XtremeAg: Cutting The Curve Podcast

Lee Lubbers brought his notes on the lessons gleaned from last year that he thinks all of us can apply for a more prosperous 2022. Lee shares: - Experiences working with NRCS for an 1,100 acre drainage project. - The importance of soil fertility during a drought. - The value of advanced planning. - Why money management is crucial to longevity. - How interaction with your family’s next generation c...

Farmers tend to focus on production, which is important but production alone won’t guarantee profitability. That’s why business-minded operators devote energy to the other sources of farm revenue — crop insurance and government programs — and integrate them with crop marketing to achieve farm profitability. Bryce Guse and Jared Clark with Silveus Financial explain. Presented by Silveus Financial T...

Fertilizer and diesel prices are up considerably. Meanwhile farms are under increasing environmental pressure. These forces combine to create a real opportunity for manure utilization via drip irrigation. Drip irrigation, as we’ve discussed in previous episodes, is a more efficient means of delivering moisture to your crop. But drip is also a very effective means of nutrient management which saves...

Winter is a good time to reflect back on what the prior farming season taught us and how we can apply those lessons for success in the new year. Alabama farm operator and XtremeAg co-founder Chad Henderson discusses some of his 2021 investments and ventures.  He also covers the business and personal lessons he’s applying for a more prosperous 2022.  From installing drainage (for the first time!),...

Kevin Matthews is always looking for a way to improve upon how he does what he does on his North Carolina farming operation.  In 2021 he implemented changes in how he plants, how he sprays, and how he harvests. Looking ahead to crop year 2022, he discusses how he’ll perfect his newly implemented changes. Remember, if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotte...

It’s the end of the year and the farm belt has made money. That means farmers will be at the implement dealer's counter, checkbook in hand, ready to get money off their books, right? Well, maybe, but not for Lee Lubbers. Mr. Lubbers shares tax strategy and how Lubbers Farms goes about making machinery and tax decisions on their operation. They don’t make any rash purchase decisions at new year’s t...

Fertilizer prices are up dramatically heading into 2022. You’re likely already familiar with that fact. But are you familiar with the range of alternatives you can employ to decrease your fertilizer input costs while still maintaining fertility levels in your soil? Kevin Matthews discusses alternatives from chicken litter to biologicals to less popular fertilizer products that’ll give you the nutr...

Kelly Garrett began using in-furrow fertilizer in crop year 2017. This year he opted to change to an updated product made by the same company as his previous treatment. Kelly discusses his results and is joined by Tommy Roach, VP of Product Development for NACHURS who provides technical background on using in-furrow fertilization. Presented by Advanced Drainage Systems

Over the years, American farms have become increasingly specialized. That’s been good for productivity but not necessarily for protecting farm profitability. Being too dependent on just a handful of crops -- or worse, a handful of buyers — puts farming operations in a precarious spot. Remember the old saying about having all your eggs in one basket? Sometimes the smart business move is to change u...

On average — and at current fertilizer prices — there is $125 worth of N,P& K in each acre of corn stalks post harvest. Are you getting that fertility buck back for your next crop? As fertilizer prices skyrocket, it’s more important than ever to harvest nutrients already in your fields for your next harvest. Not to mention the importance of proper residue management — too much residue prevents...

Limiting crop stress is Kelly Garrett’s priority heading into 2022. The theory being — if we have ample fertility, let’s make a healthier plant to utilize that fertility. Stress on crops comes from three areas: cold, drought, and salt. Combine those stressors over a growing season and the bushels lost to stress add up. So, what can you do to reduce crop stress? Kelly plans to apply AccomplishMax —...

Marrone Bio is a 15 year old Agricultural company you’ve probably never heard of if you’re in the business of producing row crops. That’s because Marrone Bio’s roots are in products for horticulture and specialty crops. But that’s changing as the company is bringing innovative, abiotic stress reduction products to the marketplace. XtremeAg farmer Chad Henderson is trialing two Marrone products thi...

97% of America's farming operations are family owned. This presents a set of challenges from a business and personal perspective as the next generation — and the in-laws — join the business. Connor Garrett sits down to discuss the challenges, opportunities, mistakes, and takeaways he’s seeing in his first year back at the family operation. Presented by Advanced Drainage Systems.

