Episode 4: Stubble Digesters From BW Fusion and Brandt
Transcript
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey guys. Welcome back to an earful, a podcast about farming and country life. Zach, what’s going on around here today?
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Well, one thing is it’s dark outside and the second thing is it is foggy outside. And, uh, it’s not ideal while we are, uh, in our last leg of finishing up some soybeans, but you’ll have that. But, um, just the kind of the weather pattern we get into this time of year and, uh, we just gotta deal with it.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Day in September’s worth two in October and three in November is what they told me.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
That’s what they told me too. <laugh>
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Funny how that works, isn’t it?
Speaker 2 (00:40):
It is. Well, you ain’t got that get this time of year, man. The days days are short.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, if you were to run with your lights off, you gotta quit at five 30. I mean, it’s, it was just getting dark at what, six 15 last night?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yeah. It’s crazy, man. It just, like, if you, you flip a switch and then all of a sudden it’s here it is just, or you know, it’d be dark five o’clock. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
I hate that time of year. And as long as we’re done with harvest before the time change, man, that time change is brutal.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yeah, it is. It is pretty brutal. But, uh, it is the way she goes.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Yeah, for sure. So, uh, started a little bit of corn yesterday. When I say a little, I mean, we shelled a truckload, figured out it was too wet to put in the bin that didn’t have a dryer and quit. But, uh, looks like it’s gonna be pretty decent.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yeah. And, uh, of course that’s pretty exciting. We’ve heard all kinds of yields and moistures coming from the neighborhood and, uh, yesterday was our first opportunity to take some of our road off and actually take a look at what we got going on.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
So, yeah, I guess that kind of brings us to our topic for the day. We’ve, uh, we’ve got this, this good corn leaves us with a lot of residue, which is a, which is a good problem to have. Um, yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Just something to manage.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Yeah. And it’s something everybody manages,
Speaker 1 (02:05):
So, uh, it’s a little different for us because we’re no-till soybeans. I mean, I know there’s a lot of guys out there that are no-till soybeans, but, um, planting, planting in the spring into, you know, 250 bushel corn residue can be difficult if you don’t. Well, if one, you start when it’s cold, you don’t get that breakdown. I mean, we don’t live in Georgia or Texas or somewhere where, you know, we’ve got 70 degree days for another six weeks to where we can get some of that stubble breakdown or, uh, you know, we’re not necessarily, I had frost on my windshield this morning, so we’re not necessarily gonna be, uh, harvesting green plant residue that’s gonna break down extremely fast. So how, how do we manage that? And one of the answers we’ve come up with is, uh, residue digesters and stubble Digesters.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah. And I think everybody’s got a different take on this. This is how it’s been managed in the past. Um, usually everybody’s doing something. I mean, nine times out of 10 it’s a tillage pass of some sort. Another, a vertical tillage pass or, uh, maybe just a conventional chisel plow pass. And,
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Which makes sense. I mean, if you’re getting it laying on the ground, yeah, you can get microbes hitting the stock, but unless you split that stock in half, it takes ’em, I forget what the number is. I’m not even gonna say how long it takes to get to penetrate the outer shell of that stock. They can only come in from each end. Um, and I think it’s Marion Calmer that talks about, that’s where he gets his confetti, uh, stock rollers. Oh, yeah. Trying to break those things into little inch size pieces.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
So that’s makes sense for, for residue decomposition.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Oh yeah. I mean there’s definitely some, uh, there’s definitely some machinery type solutions, or I guess we want to call ’em solutions. We definitely have some options out there as far as trying to at least help along our, uh, our breakdown of our, of our, uh, stubble.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Well, I mean, we went with the 360 chain rolls. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, they seem to work really well. They don’t, you end up with like, what, a seven inch piece of stalk,
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Right? Yeah. It’s not,
Speaker 1 (04:14):
But it’s crimped every inch.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Yeah. Yeah. And is exactly that. It is cool to go out there in the field to pick up right after the combine and see what the head itself does, uh, you know, to benefit you as far as breaking down some, uh, corn stalks.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Then we got those Warhol rollers or whatever on the back is custom. We got a machine shop in town that makes custom, uh, corn head rollers to knock down the stalks to protect your tires. And they’ve got blades on ’em that crimp, you know, the actual stock that’s sticking out of the ground. So they, they work really good. They’re a maintenance item, but as opposed to running a turbo till or,
