DEALER STEVE REDELMAN OF DECATUR, IN has been a farmer since he was 14 years old.

“I love farming,” Redelman said. “That’s my first passion. I love animals and I love working with the soil.” Growing up in southern Indiana, he learned farming from his father and uncles. Redelman used AGGRAND Natural Fertilizer 4-3-3 to plant corn, hay and soybeans in the 2008 growing season.

He tested AGGRAND Liquid 4-3-3 fertilizer on a 20-acre field that had never been planted. The fi eld had to be cleared of trees and shrubs, plowed and fertilized, he said. “The ground was nothing but grass, so it was good for plow-under,” Redelman said. “We never thought it would do anything, but it sure did. I harvested 250 bushels of corn an acre last year in that field. That’s an increase of 95 percent in overall yield over the previous year for a 50 percent increase in overall profi t for the season.”

He mixed one gallon of AGGRAND 4-3-3 to 20 gallons of water on a 20-acre alfalfa hay field. Typically, the yield for hay is 99 to 100 bales per acre. “I got 102 bales per acre,” Redelman said. “I was real happy about it. The hay was nice and green. When I cut the bale open it was nice and green and moist inside, even though the outside faded. All the protein stayed in the stems and leaves of the alfalfa and grass.”

“I harvested 250 bushels of corn an acre last year in that field. That’s an increase of 95 percent in overall yield over the previous year for a 50 percent increase in overall profit for the season.” — Dealer Steve Redelman

“I got 102 bales per acre,” Redelman said. “I was real happy about it. The hay was nice and green. When I cut the bale open it was nice and green and moist inside, even though the outside faded. All the protein stayed in the stems and leaves of the alfalfa and grass.”

He plans to increase his use of AGGRAND 4-3-3. “We’re thinking about bumping up the AGGRAND to two gallons per acre for the hay since I read in the AGGRAND News about the guy who put it on his corn field,” he said. (See the Winter 2007 AGGRAND News online at www.aggrand.com.)

Farmers around him are asking why he is getting such high yields, Redelman said. “I have a customer who is an organic farmer and he plans to use AGGRAND on everything this year,” he said.

Redelman’s soybean yield increased in 2008 with AGGRAND. “That ground was low on nutrients,” he said. “I sprayed AGGRAND on it a couple of times and my yield was up 10 to 20 bushels an acre. There were more pods on the beanstalks.”

The plants developed strong roots. “We had to use a spade on the beans because the roots were down deep,” Redelman said. “If the roots are shallow the stalks can blow down in high winds.”

During the fallow time of winter, Redelman has continued to put nutrients in the ground with AGGRAND. He expects even greater yields of soybeans in the 2009 growing season.

“I usually get 55 to 65 bushels an acre, Redelman said. “I’m hoping to get 60 to 70 bushels with AGGRAND.”