Heat and drought were common topics at this year’s Farm Progress Show, with farmers looking for answers to stress mitigation and plant health. Derek Cattoor, Agronomist for Concept AgriTek, along with XtremeAg’s Kelly Garrett and Chad Henderson, took on the topic at the Concept AgriTek booth during the show to share some of the biological solutions the three farmers use to feed their crops the nutrients they need.
“Heat and not enough water. It’s been a rough one,” Henderson said. “We’ve been in a dry spell and it’s helped us learn a lot. Guys talk about stress mitigators but there’s only so much you can do as you get into that excess heat, especially at nighttime.”
The three agreed that as farmers, there are strategies that can be taken to mitigate in-season stress, but those strategies must be proactive, not reactive, Garrett says.
“We’ve (the XtremeAg team) all been focused on stress this year and there are products that we have identified that mitigate stress—but it all starts with a proper fertility program. A good fertility program is the first step in mitigating stress,” he says.
Concept AgriTek is working to bring new innovative ideas to some of the older chemistries.
Products like Bio-Tek, a biological technology that delivers a large consortium of live biology in a suspended state that becomes active within minutes of initial soil contact, and Stress-Tek, a technology that reduces the negative impacts of stress that a crop is exposed to by boosting the plant’s health and immune system, can make all the difference.
A healthy plant can overcome stress more easily. Increasing levels of K and B can help a plant get through those periods of high seasonal stress.
“Don’t think you can come in later in the game when the corn is up and looking good and then just start with that,” Henderson says about the importance of being proactive in helping plants start healthy and stay healthy all season long. “Get a system—get you a game plan when the planter’s running. You can’t catch up on stress, you have to get in front of it.”
Stress mitigation is about balancing the equation and that is what our team of agronomists do. The Concept AgriTek team is always just a phone call or email away from helping your soil and plants reach potential. Give them a call to learn what the ABCs of agronomy, combined with world-class technology can do to please your yield monitor this year and for years to come!