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yeah. I think they’ve been a really, it, they’ve been a good tool for us to, to, to speed along that breakdown process. Especially, you know, you start getting into these later October days. I mean, like Evan, I mean, heat is your frame when it comes to breaking down our residues on our soil
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Hand moisture.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah. Hand moisture, of which we are shocked.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Yeah. Uh, we did get that six tenths That’s true. On what Saturday. Yeah. So that was, that was helpful. Turned our 9% beans into 14% beans, salt. Take that.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Yeah. Knocked the dust out a little bit. I forgot what a good rain actually look like.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Yeah. Still can’t get stripped to the bar on the ground though.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
No, no. It’s still kind of fight some ground conditions. We are just so dry, so deep here Yeah. Right now.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
But, so that surface moisture will help break some of that residue down. I noticed even the bean stubble that was rain, you know, three weeks ago, uh, really has changed since it got a little bit of rain on it.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Oh yeah. Definitely Starting to soften up. Not quite as rigid
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Because I mean, even 75 bushel beans, 80 bushel beans, there’s a lot of residue behind those things also.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Oh, absolutely. You got stems the size of your thumbs. Yeah. It’s a wonder we don’t blow every tire on everything that runs across the field.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Yeah. Let’s, um, so well, while we’re on the topic of, um, what the residue is, um, I got pulled up here from the, the AG PhD, uh, was it crop removal guide? So 250 bushel corn in your stove, just, just the residue that’s left. You’ve got 112 pounds of nitrogen, 40 pounds of phosphate, 275 pounds of potassium. So getting that broke down and put back into your soil is huge. Um, if you’ve got stalks laying there, you know, when you’re planting corn two years from then you, I think your beans really missed out.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah. And I think that is something that people don’t look at. They look at, um, you know, some, some folks look at residues as just a, it’s just an object that’s a problem. And kind of don’t look at it in the sense of there’s a lot of nutrients left over in that residue. I mean, everything you pumped into that crop, uh, I mean, a percentage of that’s still there. I mean, that’s what’s, yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
I mean the soybean, the 80 bushel soybeans number is not as impressive, but you still got 36 pounds of nitrogen, uh, 12 pounds of phosphate, 88 pounds of potassium, and five pounds of sulfur. So, uh, still a pretty good slug of stuff to just leave laying on top. And when you break it down, it’s gonna be in an organic form or a, a more plant usable form because it’s already been through the plant. Right. We’re not applying small rocks and hoping they break down <laugh>.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Yeah. But yeah, it is definitely important to consider that. I mean, everything you want to pump into your crop, I mean, it’s gonna remain there. It’s gonna remain in that residue. Yeah. I mean, two, some
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Percentage, it’s a closed cycle except for whatever grain you take off. So, so in comparison, 80 bushels, soybeans take off 53 pounds of nitrogen, which you hope were made with your nodules. If you are using good soybean inoculates, you know, if, if you’ve had soybeans in that field in the past, you should have a lot of that nitrogen coming from the air. Uh, phosphate you’re taking off 28, so just a little over. So you’re comparing 28 to 12. Uh, but potassium, we’re only taking off 20 pounds, we’re leaving 88, so that’s huge. Oh. I mean that potassium gets recycled. Uh, even when we were looking at, uh, 250 bushel corn, lemme pull it up here again. Uh, the corn, you’re only taking off 62 pounds of potassium as opposed to leaving 275. So that corn plant is really cranking the potassium out of the ground and bringing it back to your beans for the next year if you can get it broke down.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Right. Yeah. And, uh, I mean, that’s definitely an important piece and you know, again, it’s, it is something I think a lot of folks don’t really put into perspective for themselves as to what nutrients are left on the field after that combine pass, and how do we kind of reclaim those nutrients and help speed that process along.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Right, right. And um, a lot of these guys, of course, we don’t chisel anything unless we tile or whatever, but a lot of these guys are chiseling 10 inches deep now. Yeah. Which I didn’t realize that. ’cause we always, when we do it, we go about six, six inches deep. Right. Just ’cause of horsepower basically. But, uh, talking to some guys, they’re going 10 inches deep with these things. If you’re burying your corn stalks 10 inches deep, you’re in the anaerobic zone. So, I mean, you’re talking, you’re below where your microbes are. I think, I think that poses an issue for breakdown. Um, yes. They disappear because you turn ’em black and, you know, flip ’em under. Exactly. But are you actually getting that nutrient breakdown or that that residue decomposition, or are you just burying your problem?
