XtremeAg: Cutting The Curve Podcast

Chemistry is a challenging subject and we don’t claim to be chemists here at XA but we do know this: Your soil needs balance between positive and negative charged elements to achieve high yielding crops. Or, as Kelly Garrett says, “There are less depleted soils than there are out-of-balance soils.” Agronomist Mike Evans joins Chad Henderson to talk about soil chemistry. Presented by AgXplore

Temple and Kelly are each doing 40 acre labs with AgXplore using the company’s new ArchiTech — a foliar fertility product that contains a plant growth regulator. The product is the first EPA approved fertility PGR combo and its promise is time saving, ease of use, and bigger yields of course. Gunther Kreps and Jason Fettig with AgXplore join Temple and Kelly to explain. Presented by AgXplore

Chad talks about the economic and fertility benefits that he sees from his strip-till acres, the difference in how you are applying fertility and what it means in terms of being more aggressive with your nutrient management program.

Chad Henderson and Molly Alexander from AgroLiquid talk to Damian Mason about 4 big things that farmers should think about in order to get the most bang for their buck when farming on soils with lower cation exchange capacities.

Are your plants hormone imbalanced? There is probably a good chance they are. Damian talks with Chad Henderson and Dale Hanke from Stoller about what you need to know about the 5 principal hormone families. What their roles are and how to manage them to maximize plant health.

Kelly Garrett devoted much of his attention in 2022 to reducing stress on his crops. Temple Rhodes learned from what he saw his Iowa friend do and is now taking it to the next level. “I want to build a factory that can withstand a tornado,” Temple says as he describes steps he’s taking this season to maximize returns and protect his yield in a year that’s predicted to be a rough one, weather wise....

We are talking about micronutrient adjustments made based on the prior year's tissue sampling data from a different type of crop. Chad and Molly talk to Damian Mason about how they are using last year's corn tissue sampling results to make adjustments to this year's wheat crop.

Les Lloyd, Agronomist at AgriGold talks with Damian and Chad about how he is using drones in the fields he helps to manage and why you should consider using a drone to help scout your fields.

High yielding soybeans require different treatment — and a different mindset — than what is required to produce average soybeans. High yielding soybeans typically come from stout plants with a plethora of pods. To make plants like that, you have to stack your nodes tightly on the main stem. Matt Miles and Temple Rhodes tell Damian how they go about getting a node dense plant that rings the bell on...

A common theme among the XtremeAg guys is the quest for stress-free crops. Kevin shares the practices and products he turns to to keep his plants from getting stressed out. He was an early adopter on plant growth regulators, he’s been experimenting with biologicals for years, and he now realizes he wasn’t using products to their full stress -reducing capacity early on. If you’re losing yield to pr...

We don’t do garden plots at XtremeAg, we do legit, large scale trials. This year, Kelly and Temple each have 40 acre lab trials with AgXplore — Temple is doing soybeans and Kelly is doing corn. The guys explain what they are trying to find, what they are using, what they are already seeing, and most importantly, what they will deem as success. Presented by AgXplore

Sam “Of The North” Coutu talks to Damian Mason about how Agriculture differs in Quebec, navigating environmental regulations (anhydrous is illegal), and what he’s excited about heading into the 2023 crop season. Presented by AgXplore

Kelly Garrett has stated repeatedly that stress prevention, he believes, is a priority in pursuing higher yields. In 2022 he made stress mitigation his main over-riding objective. Now he tells us what he learned from 2022 and how he’s applying that knowledge to crop year 2023. Kelly explains the products, the placement, the practices, and the reasons for why he’s doing what he’s doing — to prevent...

Make no mistake, getting fertility to your plants is critical to producing a big yield. But let’s look beyond fertility. What additional products at time of planting can give you a huge boost? Kelly Garrett and Kevin Matthews discuss the critical roles of: stress mitigation, plant growth regulators, and seed treatment at time of planting. Presented by Loveland Products

Sam Coutu took a trip to Iowa to pick up some supplies for his farm. While hanging with Kelly Garrett, he gleaned some insights and inspiration which he shares in his sit-down with Damian. What’s different about American Ag from Canada? Why does Sam like Iowa. Sam shares takeaways from his field trip that you can apply to greater success on your farm. They involve balanced soils, experimenting wit...

Kelly Garrett’s Iowa farm fields are saturated with calcium, whereas Kevin Matthews’ North Carolina fields are calcium deficient. Yet, they both apply a quart of calcium per acre. Why? Because calcium is a limiting factor for both farmers. Kevin and Kelly explain the role of calcium as a mover of nutrients and more importantly, talk about what they are doing to get it into the plant. Presented by...

Matt Miles admits, when it comes to his fertility program, he wasn’t an early adopter. “It was old school, it was easy…and easy isn’t always the best.” He’s seen the light with encouragement from his XtremeAg peers. He now uses frequent liquid fertilizer applications — in-furrow, via Y-drop, and over the top foliar. This from a farmer who relied on dry fertilizer and chicken litter only a few year...

Kevin Matthews is going to get through the remainder of Plant ’23 with his current planter set-up. But, he’s going to make some wholesale changes to the planter in the off-season. Why? Well for one reason, at time of recording, his planter was in the shop with two guys working on it and that’s not where planters are supposed to be in springtime. Kevin explains how he’s going to modify his planter...

Modern production Agriculture has moved into the data realm. Your combine collects data, your sprayer and planter might be collecting data. Hire an agronomic consultant and they’ll go about compiling data. Basically, every juncture of farming is now a data point. But how do you use these reams of data to improve your yields and efficiency without becoming overwhelmed with so much information. Temp...

"You can’t throw good money at bad money,” says Temple Rhodes as he explains the adjustments and adaptations he is making as extreme precipitation has halted his planting. He discusses his procedure and protocols when the weather pauses planting progress for an extended time. In this episode Temple talks about planter maintenance, product mix, and preventing panic. It’s fun one — tune in! Presente...

We talk a lot in Ag about lifestyle and legacy, but without a viable farm business there will be neither of those things. Faced with declining commodity prices, elevated input prices and a doubling of interest rates, now is the time to think creatively about your farm business. Are you sitting on old crop grain and if so why? Did you buy machinery to avoid the tax man and if so, have you thought a...

In Fall of 2021, Miles Farms installed drainage tile on 35 acres as a trial with ADS. Drainage tile isn’t used in the Arkansas Delta where Matt and Layne Miles farm. However, they didn’t stick plastic pipe in the ground just to be different. Their objectives: Faster farming by being able to get on the field earlier. Changing their practices to allow no-till planting on 15” rows versus raised beds....

Matt and Layne Miles planted soybeans the third week of February, 2022. It was early by at least a month for them. It worked. This year, they decided to stick both soybeans and corn in the ground way early. It didn’t work out as well this go around. What was the purpose of the extremely early planting, you ask? Was it just to get the neighbors talking? Absolutely not. Matt and Layne explain why th...

Ask 100 consumers to define “sustainable farming” and you’ll get 100 different answers. It’s time for that to change as Agricultural industry leaders are now poised to do so. Put simply, sustainable farming is a journey that incorporates technology and know-how to produce bigger yields using ever-decreasing amounts of natural resources such as water, fertility, diesel, and time. Matt Miles and Kel...

​Why would a progressive-minded farmer remove the 2x2 application equipment from his planters? Johnny Verell did just that — after four years of use, he removed the 2x2 from his three 24 row planters. If you’re using 2x2 or if you’re not, this is an illuminating conversation for all. Presented by Loveland Products with support from Agricen.