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You may have read the 2017 broadcast and the 2018 broadcast recently exposed to your reading agenda today.

A Texas High. Best Corn in Texas.
Here is the most current news that we can muster from Andy and Cody Cover.
A review of the Cover farm with current news as of January 2022.  


In 2020  Winter Wheat Certified Seed was not produced. Andy and Cody have removed winter wheat from their rotation in 2020 and set their tool bar on 30 inch centers and started more intense work with cover crops.

The soils are sandy south of Hartley, Texas. The soils are tighter clay soils east of Hartley towards Dumas. They have two farms with totally different soils and good quality and quantity of irrigation water.

In 2021 they used cover crop of Rye and Clover in combination with seed bed preparer from Dawn.
The seed bed preparation was minimum till with dry sulfur banded.

The Mustang Tool Bar was set at depths of 7 to 8 inch depths banded Exactrix TAPPKTS plus Zn, B and Mn.  The Exactrix crystalline band at 1%CV was 2 to 3 inches to side of the corn seed row and 7 to 8 inches deep.

In 2021 The Cover farm planting Pioneer 1108Q averaged 338 bushels per acre and won the Texas, National Corn Growers contest in the minimum till category.

The 30 inch Mustang TAPPKTS plus Zn, B, and Mn Bands are directly under or the side of each planter row located to a depth of 7 to 8 inches.

The Cover Story.  Your Great Plains Reporter on the XIT. Guy Swanson reporting for 2021 crop production.

       

       

       

From Southwest Kansas to the 3 million acres of the XIT of  the Texas Panhandle. Producers must stop the solution 32-0-0 with the pivot to make top yields.

Lowest cost per bushel produced in the Level 300 bushels per acre range
Top yields are accomplished with Exactrix TAPPKTS Zn, Mn.

Deleting dairy manure and 32-0-0 pivot applied.  Solution 32-0-0 and dairy manure does hide the corn yield potential with a color mask.  
A follow up at Dalhart, Texas reveals changes in 2018, as well as 2020.

Manganese and Boron Deficiency on the XIT with Andy Cover of Cover Farms.

What we know today and how we plan to solve with VRT-Site Specific.
Managing the XIT soils today for better crops tomorrow.

Moving to Exactrix TAPPS reveals real problems that manure and 32-0-0 were hiding.

  • The Drone View showed highly variable corn height and color in pockets. A tissue test indicates about 25% of the pivot is deficient in micronutrients Manganese and Boron.
     
  • The yield reduction is considerable with the plants showing the stripping of leaves, The Pioneer 1197 corn plant is about 20% to 25% shorter in deficient areas and elevations.

    Andy Cover of Dalhart/Hartley and just 3 miles north of the XIT Channing General Office, Never knew about this problem since they were applying 300 lbs. of N with the irrigation pivot using 32-0-0 which is a salvage nitrogen and not primary nitrogen.

    The dairies have lots of manure for sale. Andy applied 1.2 million dollars of manure over the last 5 years at 20 to 50 tons per acre

    The Manganese and Boron problem was under the cover of a nitrogen mask.

    Sandy Soil
    or low CEC,  high pH, a lower elevation bowl and continuous corn are for sure signs of Iron Chlorosis or a metal problem.
  • The areas of short stature and stripping are suspected to be blowout from the Dust Bowl.
  • The manure cannot supply the micro nutrients timely.

    Andy will pull some old yield maps to determine the trend in yield in these deficient pockets.

     
    Spraying the crop with Manganese brought peace of mind only, the yield potential was lost.
    • Metals deficiency cause the stripping of the corn leaves, Zinc, Copper, Iron, and Manganese.
    • What about Boron? Boron deficiency is shown by white freckles on the leaf surface and in the stripping area.

      More advanced Boron deficiency will show up as white stripping in the vein areas. Also the whorls may not unfurl in a predictable manner.

      The problem is which metal is causing the short plant and stripping in the leaf new growth.

      The soil sample may not show up as being significant problem but the tissue sample will unravel the mystery of which metal is causing the problem. In this case it was determined to be Manganese.

