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“You're always looking at, at the technology side, you know, just what's, what's coming, what's out. And you’ve just got to test it, and you got it on your own farm, your own operation, because it varies and it varies just from farm to farm, field to field.”
- Ron Ohlde
Ron Ohlde farms more than 1,000 acres of no-till land near Palmer, Kan. He started working smarter, not harder with the advent of precision farming in the 1980s, and handheld GPS units. Today, he’s a champion, riding a 289.7 bushel per acre yield to first place for Kansas in the National Corn Growers’ Association’s Annual Yield Competition.
Ohlde’s big on technology. He uses satellite imagery and high-powered consultants to accomplish his yield goals, and thrives with help from hybrids furnished by the family seed business.
Ohlde’s story is one of several found in the pages of a new special report “No-Till Corn: Pushing the Boundaries of Yield Potential” issued by No-Till Farmer in October, and included as an insert in the October edition of the magazine, which profiles high-performance no-tillers in the National Corn Growers Association Annual Yield Contest.
Lead content editor Brian O’Connor spoke with Ohlde about his NCGA win, and more.
Watch the VIDEO REPLAY of this podcast.
No-Till Farmer's podcast series is brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment.
Yetter Farm Equipment has been providing farmers with residue management, fertilizer placement, and seedbed preparation solutions since 1930. Today, Yetter equipment is your answer for success in the face of ever-changing production agriculture challenges. Yetter offers a full lineup of planter attachments designed to perform in varying planting conditions, multiple options for precision fertilizer placement, strip-till units, and stalk rollers for your combine. Yetter products maximize your inputs, save you time, and deliver return on your investment. Visit them at yetterco.com.
Full Transcript
Brian O'Connor:
Welcome to the No-Till Farmer Podcast, brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment. I'm lead content editor, Brian O'Connor. On the podcast This week we're speaking to Ron Ohlde, who finished first place in Kansas for the National Corn Growers Associations annual yield contest in the no-till, non irrigated category in 2021.
Ohlde was one of several growers profiled in the No-Till Farmer special report, "No-till Corn, Pushing The Boundaries of Yield Potential," available on our website. Here's my discussion with Ronald Ohlde.
Ron Ohlde:
It's North Central. I'm about 180 miles west of Kansas City, 60 miles north of Manhattan, Kansas. And in our operation we've got ... Well, we raise corn, beans, sorghum, wheat, alfalfa, livestock operation. Well, cow/calf, plant grounding and finishing. So we also have a family regional seed business. So yes, I've got my two boys that are in the operation. So that's a quick, brief background of who we are and what we do.
Brian O'Connor:
All right. And we are focused on the 2021 yield results. The 2022 crop is obviously still in the ground, so we don't know what the yield results will be there. In terms of the 2021 result, what do you think was the key to your performance?
Ron Ohlde:
Well, first off, the man upstairs was very gracious to me. That's where it all starts. Yes, you can be good and you can be lucky, but he's first and foremost. That's number one. Number two ... That's a really tough question, because for me, as you can tell, I've been at this a few years. There isn't just one thing. For me, it's been a systems approach. There's just been a number of things that we've basically learned and tested and have done over the years that, I guess, got us to this point. There isn't really just one thing, it's really a systems approach.
Brian O'Connor:
Okay. As a result of this, or in the past years, what have you learned about your crops or your land's potential? What's the biggest takeaway we can apply more broadly to other fields?
Ron Ohlde:
Well, to me, it all starts with soil sampling. You've got to know what you've got to work with.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
Okay? I can't tell you the exact year, but this is back in the 80s when they first came out with the GPS, a little handheld receiver.
Brian O'Connor:
Yep.
Ron Ohlde:
But that's when I started going back to these points, exact points, basically. And that's where it started for me. Then I switched to zone. But now, with our more productive ground, we have went to grid.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
And it varies from farm to far. But from one acre up to five, and then the marginal ground, I'm still doing some zone sampling, but we're going to probably all switch to grid sampling. Starting then with that, then whatever adjustments we need to make, we'll adjust accordingly. With the grid, we can now do variable rate applications, fertilizer I mean, which has drastically paid for itself, not only fertilization, but also in aligning, because you can get so darn many dollars wrapped up in that.
