Inputs vs. ROI

How intensive management can reduce costs without sacrificing yield

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A lot of predictions for the 2015 crop season and beyond have an element of doom and gloom to them, with crop prices down while input prices invariably continue to rise. Does this scenario have you thinking about where to cut costs?

If so, look no further than this editorial from the United Soybean Board, which discusses results of a research project funded by your soy checkoff. This three-year project stretched across eight soybeangrowing states and tested input combinations to determine which offered the best yield increase.

The first input farmers want to cut is fertilizer,” states Shawn Conley, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin Professor of Agronomy and the State Soybean and Small Grain Specialist, “but that’s the last one they should cut. The next one they want to cut is pre-emergence herbicides, but that’s bad, too.” Instead, Conley says a decreased seeding rate is a good place to look for savings. “Our project results show that maximum yield can still be achieved with lower plant populations.” The best decisions are the ones that result from scouting. Timely applications of products, based on real-time information from your fields, often better address problems and likely result in some savings. The bottom line: Using inputs on a calendar system will likely hurt your bottom line, not help it.