The AdvanSix AMS Acre Activation program is designed to equip retailers with the tools they need to educate customers on the benefits of adding ammonium sulfate (AMS) to their crop nutrition programs. In 2023, Delta Growers Association in southeast Missouri participated in the inaugural year of the AMS Acre Activation program to help their customers learn more about how AMS provides readily available ammonium nitrogen and sulfate sulfur that can improve soybean health and yield potential.
Customer Resources
Brent Peters, area marketer at Delta Growers Association, led the charge in educating customers on the benefits of AMS through the AMS Acre Activation program.
“My colleagues and I had seen some studies about the potential ROI benefits of AMS on soybeans and we wanted our growers to see that for themselves,” Peters said. “The AdvanSix AMS Acre Activation Program made it very simple to get everything we needed to help inform our customers about all AMS has to offer for soybeans.”
Prior to the growing season, Peters worked with AdvanSix to identify the messages and educational resources that would best resonate with Delta Growers customers. Ultimately, Delta Growers determined that a letter and one-page flyer highlighting the benefits of AMS would be the best fit for their customer base.
AMS Field Trial
As part of the AMS Acre Activation program, Delta Growers also partnered with one of their customers, Brian Ray to execute a field trial through the AdvanSix Supplement Your Soybeans program and learn more about the role AMS plays in crop nutrition.
From the field trial experience, Peters and Ray, as well as other Delta Growers customers, saw the benefits of AMS firsthand. “One thing we noticed very early on was that the AMS-treated strips of the trial field had healthier, green plants with a better root system,” Peters said. “I think the sulfate sulfur from the AMS being available to the plants early on had a lot to do with the positive response we saw.”
At the end of the season, AdvanSix created materials to help Delta Growers disseminate the field trial results to other customers interested in applying AMS to their soybeans. “The best thing about working with AdvanSix is that once the AMS field trial results came in, they made it very easy to get those results out to our other growers,” Peters said. “And that trial data is good information that a grower can retain.”
Learning Something New About Sulfur
While Peters was familiar with AMS on soybeans prior to Delta Growers participating in the AMS Acre Activation program, he also learned some new things about AMS this past season. He was most surprised to learn about how important sulfur is to soybeans.
“I did not realize how much sulfur affected the soybean plant,” Peters said. “I think there’s a lot of times we’re probably low on sulfur, but you don’t know by just looking at the plants. It wasn’t until we could see that clear line in Brian Ray’s field trial that it dawned on us just how important sulfur is.”
Overall, Peters felt participating in the AdvanSix AMS Acre Activation program was beneficial to Delta Growers. “It was absolutely worth doing,” he said. “We learned some new things and it was very easy to get that information out to our growers.”
AdvanSix welcomes the opportunity to provide in-kind marketing support to additional retail partners. If you’d like to learn more about the AMS Acre Activation Program in 2024, please contact your sales rep.