Then of course, no-till is a big part for me, and learning to use cover crops has been very, very beneficial. I have learned a few things with it, both good and bad. And one of the bad things this year for us was we've been extremely dry this fall and winter and spring. So I had to terminate some of my cover crops early just to save moisture. You got to take the good with the bad. This weather event is not going to change my mind, I'm still going to be planting them. Because soil erosion and then especially now, a big factor is getting to be weed control.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
It's just getting to be a nightmare. That's just all there is to it.
Brian O'Connor:
What species are you particularly concerned about there?
Ron Ohlde:
Which weeds?
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
Like everybody else, the pigweeds, the Palmer amaranths.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
Your waterhemp. Yeah, it's really, really getting to be a struggle. But again, no-till is huge for us, both in our irrigated and dry land. Planting, I've switched to the technology side with my planter, well sprayer and everything, but especially planter, using the down force. And one thing I found intriguing this year, I did put on a ... Well, it's made by Precision Plant, it's called WaveVision, where it monitors soil temperature and moisture.
Found that quite intriguing, so I've got a lot to learn there. Irrigation scheduling, herbicide spraying timing, that's been a big factor. Probably, if I got to narrow it down, there's probably two big things that's really changed things for me. One of them is, it's next level. I don't know if you're familiar with that, but then-
Brian O'Connor:
That's now Total Acre, right?
Ron Ohlde:
That is now Total Acre, yes. Yes, it is.
Brian O'Connor:
Okay.
Ron Ohlde:
I'm with them. They have really, really been very beneficial. And then also, another thing has been a program called VariMax, where it's using satellite imagery to help on fertilization recommendations, scouting. Those two things have probably really been the big helpful items, for me anyway, in our operation. That satellite imagery is just, it's mind boggling. It really is. But it works. This program works.
Brian O'Connor:
How do you employ satellite imaging particularly? Do they come up with recommendations or are you looking at the data and interpreting it yourself?
Ron Ohlde:
No, they come up with recommendations and things like that. Now we first started with it in wheat, and now we've use it on both. Haven't found too much beneficial data on the soybean side or the sorghum side as of yet. But maybe as time goes on, that will improve. But anyway, it's paid huge dividends for us.
Brian O'Connor:
Well, and it seems like soybeans, because of the shape of their canopy, might be a little bit harder to judge, but I don't really know.
Ron Ohlde:
Well, that's probably true, but it is a legume crop and you're in a totally different ballpark there.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
Yeah.
Brian O'Connor:
Okay. How do you figure out what to try next? Do you run until you hit an acre or hit a wall and then try and iterate out from there? Or do you follow your gut instinct? How do you decide what's the thing that you're going to try? What's the next lynch pin? I know you mentioned soil testing. I assume part of that plays into that is you look at your test results and go, "Okay, well we're low on this or we need more of this." But beyond that, how do you figure out what to try next?
Ron Ohlde:
Well, you're always looking at the technology side, just what's coming, what's out there, and you just got to test it. You got it on your own, own farm, your own operation, because it varies. And it varies just from farm to farm, field to field.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
You just got to get out there and be looking and test it.
Brian O'Connor:
Got it. In the last three years ... You mentioned Precision, I assume this is probably going to be the answer here ... But what area did you most push the envelope on? Where are you trying to progress or advance the most?
Ron Ohlde:
I'm going to say probably the biggest return for me is, I got to go back to the VariMax program.
Brian O'Connor:
Got it.
