Soil Testing

Knowing when and where to soil sample is important and should be done by trained professionals.   You are probably going to spend tens of thousands of dollars on fertilizer.  Spending a couple of hundred dollars to help streamline and optimize your crops’ fertility needs is one of the wisest investments you can make.  “Don’t Guess—Test!”

All the PRO Co-op Agronomists and Agronomy Staff understand the importance of selecting the right areas to test in order to provide relevant information.  Several soil “cores” are pulled throughout a given field using a hydraulic probe.  These hydraulic probes allow us to go to a depth of 24 inches consistently.  A shovel full of soil is a poor option!

Historically, composite soil samples have been taken that represent individual fields.  With the adoption of GPS, PRO Co-op now offers geo-referenced sampling and zone sampling in addition to the traditional composite samples.

Contact our agronomists for soil testing or through any of our locations.

Tissue Testing

Correct timing, methodology and sufficiency ranges are all necessary for useful plant tissue analysis.  Just grabbing a few plants will not result in usable data.  Without the proper nutrient sufficiency ranges for the corresponding crop, levels reported in the plant will not do you much good.  PRO Co-op Agronomists are experienced in tissue sampling and work with reputable labs for analysis and sufficiency scales. It’s also important to decipher the results in relation to crop stage in order to gauge whether in-season action can help correct a deficiency or if nothing should be done.

Precision agriculture allows us to further refine the tissue testing we’ve been doing.  We can use in-season NDVI imagery to determine where to tissue test comparative samples from good and poor performing areas of the field.  Results from precision tissue testing will help determine if nutrient application across the whole field versus just certain production zones will improve yields.

Contact any of our Agronomists for more info and to make a solid tissue testing plan.

Field Scouting

No matter how much technology we use in agriculture, boots on the ground will never be replaced.  It never hurts to have a trusted second opinion on a field’s conditions.

An intricate part of the agronomy services PRO Co-op provides to its patrons is Field Scouting.  Solid money making/saving decisions are more likely to be made when a trained professional physically spends the necessary time in your field looking and testing for nutritional problems, pest infestations, and anything else that may be adversely affecting your yield potential and bottom line.

By design, PRO Co-op patrons can either arrange to have their fields scouted on a regular basis or make a phone call and have one of the Agronomy Advisers stop by and perform the service as needed.

Pest Management

Since the beginning of agriculture some 10,000 years ago, farmers have lost part or all of their crops at times to pests.   It is estimated that 70% of all crops produced would be lost without any pest mitigation measures.

PRO Co-op has an educated, trained, and experienced team of Agronomists to serve our patrons and help avoid crop losses due to pests.  Working directly with our farmers, Agronomists identify pests, economic thresholds, and make the appropriate recommendations to mitigate crop loss in a timely manner.  We strive to carry the best quality herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and seed treatments that match with your specific operations’ issues.

Fertilizer Spreading

PRO Co-op maintains 4 Case air-flow spreaders at the fertilizer plants in Madoc and Richland.  All are equipped with GPS guidance systems for precision placement as well as Variable Rate Applications.  Our applicators are professionals in applying fertilizers and have many years of experience working within our business area.

For a complete list of materials and capabilities, or to schedule your spreading, please contact the fertilizer plants directly.

Richland - Jamey Snare

o:  406.724.3353

c:  406.783.7346

Madoc - Dirk Kjos

o:  406.783.5320

c:  406.783.7704

Custom Chemical

Application:

Aerial & Ground

Two airplanes, a 502 Air Tractor and a Turbine Brave, are maintained and piloted by John Machart.  John has years of experience in aerial application and is very dedicated to doing quality work.  If you need assistance spraying by ground, Duke Trangsrud will do an excellent job using the Case Patriot 4420 equipped with Aim Command.  He can also apply liquid fertilizer using streamer bars if topdressing is a fit for your operation.  Our custom application business is well-known throughout the area for timely, accurate work.

Our agronomists are in constant contact with the application team to make sure proper rates, mixing orders, and conditions are adhered to on your acres.  To schedule your spraying, please contact the agronomists.