XtremeAg: Cutting The Curve Podcast

Kevin and Matt talk with Mark Coots from Teva about correcting nutrient deficiencies while maintaining balance in your soil.

Kevin and Kelly talk about the versatility of the CapstanAg SelectShot system they trialed last season and how it can be used as a modified 2x2 system.

Integrated Ag Solutions’ Mike Evans began writing variable rate seeding prescriptions when both he and Kelly Garrett realized they were wasting money on seed. Too much seed was being planted in low performing soils that couldn’t possibly produce the yield necessary to justify high seeding rates. Even though Mike and Kelly both knew they needed to back off on seeding rate, they didn’t reveal that t...

Kevin Matthews and Matt Miles talk about biologicals and their plans for spring applied biology with Concept AgriTek's Mark Glastetter while at the 2023 National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky.

Modifications to planter setup for better crop emergence, changes to in-furrow fertility programs, and how not to treat your wheat like a lesser crop. These are three key takeaways Matt and Layne Miles got out of being a part of XtremeAg this year. You know that XA is a learning platform designed and created to help you shorten your learning curve — well, the Miles boys learned right along with yo...

American farms recorded record net farm income in 2022 — up 14% year over year to $160 billion. What does this mean as you roll into the 2023 season? What adjustments should you be making to remain profitable without being profligate in your spending in the new year? Farmers often look to spend money to expense themselves out of a tax bill but is that a good idea? Will 2023 bring another record an...

Sometimes you have to manage fertility for a farm that, quite frankly, you don’t know if you’ll be farming next year. This is due to development pressure, a volatile cash rent market like much of the country is experiencing at the moment, or land ownership changes. The goal is to do right by the farm ground and your own farm’s profitability to maximize returns without “mining” the soil. Chad, Kevi...

CapstanAg’s Select Shot system was trialed in 2022 by three XtremeAg guys. Kevin delivers some feedback based on his two planter comparison — one set up with the SelectShot system, one without. Results: Better utilization of crop inputs. More precise in-furrow application. And the chance to reduce product usage which saves money. CapstanAg’s Stuart Meacham joins the conversation to explain the tec...

Matt Swanson is an XtremeAg affiliate from western Illinois. Matt explains his farming operation — which consists of acres in the Midwest as well as Arkansas. Matt did 2022 XA trial plots involving soybean fertility experimentation with products from Nachurs and AgXplore. In this conversation, Matt touches on those trials, his business diversification initiatives, and the letter grade he gives him...

In a previous episode, Kelly Garrett and Mike Evans discussed a lesson they learned the hard way (it cost them yield and money!) about the practice of variable rate “N” application. In this sequel, Mike and Kelly explain the soil reaction and final takeaways from their experiment with flat rate nitrogen versus their standard practice of variable-rate application. The results are remarkable. The pr...

XtremeAg’s Kelly Garrett was at the forefront of profiting off carbon credits. As the carbon marketplace becomes more clearly defined and understood, the opportunity to boost revenue on farms is expanding. According to Truterra’s Mariah Murphy, there are more dollars to be deployed through Ecosystem Services than available acres. She explains how the Truterra system carbon payments can be applied...

You don’t think of western Tennessee as wheat country. Never the less, XA Affiliate Johnny Verell is bringing a competitive edge to the 2023 XtremeAg Wheat Wager. He takes his wheat very seriously -- something he admits the generations before him didn’t. But once he began treating wheat “like a real crop,” good things happened. Tune in to hear how Johnny maximizes yield and test weight by harvesti...

In Fall of 2021, Kelly stated his over-arching objective for Garrett Land & Cattle’s 2022 cropping season was stress mitigation. Turns out it was the perfect year to focus effort on reducing crop stress as the year was hot and dry. Kelly explains the practices and products he utilized and also the results. Presented by Advanced Drainage Systems.

Face it, wheat production is often last on the list when it comes to the love and attention you devote (or don’t!) to the golden grain. But it shouldn’t be mistreated, it should be carefully treated, especially if you want bigger yields and bigger profits. Temple Rhodes and Chad Henderson team up in this podcast to share the practices and products they utilize to grow high yield wheat. There’s a t...

Successful farm operators takes the winter season to reflect on lessons learned the prior season then go about applying those lessons for greater return next season. Kevin Matthews shares his big takeaways from things he did right and things he got wrong in crop season ’22. He’s going to desiccate more soybeans, revamp his crew management strategy for next harvest, and apply better weather data fo...

Johnny Verell left his Jackson, Tennessee farm to attend Murray State University at his grandfather’s insistence. “He said I couldn’t farm if I didn’t go to college,” Johnny says. He returned to the farm and now runs the 3rd generation operation along with his dad. The family made a major decision in 2006 when they quit cotton. Johnny explains that business decision and his operation. He also shar...

Last year, Kelly Garrett planned to plant more soybean acres than corn. He didn’t end up doing that, nor did he dabble more in soybean following soybean acres. Why did he change his cropping mix plans? Economics. Heading into 2023 it’s once again economics that are driving his decision to ramp up corn acres at the expense of beans — to the tune of a 65-35% split. Kelly explains the adjustments he’...

Farmers love talking about the weather but to be successful in Agriculture you’ve got to do more than just talk, you gotta adjust. Matt and Layne Miles discuss the weather challenges they dealt with in crop season 2022. The third hottest summer in Arkansas weather keeping history followed by huge late summer rains created some problems. Complaining won’t make you money. Or, as Matt Miles says, “We...

Your sprayer is an expensive piece of equipment that gets plenty of use deploying expensive crop inputs. With all that money involved, it’s important to prevent costly mistakes that can be remedied very inexpensively. Nick Fleitz, Agronomist with Pentair explains three mistakes — worn nozzles, fine droplets, and sprayer contamination — that could very well be robbing yield. Then, Nick outlines the...

Inflation is pushing double digits and is likely to continue well into 2023. Ag input prices continue to increase adding to an already existing Ag-inputs pain point from supply chain snarls. From diesel to fertilizer to seed, inflation is increasing the price of every raw material you need to grow a crop. Then there is the issue of interest rates — the cost of borrowed money has doubled and is lik...

If you farm a large livestock operation, then you have a lot of free fertilizer, and likely a lot of government regulation around the application of manure and pad runoff as well. Damian talks with Tim Wolf from Netafim and Kurt Grimm from Nutradrip about a subsurface drip irrigation solution that captures and sends the free, high-nutrient effluent water directly into the root zone of crops in sur...

With elevated fertilizer prices the new norm and even questions of availability of synthetic fertilizers, manure has become quite popular. But what do we know now about manure that we didn’t as recently as a few years ago as it pertains to application rates, nutrient availability, and preserving the nutrients after manure application? Dave Kaltenberg with Agrotech USA sits down for an informative...

Markets are always a bit volatile but 2022 was more so than average. Corn prices moved up and down by more than 30%, cotton prices dropped by half, and soybeans weren’t always stable. It’s a good practice to look back at what the year taught you in order to make adjustments for greater success in the year ahead. Bryce Guse and Sean Findley with Silveus Financial join XtremeAg’s Layne Miles to disc...

Does it matter where you farm? Or is it just the soil that matters when choosing the right inputs? Damian talks with Mike Evans and Stephanie from Agroliquid about geographical differences and how that changes the way you farm.

Damian talks to Robb Dedman and Molly Alexander from Agroliquid about a foliar trial that they are conducting on their rice fields.