    This is a top notch production area and capable of 300 bushel per acre corn.
    Variable Rate – Site Specific will take yields higher.


    A soil elevation depression is also shown in this photo, thus the blowout theory.

    Note: The Cover Farm is part of the Dust Bowl transformation of the land during the “dirty thirties”.
    Tillage created many problems and
    tillage is never a solution long or short term under difficult economics.

         

     

    How were the symptoms expressed?
    What were the tools used to solve the problem?
    Did CPS help find the solution without the tissue samples?

    Click Here for the Progression of Discovery.

    Soil Samples and growing plant tissue samples say it is true. Zinc and other nutrients are fine to excellent. Manganese and Boron were pinpointed. Previous solution 32-0-0 applications masked the visual nutrient problems and correct micronutrient in need.
     

    • The Exactrix Mustang Tool bar will be set up 3 products for 2019 to manage the deficient soil.
    • Saving millions of dollars over a farming career.
    • Injection of Manganese and Boron to supplement the plant with micronutrients.
    • Mustang Tool bars set up with 3 product delivery.

    If you need more information on how to manage Manganese and Boron Deficiency. Click here. 

    If you would like to identify the deficiency in your fields.

    Manganese Go to
    http://agdev.anr.udel.edu/weeklycropupdate/?p=3269 

    Boron Go to.
    https://www.agweb.com/article/plants-need-boron-to-thrive-darrell-smith/

    The Little B in Canola.
    https://www.agweb.com/article/plants-need-boron-to-thrive-darrell-smith/

    There are two ways to solve for Site Specific application of Micro Nutrients and Biological materials. Manganese and Boron can be managed separately.

    2KR Blender is used to interject flow into the 2nd product 2KP or 2KM systems.

    A 2KP Third product system is added with injection at 3rd product TIO using looking glass manifolds and high pressure lines.

    Looking Glass Manifolds improve third product injection when materials are not compatible with Poly Phosphate.

    The 3rd product injection is utilized with Mustang Openers.

    1. Utilizing Exactrix TAPPS and TAPPKTS with third product micro-nutrient management will raise yields and lowers costs.
    2. Variable Rate Site Specific applications drive nutrient costs 7% to 8% of the gross income.
    3. Producers can achieve NUE of .585 lbs. N per bushel produced as per Ben McClure of Hugoton, KS.

    A big deal in Texas

     Big Bob Cates at Channing, Texas, HQ of the XIT.
    After 1.5 hours he became a good friend in a private tour with his keys in hand .
    He is biggest and best supporter on the XIT explains the history of the largest cattle ranch in the USA.

    The 3 million acre XIT had 6,000 miles of fence. The XIT perimeter is now inclusive of a “Billions of Dollars” of real estate and the strongest agricultural economy in the world.

    From the Buffalo Springs section on the Oklahoma border to Lubbock Texas, the Yellow House section the stretch of real estate was 2 counties wide and reserved for the Pioneers when the state government in Austin got a better idea.

    Here is the timeline and the focus.
    The governor said, “We need 2 million dollars quick to build the new state capital in Austin”. The Chicago based, Farwell Brothers went for the deal in about the 1878 stretch and by 1885 they were in the cattle business. The railroads were coming to the Panhandle of Texas which had been an Independent state since 1836. Colorado became a state in 1876 and George Armstrong Custer died in Montana territory fighting Indians in June of 1876.

    The operations of XIT father land include:

    • Livestock confined feeding of hogs, cattle, dairy, slaughter and meat packing, cheese factories of large scale.

    • The Ogallala irrigated grain production, Cotton, Alfalfa, Soybean.

    • Biological power, New developments in Canola crushing, Canola crush feeding, Bio-diesel, Ethanol and byproducts of Distillers Grains.

    • Oil and Gas, Petroleum refining.

    • Windmills of extreme population.

    • Irrigation technical developments, SDI, Center Pivot, deep soil water monitoring equipment.

    • Two Transcontinental railroads, BNSF, UP.

    • Petroleum Refining, Ammonia Plants.

    • Ammonia, Gas and Oil Interstate pipelines. Interstate 40 transportation of goods east and west and Texas funded 4 lane highways north to south.