Ron Ohlde:
There's a lot of products out there, both above ground and below ground products. And again, it gets back to testing. But with the VariMax program, it breaks down instead of your reproductive and growth stages, this thing breaks it down into GDU's. And that is one probably big change that we've made. Instead of going from maybe, let's say, where something needs to be applied, like an R3.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
Five. One thing I learned was, you can take two different agronomists and they can give you two different maturities. It might be like an R3. One might say, "Well, that's R3/5 or R3/4." The GDU's narrows that down. What I've learned on some of these products that you use, that can make and break the difference. It's all about timing, and you've got to be there. And that's one thing that's really helped me anyway, with that Varimax program, is that it breaks it down into GDU's. You're getting down to, basically, almost the hour.
Brian O'Connor:
Wow. That's GDU's. I'm familiar with the broader growth stages. It sounds like, from context, GDU's are subunits within that. So like R1, do you know how many GDU's are generally in each growth stage?
Ron Ohlde:
Yes, you do. And then you pull that off with the ... which I also use tissue samples-
Brian O'Connor:
Got it.
Ron Ohlde:
... to help verify that. So yes. And I think in the past, I've learned that some of the products that I've used that didn't work was simply because I just missed the timing.
Brian O'Connor:
Ah, okay.
Ron Ohlde:
Yep.
Brian O'Connor:
Cool.
Ron Ohlde:
Yep. But believe me, I'm just really starting, I feel, to get a handle on it. There's still so much testing to be done. It's coming. I know it is.
Brian O'Connor:
What did you do differently for the 2021 crop in terms of equipment setups? Is there anything that was outside the norm or unusual that you tried there?
Ron Ohlde:
Well, probably about ... I would say the only thing different was I did trade planters, and I teched this one up. Yeah. Yeah, I did, because I believe in technology.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah. And more of that to come, I assume? Or do you think you've reached a plateau?
Ron Ohlde:
I've got a good start on it and it's going to continue to grow.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
Where it's all going to go. I'm not sure. You're talking about robotics. And AI, I'm sure that's coming. It's not going to be a fit for everybody, but it's coming.
Brian O'Connor:
Well, and I've seen people that are enthusiastic about it, just in terms of the labor cost savings, basically. Especially nowadays, there's a shortage for agricultural workers.
Ron Ohlde:
Yeah. Then you got to pay for the darn stuff.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
Yes. Convenience comes with a price.
Brian O'Connor:
Well, and is that a key component to the financial planning going ahead? We've had systems before, and I'm thinking here of conventional tillage, where people were ... They ended up in this kind of cycle of debt as a result of it. Do you foresee stuff like that happening? Or how do we guarantee that you have access to the best technology, but also that you don't wind up losing the farm behind it?
Ron Ohlde:
Well, no, that's a good question. And it's going to vary from farm to farm. It's going to vary on your locale. What I can see, like on some of this AI, it could work probably very well in Illinois. It's probably not going to work so well for me. It's just the difference in the locations and things like that. But if you need it, to find a way to make it work, because there's no doubt it's coming.
Brian O'Connor:
What have you tried? That was an absolute failure? We host a number of conferences, I attend a lot of conferences. A lot of guys talk about, no-till is the greatest system in the world. We very rarely hear about people who try something that doesn't work. Do you have a story like that? Can you explain any time where you tried something that was just miserable?
Ron Ohlde:
Okay. Are you including equipment?
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah, anything.
Ron Ohlde:
Well, yes I do. And it happened this spring. Now, I want to make clear, I'm not putting down a product here, but I guess I'm sharing an experience that I had that I don't want anybody else to go through. But I did. Yes, I did trade planters. I had a CASE IH 2140, that's a 32 row, 15 inch. I was planting, basically, everything except my flood ground in 15 inch.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
My flood ground's in 30s. But I planted all my corn and milo and beans, everything in 15. I traded it and I got a new planter. It's a Harvest International. It's the same way, 32 row, 15 inch. And I am a big believer in two by two by two fertilization and then also in-furrow. And I was going to put on these ... They're Martin, they're double disc for my two by two.
