How a Whole Acre Approach Benefits Your Operation
Successful farm management requires more than making isolated decisions about seeds, fertilizer and crop protection. When operating under tight margins, building an integrated plan that enhances productivity, reduces risk and maximizes input efficiency is critical to ensuring long-term success. Let’s take a closer look at how a whole-acre systems approach can benefit your operation.
Strive for a Systems Approach
An agronomic systems approach is one where management decisions have been thoughtfully made relative to each other. For example, the traited seed you choose must have the appropriate insect and herbicide protection as well as any other genetic agronomic features that are relative to the acre; the crop protection program contains herbicides that pair with the selected seed traits and cover the most problematic weeds in the system; and the fertility plan meets the expected nutritional demands of the crop to be grown in the most efficient way possible.
Another key aspect of a systems approach is a valued support system. The number of decisions that go into managing a modern farming operation typically requires the assistance of several important advisors who serve as experts in all critical aspects, from grain marketing to tax preparation and succession planning. Managing the crop is also an area that often requires assistance from outside individuals, and your operation needs someone who understands both the short- and long-term goals of the farm and can help attain the highest return on investment for every dollar that’s spent.
Benefits of Whole-Acre Farm Management
While every operation has unique productivity and profitability goals, the benefits of an integrated plan are universal and can help improve outcomes no matter the farm size. These four benefits stand out when I think about whole-acre farm management.
How to Pivot Your Management Approach
These practical steps are a great place to start if you want to shift to a whole-acre management style.
In addition, the Advanced Acre® Rx program offers customized prescriptions that embrace a systems approach to farm management to help maximize your profitability potential. Personalized Advanced Acre Rx program recommendations are based on more than 25 years of local data and insights to help offset risk and are backed by a service warranty*.
The agriculture industry has entered an era where cohesive and comprehensive farm management will be required to fully leverage the benefits of new technologies, genetics, information and equipment. Contact your WinField United retailer to learn about data, services and programs that can support more cohesive decision-making.
*Agreement is required and conditions, restrictions and service fees apply. Percentage goals for the Approved Yield range from 95–105% for corn and 95–100% for soybeans. 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.
© 2024 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 Rx, Answer Plot and WinField are trademarks of WinField United.
Strive for a Systems Approach
An agronomic systems approach is one where management decisions have been thoughtfully made relative to each other. For example, the traited seed you choose must have the appropriate insect and herbicide protection as well as any other genetic agronomic features that are relative to the acre; the crop protection program contains herbicides that pair with the selected seed traits and cover the most problematic weeds in the system; and the fertility plan meets the expected nutritional demands of the crop to be grown in the most efficient way possible.
Another key aspect of a systems approach is a valued support system. The number of decisions that go into managing a modern farming operation typically requires the assistance of several important advisors who serve as experts in all critical aspects, from grain marketing to tax preparation and succession planning. Managing the crop is also an area that often requires assistance from outside individuals, and your operation needs someone who understands both the short- and long-term goals of the farm and can help attain the highest return on investment for every dollar that’s spent.
Benefits of Whole-Acre Farm Management
While every operation has unique productivity and profitability goals, the benefits of an integrated plan are universal and can help improve outcomes no matter the farm size. These four benefits stand out when I think about whole-acre farm management.
- Streamlined Decision-Making: One significant advantage of whole-acre farm management is that it simplifies decision-making. When all decisions are coordinated, each one plays off the next, helping to pare down options. For example, if you’re choosing seed and know you need a below-ground insect trait because corn rootworm has been a problem in your fields, you can eliminate all hybrid options without corn rootworm traits. Knowing your fields and dialing in on the needs of every acre can remove some of the pressure of making input decisions.
- Optimized Input Management: By taking a whole-acre approach to farm management, you can help ensure that inputs like seed, fertilizer and crop protection products are well-matched to the acre and used effectively and efficiently. For example, your WinField United retailer has access to local response-to data for nearly all the corn hybrids in our network that can help you understand which seed products respond best to fungicides and various nitrogen rates. Armed with this information, you can stretch your input budget further by applying products and practices where they can have the greatest impact.
- Enhanced Risk Mitigation: A whole-acre management approach helps to mitigate risks that could threaten your crop’s yield potential. For example, if you plant a hybrid that is susceptible to diseases that are a common issue in the field and forgo the fungicide application, you may greatly limit its yield potential if conditions are conducive to disease development. When management decisions are made with a whole-acre mentality, there is also less risk of committing critical in-season errors that can reduce your profitability potential, such as spraying the wrong herbicide on a non-tolerant hybrid.
- Increased Efficiency: Taking a systems approach to farm management allows for better coordination within your team, adding administrative efficiencies. You also gain efficiencies by managing each acre more granularly versus taking a blanket approach to all your fields. You can make more informed decisions tailored to your operation and improve them over time as you gain more insights. This can lead to cost savings and improved productivity, as each decision supports and enhances the others.
How to Pivot Your Management Approach
These practical steps are a great place to start if you want to shift to a whole-acre management style.
- Identify a Trusted Advisor: You may already have a go-to advisor who understands your operation and can provide the recommendations, data and insights you need to evolve your management approach. If you don’t, seek out a trusted advisor who can support you and serve as a liaison to help coordinate decision-making.
- Evaluate Current Practices: Assess your current management practices to identify opportunities for more integration. Review your decision-making process and ensure it is cohesive as you make seed, crop nutrition and crop protection choices.
- Start Small: When implementing new practices or products, start small. Apply a more systems-focused approach to one part of your operation or a specific field. Monitor the results and evaluate whether you notice improvements in efficiency, productivity or profitability.
- Leverage Resources: Use available data and technology to support your whole-acre approach. Each season, the WinField® United Answer Plot® program generates thousands of data points, many of which are local, to help inform crop management practices, from hybrid-specific fungicide recommendations to nitrogen applications.
In addition, the Advanced Acre® Rx program offers customized prescriptions that embrace a systems approach to farm management to help maximize your profitability potential. Personalized Advanced Acre Rx program recommendations are based on more than 25 years of local data and insights to help offset risk and are backed by a service warranty*.
The agriculture industry has entered an era where cohesive and comprehensive farm management will be required to fully leverage the benefits of new technologies, genetics, information and equipment. Contact your WinField United retailer to learn about data, services and programs that can support more cohesive decision-making.
*Agreement is required and conditions, restrictions and service fees apply. Percentage goals for the Approved Yield range from 95–105% for corn and 95–100% for soybeans. 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.
© 2024 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 Rx, Answer Plot and WinField are trademarks of WinField United.