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Right. I mean, that, that’s one good way to look at it. <laugh>,
Speaker 1 (10:03):
I it, I I understand the thought behind it. I understand the thought behind vertical tillage. I just don’t completely agree with either one of ’em. Right.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Um, well they all have their advantages and drawbacks.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Oh yeah. Those guys that are conventional know how to do it are good at tillage. We are terrible at tillage. Terrible, uh, would sit here and tell us we’re morons for the no-till thing. But you know, if we both raise the same crop yields, how are we gonna argue with each other? Oh, absolutely. It’s just, uh, one of, one of us is good at one thing and one of us is good at the other. I’m not here to tell you you’re wrong.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Yeah, definitely not. I don’t think, I mean, everybody has their own way of doing things and at the end result’s all good and the same then how you got there.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Yeah. I mean, that’s totally, uh, totally up to the person doing it. But no, I, uh, I like our no-till strip till. It makes it a lot easier and we own a lot less horsepower.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Oh yeah. You definitely can get away with, uh, not having as much equipment and really manpower to Yeah. Manpower
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Killing for sure. So, um, so I know there’s a lot of products on the market today. Yep. Um, we use Meltdown by BW Fusion here at home, um, on most of our acres. Uh, we spray it in the spring actually though, going on, uh, cover crop residue and it, it does its job. I mean, we call, it’s called meltdown and those cover crops disappear in a hurry.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Oh yeah. They definitely do, do,
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Um, of course, you know, we’re spraying it on the existing corn stalks also. They disappear. Um, by the time I’m run into beans the next fall they’re gone. Right. There might be a cob here or there, but,
Speaker 2 (11:48):
And I think that good point to hit on there too is, you know, you get to talking about stubble digesters or product, uh, solutions to residue problems. Um, a lot of guys think you’re crazy unless you put it on in the fall. But if you’re gonna go in on an earlier burn down pass, there’s still plenty of time for that stuff to get to work.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Right. And it might be, I mean, if it’s working for you all year, maybe you’re getting some of that, you know, that when I say 200 some pound release of potassium, 2 75 pound release of potassium coming in August when you’re making beans.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Yeah, exactly. And that’s definitely one, one good way to look at it. ’cause that’s stuff can, we know once it’s on, it’s how long is it gonna work and Right. You know, so on and so forth.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Yeah. Yeah. Um, I think it’s a, I think it’s a good option either place. It just depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. You know, if you’re putting it on in March and hoping to plant April, no. It’s not going to fix your stock, your stiff stock problem that quick. Right. ’cause you’re cool then. Yeah. Um, if you apply it in early October, you know, when you’re spraying your herbicide or whatever and you’re going through the whole winter, you’ll have free stall cycle. Uh, hopefully there’s microbes stay warm enough, they can keep working all winter for you. Uh, or at least, you know, as the, as the temperatures fluctuate, you should be able to have pretty, pretty hollowed out stalks. Oh, absolutely. Depending on your winter obviously. But that those bacteria will still be there working Yeah. In
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Spring. Absolutely. Absolutely. I think one of my favorite, uh, scenarios to use meltdown in is gone onto wheat stubble after we take wheat off.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
That works.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
That works. Period
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Of the story. Uh, so, huh. Right. And you’re, I mean, running double crop beans ’cause we don’t bail the straw. Running double crop beans is a pain in the butt. ’cause you’re dragging all that, all that straw up, even no matter how evenly you spread it, there’s a lot of straw comes off of
Speaker 2 (13:48):
You. Oh yeah. And the, the wheat stub things that fight the, you know, continuing into the next year in a no-till situation where we’re gonna go in and plant corn. We’re dealing with, we’re still dealing with a lot of straw trash.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
I’m hoping the strip till, uh, helps alleviate some of that. ’cause we’ve got road cleaners on the strip till bar. We can move some of that, uh, residue out of the way that’s still there. Right. And maybe make a clean strip. But, uh, yeah, it, it works really well in the summertime like that. Oh, getting rid of that, getting rid of that, uh, wheat residue. It’s pretty amazing how heat can help.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Oh yeah. Heat is definitely her best friend when it comes to microbiology.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
