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Farmers listen best to other farmersListening to people tell of their passions in life is always a good way to become informed and inspired. This week I'm on the road in California with a group of farmers who have won corn and soybean yield contests. Three are from Missouri and one is from Texas. They are addressing an audience of corn growers from this rich but embattled agricultural state. The often-touted divide between Midwest and West Coast growers did not show up in this discussion, and it really came down to the commonality and bond that one farmer shares with another. In full disclosure, Pioneer Hi-Bred International is sponsoring the tour, and the four farmers all used Pioneer seed to grow their record crops. Although all costs are paid by the seed giant, the information these guys put forth is remarkably unbiased and pure. Even though three yield winners came out of Missouri, they couldn't be more different in their locations. Gary Porter is from the far northern area of the state and farms in Iowa and Missouri. He is in the region where most consider the soil low-quality compared to the richness of the glacial areas to the north, but his plot in the National Corn Growers' dryland competition yielded 286 bushels per acre. Jerry Cox farms in far Southeast Missouri just above the boot heel in land that is 55 feet above sea level. Very little corn is grown south of him, and he has a very long season. His farming is both irrigated and dryland. Jerry has won 21 yield contests and last year produced his best at 323 bushels per acre. In Southwest Missouri, Kip Cullers farms near Branson. If you go there, you can hear the banjos and swear corn production is measured more by the gallon than by the bushel. He is the record holder on soybeans at 154 bushels per acre, and his best no-till dryland corn yield has been 322 bushels per acre with irrigated corn yield at 346 bushels per acre. Finally, the lone Texan on the tour was Steve Albracht from Hart. He is in the panhandle area and irrigates his entire farm. Soft-spoken and reserved, he speaks about his yield of 346 bushels per acre last year and 368 bushels per acre as his personal best. The audience was California farmers from Bakersfield to the northern counties. California once held most of the irrigated records, and it is common to have counties average almost 200 bushels per acre. It is not a high-value crop and uses a lot of water, so farmers rank it as fifth or sixth choice of what they plant. Many fields are small and farmed with small and older equipment. This doesn't mean the sophistication of the California growers is low. Just the opposite is true, as most own and manage land that is worth millions and are highly skilled in dairy production or vegetables and tree crops that are high-cost and perishable if not handled precisely. The interface between these production purists from Missouri and Texas and the diversified growers from California should have been like oil and water, but they brushed aside their regional differences and moved to every farmers' love: high yields. Kip Cullers is the "superstar" of this circuit. He's folksy, funny and smart. Kip is a bundle of energy and shows pictures of himself on his farm wearing overalls and walking his fields. "You have to try new things or you'll never get any better," he cajoles the audience, which doesn't know whether to laugh or leave, at the start of his presentation. "Most of the things I try fail miserably," he admits to the growers to prove his point. "I've pushed populations of corn up to 150,000 seeds per acre. It looked good for a while but didn't yield anything." All four production winners shocked the audience with the populations they plant, suggesting that up to 44,000 seeds per acre seemed to be a ploy of the seed companies. But these growers strongly stated that the right hybrid in the right quantity on the right acre was a component of larger yields, along with fertility and attentive management. Albracht seemed to have the greatest affinity to the California growers since he farms in dry country. He and Cullers had very similar recommendations for genetics and fertility from very different growing conditions. Cox, from Delta, Mo., was the "godfather" of soil fertility in the group and sorted out the ways to release nutrients to the plants by the kind of fertilizer or micro-nutrients that were applied. A soil scientist might have done a better job but could not have been more credible. There is just something about speaking the language in the right way that works for grower-to-grower communications. Porter probably farms the most challenging land. "Every field we have has a knob that isn't as good as the land below it, but we've got to rent the whole farm," he told the group. "I would say the best thing I've done is go to a planter that shuts off each row so it doesn't double plant, especially on the end rows." He and Cullers also use a twin-row planter on contest plots so the corn plants have more even spacing but can still be harvested with a 30-inch header. The whole panel endorsed the precision and convenience of auto-steering and talked about how they could focus their attention on monitors inside without becoming so fatigued from steering a straight line all day long. "Nothing is more important than planting things right," said Albracht. The yield winners were critical of the high-yielding crops getting so tall. "My kids couldn't see any ears of corn on the plants when I took them to the field," said Porter. "I had to reach up to show them where they were." They were also concerned about common misconceptions about fungicides and which are preventative and which are curative in their use. Cullers was quite excited about new "impact plots" that are going in this year, with as many as 150 hybrids replicated four times within the plot. He has given up land to the seed companies to plant a plot on his farm. As we finished the day, I realized that Pioneer had very little influence over these speakers. The recognition of their success through the National Corn Growers Yield Contest was amplified by the company, and a trip to Commodity Classic gave them the means to interact with their peers. But, it was mostly farmers doing what farmers do naturally: telling others of their success and failure and supporting the culture of growing a larger and more efficient harvest each year. If you have the chance to hear these guys, I assure you it is worth the price of admission. Editor's Note: Ken Root is an independent agricultural journalist. He was named the 2009 Farm Broadcaster of the Year and was the 2008 winner of the Oscar in Agriculture. He is an Oklahoma native and an experienced print, radio and television journalist. He has spent the last five years as Lead Farm Broadcaster at WHO Radio in¬ Des Moines, Iowa. He and his wife Gail have two adult children and two grandchildren.
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