Derek Porter

Home 5 Author archive for Derek Porter ( Page 3 )

Missouri Corn Plot Update – John Viertel

Just came out of the Missouri corn plot, and boy has changed from last time. As seen in the picture, there is a huge difference in the root systems! The plant on left side had no starter. The plant in center had Crop Choice Starter Program - 6 gallon 3-18-18-1 + 1...

Good Results from Burndown – John Viertel

A couple of weeks ago, I showed a picture of cereal rye with the coverage of the burndown herbicide when using Soil Boost Plus and Landoil. The cereal rye cover crop was under stress from dry weather and had also been grazed by a cow herd. We just had a neighbor stop...

Storms in Central Missouri – John Viertel

Yes, we have been very dry for the past several weeks, with only about a half inch of rain two weeks ago right here in Central Missouri. Today we received some welcomed rain, but with a price. Severe storms rolled through our farm (and the SOIL SERVICE, INC. Missouri...

Spray Coverage on Cereal Rye Burndown – John Viertel

This is 2 hours after application. Yes, I know I just posted one earlier this week, but there is a lot happening in the fields. Look closely at the picture. Notice the darker areas on the leaf and stem of the cereal rye plant. This field was sprayed yesterday, after...

Planting Green into Cereal Rye – John Viertel

     It is dry here in Central Missouri, but the corn is up, and soybeans are going into the ground at a record pace. It seems that we have gone from a long winter, right into summer as the temps have been in the low to mid-eighties for several days. One of our...

Missouri Plot Update – John Viertel

It's middle of afternoon on a fantasticly beautiful day in late april. We just finished planting a corn starter fertilizer plot, comparing 3-18-18-1, zinc, sugar e-boost, along with liquid bacteria concentrate,  and soil restored.  Sugar E-BOOST has been shown a good...

Spraying Roundup in Cold Weather – Derek Porter

Here in Central Illinois, the temperature outlook through the end of April has high’s in the 60’s with low’s dipping down to the mid 40’s to high 30’s. When the overnight low temperature dips down below 50 two days before or two days after application, the...

Burndown Options Ahead of Soybeans – Derek Porter

                What are your options for a burndown ahead of soybeans? If you're planting dicamba tolerant soybeans, the answer is, more than likely, dicamba and if needed, roundup to control any early season grasses. That was my second favorite aspect of dicamba...

Missouri Planting – John Viertel

Planting finally started! Last Saturday, I got to the field where this set of Yetter Poly Spiked Closing Wheels were being used to compare to the regular rubber closing wheels. The conditions were very good for planting in this conventional tilled field, so there was...

Burn Down Options in Corn – Derek Porter

So much for an early spring! Even though the calendar shows it's April, mother nature appears to be stuck in January. Spring will eventually get here at some point, and its important to take this time to insure you have everything you need when planting arrives. At...

Missouri Plot – John Viertel

Since 2012, we have been working on a thirty-acre field in central Missouri that we have designated as the Soil Health Study. This field was taken out of grass pasture for a soybean, corn, and wheat rotation. The only tillage used has been with the Aerway/Salford...

Planting Season Has Arrived! – John Viertel

  Here it is, the last half of March! March Madness is going on in the NCAA, while some are thinking of crappie fishing, turkey hunting, and/or hunting morels. Not the crew from Soil Service, Inc. We are all concentrating on getting product delivered! Our trucks,...

Fertilizer Information – Tony Gann

Starter fertilizer is a crucial part of the soil fertility program, especially if you aim to take advantage of the benefits of planting earlier in the growing season. An in-furrow boost when soils are cold and wet ensures seeds have direct access to the nutrients they...

Iowa Power Farm Show – Shelly Hardy

  I have had the pleasure of working for Brent and Andrea at Soil Service since August in billing. I have met and work with a lot of great people.  So many of them I have just gotten to know through phone calls.  Well, last week I got to meet some of our...