And of course, when you talk to both companies, they say, yes, they'll fit. Well, when I went to fold it up, it wouldn't fold up. The next option was to try in a two by two arena, was another system that Precision Plant has. These knives fit between the opening gauge wheels, and there just wasn't enough clearance for trash. We had, back in December 15th of '21, we had a terrific windstorm and it blew a lot of ... Well, where the combines and stuff went, it just sheered all the stocks off of the crown roots and then piled it into the standing stubble. That was just a complete nightmare and something that I had never experienced or seen before.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
We just had numerous changes. We had to make that planter to make it work. And a lot of it too was we had to go to 30 inch just to handle the trash. I didn't know how we was going to scatter it, but absolutely was not going to burn it. I know some did. Instead of planting a 15 inch, we went quite a bit to 30s.
Brian O'Connor:
That was the 2022 growing season, like this spring that happened?
Ron Ohlde:
This spring, yes.
Brian O'Connor:
Got it.
Ron Ohlde:
That really raised havoc with our herbicide program, because on quite a few acres, we did not put any pre-plant down simply because, well, there's no way that herbicide was going to get the ... It's all going to be tied up in the residue in spots. And so a lot of that, we put on post planting. It just threw the schedule out of a lot of things, and it was a nightmare there for a while. So I hope nobody has to go through that.
Brian O'Connor:
I guess double check to make sure, run a test, get a demonstration unit something, to make sure that people ... if you're working with two companies, that the equipment really does perform as advertised, I guess is the lesson there.
Ron Ohlde:
Yes. And it was a mad scramble this spring because with the Covid situation, how it's impacted supply of parts and things like that, scrambling to get that done, so anyway.
Brian O'Connor:
How many years has your ground been in no-till? And how did you get started and where did you learn about no-till? What generalizations or true statements about no-till do you feel that you've learned over the years?
Ron Ohlde:
Well, to give you an exact year when I started, I can't tell you. Where we first started ... And there'll be people out there that'll know ... But when CASE IH came out with their Cyclo planter, the 800 series. I remember the dealer brought one out for us to try and we planted some soybeans after wheat harvest. That was our first experience with no-till. It was back in that timeframe. It had to be in the 80s. So then, just as years went by, we just pretty well completely switched over.
Brian O'Connor:
Was it cost savings? What led to the expansion to that?
Ron Ohlde:
I wouldn't say ... At first, it wasn't so much cost savings as it was time and then repairs on equipment. Those were probably the two big things at the time. And then granted too, savings in moisture. But as times went on ... Well, now you can definitely see the advantage, especially in no-till when you decide to do a farm. After that third year, you really start to see some of the benefits. But you've got to be patient, you've got to be committed, because it is so easy to drop that pin and implement it. Go tear some ground up. It's so easy to do.
Brian O'Connor:
It is until you have to fill up the tank, I guess, nowadays. We had a recent blog post by our editor, he says, you can save basically a Ford Mustang's worth in fuel costs. He compared it ... He used about 1400 or 1600 acres. He said between no-till and till, you'll spend 30,000 more tilling your ground than you do no-till.
Ron Ohlde:
Yeah, there's no doubt. That's just in fuel. And then the cost of repairs, Jesus. It's getting out of hand. Whether you're running a disc or field cultivator, that all has to be repaired.
Brian O'Connor:
Now, one of the things I noticed about your particular entry in NCGA, which was kind of amazing, is that your name and the name of the hybrid, there's both Ohlde in there.
Ron Ohlde:
Yes.
Brian O'Connor:
So you guys use your own proprietary hybrid that you developed? Can you explain the process there?
Ron Ohlde:
Yeah. My brothers, they pretty well run the seed business.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
That's their baby.
Brian O'Connor:
And what kind of investment is there in going into developing your own hybrid? I see a lot of very familiar agricultural names, Tikal, Pioneer, on the other ones. But it just was amazing to see that out there. How did you guys get into that as a sideline in the first place?
Ron Ohlde:
Well, my dad started it. He started back in 1946.
Brian O'Connor:
Oh, wow.
Ron Ohlde:
We've been in the business a lot of years. Then there was my ... Well, there's my dad, my brother Rodney, and myself, we started a business. And dad basically just started out selling oats and wheat back in the days. I can still remember that pretty vividly. Then in the really late 70s, about 1978, '79, that's when ... Well, we had an individual, this was probably back about 1975 where we were planting a lot of wheat and milo. That's what the crops were back in those days.
