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Leesburg, Ohio | Spreading dry on top may be the easy button, but it probably the least effective method of getting N to the crop at the right time and location for best efficiency and minimal losses.
We have traditionally applied most of our N on corn with side-dress coulters between the rows at ankle to knee-high stage.
Recently we have updated to an applicator with both coulters and Y-drops, placing 2/3 of the N in the middle of the row space and 1/3 next to the rows using Y-drops.
We think we have seen better results from the Y-drops placing the N close to the row than we have with the coulters placing it further away in the middle of the bulk. So this year we are flipping the ratio from 2/3 in the middle by coulter and 1/3 next to the row with Y-drops, and will apply 2/3 Y-drop and 1/3 coulter.
You say you have poor GPS. Eventually you will figure out that accurate GPS will allow so many operations to work so much better, and repay such a good ROI, that the admittedly pricey cost of a top-of-the-line GPS system becomes a no-brainer. It doesn't cost, it pays. It is not just about the accurate steering, although that does allow things to happen that could not otherwise be done. It is really about the cost savings in less overlap, accurate variable rates, and accurate machine control that pays the cost and more. | |
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Y drop vs Dry Spread
