flag test if you haven’t already. This may not solve all your problems this year, but it can show you where you have issues to start to determine the cause and the solution. If you aren’t sure how to do it, or what it is, then you can GOOGLE “flag test for seed”.
Planting is your one time to get it right. If you get this wrong, then you are playing catch-up the rest of the season and may never recover from your mistakes.
Next, we go to what type of fertility product are you using? This is a real thing. Broadcast dry fertilizer has its inefficiencies, no doubt. Understanding that, it may be time to see how you can tweak your fertility program. There are more products available now than ever before that are very efficient in delivering plant food to the plant and translating into yield for the little plant food they provide. However, be careful here. Ask for as much information and test results as you can. With the increase in these products also comes many far-fetched claims, and if it’s too good to be true then it probably is. Maybe you should consider using or testing fertilizer efficiency products in your operation this year. There are several on the market that help you get more out of what you are putting down, or even reduce what you are putting down. Many times, the cost of these products is much less than the fertilizer you are using, or they allow you to reduce rates and pay for the efficiency product to come out on top. Humics and biologicals are all in this category and can deliver real results. Molybdenum has been gaining traction of late, especially in corn. Progressive growers have come to see the value it has in getting N into the ammonium form in order to go to the grain rather than the stalk in corn, or vine in soybeans. Foliars, which have had a bad name over the years, are yet another tool to support a fertility program that is relying on less. Seek out the best timing of these oft misunderstood products in order to get the biggest gain for your dollar. That leads me to timing.
Time is money is the adage, and it has never been truer than it is today. I see products used at the wrong time year after year, and growers say that they didn’t work. Many times, the application was made at the wrong time. It could be too late, when the plant isn’t growing, or may not even be needed. I prefer to use foliar micros early and macros late, moly and boron being the exception to late. When it comes to post herbicide spray, timeliness is vital in gaining yield. Roundup Ready has made us think that we can just go out and clean up some small weeds and everything is okay. Weeds can silently rob yield potential even when the crop gets cleaned up later. Corn leaves will orient themselves away from the reflective light coming off of weeds and this can cause yield robbing stress to the plant. Not being timely with herbicide sprays that you were going to spend money on anyway can chip away vital bushels. Timeliness of fungicides for plant health has been a big mission for me and my growers. Growers should learn to stage corn fungicides at tassel by growth stage and not silk color. I say this because many growers used to talk about brown silk and then apply their fungicide too late giving up the best yield benefit in a one application program. We see the same timing issues in soybeans where growers are consistently late with their application and then don’t see any result. Play with timing and see what it can do for you.
Lastly, in doing more with less, review your farms and their yield history. Are your goals realistic? Have you been overapplying nutrients or other inputs for a yield goal you have never even come close to hitting on a particular farm. I had a grower who is not my customer call me in early 2025 and tell me he needed help with ideas on cutting costs. The first question I asked him was “What is your best average yield on that farm”? After some thought and conversation, it came to light that he had been over applying N by as more than 50 pounds too much. Some may think, that should have never gotten by that grower, but many growers do the same thing whether it is out of hope or convenience in not wanting to set a different rate. I also had a grower complain to me one time that his bill was too high. I sent his soybean seed out to the farm for what he would need. He gave me a call a few weeks later and told me he needed more seed to which I replied, “oh you need a bulk or two”? The grower needed many more than that. He was not seeding by seed count. I showed him how we could reduce his seed bill immediately by lowering his seeding rate. Since then that grower has been focused on seeds per acre and has gone to a planter to efficiently seed his crop. This also applies to corn. If you have electronics, investigate variable rating seed by soil type, or by tree lines, etcetera. Lower yielding areas or zones can use less population, thereby saving you money. With the current cost of seed, a small change can translate into big savings.
Hopefully, I have given you something to ponder for the coming growing season. It is possible to do more with less, but it requires more work and study to figure that puzzle out. I wish all growers out there a safe and prosperous 2026.