So, um, another one that’s on the market that probably all of you have heard about is excavator from <inaudible>, which is, uh, interesting. We are, we’re brand dealers ourselves here at Easy Custom Ag, so we know it as Resid done. And everybody in the world has heard of Excavator. Um, the only difference between Resid done and Excavator is marketing.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Yeah. And, um, I guess not ag crazy uncommon thing in ag and ag product to No. To think that, what do you mean the same product? Different jug.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Welcome to Ag retail. When you go from farmer to retailer, you’re like, what on earth is going on? There’s like three manufacturers in this country and they make all kinds of different jugs. I, uh, I had a guy tell me one time, he said, well, you like those great value green beans better than the Do <laugh>. I bet they were canned in the same place.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Yeah. And you paid 50 cents more of, uh, if you got the do.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Yeah. So I, I don’t know. I don’t know if the whole world’s as crazy, but I know in the world of fertilizer manufacturing it’s pretty thin.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Yeah, it is. It is. But uh, yeah, definitely there is something to be said about that marketing day, man.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
Yeah. Um, it’s a lot of products are different out there. People, you know, they have their own blends, but as far as manufacturing facilities, I mean, what’s p and l out there? Up in, uh, oh shoot, I forget what town they’re in, but p and l fertilizer up in northern Ohio, they make for Monty’s and Conklin and
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Well, for a bunch of
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Guys. Yeah. Four or five different places.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Right. And it is, it is crazy to look at that, but I mean, is kind of just what you get into.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Yeah. We do have our friends now from Buckeye Crop Care that own the Delphis facility that are, uh, gonna be making custom blends for us. So that’s gonna be, that’s gonna be pretty awesome coming down the pike. We use Zoom Oh yeah. In our fungicide application at 18 one Oh slow release. That’s been really good for us. But it’s nice to, um, deal with people, you know, that are now doing the manufacturing.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Oh yeah. I think it could be a fun experiment for us. Get to, uh, do doing some custom blends for ourselves and for our customers. I think it’s gonna be a blast. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
But I guess to get back to our point, um, when you look at these biological labels, it’s really hard to tell what’s in ’em. I think companies do that to, uh, kind of keep their secret sauce a secret. But as a farmer, it’s really hard to look at these labels and say, okay, what’s in there? Um, ’cause I know Meltdown or 5 0 1 from BW Fusion, their label doesn’t tell me anything. Um, so I’ve got a capabilities chart that I can link to on our website, easy custom ag.com, um, pulling it up here. Now, it has, uh, has all the things that, uh, 5 0 1 does or meltdown does. So it tells how many strains. So on the label, it looks like there’s six strains that they show. Okay. That’s great. You know, tells how many, uh, colony forming units, all of that per milliliter, uh, which is great.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
It’s, it sounds good. You can see the strength, but it’s not like A-A-N-P-K rating on the side of a fertilizer judge, because the regulation in these, in these, um, biologicals is way different. So BW Fusion goes to the next level. They pull apart DNA, which I didn’t know you could do, uh, check for e coli, salmonella, all these harmful bacteria that could be in there. So they’re actually checking to make sure it’s safe. But as far as capabilities, I’m looking at the capabilities chart here. It says it has three strains that can solubilize phosphorus. It has two strains that break down lignin, 16 strains, break down cellulose, uh, 10 strains break down chitin. So lignin, cellulose and chitin are your three stiff parts of your plant, if you will. So, so that’s what makes up your, your corn stalks, your your bean stubble. Uh, that’s what we’re trying to break down is those three things.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Um, something popular in the market from our friends from Pivot Bio is into fixers. Uh, we have two of those in our breakdown product, our, our Meltdown product. Uh, someday we’ll have to talk about 4 0 1 the product. So, so BW Fusion, or Bine, uh, depending on where you’re at, how who you talk to, uh, the B and BW Fusion is Bodine, but, uh, has numbered products 1 0 1, 2 0 1, 3 0 1, 4 0 1, and 5 0 1. So 5 0 1 is the breakdown product 4 0 1 EnvirOx 4 0 1 is the, um, in Farrow product. But we we’re talking about 5 0 1 and Meltdown today, which are the same five oh one’s. The organic version meltdown is the conventional version. Um, so Meltdown has two strains of N two fixing bacteria. So we’re actually fixing nitrogen out of the air, which can help with that decomposition process, because I’ve heard of some guys spraying 32 on their stalks in the fall, 28, whatever to, uh, get that help breaking down, you know, 28, a little bit of sugar, um, 15 strains of a tifying bacteria, uh, that release the ammonia from organic molecules, put it back in the soil. Uh, and then there’s two strains that solubilize potassium and two strains that solubilize zinc. So you’re not just getting the residue breakdown, you’re actually releasing some of that out of the soil also. Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
And I really, I love this chart. I think this is a very unique thing that BW Fusion offers us to look at, is to actually take a look at what is going on in here to understand, because you get into microbiology, you’ve got these really long words, <laugh>
Speaker 1 (20:56):
That mean nothing that
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Mean nothing to us. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
