By KRISS NELSON

editor@messengernews.net

EMMETSBURG — The Farm News Ag Show held Wednesday at the Palo Alto County Fairgrounds in Emmetsburg gave producers and agri-business professionals an opportunity to network with one another — a chance many have not had in over a year.

Forty vendors filled the fairground’s 4-H exhibit building while the outdoor pavilion served as home to the speakers who presented a variety of subjects to the show-going crowd.

Some of Farm News’ favorite columnists, David Kruse, Jerry Nelson and cartoonist Rick Friday and Dan Bjorklund, seed team leader for MaxYield Cooperative, provided both information and some comedic relief throughout the day.

Dear County Agent Guy

Nelson, who pens the column “Dear County Agent Guy” for Farm News and other publications gave an overview of his childhood, farming and his near death experience.

A self-described “space case” because he was born shortly after Sputnik was launched into space, Nelson said he had the opportunity to attend country school for one year before making the move to “town school.”

It was there, he said, he learned what a bully was and just how poor his family was and that if he wanted to be a farmer he didn’t think he needed to attend school – something this parents did not allow.

Although he enjoyed his childhood, he said there was nothing worse than the Saturday night bath.

“That was a rule at our house. Everyone had to take a bath on Saturday night whether you needed it or not,” he said. “All of us kids had to use the same bath water. I always had to go last based on I was the dirtiest kid.”

The Saturday night bath, he said made it feel as if he “had been skinned.”

“You build up a protective layer of grit and grime. That particular layer was good for a lot of things, keeping way bugs and girls,” he said. “I would watch my protective layer slowly dissolve. That was terrible.”

July 10, 1988 is a date that will always stand out in Nelson’s mind.

“That was the day I was supposed to die,” he said.

Nelson succumbed to hydrogen sulfide gas while attempting to fix the pump in the manure pit.

His chances for survival were very slim. His family was told if he could last seven days, he had a 50/50 chance of survival after that.

He would spike fevers of 106 degrees or more. His sweat, he said, smelled of rotten eggs. It was the toxins being released from this body.

His lungs were severely injured in the accident and it was unknown, if he survived, what the long-lasting side effects would be.

Nelson said the hospital had never had a hydrogen sulfide patient in his condition survive and they were unsure if he would be able to walk again and if he would, would he need oxygen?

“After five weeks of being in the hospital, I was able to walk out unassisted — much to everybody’s amazement,” Nelson said which included without oxygen support as well.

Raising high yielding corn

Bjorklund put into perspective what it might take to potentially raise 300 bushel an acre corn.

Bjorklund said he has seen planting populations drive corn yields. When he began as an agronomist in the 1980s, he said farmers were planting 22,000 to 24,000 seeds per acre and now are up to 34,000 to 35,000 seeds per acre.

With the size of corn plants being grown today, Bjorklund said it makes it almost impossible to go beyond that planting population.

“We have hit a plateau,” he said. “The only way we are going to keep increasing yield, if population is going to drive it, is to bring the stature of corn down.”

Currently, Bjorklund said seed companies such as Bayer and Stine have been working to adjust the architecture of the corn.

Not only will a shorter plant potentially allow for a higher population to be planted, Bjorklund said those corn plants will allow for a more efficient use of moisture and fertility The size is also ideal for later applications of mid-season inputs allowing the machine to get through them without damage to the plant.

With higher yields, also come higher fertility rates.

In addition to the usual nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium levels, Bjorklund said sulfur is also needed to help achieve higher yields.

“When you start getting yields above 250, sulfur becomes a primary nutrient like N, P and K. We call it a secondary nutrient up to 200 (bushels an acre),” he said. “The pounds needed of sulfur when you are getting higher than that is really significant. We started seeing that impact and that advantage.”

Micronutrients are also something producers should consider, Bjorklund said, if they want to achieve higher yields.

Although the organic matter in our soils may be full of micronutrients, the issue comes to how available are they to the plant?

This is where, Bjorklund said, producers are beginning to apply more foliar applications of micronutrients.

Bjorklund said they have been studying the potential of high population of low stature corn in test plots the past few years, but have decided to take their studies to a higher level with 40 acre plots this year.

As if the 2021 growing season hasn’t been hard enough with the lack of rainfall, Bjorklund said he has been seeing a widespread feeding by corn rootworm and the next 10 to 14 days will be a crucial time to scout for beetles that may begin feeding on corn silks.

Rick Friday

Friday stepped away from the drawing table to the stage to share some of the stories that have led to many of his cartoons in his presentation “A farm life, a farm wife and the long walk home.”

His comedy included stories of building fences, sorting cattle and backing up to a bumper hitch trailer.

Backing up to a bumper hitch trailer usually requires assistance and Friday shared what it is like to receive help from his wife, whom he refers to as “the Great Jaun.”

“I don’t know if you guys have experienced this, I look out the left mirror, I can’t find her. I look in the right mirror, I can’t find her. I look in the rear mirror — I can’t find her anywhere, I finally I have to get out of the pickup and get her where I can see her,” he said.

That is where the menagerie of hand signals start. Waves to go left. Points to go right. Back up signals. Signals to stop but to back up again.

“We finally get hooked up. I don’t know if you have that problem or not but she is going to learn to back up to a trailer one of these years,” Friday said.

Friday said when it comes time to build fences, the Great Jaun has learned to hide.

It was one particularly hot day they were out building fence. They had a little spat and Friday said he suggested he could take her home.

“She took her gloves off. She set them on the ground. She jumped in the truck and left me,” he said. “We left home that morning for better or worse. By the time we got home that night, I was worried it was ’til death do you part.'”