300 bushel per acre corn seems to be the new target for corn farmers to try and reach in the near future. Can we do it? I think that it is very possible and we are even doing it now in select areas of the field. Right now I think it takes a little extra nurturing to be able to do that on a whole farm. That will be the focus for our farm this week. This year we have decided to take 4-5 farms and do our own research and see what it is going to take to get to the next level. We will be making the plan for nitrogen, fertilizer,fungicide application and seeding recommendations to take that first step toward the magical 300 bpa. One of the problems that I see with trying to get to that level is a lot of the practices used are not economical or applicable for a lot of todays larger scale farms. Sometimes the best formula includes several trips across a field for nitrogen or multiple aerial product applications. Not knowing how these will effect the crop keeps a lot of farmers from experimenting with different practices.
This past weekend we enjoyed some beautiful weather in our area. It allowed us to spend a lot of time with the kids outside and finally get some fresh air. We also have spent quite a bit of time looking for deer antlers this week. For those of you who do not know deer lose their antlers every year about this time. One of our favorite things to do is to look for them and see how many we can find. The kids love it.
We certainly think 300 bushels is possible by combining good genetics, technology, agronomic practices, etc. With the challenges on population growth, it is critical we find ways to do more with less.
Posted by: Jplovescotton | February 21, 2011 at 10:15 PM