Finish Line Farming - Lessons Learned in the Combine Seat

Kale Meendering, Agronomy Division | Pacer Technology, Inc.

Truth from the Combine

There’s something about harvest that forces you to be honest with yourself. The combine doesn’t lie - it records the truth, one pass at a time. This year, that truth came out in a few surprises. I sat there thinking about how many people told me “Our fungicide paid big this year.” I used to think fungicide was more of a “nice-to-have,” but this season made it clear: it’s becoming part of the backbone for protecting yield potential.

Proactive vs. Reactive

What struck me most wasn’t just the yield difference, but the mindset difference. The growers who made proactive decisions back in July were the ones harvesting confidently in October. It reminded me that the best agronomy decisions usually come before the problem shows up. It’s easy to plan when you’re winning, but harder when you’re uncertain- and that’s where discipline separates a good year from a great one.

Hybrid Performance and Honest Notes

Another thing I kept thinking about in my conversations was how different hybrids handled the year. Some held their green snap tolerance, others showed their stress earlier than expected. It’s humbling to see just how much of farming still comes down to observation and memory. Hybrids, planting dates, and those “mental sticky notes” we make in-season become some of the most valuable data we own.

Write It Down Now

As the dust settles, now’s the time to write those lessons down. Not next March - now. Review what paid off, what didn’t, and where management made the biggest difference. Whether it was your starter fertilizer program, planting population, or the weather luck you did (or didn’t) have, it all becomes part of your 2026 playbook. The combine is the classroom; the yield map is your report card.

Perspective from the Seat

There’s peace in those long harvest days- just you, the hum of the machine, and time to think. Maybe that’s what keeps us coming back year after year: the lessons, the problem-solving, and the pursuit of doing it just a little better next time. When you boil it down, farming isn’t just about yield - it’s about growth. And not just in the field.

Eyes on the Finish Line

As you park the combine and move into planning mode, don’t lose the rhythm you built this fall. The best time to get better is right now while the memories are still fresh and the lessons are clear. Talk through your hybrid notes, evaluate product performance, and challenge yourself to improve one management decisions heading into next season.

At Pacer Technology, we’ve seen how biostimulant and nutritional tools like Ample C, MultiGro, and Ample ZSB help make those proactive decisions pay off in-season. If you’re evaluating what worked and what didn’t, now’s a great time to consider how these tools can protect yield potential before stress ever shows up.

Keep your eyes on the finish line, not as an ending - but as the next starting point. Every harvest teaches something new, and every pass across the field shapes how we’ll run the next race.

Kale Meendering, Agronomy Division | Pacer Technology, Inc.