Increase Crop Yields and Profitability with CertainTeed Gypsum

Increasing crop yields and ultimately their bottom line is a top priority for farmers and ranchers; especially with today's high input costs. Bryan Hendricks with CertainTeed Gypsum says that their gypsum mineral which is mined outside of Cody, Wyo. is a great alternative to synthetic fertilizers to help producers do exactly that.

"Yes, that's true," said Hendricks. "With the high price of fertilizer, you get one application and the benefits from one application. With gypsum, it's a good alternative. You apply it and you get 3 to 5 years of benefits versus just the one time application of fertilizer."

He says gypsum isn't anything new to the agricultural community and that farmers and ranchers actually used it a lot 40 years ago to help improve their soil conditions and ultimately raise better crops.

"The benefits of gypsum versus fertilizer is gypsum will recondition your soil," said Hendricks. "It helps formulate the soil to let water get down into the soil. It reduces high salt content by replacing it with calcium. It also replaces the sulfur inside the soil that isn't as prevalent these days because of the use of ultra low sulfur diesels."

He describes what type of crops gypsum can be applied on.

"Gypsum is good for alfalfa, sugar beets, corn and potatoes," said Hendricks. "Western Montana has a lot of potato fields and it takes the black eyes off of your potatoes. For alfalfa, it puts the sulfur and the calcium back into the alfalfa and makes it super green and thick. It's really healthy for your livestock."

He says gypsum can be applied several different ways.

"With gypsum, there's multiple applications," said Hendricks. "You can spread it using a lime spreader. It's highly water soluble so you can put it in a powder form and leach it into your field using a pivot system or just wind row and spread it by dragging it out. There's multiple ways you could you could use it on your farm fields."

For more information about increasing crop yields and profitability with CertainTeed Gypsum, call 307-899-0352 or visit www.westernminingandminerals.com.

Source: Ag Information Network and Western Ag Network