Fundamental Five Drives Agronomic Success

A successful season starts first with strategic product selection. Then, early, uniform plant emergence. After that, it’s all about in-season management to maintain plant health and mitigate stress so come harvest, the yield monitor has successful numbers to share.
 
While this may seem basic, farmers may be leaving hundreds of dollars per acre in the field by not leveraging quality data to support their decision-making. That’s why we’ve assembled The Fundamental Five: five key agronomic actions to help you enhance season-long crop management, achieve optimal ROI and yield potential, and support your soil health and sustainability goals. With our industry-leading data set and agronomic expertise, we can offer these recommendations, which are all backed by research and supported by our product portfolio.  

Fundamental 1: Get the best local seed and trait recommendations and management.

Through the WinField^® United Answer Plot^® program and R7^® technology solutions like the Top 10 feature, your trusted advisor can help you analyze data like response-to scores and select the right seed for your management style using genetic diversity, highly localized data and field trial insights.
 
The CHT Tool uses up to three years’ worth of Answer Plot data to compare CROPLAN^® seed products to seed from other major companies. Comparisons are based on soil type, crop rotation, plant population, management practices and much more. Then, the best seed wins — whether it’s CROPLAN seed or not. In a nutshell, the CHT Tool allows you to get characterization data for corn hybrids plus soybean and wheat varieties, see rankings of CROPLAN seed and competitor brands, and control and capitalize on field variability.
 
Meanwhile, response-to scores can help you better match the hybrids you choose to your management style and farm environment, which allows you to allocate your crop inputs budget more precisely. For more than a decade, WinField United has measured and recorded the response of various hybrids to population, nitrogen and continuous corn. In the last seven years, response-to fungicide has been added to the mix.
 
Drawing from multiple WinField United sources, the R7 Top 10 Feature provides a quick snapshot of top-performing hybrids in your area on specific soil types. It can even help you decide where to plant specific varieties and hybrids, and provides photos so you can see ear flex, the number of kernels around and how different hybrids respond to different populations.

Fundamental 2: Mitigate early plant stress.

Consistent and early stand establishment maximizes yield potential. Pairing a plant growth regulator (PGR) such as Ascend^® Pro and a seed treatment like Warden^® CX can help protect against early-season environmental and pest challenges to promote more vigorous, even emergence. That strong start can translate to season-long crop health benefits. For example, starter fertilizers and products like Ascend Pro helped crops establish strong root systems for harnessing deep subsoil moisture critical for their survival during the dry conditions of the 2021 season.

Fundamental 3: Target spray applications and clean fields.

Minimize weed competition from the get-go. For reliable weed control, we recommend using a multiple mode of action preemergence herbicide followed by a multiple mode of action postemergence program. You can also optimize product efficacy by using an adjuvant that’s backed by data and proven to perform. Data shows that including InterLock^® adjuvant in the tank can help reduce driftable fines by up to 60%¹, greatly reducing the risk of off-target drift and keeping more spray on target. Ask your trusted advisor how adjuvants can be essential components of your weed control strategy.

Fundamental 4: Optimize plant nutrition.

Yields can be greatly influenced by the way you manage nutrition throughout the season, including secondary nutrients and micronutrients. WinField United response-to nitrogen (RTN) scores can help you plan and prioritize your nitrogen applications. For example, if you’re planting a high-RTN hybrid this year, make sure you apply in-season nitrogen or topdress those hybrids first. Data from the 2020 Answer Plot program revealed planting a hybrid with a high RTN score and managing with plenty of nitrogen added nearly 105 bushels per acre compared to planting the same hybrid under limited nitrogen conditions.²
 
The R7 Field Forecasting Tool is a great in-season monitoring tool that provides field-by-field nutrient modeling with tissue sample validation. Regular tissue testing and soil sampling are both key for monitoring and optimizing plant nutrition. You may find that, even though nutrients are sufficient in your soil, they may have trouble getting into the plant based on tissue test results. There could be a number of reasons for that, so it may take some investigation and agronomic support from your advisor to identify the problem.
 
Through SureTech^® Laboratories and our extensive plant nutrition database, your advisor has access to the details needed to make the right recommendations about the timing of your crop nutrient applications all season.

Fundamental 5: Maximize plant health.

Diseases and stress reduce kernel fill, weight and standability. Using the right fungicide can help you both manage disease and obtain plant health benefits. WinField United’s response-to fungicide data has identified specific seed genetics that are highly responsive to fungicide applications regardless of visible disease presence. There are new high-performing fungicides that provide flexibility in application timing to fit diverse late-season plant health strategies. Insights from our trials show that including MasterLock^® adjuvant with a fungicide application can help increase yield and ROI potential. 

Applying the Fundamentals

Your trusted advisor is a great resource to help guide you through the decisions and management of these fundamentals. The Advanced Acre^® Rx program is also a great way to manage these factors effectively while mitigating risk. The tiered program takes all these fundamentals into account to provide a holistic, systems approach to crop management that’s provided through your local retailer and backed by WinField United with a service warranty.*
 
Contact your trusted advisor today to discuss ways you can achieve a strong start, and a strong finish, this season.
 
¹ WinField United Wind tunnel data, 2018.
² WinField United, 43 Answer Plot locations, 2020.
 
*Agreement is required and conditions, restrictions and service fees apply. Percentage goals for the APH crop yield range from 95–105% for corn and 95–100% for soybeans. Only available to corn and soybean farmers who enroll a minimum of 250 acres of an individual crop in the program. Due to factors outside of WinField United’s control, results to be obtained cannot be predicted or guaranteed by WinField United. Results may vary.
 
All photos are either the property of WinField United or used with permission.

© 2022 WinField United. Important: Before use always read and follow label instructions. Crop performance is dependent on several factors many of which are beyond the control of WinField United, including without limitation, soil type, pest pressures, agronomic practices and weather conditions. Growers are encouraged to consider data from multiple locations, over multiple years and to be mindful of how such agronomic conditions could impact results. Advanced Acre, Answer Plot, Ascend, CROPLAN, InterLock, MasterLock, R7, SureTech, Warden and WinField are trademarks of WinField United. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.