We had such an issue with the chinch bug in the grain sorghum. And had one individual that approached us, asked us about if they could get some soybean seed that he wanted to plant after wheat harvest. So yes, we went to University of Missouri and got some soybean seed and he planted it and it made eight bushel. It was a very dry here. But beans back then were $8. And this operator, he was tickled to death.He wanted to try more. That's really how we got started on the bean side.
So then, that really grew. And then Rodney, my brother at the time, was basically running the seed business. So then we decided to start looking into our own private lines. That's how we got started, really. And then bought a few other entities to get us to where we are today. We're just a regional seed company.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
We're not national or anything like that.
Brian O'Connor:
Well, can you explain a little bit the process? I don't want to get you to disclose any trade secrets or like that, but do you start with an heirloom variety and then work up to a hybrid in terms of breeding? Is that how the process works, or?
Ron Ohlde:
Well, for us anyway ... And this goes back into the early 80s when some of the entities that we acquired came along with their breeding programs and breeders and things like ... That's how we got in and where we are today. So yes, there are providers.
Brian O'Connor:
We'll get back to my discussion with no-tiller Ron Ohlde in a moment. First, I want to thank our sponsor, yet our farm equipment. Yet our farm equipment is your answer for success in the face of ever-changing productive agriculture challenges. Yetter offers a full lineup of planter attachments designed to perform in varying planting conditions. Yetter products maximize your inputs, save you time, and deliver return on your investment. Visit them at yetterco.com. And now, back to my conversation with Ron Ohlde.
What are you hoping to try out in 2023 and 2024? Is there a theory or a hypothesis that informs those decisions of where you go next?
Ron Ohlde:
Oh, definitely. Yeah. That is changing almost by the day.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
The new traits, new technologies, new methods. Yes, that is almost changing by the day. It really is. It's just changing so fast. Then you've got to decipher which ones fit you, which ones work. Because not everything works.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah. You're working with a set timeframe. Technology's innovating all the time. Do you have a timeframe in mind for when you make your final decision for 2023, '24?
Ron Ohlde:
Well, sure. A lot of it, really though, that part probably hasn't changed that much, because it all comes down to data, and your data comes after harvest or during harvest. You're in that October, November timeframe when a lot of those crucial decisions are made.
Brian O'Connor:
You mentioned planting seeds, or we talked about your seed, we talked about your tissue sampling. What do you do in terms of biologicals, Y drops, anything like that? A lot of people have a love hate with Y drops. They love them and they really love them, or they hate them and they really hate them. Do you guys use top dress, side dress, anything like that?
Ron Ohlde:
This year, we won't be doing any Y drops. Did last year. I'm still, oh, I'm past the experimental stage. But I see many benefits to it. But here in central Kansas, sometimes we don't always get that timely rain that's needed for that system.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
I still think it is the right way to go, I really do. But it's got to fit into your operation. It takes time. I like what I see, especially if you've got some deficiencies out there. But primarily, a lot of our fertilization is run through the pivot. I still am a believer in that spoon feeding theory.
Brian O'Connor:
Yes.
Ron Ohlde:
I shouldn't say theory, it used to be, but it's reality today.
Brian O'Connor:
Well, and if you got a good enough data, good enough read, why not go to that approach, right? If you know where you're going with all the stuff that you're inputting in the field.
Ron Ohlde:
Yes. Yes. It definitely pays if the weather cooperates.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
If you don't get that rain to bring it in or into the plant in that three to five day time cycle, then you're probably not going to get the full bit if it gets out there 10 days, two weeks. That's the gamble with production ag.
Brian O'Connor:
Are you using biologicals, any biological products? And if so, how much and what are you using?
Ron Ohlde:
Well, I am, primarily more on the bean side than I am the corn. Again, this goes back to my in-furrow and my two by two two. I put a lot of it a lot up front. As far as one product, no, I don't use any ... I probably got four different products that I'm using this year. You just got to constantly test, because there's products that work and then there's some that don't.
