August 2000 Newsletter Articles
| P & K Movements By Randy Simonson, Ph.D. Technical Services Manager In the past two newsletters, we have presented the results of soil tests taken from test plots over the last 4 to 7 years. Well, here is another one. This one is from Bill Steinecker's place near Van Wert, OH. |
| These charts, like those from the other plots we looked at, show that phosphorus and potassium levels in the soil are moving. There is much more variation than what we had anticipated especially for the potassium. Yield and the amount of fertilizer applied do not seem to account for these changes. Environmental factors could be the causes for much of the movements. Rainfall, temperature and length of the season are three factors that greatly affect microbial activity and mineralization of organic matter. Mineralization releases more phosphorus and potassium. Changes in the P & K levels from year to year are why it is important to take soil samples often. We of course like to take them every year. This ensures that the recommendation is right for that year and the fertilizer is the right amount for the crop. From the charts, one can see how a soil test from a previous year can result in under fertilizing or over fertilizing. |
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| Pit BossTM By Pat Musser Chem-A-Co, Inc. As harvest season is coming upon us, so will the need to pump out manure pits and lagoons. If odors and/or solids persist, Pit BossTM is the answer. TSM® has been a representative of Pit BossTM for several years and the results have been fantastic. Pit BossTM is the most economical Pit and Lagoon Product on the market today. To make Pit BossTM work for you, there are three letters to remember: P. R. T.
Remember when ordering Pit BossTM that it is sensitive to cold. |
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| Sugar Cane Projects In Louisiana By Eddie Mayeux TSM® Account Executive Sugar cane is the dominant crop in the southern half of Louisiana. This crop has been grown here for 200 years or more and is very different from most grain crops. It is similar to sugar beets for its by-product "sugar", but the part that produces the sugar is the stalk which can in normal years grow to a height of 15 feet. Being a ratoon plant, the life cycle is from 3 to as much as 7 years from 1 planting. I feel that the TSM® program could contribute to extending this cycle and also help the plant produce more tonnage and sugar percentage. I will be working in cooperation with two TSM® dealers and farmers on replicated test plots, one in the northern part of the cane belt and the other in the southern region. In these plots we will also test a combination of adding an organic soil ammendment into the TSM® program. Most of the soils are very old and worn out. Organic matter averages less than 1% in most of these soils and their calcium percentages are very low. To make things worse, the magnesium levels are very high. I feel that the TSM® program can help correct these situations which will automatically give the grower more profit. |
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| Why Is The "TSM® Soils Program" Considered "Unique"? - Part 2 By Kent Durbin, President TSM® Services, Inc.
My own university says that there is no difference between a granule of powdered limestone (made of 200-mesh powder) and a piece of limestone rock the same size as the granule. My textbook says that the availability of limestone is based on the fineness or surface area. Which would have more surface area, one piece of limestone the size of a BB or hundreds of pieces the size of powder? The textbook entitled "Soil Acidity And Liming" by R.C. Dinauer, put out by the American Society of Agronomy in Madison, Wisconsin, says that limestone over 200 mesh is 5 times more effective than limestone 20 - 60 mesh in size. Purdue University research in 1988 indicated 12.9 more bushels of soybeans per acre where pelletized lime was used with potash as compared to: You use pelletized lime along with the TSM® program and you will see results. Just another reason why we out-yield all others 89% of the time. By the way, Granu-Cal® is a registered trademark used for pelletized limestone materials meeting a very rigid set of standards. Call us and we will tell you who meets these standards. We manage pH instead of letting pH control us. Can you see why we are unique? You can probably think of some more areas where we are unique but twelve will do for now. |
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| Chicken Manure Plots By Randy Simonson, Ph.D. Technical Services Manager Last month, we told you about the new plots we started this spring where we applied up to six tons of pelletized, composted chicken manure per acre. Well, these plots are really showing some differences. The treatments with the chicken manure are generally taller than the plots containing only commercial fertilizer. We have two pictures of them, one of corn and one of soybeans, showing the height differences. Kent will expound on these plots at the TSM® Summer Seminars during his session on organics. Also, we will take yield estimates on some of the plots to see if there are differences among treatments. |
| Pelletized, composted chicken manure was applied to the corn on the left side of the picture and no manure was applied to the corn on the right side of the picture. |
| Pelletized, composted chicken manure was applied to the soybeans on the left side of the picture and no manure was applied to the soybeans on the right side of the picture. |
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pH Makes a Difference By Randy Simonson, Ph.D. Technical Services Manager In July, several of us from the office went to the Diagnostic Training Clinic put on by Purdue. It was very informative, and we highly recommend it to anyone. The research that we found the most interesting was with Dr. Greg Willoughby and his graduate student Andy Like. In their research they planted four different corn hybrids on two plots. One plot has a pH of 5.0 and the other has a pH of 7.5. The corn on the 7.5 pH plot was noticeably taller than corn on the 5 pH. The four hybrids were very even in height on the 7.5 pH, but there was a fair amount of variation on the 5 pH. The pictures we have taken show the height differences. It will be very interesting to see how these four hybrids yield on the two different pHs. |
 Andy Like and his 5.0 pH corn plot. |
 Andy Like and his 7.5 pH corn plot. |
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Kent's Korner |
| Lapeer Grain East, Imlay City, MI | Ray Graham, Mgr. | +27% |
| Reinbold & Sons, Inc., Flat Rock, IL | Dan Powell, Mgr. | +42% |
| Agway Crop Center, Curryville, PA | Tom Ferry, Mgr. | +37% |
| Agway Crop Center, Plainfield, CT | Hans Kvist, Mgr. | +31% |
| Agway Crop Center, Detroit, ME | Dave Wadsworth, Mgr. | +38% |
| Honorable mention: (any dealer who has increased their acres over last year by 1 to 24%) |
| Schoolcraft Farm Service, Schoolcraft, MI | Mike Johansen, Mgr. | +4% |
| Lapeer Grain East, Lapeer, MI | Ray Withey, Mgr. | +2% |
| Custer Grain, Garrett, IN | Pat Crow, Mgr. | +3% |
| Raber Elevator, Columbia City, IN | Mike Sims, Mgr. | +19% |
| C & B Farm Supply, Mt. Sterling, OH | Rich Clifton, Mgr. | +1% |
| Helena Chemical Co., Boles, IL | Jim Shannon, Mgr. | +6% |
| Do you people know that we have a program for spreading the Total Soil Management® program with a "one-product" VRT machine? This unique program is being used successfully by dealers today. Call us and ask about it. |
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Check This Picture Out! Mike Sims of Raber Elevator, Columbia City, IN, proudly wears his TSM® hat for the picture in the Ag Retailer magazine. He received $50 from TSM® Services. TSM® will give you $50 when you get your picture with a TSM® logo published in a national magazine. |
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