Mapping The Future

For five generations now, the Urich family has farmed in north-central Missouri, raising crops and cattle with stewardship of both the land and their legacy in mind. Over the past decade, that stewardship has intensified with the help of precision agriculture technologies, from variable-rate applications and prescription planting to advanced yield mapping and drone spraying.

Today, the Urichs are not just farming the land—they’re decoding it.

“The biggest thing that I hear from the partners that we work with is that we’re one of the few that really takes the data that we get and puts it to work,” said Kristi Urich, who joined the farm and the family when she and Mark Urich married 23 years ago. “We figured if we were paying for the technology, then we needed to be getting something from it. So, we really try to utilize that information to improve our return on investment in both equipment and inputs.”

Three generations continue to work together on the farm: Mark and Kristi; their children, Robert and Rebecca; and Mark’s parents, John and Linda. They grow corn and soybeans in rotation on 3,000 acres and run a cow-calf operation near Trenton, Mo.

The Urichs began working with MFA’s precision team in 2010, enrolling in the Nutri-Track program to grid sample and map the variability in the owned and rented acres they farmed.

“We had talked with MFA and been to some meetings where we heard what people were doing with grid sampling, and it sounded like a good idea, especially since so much of the land that we farm has highly variable soils,” Mark said. “We’ve got a little bit of bottom ground, but the largest percentage of our acres are upland hills, nearly all of it terraced.” 

While the lure of cutting fertilizer costs was an incentive to try Nutri-Track at the time, Kristi said, the value has evolved into something much more in the 15 years since the family has been using the program.

“When we started, fertilizer was definitely the biggest line item in our budget, and the first thought was, ‘Can we save some money if we were to do this?’” Kristi said. “We learned that it’s not necessarily cost savings. It’s taking ground that’s capable of raising a better crop and really giving it everything that it needs to truly maximize its potential, instead of treating the whole farm as one unit. We’re improving yields and our soil, just from taking that data and using it.”

The Urichs work with MFA Agri Services in Trenton, Mo., and Anthony Furlin, MFA precision agronomy specialist, to take full advantage of Nutri-Track’s capabilities, from 2.5-acre grid sampling to prescriptions for variable-rate planting and fertilizer applications. They’ve also prioritized getting some of those nutrients on the fields in the fall.

“We’ve really started concentrating on increasing efficiency, not only on our end but also getting yield data quicker during harvest,” Anthony said. “The nice thing about the Urichs is they’re fully integrated into the My John Deere platform, which seamlessly transitions to our program. When fields are combined, I’m getting yield data almost immediately. That helps my efficiency in writing recommendations so I can relay that information back to the Urichs and to the Trenton store so we get fertilizer on the ground as quick as possible.”

Such technologies are “night and day” different from the way previous generations farmed, as pointed out by John and Linda, who married in 1960 and have tended the family land for most of that time.

“My grandparents came here from Russia around 1912 when my dad was a baby, and they had nothing,” John said. “When they died in the 1950s, they owned 240 acres. It truly was the land of opportunity. We’re very proud that they were able to make it.”

“And we’re more than proud of what’s being accomplished on this farm today,” Linda added.

As the next generation to continue the tradition, Robert graduated from the Missouri University of Science and Technology in May 2024 with a degree in mechanical engineering and returned to the farm full time, bringing with him new experience, education and enthusiasm. For example, he worked with MFA to start applying variable-rate anhydrous ammonia based on Nutri-Track recommendations and purchased a drone to use in spraying fungicides, planting cover crops and overseeding clover into pastures.

“The fungicide application with the drone allows us to choose our own timing. We’re not waiting on an airplane to come, so we can monitor the crop and put on the fungicide right when it needs it,” Robert said. “It’s pretty efficient. I can cover about 200 acres a day with one drone, which actually makes it feasible.”

The drone is also proving beneficial in getting their cereal rye cover crops established in standing corn, he added. This practice not only helps in curbing erosion and building organic matter but also provides grazing for their cattle through the fall and early winter.

“We don’t dry our corn in the bin. We wait till it dries down in the field, and then we shell it. The earliest we really hope for most years is the middle of September, which pushed us to get the cover crop planted in time to get good fall growth,” Robert explained. “Using the drone allows the cover crop to get growing and put on biomass. If you’re foraging cattle on it, that’s more for them to eat. If you’re just trying to build soil health, more biomass is healthier soil. It’s also a reduction of labor after the crops are harvested because some of your acres are already growing.”

