Overview 

Three years of data indicate that liquid-injected biosolids-based fertilizers (LBF, using 'Lystegro' from Lystek) are a viable alternative to conventional forms of nitrogen (N) fertilizer on a total N basis in wheat rotations in the southern Sacramento Valley. Lab data comparing LBF, pelletized biosolids-based fertilizers (PBF), and urea provide additional insight into soil phosphorous (P), salinity (EC), soil pH, and N mineralization responses after additions of the treatments.

Above: Application of LysteGro (Liquid-Injected Biosolids-Based Fertilizer, LBF)...

Join us next week for a workshop that will cover some basic wheat fertilization strategies and focus on how to use the Nitrogen Fertilizer Management for California Wheat Webtool.

Yolo County: Wednesday, October 11th 2023, 9 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

70 Cottonwood Street, Woodland, CA

Register: click here

Given the high cost of Nitrogen (N) fertilizer and a tendency to apply the majority of N prior to planting, growers stand to potentially leave a lot of money on the table by failing to optimize their...

Growers are said to be one of the most surveyed groups in the US. This is understandable as only around 2% of Americans work in agriculture and there is an intrinsic lack of understanding of what is needed to help growers develop their operations. I frequently hear growers express concerns about issues that need to be addressed, whether those stem from government agencies, local weather patterns, or regional markets. However, quantifying the significance of these issues without data can be challenging.

Surveys conducted by Cooperative Extension and local organizations give growers a voice and serve as the first step in collaboration between growers and researchers in addressing the issues at hand. 

If you have found...

Half the battle in learning and development is knowing what you don't know. I have been collecting a running list of different ag-related tools and technologies that I think growers, managers, and crop consultants could benefit from. Below are some notable tools:

Using Google Sheets to Manage Tasks Among Ag Teams:

https://www.google.com/sheets/about/

Google sheets is an incredibly simple and flexible tool, basically an excel spreadsheet that is housed in the cloud (online). This means that multiple people can be given access to it for organizational purposes to create a live project board that can guide field operations.

For example,...