You got bacillus with 10 different variations of it. How on earth are you gonna know what that single bacillus does? Yeah. You’ve got pseudomonas, you’ve got, I don’t know, I’m, I I’m talking over my head at this point.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Oh yeah, for sure. Sure. But, um, try to get that through owner head or to get that through a grower’s head Right. Is difficult. And it’s hard to also throw ’em a jug that just says biological product on the side of it, it just tell ’em it’s gonna work.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Right. When you have a capabilities chart like this that says, okay, we’ve got two different microbes in here that work on zinc. And everybody’s like, well, why do you need two? Okay. So if I’m at a buffet and Zach’s at a buffet and we go through, I
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Really like buffets.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Yeah, me too. I know. That’s why I like this example. But we go through the line together, our plates are gonna look totally different at the end of the, at the end of the line, which is fine. I mean, that’s just, people are different. Microbes are the same way. Yeah. Some of ’em are gonna like hot dry weather, some of ’em are gonna like cold, wet weather. Um, it’s just kind of gonna depend on like what, what they want. So the reason they have multiple different strains in there is that if you have a a, a cool wet spring and you’ve only got a hot dry microbe in there, you are not doing that job, period, end of story. Absolutely. So I think, uh, getting that, um, getting that, uh, diversity in there really helps, helps that product along.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Yeah, definitely. And it’s just, it’s crazy. BW Fusion’s brought the first ETO market that I didn’t know needed it.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Right. Right. I mean, the deeper you get into it, there’s thousands, probably millions of these microbes that live in the soil, uh, they’ve singulate out, I forget how many there is in there, 36 or something. Uh, don’t quote me on that at all, <laugh>. Um, if I was Rogan, I’d have Jamie check it for me, but I don’t have a Jamie. So, um, there’s, there’s multiple different strains in there, uh, that they’re using. So out of the, out of the thousands, they’ve been able to isolate those, we’ll call it 30, those 30 microbes and do the specific job that you’re trying to accomplish. Yeah. Which I think is, it’s amazing in itself.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
But it leads me to question how much more do we have to learn?
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Yeah. I mean, there’s gotta be more, right? I mean,
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Yeah. It’s, it’s insane. Um, I mean, I’ve listened to, I’ve actually been part of Dr. Elaine’s, um, composting course in the soil food web, and it’s just amazing what she’s doing with compost teas and compost and all these different things. She’s not isolating the microbes. She is, you know, putting out whatever will grow in her compost after she puts the starter on there or whatever, which is, which is great. Um, you just don’t know exactly what job it’s gonna do. That’s the benefit of the bugs in a jug style. No, you’re not gonna get as big of diversity as you’re gonna get with her, but you know what the concentrations are that you’re putting on. And it’s obviously we’re putting on aquar to the acre and not three tons. So Exactly. A little bit of logistical issues there. But I think it, it’s like we were talking about the tillage thing. There’s more than one way to skin a
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Cat. Oh, yeah. And everybody has their own way of doing things. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Uh, um, no, we just kind of wanted to talk about stubble digesters today, the residue breakdown. How, how important it is, no matter how you’re doing it to actually get your stubble to disappear. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Get it to break down. I mean, there’s, there’s nutrients in your stubble, and unless you can, you know, get that stuff to break down at a decent rate, you know, that’s, that’s how you’re gonna take advantage of those nutrients. Yeah. That’s, that’s you, that’s money outta your pocket laying on the field.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Right. I mean, if we’re, if we’re putting out, you know, 600 pounds of dry in the fall, the plant takes it up. We don’t want it to lay there for two more seasons. I mean, you want it to get back into the soil for the next season, especially the guys that are just spreading ahead of corn. Oh, yeah. I mean, if, if your corn plant drinks all that up, does not give it back to the soil, your beans are going to starve. Right.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
<laugh>. Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, at the end of the day, stubble’s just one of those things. I mean, everybody, every farmer’s gotta deal with it and everybody deals with it in their own way. I think there is definitely some ways that, you know, these products like, uh, resid or Meltdown can, can really help you along. And, um, it’s definitely something to look at, especially if you’re already incorporating a fall, uh, herbicide pass.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Right? Yeah. I mean, it’s an easy, it’s an easy add in ’cause it mixes well, I mean, it’s just dumping a jug.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
It’s, I mean, it’s more money. Yeah, it is. But if you look at what your return, how many dollars in fertilizer investment can you return back to your soil that you would not have to apply ahead of that next crop?
