High-trending crop prices offer growers a prime opportunity for increased profits in 2022. However, rising input costs make turning a profit anything but a slam dunk.

Wilbur-Ellis sales representative, Wes Hotchkiss said the key to being profitable this season will be efficiency.

Focus on Efficiency

“The current markets offer growers an excellent opportunity to capitalize on the upswing,” Hotchkiss noted. “To capture maximum net profits, growers need to pinpoint how to be more efficient with the dollars they’re spending.”

He recommended the following tactics to improve on-farm efficiency:

• • Protect nitrogen investments with a nitrogen stabilizer.
  • Make fertilizer pounds more efficient with the addition of humic acid.
  • Consider the value of splitting the season’s nitrogen application with a foliar application during the summer or at the crucial V5 stage.
  • Utilize adjuvants to optimize pesticide performance.
  • Add biologicals to make plant nutrients more efficient.

“Wilbur-Ellis offers a number of highly effective adjuvant products that help optimize pesticide treatments,” Hotchkiss said. “Products like EFFICAX® help increase coverage, absorption and adhesion of herbicide treatments, making those investments more effective for greater value.”

“Adding biologicals to in-furrow applications can also promote better root growth and development,” he added. “And biological fungicide treatments help keep plants healthier and reduce plant disease pressure.”

Make a Plan

Creating a plan for the season is a key first step toward optimizing profits, Hotchkiss stated. “Everyone has a certain amount of money to spend on various aspects of their program. My job is to help them allocate those dollars efficiently.

“We look at things like split applications or ways to make a grower’s phosphorus more efficient. Maybe we add more effective treatments to their in-furrow package. It’s all about spending the dollars wisely,” he added.

“Do whatever you can to capture as much high-quality yield as possible—that should always be the goal,” Hotchkiss said. “Optimizing test weight on corn is critical. Or if you can add even a half point in protein to wheat with a late-season foliar nitrogen application, it can be worth a lot of dollars.

Anything we can do to either capture premiums or avoid dockages are things we don’t want to miss,” he confirmed.

Remain Flexible

While the season’s plan provides a basic framework for the coming year, Mother Nature can present challenges along the way.

“Everything we do is dependent on the weather, including moisture levels, temperature, plant conditions and more,” Hotchkiss explained. “All these changing variables require us to be flexible and ready to adapt our programs as needed.”

Turn to your local Wilbur-Ellis representative for assistance in maximizing your operation’s profits this season.