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Brooks Reid
Brunswick, MOGiving other farmers a hand comes naturally for Brooks, whose grandpa and dad were also farmers. Brooks is now starting a podcast to share with other farmers what he’s learned operating his own farm.
Operation overview :Acres:2,500Crops:winter-wheatsoybeancornTillageStrip-till; no-till soybeans
What Drives Brooks?
Brooks is a trained agronomist who has expanded his understanding of soil and plant health while figuring things out on his farm. He knows farming can be a lonely career, and that mentors and support networks are in short supply. He’s giving back and helping other farmers by sharing his knowledge and experiences.
Fertility Program
Brooks addresses crop nutrition in his soil and plants by:
- Spreading lime in the fall at variable rate.
- Application of K, and sometimes P, when strip-tilling.
- Holding off on N application until the crop is up (he applies it in-season where and when it needs it to minimize loss).
- Adjusting in-season with foliar or sidedress (typically N blended with S, B, K, Zn and humic/fulvic acid).
Why Biologicals
“Biology in the soil is important, impacting seed germination, plant health and yield. Plants take up nutrients through the roots, but if the roots don’t reach the nutrients, biology is what gets those nutrients into the root zone.”
Follow Brooks
Check out Brook’s social channels for more firsthand information about him and Reid Farms.
THE LATEST ON REID FARMS
WEATHER-WATCHING ECLIPSES ALL
Farmers are always watching the weather, but this time of year, Brooks Reid’s eyes are always on the skies — and the ever-changing forecasts.
“We’ve had a lot of warm weather this spring, but we still have some overnight freezing temperatures right now. Cold and wet isn’t a great combination, so we held off on planting earlier this month. And I was surprised that others in the area were doing the same.”
Since Brooks lives close to where the solar eclipse traveled, he’s watching to see if that will impact the weather, because rainstorms seemed to follow the path of the 2017 eclipse.
“Weather is always a concern. We get one shot to get the season kicked off and emergence is really important. If you don’t have good emergence, then you’re gonna struggle.”
In the meantime, Brooks has completed some drainage work on his bottom ground and is in the process of spraying a burndown herbicide on his no-till ground. With that burndown pass, he included micronutrient fertilizer to prime the soil for the microbes so they can get to work.
"You don’t know what you don’t know. Start by getting in a room with people who are doing different things and ask questions. Then you can see what might work on your farm, so you can try it."
Visit our Next Farmer:
Ryan DrozdFor Ryan and his family, farming together makes good sense (and cents). While his brother Jake drives their agronomic choices, Ryan is the financial guy making sure each decision they make results in a profit at the end of the season.
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PREVIOUSLY: REID FARMS
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March 2024
Brooks taps into nature to unlock yield potential
Brooks Reid is always looking for ways to work with nature to improve his yields. Walking his fields regularly is key in doing that, so he’ll have his “boots on the ground” to learn how BioPath can help.
Keep up to date with Brooks as he navigates Midwest farming challenges and works to raise the best crops possible.
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February 2024
Adapting For Unique Fields
Brooks’ fields have some significant physical obstacles he has to navigate around. For example, he has hill ground with erosion challenges so he has several terraces. In the field where he planted his BioPath trial last year, he had to take long passes in the shape of a horseshoe because it had once been a part of two different farms.
“I chose that field for the trial because there’s a definite difference in the soil biology for each side of the field — one part of the field was only used for pasture, while the other had been continuous soybeans. I thought it would be an interesting comparison.”
While he didn’t see much of a yield bump last year, he did see a difference in the tissue samples between BioPath and the control on both sides of the field. This year, he wants to repeat the BioPath trial to make sure the positive result wasn’t just site-specific from where he pulled the samples. In addition to the in-furrow trial, he also plans to use it in sidedress to see if the warmer soil temperatures boost the biological response.
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MENTIONED ON THIS PAGE
Liquid fertilizer complement