Brian O'Connor:
And sometimes, that's the same product in two different years is what I've heard.
Ron Ohlde:
I don't know. I can't comment. It's possible. There's no doubt, a lot of the same ingredients, but maybe how it's refined can maybe make the difference. Because there's only so much of it out there.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
Yes.
Brian O'Connor:
Do you apply any micronutrients? I've heard boron is great for corn, but I don't know. When I talked to Dave Hula ... Well briefly, I listened in a conversation Dave Hula was having with some other growers. One of his things that he kept hitting was you got to have boron at every stage. But are there any other micronutrients that you're looking at? Sulfur's also come up.
Ron Ohlde:
Very much so. Sulfur deficiency has been an issue the last, oh, four or five years. And yes, I'm addressing that with the planter and then also through the pivots. Zinc is another. Yes, boron. Boron is another one. For me this year so far, in the tissue samples, I'm short on boron and zinc, and I addressed that, I thought anyway this spring, but in my two by two, I was putting a quart down and then ...
Well, in fact we're going to start this week on some posts. I'm going to have to put another quart on. And I'm surprised with the amount that I am putting on that I'm still showing up short in deficiency in the boron. I've got to figure out why. Is my plant not utilizing it or just what? But it's still showing up short in boron and zinc. I got to work on that.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah. I guess, what do you use for covers? You'd briefly mention them. Do you employ covers heavily? What do you use?
Ron Ohlde:
Okay. Right. Yes. Basically, what we've gotten to in our situation is Triticale. Yeah, we've used radishes and turnips and they're great for on the livestock side. We'll use them for that. But basically, for strictly the row crop, we use a Triticale. Number one, it's cost effective. You can start throwing in some of these other mixes and it gets quite expensive.
And then, the cost of running this equipment seeding it really adds up. We dropped back just to Triticale for two reasons. Number one is soil erosion, and then number two is cover, which really helps on weed control. Because we've had to spray way too much this year, and the dollars that we're putting out there are spraying, we can easily make up with the cover crop and getting a good cover on it and then terminating it. Only this year, I had to terminate it early because of the moisture situation.
Brian O'Connor:
What do you use for herbicide for termination? Or do you? Some guys do a roller crimper.
Ron Ohlde:
No, Roundup.
Brian O'Connor:
Oh, okay.
Ron Ohlde:
Yeah, use Roundup. Yes. Also, last year, we had a good cover crop and we terminated it, and then we just came back later on with just a post spray that did very well. If I could have done that this year, I'd have been many dollars ahead. That's my plan for next year. And we're going to be planting more and more of it all the time. But it takes dollars to put that in the ground too.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
It does. Equipment costs.
Brian O'Connor:
When do you apply fertilizer? Do you split ends?
Ron Ohlde:
Apply fertilizer on ...
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah, on your cash crops, I guess. Do you some in the spring? I know one of the common split ends is they do it as a starter, and then they jump back in, and they'll do it over the top later.
Ron Ohlde:
Okay. I guess maybe I'll start off with wheat. Well, we'll put down basically a MESZ product, it's a dry starter with the seed. And then plus, we'll add about another 20 pounds of N. That goes on in the fall. And then at green up time, again, this is where we use that VariMax program.
Brian O'Connor:
As I imagine there in Kansas, wheat's probably more of your main revenue generator there, but.
Ron Ohlde:
No.
Brian O'Connor:
No?
Ron Ohlde:
No. It used to be, but no, there's less wheat planted here in the state of Kansas than what it used to be.
Brian O'Connor:
Oh.
Ron Ohlde:
Yeah, because well, the price of wheat, even right now, isn't worth it a darn.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
They've knocked about, what, four bucks off of wheat already.
Brian O'Connor:
That's even with ... Oh, that's since the announcement that they're going to bring the Ukraine grain to market?
