By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
2023 was an “interesting year,” to say the least.
Agronomist Wade Kent with Nutrien Ag Solutions says yields across the Corn Belt were better than expected last year, despite widespread drought.
“That was due to a few things. I think we had timely rains. We just didn’t recognize how timely they were and how beneficial they really were. The other piece is, we had pretty cool temperatures during pollination. That tends to help a lot. That was one of the drivers behind it,” Kent tells KFEQ. “I think, overall, growers were not expecting what they saw. It’s kind of setting up for an interesting plan going into 2024.”
Kent, who is North American Digital Agronomist for Nutrien Ag Solutions, says a look back will help farmers better prepare for planting time ahead.
“Trying to understand why it happened is going to be what we spend a lot of time over the next few months figuring out is where that yield came from, what was the actual driver of to see it,” according to Kent. “Overall, it was a good year. Going into 2024, I think it’s going to be in the back of everybody’s mind. I think it’s just putting together a good plan.”
Data from precision agriculture, according to Kent, will help farmers better prepare for 2024.
Kent’s colleague at Nutrien, Todd Fester, calls 2023 a strange year. He recommends farmers focus on the seed they choose. Fester says Nutrien believes every farm is different and attempts to tailor its products to the individual farmer.
“Yeah, we take a lot of pride in that, that local touch, right, and working closely with them, being their partner, being hopefully that trusted adviser, that’s willing to work with them field by filed to make the right selections,” Fester tells KFEQ, saying Nutrien helps with selection of seed or fertility or in-season crop inputs.
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