Frenchman Valley Co-op (FVC) in Imperial, Neb., on Oct. 14 announced the launch of Carbon Cycle™, a new biological that uses a collection of bacteria and amino acids to break down tough crop residue, speed up planting, and release nutrients faster.
“Carbon Cycle springs from our effort to test, refine, and make available new biologicals at a price point that can improve every farmer’s return on investmen),” said Ben Sauder, Vice President of Agronomy at FVC. “We are in a time of rapid advances with new biologicals, and we are happy to now provide this proven, beneficial technology to our growers.”
FVC said the need for Carbon Cycle stemmed from better genetics, faster planters, and higher yields. Average corn yields in America increased from 108.6 bushel per acre (BPA) in 1991 to 172 BPA in 2020, according to USDA. To grow and fill out heavier ears, corn stalks got stronger. To gain yield, plant populations went up, creating more residue. Meanwhile, FVC said planter speeds have doubled in recent years and 10-mph is now common.
“New planting systems are designed to get the crop planted inside tight weather windows,” Sauder said. “Anything that helps us move faster and still get even germination is key, and the added benefit is freeing up more nutrients in a timely way for the next crop.”
Carbon Cycle offers other advantages as well, according to Sauder. “Lighter residue means less fuel needed for tillage and easier planting, and there’s a big impact on fertility that’s really important when we are seeing increases in fertilizer prices,” he said. “Economic viability is the key component of sustainable crop production and that’s behind our development of these innovative biologicals.”
FVC said the blend of six proprietary microbes in Carbon Cycle boosts natural biological activity that releases field-available nutrients from crop residue faster. Initial data indicates increases of up to 30-40 pounds of nitrogen, 5-10 pounds of phosphorus, and 35-40 pounds of potassium per acre in the crop following Carbon Cycle application.
FVCis a full-service cooperative offering crop
inputs, precision ag services, grain storage, grain marketing, energy, feed and
hardware from 21 locations serving growers in southwestern Nebraska, northwestern
Kansas, the Nebraska Panhandle, northeastern Colorado, South Dakota, and
Wyoming.