Super Bowl- John Viertel

  WOW! Can you believe that today is Super Bowl Sunday! I can’t! Got the game today, Valentine’s Day in ten days, the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville coming that week, and the Western Farm Show in Kansas City after that. It’s going to be a busy month...

Crop Choice Starter Fertilizer – John Viertel

Winter has arrived for the second time in 2018. Talked to some guys today that are having a little trouble with freezing cattle waterers. Wind chill of below zero will do that. Hope everyone is staying safe and warm. Many have been asking about applying extra...

Soil Service at the National No-Till Conference – Derek Porter

 Last week, Louisville Kentucky was home to the 27th Annual National No-Tillage Conference. Myself and four other Soil Service members attended and came away with some very positive feed back and ideas to help our customers. This was my first ever No-Till Conference...

Updated Missouri Information – John Viertel

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Here in central Missouri, we are dry, which has been a good thing for getting harvest completed and most (if not all) field work done. I really wanted to get a picture of the Soil Health Study sign with snow on it for this blog, but that was not...

Happy Holidays!

Warmest thoughts and best wishes for a Wonderful Holiday and a very Happy & Prosperous New Year!   From all of us at SOIL SERVICE, INC.  

Importance of Micronutrients – Derek Porter

At a recent conference I attended, one of the presenters made the statement that it doesn’t pay to apply micro nutrients. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this statement and most likely won’t be the last. Not only are micro nutrients crucial to plant growth, in...

December Info – John Viertel

Yes, December is here! Time to be making decisions about not only what you are going to do as planting season approaches (April will be here soon enough), but also, what you can do to keep your input costs as low as possible. We still have some discounts on products...

Missouri Harvest Update – John Viertel

Harvest is winding down and fall field work has been going on for a while. Now is time to reflect on the last growing season, what worked, what didn’t, what we can do to have a better year in 2018. Probably the biggest question that I have been getting this fall is...

An Update on Iowa Sales – Tony Gann

 It seems like it has been a long harvest season compared to last year, but things are wrapping up here in west central Illinois and southeast Iowa.  It doesn’t seem like it, but it has only been 7 weeks since I took over and started the Iowa sales position.  I have...

New Illinois Sales Manger – Derek Porter

     Hello my name is Derek Porter and I’m the new Sales Manager for Central and Southern Illinois. I currently reside in Lewistown, Illinois. My family has been dealers for Soil Service for about 30 years and have had nothing but success with the products and service...

Harvest in Missouri: Part 2 – John Viertel

 Harvest in Missouri: Part 2 John Viertel, Missouri Sales Manager John Hansman’s No-Till Soybean Field Harvest Results    It has not been very good for harvest for the past two week. There have been only a couple of days that soybeans could be harvested here in...

New Iowa Sales Manager – Tony Gann

  Hello, my name is Tony Gann, I am the new Iowa Sales Manager. I have been with Soil Service Inc for almost 9 years. In those years I have worked in the warehouse and delivered to our customers near and far. In the last 18 months, I took on the role of Warehouse...

Harvest in Missouri – John Viertel

October 1, 2017 Blog Harvest in Missouri John Viertel, Missouri Sales Manager September 23, 2017 SOIL HEALTH STUDY FIELD CORN HARVEST Harvest in Missouri really got into full swing the last two weeks of September, the weather could not have been better for us all to...

September 2017 Farm Progress Show – John Viertel

Last week we attended the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois. The weather was tremendous, but the turnout was so-so. The SOIL SERVICE TEAM had our usual line up of products and had interest in everything: Crop Choice Fertilizers, LandOil, Soil Boost Plus, Yetter...

Post Emerge Program Success

It’s almost the end of July, and as I have been traveling around the state, I have seen a lot of soybean fields. Some (Image 1 shown below) have weeds that have come through the herbicide program and do not even show signs of being sprayed. Others (Image 2 -treated...