As a farmer, you already know that your crop production depends immensely on the quality of your soil. With this in mind, it’s imperative to find ways to know what’s happening in your soil and how you can improve its quality to make sure that you get the best crop yields possible. One of the most popular techniques out there is measuring the electrical conductivity of your soil and coming up with a soil conductivity map. But why does it matter to measure your soil’s electrical conductivity?  It helps you Determine the Nutrition of your Soil Electrical conductivity is the soil’s ability to conduct an electrical current, and it is measured primarily to see the availability of nutrients in the soil. If the soil’s electrical conductivity is high as indicated in the soil conductivity map, it means that there are more clay and organic particles in the soil and there are also more cations being held in it. If you want your crop to produce good results, you would be looking for a good amount of sodium, potassium, ammonium, magnesium, hydrogen, calcium and other cations that are beneficial to your crop.    It helps you Determine Salt Concentrations in your Soil Salt is an important component of irrigated lands, so it’s normal for irrigation water to contain a percentage of salt. But since too much salt in the soil can injure plants, change the soil's structure, reduce production and cause irreparable damage to your land, it’s very important to know how much salt is in your soil so you can manage it effectively. Electrical conductivity is key to determining soil salt content. This way, it would be easier to find ways to add or reduce the salt being added to your irrigation and to monitor the status of your soil to ensure that salt doesn’t affect your crops. The general rule here is that low EC values indicate a non-saline soil while high EC values indicate strong saline soils. If you have high salt content in your soil, you can add gypsum or elemental sulfur to balance things out.     It helps you Determine the Texture of your Soil Electrical conductivity is essential in identifying the texture of your soil. For instance, sand has a low EC while clay has a high EC. Therefore, if you have sandy soil on your farm, you know that it will lose nutrients easily because of its inefficiency in storing cations. On the other hand, having a clayey soil means that you’ll be losing lesser nutrients because this texture holds on to cations better than sandy soil.    Wrapping Up As a farmer, it’s important to stay on top of the things that are happening within your farm, whether it’s your crops or the soil under it. Measuring soil electrical conductivity and having a soil conductivity map will help you get a better perspective of your soil’s fertility. This, in turn, will guide you in creating the best soil fertility management practices to ensure that you maintain your soil's good EC levels to keep your crops in good condition and your yields as high as possible.  ​ Precision Agronomics is located at 9438 West SR 28 in West Lebanon, IN and is proud to serve: Marshfield, Johnsonville, Foster, Stone Bluff, Bismarck, and the surrounding areas. Contact us today for more information! 

The term agronomy may not be familiar for most of us, but it is intertwined with our lives in more ways than we can imagine. From the food we eat to the clothes we wear, almost all of the products that we use are results of the hard work of agronomists.   But if you’re running a farm, you probably know a thing or two about agronomy, which combines science and technology with agriculture in improving crop production and soil management. It’s easy to find custom agronomic companies these days, but what can they bring to the table?  Soil Analysis and Management Most custom agronomic companies specialize in soil analysis and management, which is essentially the application of practices and treatments in protecting the soil and maximizing its performance. If you’re a farm owner, you know that proper soil management is critical to maintaining your land’s productivity for years. It is especially important when you’re into organic farming where the soil is your main source of fertilization.  Crop Nutrition As a farmer, you know how important it is to keep your crop properly nourished to get the best results. But sometimes, crop nutrition is far more complex than you can imagine because you need to take several things into account before you can truly find a fertilizer that will fit your exact needs. Custom agronomic companies will help you develop the right fertilizers to give your crops the best yields. They will learn about the type of soil and crops that you have and how you can apply the right nutrients to them.  Crop Management Farming today is more than just planting crops, using fertilizers and harvesting the fruits of your labor. There are a lot of technicalities involved in ensuring a farm’s productivity. Crop management tackles these factors and creates solutions to help you manage your crop more efficiently. Custom agronomic companies will help you learn about the ways your crop develops, the best methods for controlling pests and the right way to deal with environmental factors that could affect your crop at different stages.  Sustainable Agronomy If you’ve been a farmer for years, you can benefit from learning about sustainable agronomy, which is essentially growing and producing good and affordable food while protecting the environment. Food production and environmental protection should go hand in hand because they play huge roles in securing our future generations. By working with an agronomist, you’ll be able to identify your weak spots in terms of sustainable agronomy, so you can find ways to improve your practices in line with your goal of preserving the environment and feeding future generations. Different technologies are also now being introduced to agronomy, so you can benefit from working with a company that can give you access to these innovations to benefit your farm.  Bottom Line Agronomy is, without a doubt, a huge part of securing the future of the world’s population. Although it is mostly underrated, taking the time to understand agronomy and work with the best agronomic companies will surely benefit you as a farmer.​ Precision Agronomics is located at 9438 West SR 28 in West Lebanon, IN and is proud to serve: Marshfield, Johnsonville, Foster, Stone Bluff, Bismarck, and the surrounding areas. Contact us today for more information!