Kelly Garrett applies anhydrous in the fall and swears by it. Why? Economics, yield bump, and time management. But despite the increased yield, cost savings, and time management, there is the issue of soil biology. Anhydrous can be damaging to our precious soil’s biological mix. So that’s why Mr. Garrett is experimenting with AgXplore’s NZoneGL — a nitrogen utilization product that protects soil b...

Your crop begins with a seed, and there are plenty of options when it comes to which seed to select. So how do you choose? What criteria should be part of the decision making? With so many seed companies, so many environmental factors, and so much marketing noise, how do you clearly make decisions about what seed to put in the ground? Lee Lubbers of Lubbers Farms in South Dakota and Alan Scott wit...

Successful businesses analyze their successes and shortcomings so they know how to adjust moving forward. If you’re a farmer, you’re in the business of crop production, so what lessons have you learned that you’ll apply to next year? Kelly Garrett shares his 5 lessons from this year and explains how he’ll utilize those lessons for a successful 2022. Lesson #5 ​Calcium Presented by Advanced Drainag...

Successful businesses analyze their successes and shortcomings so they know how to adjust moving forward. If you’re a farmer, you’re in the business of crop production, so what lessons have you learned that you’ll apply to next year? Kelly Garrett shares his 5 lessons from this year and explains how he’ll utilize those lessons for a successful 2022. Lesson #4: Stress Mitigation Presented by Advanc...

Successful businesses analyze their successes and shortcomings so they know how to adjust moving forward. If you’re a farmer, you’re in the business of crop production, so what lessons have you learned that you’ll apply to next year? Kelly Garrett shares his 5 lessons from this year and explains how he’ll utilize those lessons for a successful 2022. Lesson #3: Xyway in the 2x2 Presented by Advance...

Successful businesses analyze their successes and shortcomings so they know how to adjust moving forward. If you’re a farmer, you’re in the business of crop production, so what lessons have you learned that you’ll apply to next year? Kelly Garrett shares his 5 lessons from this year and explains how he’ll utilize those lessons for a successful 2022. Presented by Advanced Drainage Systems

Successful businesses analyze their successes and shortcomings so they know how to adjust moving forward. If you’re a farmer, you’re in the business of crop production, so what lessons have you learned that you’ll apply to next year? Kelly Garrett shares his 5 lessons from this year and explains how he’ll utilize those lessons for a successful 2022. Lesson #1: Soybean Populations. Presented by Adv...

Your grandfather probably applied boron to his crops but your father very likely didn’t. Why? Because boron was standard chemistry back in the old days, then boron became uncool as agriculture moved away from micro nutrients. But boron is back and proper application of this micro nutrient can make you money with a minimal investment. Wendall Boehlje with U.S. Borax joins yield record setter Chad H...

Planting fewer seeds to achieve more bushels seems counter intuitive. After all, more is more, right? Wrong. When it comes to seeding population in soybeans, “more" might simply mean more expense with less yield to show for it. Matt and Layne Miles of Miles Farms discuss the results of their planting population trials. The Miles' experimented with 140,000 population all the way down to just 60,000...

Supply chains the world over have been majorly disrupted since governments began shutting down economies and transit in Spring of 2020. Agriculture has not been excepted from these disruptions — from meat processing to paper goods shortages, we’ve been impacted. But what about Ag inputs — the very goods we require to grow crops and feed the world? Will we have what we need? Right or wrong, many of...

Terms like “by-product” and “waste” have a negative connotation. But they shouldn’t! As Ag producers become more scrutinized and even regulated on environmental impact, we have an opportunity to showcase our “green” contribution while enhancing the black on our bottom line. One method to do this is by utilizing by products as fertility enhancements on our farms. Kelly Garrett explains how he capit...

Lee Lubbers of Lubbers Farms in Gregory, South Dakota was a no-till pioneer. In fact, he and his brother attempted to purchase no-till planting equipment back when it was so unpopular, the John Deere dealer refused to order it in for them! The farmers began no-tilling in the 1980s out of necessity — lack of labor, lack of money, lack of equipment.  They also looked at it as a way to better utilize...