“The value of a seed prescription (Rx) is that it saves on seed costs, increases yield, and optimizes your seed return,” said Rob Reinking, agronomy and petroleum sales rep at Federated’s Albertville location.

A precision ag seed Rx gives growers the ability to plant more seed in the most productive soils, and less seed in the soils that can’t handle it. “You can push your yield” in the better soils, said Reinking, and “you don’t waste seed” on the difficult soils.

Making a seed Rx requires the most basic precision ag information. “A seed Rx is not only choosing the seed variety/trait but also adjusting population throughout the field,”  said Reinking. The Rx allows you to change the planting population throughout a field based on any data – soil type, soil organic matter, past yield history, etc.

To make a good seed recommendation, it’s good to have a least two years of yield data for the planned crop, according to Reinking, as well as soil samples by grid or management zones. Federated’s new precision ag software, Proagrica®, works with both, and with satellite imagery as well.

Compatible planting equipment is part of the seed Rx process, and “Proagrica is compatible with pretty much everything,” said Reinking, including AGCO, John Deere, International, and more. “Proagrica exports out to all of those,” he said, but Federated Agronomists can verify that.

If it’s time to upgrade the planter, or simply use the capabilities of the planter already in the shed, consider how a good seed prescription can push yield upwards. “Put your seed where you will get the best return on your investment [in seed],” said Reinking.

Talk to your Federated Agronomist to get started on your 2019 seed Rx today.