When it comes to soil fertility, it is important to focus on rebuilding soil health and vitality. Thus, it requires an understanding of several areas in order to achieve proper soil management.   Building Soil Fertility The way nature builds soil fertility involves diversity and intense cooperation. In this case, every ecological niche is filled without leaving any area bare or opportunity lost. However, nature may take a very long time to fill up a missing or deficient area to accumulate from rainfall and dust. That is why nature needs help from people because the soil is crucial for the existence of plants and animals.     Essential Part of Survival  Fertile soil will ensure the survival of plants. Fertile soil is able to hold plants in place while giving them life-supporting nutrients for survival. Plants ensure the survival of man. The nutrients from food needed by living organisms including man essential for survival comes directly or indirectly from plants.    Plants Need Fertile Soil to Absorb Ingredients for Photosynthesis Inorganic nutrients such as water and carbon dioxide, as well as sunlight, are easily absorbed by plants with fertile soil.  Water – Fertile soil has a spongy structure. This will enable water to enter due to the porous surface and to retain it to make it available for plants to absorb through the roots. The moment plants absorb water from the soil, it will serve as an inorganic nutrient essential for photosynthesis. Carbon Dioxide And Sunlight – The structure of soil that is fertile is stable. This is why it enables the soil to prop up plants. This gives time for plants to bolster up, while the pores on their leaves can absorb CO2 and chlorophyll pigments in the chloroplasts of their cells will be able to soak up solar energy from the sunlight.    Fertile Soil Gives More Life-Supporting Nutrients to PlantsNot only do plants absorb water, but they also take other nutrients from soil using their roots. Thus, fertile soil offers plants with lots of additional food to support plant life.  Nutrients Found In Fertile Soil  Macronutrients – These types of nutrients are needed by plants in large quantities. Such would include nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which often appear in fertilizers. Secondary macronutrients – Such type of nutrients include calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.  Micronutrients – Plants also need this type of nutrients in smaller servings. Some of them include boron, copper, chlorine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc.  Organic Farmers Benefit from Fertile Soil Soil fertility is also important for organic farmers because it can preserve soil organisms. When beneficial living things are preserved in soil, it can help farmers conserve soil. The presence of different plant nutrients in the soil can increase soil fertility. This can be done with the help of the living things found in soil. In fact, some of them are microscopic, which play a major role in the fertility of the soil.   Replenishing Nutrients in Soil Recycling nutrients through animal wasteObtain and apply fertilizersMicrobial action like nitrogen fixation  For more information on soil fertility for your farm, contact Precision Agronomics today!   ​Precision Agronomics is located at 9438 West SR 28 in West Lebanon, IN and is proud to serve: Marshfield, Johnsonville, Foster, Stone Bluff, Bismarck, and the surrounding areas. Contact us today for more information!

