AGCO Crop Tour – More Yield Does Not Always Mean More Profit!
An important aspect of AGCO’s Crop Tour is to educate farmers how to generate more profit by adapting different technology and farming practices to suit regional conditions. A key element is to show farmers that yield does not always mean more profit, and farmers should aim to maximize profit by optimizing yield and investment costs.
AGCO Crop Tour – More Yield Does Not Always Mean More Profit!
An important aspect of AGCO’s Crop Tour is to educate farmers how to generate more profit by adapting different technology and farming practices to suit regional conditions. A key element is to show farmers that yield does not always mean more profit, and farmers should aim to maximize profit by optimizing yield and investment costs.Given the success of the 2017 and 2018 AGCO Crop Tour, farmers in Russia are learning a great deal about what drives farm profitability.
In Krasnaya Bashkiria, close to the city of Magnitogorsk in the southern part of Russia, AGCO’s Agronomy team worked closely with farmers to compare different farming practices
Ildar, AGCO’s Area Sales Manager for this part of Russia says “what works in other parts of the world does not always work in this part of Russia. The growing season is very short in this part of Russia, so it is important to adapt technology and agronomy to suit these conditions”.
To establish the most profitable farming practice for Maize, a number of plots we designed to compare crop establishment methods with different fertilizer strategies. A mixture of autumn and spring applied fertilizer plots were implemented. These were then tested with and without an autumn starter fertilizer at planting.
Different Fertilizer Strategies applied to Maize in Krasnaya Bashkiria, Russia
The result were very revealing and demonstrated maximum yield does not always mean maximum profit. The highest yielding plot (plot 8) produced 3.37t/ha of Maize with a profit of RUB 36,652/ha. The most profitable plot (plot 6) provided RUB 41,180/ha, but yielded 15% less. The results showed the high cost of the starter fertilizer did not produce a return on investment, and it was more profitable to sacrifice a little yield and make savings on fertilizer, which increased profit.
AGCO Crop Tour results from comparing different fertilizer strategies in Krasnaya Bashkiria, Russia
The plots and knowledge on farm profitability formed the basis for a Crop Tour in 2017 & 2018. Farmers across the region were invited to attend and see for themselves the importance of considering profitability as well as yield.
Crop Tour in Krasnaya Bashkiria welcomes farmer from around Russia to learn about how to improve profitability.
Jens, from AGCO agronomy and farm solutions team, in the field educating farmers on how to maximize profit by using technology to increase yield and reduce costs.
The event will be repeated in 2019, but expanded to show the impact of different tillage methods on yield and profitability. There will be a great deal of focus on using technology to establish a crop, which will be demonstrated through a series of demonstration plots. Visitors to Crop Tour in Russia will be able to see first-hand the impact of different planter settings on root development, plant population and subsequent yield. They will also be able to meet members of AGCO’s Agronomy and Farm Services team, where they will be able to discuss how planter technology can influence crop establishment and yield. Please contact your dealer for more information
Author:
Mark Moore, Agricultural Development Manager
Mark is involved helping organize the Crop Tour program in Eastern Europe, and is very familiar with demonstrating the agronomic value of using technology, having managed the agricultural activities on AGCO’s Future Farm in Zambia for the past 6 years.
