Steve Bailie, Branch Manager for Helena Agri in Monroe, has been busy with his staff combing through combine harvest records for the past few weeks.  He says some farms have been surprised by the end result of what had been a challenging growing season.  With those surprises, though, comes questions about what nutrients were pulled from those fields and need to be replaced in 2025.

Bailie is like many in agriculture, anxious about what might happen with fertilizer supplies and prices in the new calendar year.  He's encouraging all farms to work with their vendors on locking in prices and volumes as soon as you can.  Bailie's also reminding growers about the package effect that Helena Agri offers to any operation.

Bailie says his tech team is still grid soil sampling to get precise rates on where that fertilizer has to go.  They're also evaluating each hybrid for every field to make sure resources aren't wasted.  Bailie uses the analogy of managing your herd.  Some of your animals are going to be top end milk producers.  Others may not be top end milk producers, but the produce fantastic calves.  Knowing what strengths and challenges every field faces helps manage resources and traits efficiently.