Ag Tech Market Insight Newsletter – Optimal Acre
Jun 24, 2025
Wheat harvest is here, and as one crop comes off the field, it's the ideal time to start thinking about the next one. 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 $3.25/ac per year.
With 15 years of experience in grid soil sampling, variable rate applications, and analyzing yield data across thousands of acres, I am confident that growers who grid sample and apply fertilizer and lime variable rate see, on average, yields 10–20% higher.
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.
If you are going to be applying fertilizer and lime to the soil, it costs about one bushel of wheat/ac for one year of Optimal Acre, plus the variable rate technology 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 we often find sufficient carryover nitrogen to cover part or all of the Optimal Acre service.
Lastly, grid sampling and variable rate technology applications are basic requirements for most sustainability and carbon programs, so this is another reason why our Optimal Acre program is a great investment for your farm.
To find out more about how Optimal Acre can help you be more successful next year, please watch the video at https://youtu.be/_Ta65BKuh10?si=1w5Q_915H7OORvV-.
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.
Article provided by Ross Benisch
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 $3.25/ac per year.
With 15 years of experience in grid soil sampling, variable rate applications, and analyzing yield data across thousands of acres, I am confident that growers who grid sample and apply fertilizer and lime variable rate see, on average, yields 10–20% higher.
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.
If you are going to be applying fertilizer and lime to the soil, it costs about one bushel of wheat/ac for one year of Optimal Acre, plus the variable rate technology 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 we often find sufficient carryover nitrogen to cover part or all of the Optimal Acre service.
Lastly, grid sampling and variable rate technology applications are basic requirements for most sustainability and carbon programs, so this is another reason why our Optimal Acre program is a great investment for your farm.
To find out more about how Optimal Acre can help you be more successful next year, please watch the video at https://youtu.be/_Ta65BKuh10?si=1w5Q_915H7OORvV-.
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.
Article provided by Ross Benisch