Innovation and farming- the two really go hand in hand. That’s why Beck’s Hybrids developed their Practical Farm Research program many years ago where they conduct over 500 studies across five states and share the results of those studies in their annual PFR book.
“Our job here at Beck’s in the Practical Farm Research program is to help farmers succeed,” says Jim Schwartz, Director of Practical Farm Research for Beck’s. “We get our best ideas from growers to test things every year, and so we want their input to say what are they interested in because we will listen to them, and we’ll design studies around that.”
Schwartz says two of the most common questions their PFR team gets each year are how can I maximize my nitrogen dollars, and what planter attachments should I consider when upgrading or getting a new planter? He answers both.
“Start with closing wheels. It’s the most cost-effective way you can upgrade your planter with spike closing wheels. Secondly, we talk a lot about hydraulic down force. It is one of the things that we’ve seen consistently improve the overall results. And then thirdly, we talk a lot about that 2x2x2 nitrogen system. It’s changed our base program here on all our farms. We see about a 5.7-bushel bump when we went from 30 pounds on one side of the row to 60 pounds on both sides of the row. We got better root growth; those roots explored the soil better.”
Learn more about Beck’s PFR program on their website.
