DuPont Agronomist: Farmers should worry more about making a profit than cutting costs

by | Aug 26, 2016 | 5 Ag Stories, News

by Ben Nuelle

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A DuPont Pioneer field agronomist in northwest Iowa says farmer should worry more about making a profit than cutting costs in a low farm economy. Nick Hanson is a field agronomist for DuPont Pioneer. They are the sponsor for the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour.

Hanson says making a profit is something growers really need to focus on. “The only way to get out of low commodity prices is to raise our bushels, to raise more bushels on our farm in order to try to balance things out. So, as we are making decisions to try to keep our operating costs in line, we want to make sure those decisions are profitable, and not just a cost cutting measure that could end up hurting us in the long run.”

Hanson says looking at northwest Iowa, one thing that is going to bring down yields stand loss. “Whether it be do to the crusting that we saw on those really early planting dates or damping off on those seeping side hills or just those pond areas, those replant situations, the compaction zones that we had from working it to wet and planting it to wet. It is certainly going to be a challenge for us both in corn and soybeans this year. As you look at the temperatures that we saw especially during a few key time periods.”

He says the largest impact will be the high temperatures during the day and night during the flowering period for corn. “We deal with a lot of weather challenges this spring. As a result it is not going to be the best crop, certainly not what we had last year. Overall we are sitting in a pretty good spot?

The 2016 Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour ended in Rochester, Minnesota Thursday night.