For the fourth year, soybean growers across the United States participated in trials to apply Sulf-N® ammonium sulfate (AMS) on soybeans as part of the AdvanSix Supplement Your Soybeans program. Throughout the season, participating farmers conducted field trials to determine the advantages of applying ammonium sulfate (AMS) as a source of sulfur and nitrogen for the crop.
While unfavorable weather conditions prevented some farmers from participating in the 2024 field trial program, two participants, Rick Telesz of Volant, Pennsylvania and Brian Ray of East Prairie, Missouri, were able to successfully apply Sulf-N ammonium sulfate on their soybeans.
Rick Telesz
Volant, PA
Background
When it comes to growing soybeans, Rick Telesz, doesn’t believe in taking the easy route.
“You can just throw soybeans in the ground and get 40 bushels,” said Telesz. “But if you want to push your yields and double that, or even be able to grow 100-bushel soybeans all the time, you need to pay attention to the details that you do with your corn to get a boost.”
Telesz knows that growing high-yielding soybeans takes a multifaceted approach that involves continuously implementing and trialing new products and practices on his operation to find the right system for maximizing soybean yield potential.
“There’s just a lot of little things, and if you skip one, it’s going to hurt your yields,” said Telesz. “But, if you get them all and Mother Nature helps you out a little bit, it could be something special.”
Because Telesz isn’t afraid of doing things a little differently, he can grow higher-yielding soybeans than others in his area. In fact, he usually doubles his county’s average. One of his secrets to success is ammonium sulfate (AMS).
For years, Telesz has applied enough AMS to meet his soybeans’ sulfur requirement, aiming for 10-12 pounds of sulfur per acre. However, he had no proof that the application was actually providing any benefit to the crop.
Then, in early 2024, Telesz attended an AdvanSix-sponsored “What’s New Session” at Commodity Classic, where he heard Dr. Shaun Casteel of Purdue University share the results of several research studies showing that the soybeans receiving AMS applications achieved higher yields than the untreated check. This confirmed to Telesz that ammonium sulfate is an important piece of the puzzle to growing high-yielding soybeans.
“I think the additional AMS has given me that bump of 8-10, even 12-bushel yields at different times,” said Telesz. “But I had never trialed it, so I had no way of knowing for sure.”
Later on, at the Commodity Classic, the stars aligned, and Telesz ran into AdvanSix Sales Representative David White in a hotel lobby. The pair discussed the possibility of an on-farm field trial and Telesz was on board to put AMS to the test as part of the AdvanSix Supplement Your Soybeans program for the 2024 growing season.
Supplement Your Soybeans AMS Trial
Telesz planted his trial field on May 4, 2024. He applied 100 lbs/ac of AMS to half of the field in 50-foot-wide swaths before planting. The weather was near ideal for planting, and Telesz observed that the soybean crop emerged evenly, noting that the ammonium nitrogen from the AMS likely helped give the trial field a strong start to the season.
However, the fair weather didn’t last. Late May brought a cold, wet spell followed by a dry June and an even drier July. In addition to the dry weather, Telesz also dealt with challenges from wildlife like groundhogs and deer, as well as a big infestation of Japanese beetles in his soybeans.
To mitigate weather related challenges, Telesz used a comprehensive management approach on his AMS trial field. In addition to supplemental nutrition, he also uses insecticides, preemergent herbicides and precise drone-applied fungicides to treat insect infestations.
When harvest rolled around in mid-October, the yield benefits of the ammonium sulfate became clear. The AMS-treated sections of the field had an average yield of 88.5 bushels per acre, while the untreated sections only yielded an average of 82 bushels per acre.
Telesz attributed the yield advantage primarily to the supplemental sulfur in the ammonium sulfate.
“I don’t think people give sulfur enough credit or rely on it enough. It could be one of the limiting factors for yield,” said Telesz. “It may not make a record yield, but I do think it’s one of those things that if you don’t have enough of, it will limit your yield.”
Telesz plans to use AMS on his soybeans in 2025 and beyond. He noted that he will continue with pre-plant applications on his soybeans but is interested in trialing different application timings and rates. He is also interested in seeing if there is any benefit to going back and doing a second AMS application later in the season.
Overall, Telesz believes that AMS is a valuable, and simple option that growers can use to help maximize their soybean yields.