You might have heard about the role of an agronomist every once in a while when visiting the countryside, but you probably don't know exactly what they do. Basically, this is a person that acts as a liaison between crop researchers and the farmer. It is the role of the agronomist to review the research findings and utilize this information to provide solutions to farmers. This includes scientific developments so that they can grow their operation.  The Job as an AgronomistThe job of an agronomist is focused on many roles, which is often referred to as a crop doctor. So he or she is concerned with the health and well-being of crops for the production of food, fuel, and reclamation of land. Another task of the agronomist is to conduct experiments for the development of the best methods for increasing the production and quality of crops. So they would work with farmers to help in growing the best possible crops, including cotton, corn, soybeans, and wheat.  Moreover, he or she has extensive knowledge about biology, chemistry, ecology, economics, earth science, and genetics. Thus, agronomists spend time in the lab analyzing yield data collected to find out how to improve the potential crop yield. They also have to think critically and solve issues that concern planting, cultivating, and harvesting of crops. It is also their responsibility to develop ways to protect crops from harsh climates, pests, and weeds. After all that, they will be able to make presentations and speeches about their findings. Farmers will also get to use this information for their own harvests. Since an agronomist spends more time traveling and meeting farmers, they can work to improve the efficiency of crops and deal with problems encountered by farmers.  Roles of Agronomists  Research – Their job is focused on crop production, genetic engineering, and conservation. They spend more time researching in labs as they gather data from fieldwork.  Crop Management and Production – Since they work with field crops, they are able to manage planting and harvesting crops, as well as implement more efficient farming methods. Sustainable Development – Whatever the size of the project, agronomists are concerned with helping farmers to develop and implement practices that would ensure they are economically and environmentally viable for the future. Soil And Water Conservation – Basically, agronomists are engineers and scientists. So they will be able to implement methods to control erosion, improve water quality, and manage runoff.  Take note that agronomists have distinct personalities, as they tend to be enterprising individuals with the ability to be adventurous and optimistic. Moreover, agronomists typically work in the lab or on the field, depending on the situation. However, during the spring and summer months, fieldwork is most prominent. During the winter months, agronomists get more inclined to lab work and business development.  If the problem is about the crop, then the agronomist will spend several hours to examine and look for signs of insect problems or disease, or weed issues or even problems with the soil.   Precision Agronomics is located at 9438 West SR 28 in West Lebanon, IN and is proud to serve: Marshfield, Johnsonville, Foster, Stone Bluff, Bismarck, and the surrounding areas. Contact us today for more information!​

Needless to say, crop yield is important for the life of a farmer as it affects the profitability of his farmland. If only there is a way to improve the potential crop yield should be so helpful in contributing to successful farming.  Importance of Crop Yields Fortunately, understanding the importance of crop yield is key in high-performance agriculture. Thus, it measures how efficient you are as a farmer via the number of products within a piece of land.  Watch Out For Risks There is always the presence of risks when you do something on your farm. That is why it is essential that you have the knowledge on how to increase the production of crops as well as crop yield. Thus, studying and analyzing the data should be a factor in making decisions.  Ways to Increase Agricultural Efficiency Plant early, plant effectively The right time to plant is very crucial so you need to prepare your soil prior to planting. You also have to conduct tests so that you can see if the soil is indeed ready. Knowing how your field is ready is as important as using hybrid seeds for a more sustainable product. Thus, you have to plant early so that you can increase the yields and take advantage of unexpected early favorable conditions of the soil.  Practice seasonal soil rotation Take note that planting recurring crops will affect the overall yield when you consider planting season-by-season. At this point, you need to know how strong the condition of the soil is or if your landmass is limited. Otherwise, you need to consider alternative crops such as soybeans in alternating years. This will diversify the demands on your soil so that it can continually produce year in and year out.  Knowing the yield potential Understanding potential crop yield is essential aside from just planting your seeds and hoping for the best. If you can do this then you can easily manage your expectations as well as your yield potential if it matches your actual production.  Always scout the fieldsYou certainly have to scout your fields on foot if you want to increase potential crop yield. This will help you assess the soil conditions, check if the crops are growing healthily, and notice if there are weeds cropping up.  Proper water drainage To maximize the yield potential of corn and ensure its survival, you have to manage the flow of water properly. So you have to keep the water supply enough to avoid being overwatered. If possible, try to set up a drainage system to prevent waterlogging and salinization in soil.  Use fertilizers If you want to maintain optimal soil conditions for crops on your farmland, you have to cultivate your soil with fertilizers. Do this at the time of seeding so that it can give seeds essential nutrients so that your corn can thrive and be able to produce an impressive yield.  Test your soil The growth of your crops can be influenced by soil quality and its needs. So you have to be very keen at testing your soil to determine if the soil conditions are properly balanced with the right density and optimal amount of nutrients and ready for planting.   ​Precision Agronomics is located at 9438 West SR 28 in West Lebanon, IN and is proud to serve: Marshfield, Johnsonville, Foster, Stone Bluff, Bismarck, and the surrounding areas. Contact us today for more information!