      The XIT is so significant to Texas history that it will never be fully understood the contribution it made to the economy of the United States.

      Every story told is true and every record kept at XIT General Office confirm the roots of Texas lie in this Victorian General Office building. The archives now belong to the commissioners of Hartley County Texas.

      As they say in Washington State and Texas. “You can only be guilty of thinking too small” RA Hanson.

    • The XIT, Three Million Acres. 150,000 Longhorns, 6,000 miles of fence, 2 million acres in Montana, Built the largest state capital in the USA.
       
    • British Investors (2 million dollars) were paid back very well.
       
    • Cattle Trail to Montana went through 7 states from Easter to mid-July.
       
    • From Dalhart, Texas here is the report. http://www.xitmuseum.com/history.shtml


       

     

    Inside the XIT, General Office, rests this map taking up the entire wall.  

    Rules of the XIT.

    • Ownership of guns was not allowed.
    • Only XIT horses were on the ranch. There was no personal ownership of a horse.
    • No Alcohol.
    • No Card playing.  
    • Families were encouraged.
    • A good place for an expanding your moral strength and character.  

    Sounds like they were ahead of their time when it came to focus of effort on the XIT. The largest cattle ranch in the world in the 1880’s.
    Cattle rustlers and wolves reduced profits to zero when the cattle market collapsed.
    Primarily the railroads sent the cattle to market early creating the collapse and the access to the herd.

    Big Bob Cates, the host of XIT HQ at Channing, Texas, and a great 1.5 hours together at headquarters.


    Your Great Plains Reporter.

    Guy J Swanson

    One More Thing.

    • “ Producers in the PNW raising high yielding winter and spring wheat are also masking the micronutrient needs by elevating nitrogen to 2 and 3 times above what is actually needed. When uniformity of applications at 1%CV are implemented and TAPPS vermiculated nutrients are banded deep it is apparent that Nitrogen is way over applied and especially when root pattern geometry is perfected to the opener design.
       
    • “Two pass systems with seed row index over the top of the TAPPS band brings even higher levels of efficiency and much lower rates of applied N.”
       
    • “The mystery of over application of Nitrogen continues across North America. From Culiacan, Mexico to the Peace River of Northern Alberta to Lake Erie. Nitrogen and Phosphate is over applied 2 to 3 times over the need as compared to Exactrix TAPPS application with geometric access.”
       
    • Economic performance with Exactrix VRT-Site Specific is a power play at 1%CV…no other approach can come close.

     


    John Cory
    Security West Financial

    Call your new banker, John Cory, Security West Financial.
    http://swfinco.com/contact.html   (509) 994-8555 You can go off the balance sheet and work with the best using the strength of Farm Credit and others.

    John will help you spend about $40,000 annually to make $150,000 more annually by spending only $60 per acre in irrigated production for fertilizer. John understands the cycles of agriculture and how to keep your balance sheet looking good.

    At the end of five years you will own a powerful machine that continue to produce good returns having already been paid for at the end of the first year.  You can even apply for your neighbors with a Mustang Tool Bar.

    At 1,000 acres of corn, An internal bottom line savings of $750,000 over five years on 5,000 acres of corn.  

    An Exactrix Mustang Tool Bar capable of producing $550,000 of internally available funds in five years.   


      See Video 

    Top yields, best margin and the new leader in VRT-Site Specific, Small Grains Expert. Eric Odberg at Genesee, Idaho breaking winter wheat yield records. Exactrix TAPPS at Catholic Canyon using 4 management zones. Exactrix Site-Specific, Variable Rate
    EO.htm

    "Paul Gangwish, Drone Video"
    Track Machines improve production 200%.
    Application time cut in half at 1 acre per minute.
    Up to $150 more net income per acre.

    The 2017 Agronomy Review.
    http://www.exactrix.com/Broadcast_12_29_2016.html

    Meeting your formulation needs. www.exactrix.com/TF.htm  

    Picking your metering systems. www.exactrix.com/epm.htm  

    Need more information on advanced crop production.   www.exactrix.com/EWAC.htm

     

    For More Information:
     
    509.254 6854