“There’s nothing particularly special about AMS, but I think people are going to be surprised whenever they use it,” said Telesz. “If you only realize the value, not just the nitrogen, but especially the sulfur, I think there’s a strong case for using it.”
Brian Ray
East Prairie, MO
Background
Most row crop farmers in the Midwest grow a mix of corn and soybeans. Some others grow just corn, while a small number of farmers, including Brian Ray, grow predominantly soybeans. On his 1,500-acre farm, Ray’s typical rotation includes 200 to 300 acres of wheat followed by double-crop soybeans; the rest is all full-season soybeans.
“About five years ago, input prices really went up and it no longer made economic sense for us to raise corn on our ground,” said Ray. “We realized we’d be better off planting mostly soybeans, so we just kind of went with it.”
Without corn in his rotation, Ray has the opportunity to be fully invested in his soybean crop. A few years ago, he added ammonium sulfate (AMS) to his fertility program and believed it was making a difference but had no proof. So when Brent Peters, an agronomist at Delta Growers Association, approached him about conducting a field trial of Sulf-N ammonium sulfate as part of the 2023 AdvanSix Supplement Your Soybeans program, Ray was all on board.
“We didn’t have any proof that the AMS was helping soybean growth because we applied it to whole fields,” said Ray. “We wanted to figure out if the AMS was working or if we were just wasting money.”
In 2023, Ray’s Supplement Your Soybeans field trial demonstrated an average yield advantage of 9.6 bu/ac in the AMS-treated sections of the field over the untreated sections. Throughout the season, Ray also noticed stark visual differences, with the AMS-treated strips being taller and much darker green than the untreated soybeans.
Following this success, Ray was almost certain the ammonium sulfate was making a difference in soybean plant health and yields. However, he wanted to confirm these results weren’t just a one-time thing, so he returned to the Supplement Your Soybeans program in 2024 to conduct a second field trial.
2024 Supplement Your Soybeans AMS Trial
Ray’s trial field was planted on April 20, 2024, under near-perfect conditions. The trial was set up in strips with 100 lbs/ac of AMS applied prior to planting. Aside from a 63-day dry spell that lasted from July through harvest, Ray experienced few challenges during the 2024 growing season. A long, wet period occurred early in the season, but Ray noted the insect pressure was less than he expected, likely due to the use of an insecticide. Ray also proactively used a fungicide, so the disease pressure in his field was low as well.
Throughout the growing season, Ray observed some visual differences between the AMS-treated and untreated soybeans, especially in the corners of the field that the irrigator could not reach.
“It wasn’t as visible as last year, but there was still a difference,” said Ray. “The height of the soybeans was different, and the AMS-treated soybeans appeared to be darker green.”
Ultimately, Ray’s field trial demonstrated a clear yield advantage again this year. The AMS-treated acres yielded an average of 64.5 bu/ac, while the untreated acres only achieved an average yield of 55.6 bu/ac. Ray attributed the yield increase to the AMS, which provided the needed nutrients to the soybeans early on and contributed to a strong start early in the season.
“The AMS helps get the soybeans off to a really good start,” Ray said. “I believe it helps create a more developed root system so they can uptake other nutrients more efficiently and just be a healthier plant from the get-go.”
Ray also believes that the AMS helped the soybeans better tolerate the hot, dry weather. “The AMS-treated soybeans seemed to deal with the stress of the heat and the hot days better,” he said.
With an average yield advantage of 8.9 bu/ac in 2024 and 9.6 bu/ac in 2023, Ray said that the AMS applications have paid off for his operation. “We’re money ahead by applying AMS to our soybeans. The trial showed that. We had an ROI that’s around $60 to $70 an acre in two years. That’s not a fluke,” said Ray.
Now that he has proof that AMS contributes to increased crop yields and a strong return on investment (ROI), Ray plans to continue using AMS on his soybeans in 2025 and beyond. However, he plans to rely on soil sampling to determine how much should be applied and if it is an every-year application or not.
“I foresee applying AMS annually on at least part of our acres,” said Ray. “It may not be 100%, depending on the soil tests, but I believe at least part of our acreage will get AMS from here on out.”
To learn more about how Sulf-N ammonium sulfate can help boost soybean yield potential in 2025, contact your sales representative or visit soybeans.advansix.com.