Hail has met its match
SOYFXTM SHOWS POSITIVE REGROWTH
Cody Miller of Wahpeton, ND has been involved in the agriculture industry for many years. His interest in farming sparked at a young age. Today, alongside his wife and two sons, and with the mentorship of his father, Cody is managing an operation where he produces sugar beets, soybeans, corn, and hard red spring wheat. Cody is also proud to be a Legend Seeds dealer since 2016. Through the evolution of the Legend Seeds portfolio, Cody has remained flexible with an eagerness to embrace in advancements and technologies. He has a willingness to try new things to provide the best possible solutions for his customers. This past year, Cody utilized a new, innovative biological on his soybeans through Legend Seeds and is seeing great results in his fields.
This year, Cody trialed SoyfxTM from the YieldMaster Solutions portfolio. In a four-mile blanket, Cody planted four quarters of beans in addition to one quarter of corn. Three quarters of the beans had Soyfx applied, leaving one field to be used as the control. Cody applied the Soyfx with YP Pro™ seed coat treatment, which provides protection to soybeans, guarding against all major seed and early season soil-borne diseases to help keep the plant healthy and maximize yield potential. This allowed three fungicides, an insecticide, and Soyfx to be applied on the bean crop.
Soyfx unlocks the plant’s ability to produce growth regulators and metabolites that enhance production through biosynthetic pathway efficiencies. Some benefits include: phosphate solubilization through microbial activity, increased total leaf area, reduced ethylene production (associated with aging and senescence), pH regulation, reduced reactive oxygen species, and general stress mitigation. Soyfx contains microbials that enhance regrowth following a hail event, so the point of stem breakage grows rather than growth from an axillary bud. Therefore, if there is a hailstorm early enough that replanting is an option, Soyfx reduces the need to replant.
In early July of 2020, an unfortunate hailstorm rolled through the southern Red River Valley wiping out many crops. The storm left fields with only stalks and very little foliage. Cody’s soybean fields also saw the damage. Luckily, Soyfx had been applied and we were able to see how big of a significance this would make.
Left: untreated soybean field; Right: Soyfx treated soybean field
Photos taken approximately 1 ½ months after hailstorm
Cody explains, “When Soyfx is applied as a seed treatment, it’s in the plant. So, if you receive damage, such as a hailstorm, the biological is already in the plant. If you did not, you’d have a very small window (48-72 hours) to apply a recovery product.”
In this situation, with the drastic damage, farmers would have had to wait for crops to grow back and have more foliage before they were able to apply a biological. As a result, the recovery window would be long overdue, and the treatment would have a lower chance of working.
Cody is grateful for the added hail insurance Soyfx brought to his operation. However, the benefits do not stop there. Soyfx plants are proving to be healthier and stronger. Additionally, beans should reach maturity faster. Cody is excited to see if this holds true in the upcoming months. Faster maturing beans greatly benefit a diversified-crop operation by spreading out harvest. Cody’s goal is to get the beans off before sugar beet harvest starts in October.
Left: Soyfx treated soybean plants; Right: untreated soybean plants
Photos taken approximately 1 ½ months after hailstorm
“I will absolutely use Soyfx in the future,” Cody says. “The results are good, and I am very pleased with the product.” He also recommends this product to his growers and hopes they see the same differences that he has seen on his own farm.
Interested in experiencing these benefits on your crops next season? Contact YieldMaster Solutions today to learn more about how Soyfx can protect your crop investment and maximize ROI.