By Brian Hefty

In the past year, the Ag PhD Soil Test app has become one of the most popular ag apps out there.  We hope you have downloaded it and will use it this fall to better understand your soils.  In this article, I decided to have a little fun with the discussion on this app, so I hope you enjoy reading about the (make-believe) reasons NOT to use the Ag PhD Soil Test app.

  1. I hate free stuff.  As a farmer, I always want to take the option that costs money, yet provides no more value than the free choice.  Having the Ag PhD Soil Test app available for free is a major hurdle.
  2. I don’t want to have a smartphone or tablet.  You can download the app onto either a tablet or smartphone, but why have a tool that can help you locate GPS grid points in your field and give you lots of data and other tools that will help your farm?  It’s better to avoid technology and have fewer tools available to help improve your farm.
  3. I don’t want to be able to make free variable rate fertilizer application maps.  It’s much better to pay someone else to make your variable maps.  After all, it does take at least 2 to 3 minutes to make a variable rate fertilizer application map, so why not let someone else handle that?
  4. I prefer to “wing-it” when it comes to my fertility plan.  Having great information doesn’t make farming challenging enough.  It’s better to guess at what you need and hope things turn out okay, especially when margins are tight.
  5. All I really need to know about my soils is how much N, P, and K I have.  What’s the point in knowing if my soil can hold all the nitrogen I want to apply or if my soil pH is causing issues with my fertilizer?  It’s better to guess at these things, because overapplying fertilizer from time to time can be fun and great for the environment.  Plus, are sulfur, zinc, and manganese real nutrients anyway?  N, P, and K are all I need.
  6. If I’m going to spend millions of dollars on fertilizer over the next few years, I would prefer to know as little about fertilizer and my soils as possible.  I have a guy who does all my soil sampling, makes all my recommendations, and sells me all my fertilizer.  I like giving him a blank check every year, because that’s how I get the best deal.  There’s no need to double-check anything this person does.  Besides, it’s only a few million dollars I’m going to invest over the next few years, and I want to make sure I spend as much as possible to keep my fertilizer dealer happy.
  7. I like to wait a few weeks to find out my results after I soil sample.  I’m never in a hurry on my farm, so I like to let the lab and the people I work with take their time to get me my results.  Having the information back in less than a week through the Ag PhD Soil Test app is unnecessary.
  8. Spending only one day to sample 1000 acres is just too quick.  I prefer to take a full day going through each field sampling because I always have lots of extra time in the fall.  There’s usually nothing else going on at that time of year, so I like to take my time completing tasks.
  9. I don’t want higher yields.  If I produce more bushels I’ll have a lot more trucking to do.  Plus, I do not want my neighbors to feel bad if I outyield them.  I prefer to always let the neighbors produce more bushels than me.
  10. I don’t want to make more money.  If I make more, I’ll have to pay more taxes, and my spouse will want a new kitchen or more toys.  I prefer my current lifestyle, and I want no improvements.

With the Ag PhD Soil Test app and recommendations from both Midwest Labs and Ag PhD, the odds are high that you’ll be able to fine-tune your fertility program.  That doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll spend less on fertilizer, but it does mean you’ll know how to best invest your fertilizer dollars so you can earn more profit on the farm in 2016.