Consider Using Pivot Bio PROVEN 40 for 2022 Corn Production

Seldom does an agricultural product come on the market that can immediately make a difference in multiple ways. We are seeing this with Pivot Bio PROVEN 40 and its impact on nitrogen use in corn. Pivot Bio PROVEN 40 is a product composed of microbes that form a symbiotic relationship with the corn plant, taking nitrogen from the air to create ammonia that the plant needs. Because the nitrogen is being fixed by microbes attached to the corn roots, the N is delivered to the plant every day and is less prone to loss over the course of the season. PROVEN 40 has the potential to reduce your commercial N fertilizer use and its associated costs, as well as make a positive impact on the environment.

To understand more about how Pivot Bio PROVEN 40 works, check out this video explaining the science behind the product or review the PROVEN 40 Grower Handbook. And in this video you can hear from growers who have tried Pivot Bio PROVEN 40.

Ochs Consulting is now a sales agency for Pivot Bio. We are seeing excellent results in this year’s local field trials. In a wet year like this one, holding onto N can be critical as the photos below illustrate. The corn on the left was planted with Pivot Bio PROVEN 40 as well as Xyway, a new brand of fungicide from FMC. The corn in the center photo had neither treatment. The field image on the right shows crop health differences where the blue area was treated with PROVEN 40 and Xyway and the lighter green area was not.

For more information on how you can introduce PROVEN 40 on your farm, please contact Jake Persoon, Mark Ochs or Siôn Williams.

Do I need to replant? Maybe a drone can give us the answer!

Stands in some of the corn fields we are walking are a little spotty, with emergence problems and delays due to our very wet then very dry weather conditions. Ochs Consulting's Sion Williams and Eric Nixon, Pioneer Agronomist for the Western and Central New York region tested out Pioneer's Drone Deploy technology to do stand counts in some local fields this week. The drone gives a bird's eye view of the field, and the technology is able to look for gaps in plant emergence. Based on the photos it captures, it gives an average plant population at multiple points in the field, allowing for good decision making based on accurate information. If you'd like to learn more about how this technology works, check out this video from Pioneer.

Managing for your best possible wheat crop

In many of the local fields we are walking, the wheat is heading out. As the heads begin pollinating it is time to spray for Fusarium head blight. Earlier we were seeing heavy pressure from powdery mildew, but applications of fungicide have stopped the disease, preventing further yellowing of the leaves. We are also seeing cereal leaf beetles in some fields but not all. The photos below were taken locally, showing all of these issues cropping up. Unfortunately, with the dry, hot weather of a few weeks ago, many crop treatments have been compressed into a short window, with wheat, corn and hay fields all needing attention at the same time! Give us a call if you’d like us to scout some of your fields to help prioritize your fungicide applications with other crop needs.