In nearly every aspect of their operation, the Urichs are practicing the principles of 4R Nutrient Management—Right Source, Right Rate, Right Time, and Right Place. They were invited to share their story at MFA’s 2024 4R Field Day last July to show how these strategies can help farmers achieve goals such as increased production, better productivity, enhanced environmental protection and improved sustainability. (See details about the 2025 4R Field Day on page 16).

“The Urichs are on the cutting edge, especially with the variable-rate programs along with their cover crops and conservation program, and they’re always open to new ideas, looking for the next and greatest thing and ways to improve their operation,” Anthony said. “It’s great to be able to relay that to other farmers and let them see how these programs and practices may fit in their operation.”

During last year’s 4R Field Day, Kristi shared specific examples of the positive impact of precision nutrient placement on soil health using before-and-after maps of a particular 210-acre field. The first year it was grid sampled in 2011, 60% of the field was “very low” in phosphorus, averaging 4.81 parts per million (ppm). By 2022, that had improved to 18 ppm. Similarly, potassium levels improved over that timeframe from an average of 117 ppm to a more optimal 151.

Similarly, organic matter started out low, averaging 2.27%, but increased to a more favorable 3.16% by 2022.

“When we make these recs with MFA, it’s not only on removal. We have been doing some build as a part of this, too,” Kristi said.  “At some point, we’ll quit building, but for the time being, we’re putting out what the crop needs—the removal plus a little bit more. It’s obviously been doing what it’s supposed to do.”

When they started with Nutri-Track, Kristi admitted she thought they’d bitten off more than they could chew by enrolling so many acres at once. Her advice to other farmers who are considering precision programs is “take baby steps.”

“Just test a little something every year and build from there,” she said. “You don’t have to do every acre of your operation. Any little bit that you do, it’s going to be an improvement.”

And, in an environment of tight margins, Anthony said such improvements can make a big difference in the bottom line.

“Because we’re putting each nutrient where it needs to be, we get a better return by decreasing the fertilizer cost per bushel produced,” he explained. “We’re also doing the best we can to protect the environment while also increasing productivity for ourselves. At the end of the day, data-driven decisions will make us more efficient, improve our operations and set us up for long-term success.”

And the long-term success of the farm is certainly a goal for the Urichs.

“Not everybody gets to see their children come back to the farm, and we’re grateful for that,” Mark said. “This is something our family has been doing a long time, and our goal is to help Robert and pass it on to him.”

“It means a lot to me that I’m the fifth generation farming,” Robert said. “And my goal is to leave everything better than I found it, just like my dad and grandfather did.”

For more information on the Nutri-Track program and implementing 4R principles on your farm, talk with your local MFA solutions provider or visit online at mfa-inc.com/nutri-track.   

Cutlines for images - Top - The Urich farm near Trenton, Mo., is a model of how implementing precision practices and following the 4R principles—right rate, right place, right time and right source—can help improve soil health, yields and efficiencies. Above right - Three generations of Urichs farm together, raising row crops and cattle on around 3,000 acres. In front are John and Linda Urich, and in back, from left, are their grandson, Robert; daughter-in-law, Kristi; and son, Mark. Not pictured is Kristi and Mark’s daughter, Rebecca.

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Field day will focus on 4Rs, soil health

Producers who want to learn more about conservation agriculture practices, carbon programs, nutrient management, precision services, pesticide regulations and more are invited to MFA’s 4R Soil Health Field Day on Wednesday, July 30, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at MFA’s River Valley Agronomy Center in Higginsville, Mo.

The free event will feature MFA conservation and precision agronomy staff as well as industry partners, including Dr. Kelly Nelson, University of Missouri, who will cover stacked conservation practices; Brenton Hall, Truterra, who will address the benefits of sequestering carbon; Mitchell Rice, Missouri Fertilizer Control Board, who will share information on 4R cost-share programs; and Kaitlin Flick, Missouri Soybean Association, who will provide an update to EPA pesticide regulations. 

David Kleinschmidt, Progressive Agronomy Consulting, will discuss soil health benefits to farmers, while Cory Cables of Koch will explain the importance of using nitrogen stabilizers. MFA’s Davin Harms will explain the offerings of Nutri-Track and other precision agronomy services before an on-site demonstration of equipment and cover crops.

Sponsors helping to make this event possible are Corteva, Environmental Tillage Systems, Mosaic, Yara, The Fertilizer Institute and the Missouri Fertilizer Control Board.

The field day is limited to 75 participants, and lunch will be provided. For more information or to RSVP, contact Joe Zoellner, MFA natural resources conservation specialist, at jzoellner@mfa-inc.com.