Speaker 2 (26:14):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, you can, it is hard to look at, look at a product like that just as an upfront cost. You have to look about, look at it as like what as what it’s giving back to you.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Yeah. I mean, let’s say, let’s say it costs a bushel of beans or two and a half bushels of corn. I, I mean, it’s pretty close to that. Yeah. I don’t have the exact number in front of me, but this product will give you back a bushel of beans or two and a half bushel of corn. Look at the, look at the phosphorus number or the potassium number that’s sitting in your soil. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, you don’t think that beans want potassium in August? Oh yeah. <laugh>. You get that cornstalk broke down and get it in there. Now granted, if you leave it on the top of the ground, you have normal free stall cycle, you have warm wet summer, you will break cornstalks down. But not completely. No. Unless you’re actually mechanically doing something to them or have biological activity either sprayed on in your soil. A combination of both. Yep. You’re, I mean, it just doesn’t work, especially when we’re pulling off yields that are 250, 270 bushel.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Oh yeah. I mean it, everybody’s goal to raise a, a big crop, a, you know, a high yielding crop, and you’re gonna have these big healthy plants and what are you going to do with ’em when they’re all day on the ground? Well,
Speaker 1 (27:32):
That’s what we were talking about, tripping over corn stalks yesterday. I said, we want those corn stalks to be as firm and as strong as they can be until we hit ’em with the combine. Then we want ’em to turn into pudding. Well, I mean, immediately it doesn’t work like that, but, you know, wishful thinking, right?
Speaker 2 (27:46):
Oh yeah. And that’s something to consider too, is if you can, if you can help the break down and soften up that, uh, stubble, that’s gonna, that’s gonna pay dividends going through if you’re a no-till, no-till guy playing in the spring. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Yeah. Well, I think Brant and BW Fusion have both, you know, they’re both heading in the right direction. Brant’s product is new, um, as of last year, I
Speaker 2 (28:12):
Believe. Yeah. Last year I believe.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
Um, meltdown five Oh, one’s been around for probably five or six years. So it’s tried and true. Yeah. Um, a lot more yield data on that than there is <inaudible>, but I think they’re both accomplishing the, the job, um, yeah. Pretty well in the same price range.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
Yeah, I think so. And I mean, both, both very good options. Very good companies. Uh, a lot of research on both ends.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
That’s the biggest, that’s the biggest cost to everything is the research.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Oh, yeah, man.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Um, once you get those microbes isolated, you just let them, uh, ’em go forth and prosper, I guess.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
Gotta let ’em
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Eat. Yeah. They, uh, eat poop and reproduce. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
That’s a old job. So,
Speaker 1 (28:52):
Um, well, I think we’ve probably talked on this topic long enough. You got anything else you wanted to throw in before we close this one down?
Speaker 2 (29:00):
No, I think we’re, I think we’re pretty solid for this one.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
Well guys, appreciate you listening again to us today. Let us ramble on a little bit here, but, uh, we’ll see you next time out in the field. Don’t forget to rate and review us on your favorite pod capture and, uh, give us a Google review on easy custom ag.com. We’re
Speaker 2 (29:20):
On the, we’re on the socials too. We’re on the socials.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
Oh yeah. I I’m not on the socials, but, uh, easy Custom Magazine on the
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Socials. Easy custom mag on the social. You better get out there. Give us a like or follow on Facebook or Instagram.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
Thanks a lot guys. We’ll see you.