Over the past 25 years the traditional macronutrient trio, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) has slowly begun to share its NPK analysis shorthand with what has become a fourth “major” crop nutrient — sulfur (S).

As a micronutrient, copper has a very important place in the plant food smorgasbord selection necessary for good crop yields, particularly for wheat and other small grains, and to a lesser extent for corn and grain sorghum. But a copper little goes a long way.

If you talk about plant nutrition with no-tillers who are setting yield records, it’s likely that they’ll quickly mention getting the basics right and then paying close attention to the little things.