Ron Ohlde:
Yeah. It knocked the crap out of it. I'll tell you. Anyway. Okay, Brian, what do you want me to talk about?
Brian O'Connor:
Let's do the corn thing. Yeah. Just because the focus is really the NCJA contest.
Ron Ohlde:
Yes. That's good too. Okay, well again, Brian, it still, for me anyways, come down to this VariMax program on nitrogen needs.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
The imagery will tell me sooner than what the human eye will. It shows stress way before the human eye catches it. That's one advantage of getting ahead of it. But in my program, what I'm doing is on my irrigated, I put down 140 pounds of N. It's primarily in anhydrous, and I do that in the fall. That's my base.
Brian O'Connor:
Got it.
Ron Ohlde:
Okay? Well, again, according to soil samples, if I need some dry material, either some phos, potash, sulfur, whatever's needed, then that is applied. Then with the planter, then I'm using material in my in-furrows, and then also in my two by two by two.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
So I'll put ... Oh, again, according to what the recommendations are, but maybe seven to 10 gallon of 32, maybe five gallon of 1034. And some boron, sulfur, zinc in the two by two by two. That's my base. And then the VariMax program comes into the growing season on GDU's, when to be applying the next trips through basically the pivot. So this year, I'm going to be making three trips at pre- tassel, and then post tassel, and then again at brown silk.
Brian O'Connor:
Got it.
Ron Ohlde:
My first trip, I'm using about 10 gallon of 32 and three gallon of sulfur. I just completed my second trip. Now there, I've thrown in, well, 10 gallon of 32. I put in seven gallon, OO12, which is potash product, and another three gallon of sulfur. And I will make this additional trip at brown silk. That really has enhanced the kernel size, kernel weight, and test weights have really responded to that program. Yes.
Brian O'Connor:
Now to my recollection, you're irrigated, correct? For the high yield portion at least?
Ron Ohlde:
Well, yes, but my winning entry last year was dry land.
Brian O'Connor:
Oh, really?
Ron Ohlde:
I did not enter the irrigated last year. I should have, the way it turned out, but I didn't. Yeah.
Brian O'Connor:
That leads me to my next question. How many acres do you have under the high yield program versus ... And the reason we're asking is, there's this perception out there that somebody takes 10 acres aside and they just pour everything onto that 10 acres that they know how to do. Do you apply the same thing across all your fields? I imagine with a rotation like yours, you can't do that consistently for every single field. But how many acres do you have total under your high yield management?
Ron Ohlde:
Well, basically on this program, yes, I try and use them on all my acres. Now, yes, what you were referring to, yes, there are guys that will do maybe 10 acres and just go all out. No, I do it maybe just on a particular field, on a small acreage, simply because I can't manage that much time into it.
Brian O'Connor:
Got it.
Ron Ohlde:
I've tried to develop this program to get over as many acres as I possibly can, because that has created my best return. I am not in this to get the national high yield. I'm going to get the best yield for my operation, what I can fit in. But these guys had developed this to help me get to where we have. They've been very helpful. I've tried working with universities over the years, and they're specialists. They are specialists, just like Phil Needham was in the wheat.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
These guys ... And I just take what I feel is practical that I can work into my operation and use it.
Brian O'Connor:
All right. I got one more ... well, one or two more questions, I guess.
Ron Ohlde:
Sure.
Brian O'Connor:
Right before you got your high yield corn, what was the crop that was in that same area?
Ron Ohlde:
In the rest of the field?
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah. Well, no, right. As part of your rotation.
Ron Ohlde:
Beans.
Brian O'Connor:
Was it soybeans beforehand, or?
Ron Ohlde:
Yes.
Brian O'Connor:
Okay.
Ron Ohlde:
Yes, it was beans.
Brian O'Connor:
And then how do you measure costs, profits, and return on investment?
Ron Ohlde:
How do I measure?
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
At the end of the year, when you get all the bills and you add them up, and then what your marketing program was, that's the bottom line.
Brian O'Connor:
Got it.
Ron Ohlde:
It's plain and simple as that.
