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Andrew Focht
Villisca, IowaAs a former soil conservation scientist at the USDA NRCS and current owner of a financial planning business, Andrew knows that understanding his soil’s biology is smart business.
Operation overview :Acres:650Crops:soybeancornTillageStip till
What Drives Andrew?
Profitable business decisions drive Andrew – especially on a small farm. His deep financial background helps him assess the markets and plan for the future, which benefits both his clients and his bottom line.
“I only take on clients who know I’m also a farmer. They can call me on my cell phone when they need to reach me, but we schedule meetings in winter and summertime.”
Fertility Program
Andrew has a regimented fertility program that includes:
- Applying strips of P and K in fall
- Applying N in strips in the spring (60% urea; 40% ESN), as well as some S and Zn
- Supplementing with in-furrow and top-dress applications at V5 or V6
- Adding foliar applications in season after tassel
Why Biologicals
“Since I’ve started farming by myself, I’ve been pushing to learn more about the corn plant, so I can get higher yields and become more profitable. Finding the right balance in my soil is a big part of that.”
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Check out Andrews’s social channels for more firsthand information about him and Paylly Farms.
THE LATEST ON PAYLLY FARMS
MIXING IT UP WITH SPRING STRIPS
As a farmer and financial planner, being prepared is all but engrained in Andrew’s DNA. So, he’s taken the last month to get as ready as he can be for the new growing season. That preparation has given him the opportunity to try some new things this spring.
Andrew typically lays his strip fertilizers down in the fall, but this season he mixed it up a bit and is tilling some strips this spring. “I’ve been applying urea, ESN®, sulfur, zinc and humic acid in those strips, and I’m excited by how my strips look right now. They look garden-tilled and phenomenal.”
But with anything new comes a kernel of uncertainty. “To be honest, I’m also a little worried about my strips. I hate to say I want it to stop raining because we’ve been in a drought for four years and need it, but I just have this back-of-the-mind fear of compaction 2 to 6 inches down. I’m just not used to doing spring strips.”
Andrew’s non-farming business and side projects are helping distract him from those fears. He’s been conducting portfolio reviews with his financial planning clients and recording his farming podcast episodes with his co-host.
“Now we’re just waiting for Mother Nature to give us some good soil temperatures and a positive forecast so we can actually start planting.”
Andrew’s 2023 Trial Data
Crop:CornFertility Timing:Fall, Spring, SummerOrganic Matter:3.59%Trial Objectives:Higher yieldSoil Type Mix:Sand/Clay/Silt/Loam:Bottom ground primarily; couple farms with terracesYield Comparison:5.29bu/acBioPath Application:In-furrow on seed"Corn fascinates me. I like to watch it grow because it grows fast, and it’s fun to combine. In August you can tell roughly what your crop will be and then you can watch it finish to see if it ends up where you thought it would."
Visit our Next Farmer:
Granvil TravisGenerational success drives Granvil every year. Farming is what he knows and loves, and as the only family member in his generation farming full time, he wants to keep it going so his daughters, nephews and young cousins have the chance to farm if they choose to follow in his footsteps.
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PREVIOUSLY: PAYLLY FARMS
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March 2024
For the Fochts, it’s learning by doing!
Meet the Fochts! Andrew and his family are on a mission to achieve 300 bushels per acre on their farm. Their hands-on testing with BioPath and various soil types will help them learn what can bring his corn-on-corn operation to the next level.
Follow the Focht family to see if they can achieve their yield goal this year.
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February 2024
Using Biologicals to push yields
Andrew has had high yield goals for a long time, going back to his childhood when he heard of Francis Childs’ yield of 400 bu/ac of corn when 175 bu/ac was the norm. So to push his yields – and profitability – he tried a lot of things last year to see what worked, including biologicals like BioPath.
He used BioPath in-furrow on the planter this past season and saw heavier test weight with BioPath versus his control. This season, he plans to use it the same way, but on a larger scale. Andrew also saw others trial BioPath at V4 and V5 with good results, so wants to try that in addition to switching up the hybrids to see how it compares.
“Before, I thought biologicals were just an added expense and didn’t understand what it was doing. I still don’t understand what it’s doing fully, but in my weekly field observations and tissue samples, I can visually see the difference in my plant health. Now that I know what I’m looking for, I can document it.”
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Liquid fertilizer complement