Optimal Eco Asset Program

Fall harvest will be here soon and as one crop comes off the field, it’s the ideal time to start thinking about the next one and the best way to do that is with MKC’s Optimal Acre program. Optimal Acre is a deferred payment, grid soil sampling and variable rate fertilizer program that will help you lower your cost of production, increase yields, and make data driven decisions for maximum profitability, all for $3.50/ac per year. In my 15 years of experience with grid soil sampling, variable rate applications, and analyzing thousands of acres of yield data, I feel confident in that growers who grid sample and variable apply fertilizer and lime see, on average, 10-20% higher yields. And it’s not just in the wet years either. I’ve seen it pay even more in the more typical, marginal years because the crop is healthier and able to handle stress much better when it’s getting what it needs from the soil much more efficiently. If you are going to be applying fertilizer and lime to the soil, it cost about one bushel of wheat or corn/ac for one year of Optimal Acre plus the vrt application upcharge to make sure you are putting the right products in the right place at the right rate. MKC also includes nitrogen and organic matter in our soil test package so many times we find enough carry over N to pay for part or all four years of the Optimal Acre service. If your wheat or corn crop was not as productive as you hoped for, there is likely carryover N that we can use to help lower the cost of production on any wheat, corn, or milo crop for 2027 by sampling now. Lastly, grid sampling and vrt applications are base requirements for most sustainability and carbon programs so this is another win on why our Optimal Acre program is a great investment for your farm. To find out more on how Optimal Acre can help you be more successful for next year, please watch the video HERE. To sign up your fields for Optimal Acre, please contact your Strategic Account Manager, your nearest MKC location, or email us at Agtech@mkcoop.com. Sign up before Nov 1st to receive a $.25/ac discount off the 1 year of the program.

Article Provided by Ross Benisch, Ag Technology Manager.