You Don't Win Races in January...but You Sure can Lose Them
- fender2509
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
January is the quiet month that isn’t actually quiet. The tractors are finally cold, decisions are hot! This is the month where the pen becomes the most profitable tool on the farm – because what you decide now will echo through Spring, and nothing in agriculture forgives bad preparation.
Let’s talk about setting up 2026 to be the year everything clicks.
What Should You Be Thinking About?
PrePay Season – Don’t let this window close!
January is the only month where writing checks feels like saving money. PrePay is a real lever this year – for securing:
Product availability
Better pricing
Shipping priority
Early-season programs
If you already know some products you’re going to use – fertilizer, fungicides, foliars, biostimulants, seed treatments – it’s time to lock it in. The folks who wait until March will be the same folks complaining in May. Don’t be that guy.
Hybrid Placement – Stop Guessing
Seed companies will sell you yield, but what you really need is fit:
What fields get your racehorse hybrids?
What fields get your defensive traits?
What acres are worth pushing population?
Which ones aren’t?
January is the month to think through population strategy, management zones, and where your fertility dollars are best spent. If you’re going to push anything, you must know where and why.
Tiling – Water vs Nutrients
If you’re considering tiling, Januaryis the perfect time to map out:
Historic bad spots
Compaction zones
Field flow
ROI
A tough realization: Water management outperforms nutrient management in most seasons.
Soil Sampling – Get With It
If you haven’t sampled yet, it’s not too late. You need fresh numbers going into:
Starter fertilizer planning
VRT recommendations
Liming decisions
Foliar plans
A January sample is more valuable than an April excuse.
What Should Agronomists Be Thinking About?
Build the Plan, Not the Invoice
Farmers want clarity. They want strategy. They need someone who’s been thinking about their fields when they haven’t. Now is the time to:
Present starter fertilizer programs
Review hybrid-by-field matchups
Build crop nutrition timelines
Lock in foliar and biostimulant plans
Don’t just bring sales, bring solutions.
Review Trial Data Before It Gets Dusty
Everyone means to look at trial data. Very few do it thoroughly.
Now is the time review:
What worked
What didn’t
What surprised you
What should scale in 2026
If you’re in the biostimulant game (and you should be), this is where you spot patterns.
Speaking Of Biostimulants
The Science You Can Actually Use – Why Combining Biostimulants Beats Solo Products
This is where the industry is headed, and most folks don’t quite understand it.
A single biostimulant usually affects one pathway:
Microbial metabolites
Hormone precursors
Stress mitigation
Nutrient use efficiency
Carbon
Root enhancements
But plants don’t operate one just one pathway at a time. They operate systems.
Case Study: Ample C™
Ample C™ is a lactobacillus fermentation product enhanced with added kelp during fermentation. That matters – because kelp fed into the fermentation process isn't the same as mixing it in later. You’re essentially creating:
A fermentation-derived metabolite bundle
Kelp-derived hormones and stress mitigators
Synergistic compounds created during the co-fermentation environment
This stacking effect improves:
Root initiation
Early vigor
Nutrient uptake
Microbial activation
Abiotic stress tolerance
Two biostimulants used separately = 2 effects
Two biostimulants combined in creation = an amplified, compounded biological response
This is why products like Ample C™, and foliars built on top of it (MultiGro™, Ample ZSB™) consistently outperform single-mode products. It’s a systems approach to plant physiology.
Now is the time to incorporate it into your 2026 plan.
Foliar Nutritionals vs Dry Fertilizer
Dry fertilizer is the frame.
Foliar nutrition is the steering wheel.
Dry sets the potential.
Foliar protects and adds to it.
January is a great time to plan both:
Use dry fertilizer to fix long term structural issues (P, K, lime).
Use foliars/biostimulants to improve efficiency, especially with tight margins
Foliar nutrition is a tool for timing, not total replacement – timing is where money is made
First of the Year Reminder
January is downtime – it’s decision time!
And the people who plan well now will like geniuses next September.
The only thing getting planted today is the year that lies ahead – lets make it a good one!
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