Brian O'Connor:
Well, do you look at ... A lot of guys say they've switched to no-till because of soil health. Do you consider that to be a component of your return on investment as well?
Ron Ohlde:
Oh, exactly.
Brian O'Connor:
Okay.
Ron Ohlde:
Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah, soil health. And I think another thing that's really starting to come into play, you're really about the last year or two is weed control.
Brian O'Connor:
Ah, yeah, yeah. You'd mentioned that before, yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
Yes. It's getting to be a special, a real problem out here.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah. You mentioned the pigweeds, waterhemp [inaudible 00:40:47].
Ron Ohlde:
Yes. I'm talking a serious economic problem out here. You're putting people out there that aren't getting the job done, and spending too damn many dollars out there and time.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
It's weed control. It's sizeable, what that dollar amount will be.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
It is.
Brian O'Connor:
And that eats into your bottom line and maybe ...
Ron Ohlde:
Oh, mercy. Yes.
Brian O'Connor:
Also potentially, I hate to say it, but quality of life eventually down the road maybe.
Ron Ohlde:
Yeah. It's very possible.
Brian O'Connor:
And then I guess, in that case, is there anything ... I know I saw a couple articles recently where they're developing mathematical models of genetic systems to determine when weeds develop resistance. Is that something that it all peaks your interest at all? There's a couple things where they're looking at how the genetics of the various weeds behave so that they can predict, okay, this is going to be resistant at this point and maybe change it up. Do you think that's a possible solution, or do we go back to tillage? How do we ultimately deal with this?
Ron Ohlde:
Oh, golly. I would hate to think that we'd go back to tillage. But yes, this does very much interest me, because I'm trying to look at ways that we can get by without having to spray.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah.
Ron Ohlde:
I'm getting tired of spraying. I'm sorry, I just am. Whether or not we ever get there, I don't know, but maybe there's certain alternatives. I know they're looking at maybe fire or electrical shock. I don't ... The fire thing, eh. But maybe possibly something like electric or something. Let's get away from spraying, guys.
Brian O'Connor:
Yes.
Ron Ohlde:
Whether or not that can ever happen, I don't know. But we need to be heading in a different direction that we are. And that's what I've got to say about the cover crops in no-till, we're in that direction.
Brian O'Connor:
Right. Yeah, I've heard lasers are one alternative people are considering, and we have a column looking at two companies, I think in Germany and Switzerland, that are looking at electric shock like you mentioned. But yeah, it seems like if we can get those lasers going in combination with the AI, that might be the ideal, but.
Ron Ohlde:
It's worth looking into. The electrical thing, bad thing about it, it's going to take an awful long extension cord.
Brian O'Connor:
Yeah. Well, and the Swiss are looking at using a generator to get that kind of voltage that you'd need, so that might be one-
Ron Ohlde:
I think it's possible. I believe in Australia, they came up with the weed seed terminator. They mount that attachment on the combine. Every little bit helps.
Brian O'Connor:
That's it for this week's episode. We'd like to, again, thank our sponsor, Yetter Farm Equipment for helping to make this no-till podcast series possible. If you liked today's discussion, the full take on Ron Ohlde's approach to high yielding No-till corn is available on our website as part of the "No-Till Corn: Pushing The boundaries of Yield Potential" special report. It's all about no-tillers who participate in and win the National Corn Growers Association annual yield contest.
Just visit our store tab for a description and to consider a purchase. A link can also be found in this episode's webpage. More podcasts about no-till farming are available over at no-till farmer.com/podcasts. A transcript of this episode will be available there shortly. Subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts.
If you have any feedback on today's episode, please feel free to email me at B-O-C-O-N-N-O-R at Lessitermedia.com. Or call me at (262) 777-2413. You can also keep up on the latest no-till farming News by registering online for our no-till insider daily and weekly email updates, and Dryland no-tiller eNewsletter. And be sure to follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
For our entire staff year at No-Till Farmer, I'm lead content editor, Brian O'Connor. Thanks for listening. Keep it no-till.
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