More bushels, more residue, more opportunity

Crop prices are down, fertilizer prices are up and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s August 2025 report projected a record U.S. corn average yield of 188.8 bushels per acre.

If the projections hold, the nation’s farmers have an opportunity to manage the record-setting amount of residue in fields this fall to cut fertilizer costs for 2026.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we have one of the best corn crops in Illinois around here. On the poorer ground, we could see 220- or 230-bushel corn. And on your good ground, I think we’ll see some 280s,” said Johnathan Lock, a Meristem Crop Performance dealer who farms with his family near Canton in west-central Illinois. “For the guys really trying to push their yields, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw over 300 bushels.”

The massive amount of residue from those high-yielding cornfields has been creating challenges — but also opportunities — for area farms in recent years, especially with the current high fertilizer prices.

“That’s a lot more trash running through the corn head, running through the combine,” Lock said. “There are obviously nutrients in that trash, and really we shouldn’t even be calling it trash anymore. There’s plenty of money in that residue. With prices of fertilizer going up, it’s going to be really important for us to get that money back into our soil.”

This philosophy has encouraged Lock to look at ways to better manage corn residue and release nutrients for the following soybean crop. Last fall he applied biological inputs after harvest followed by a vertical tillage pass in the spring.

“It worked amazing. We came back this spring with vertical tillage and the stalks just crumbled into pieces. We planted soybeans pretty early this year, and in the checks where we did not use the biological application, soybeans were spotty coming through and they were kind of yellow,” he said.

“It made a big difference in emergence. The beans didn’t have as much residue to try to push through. It set us up with a better situation for early soybean planting and managed the residue in a positive way, all at a lot less cost than the price of the fertilizer.”

As corn yields continue to climb, residue management will become increasingly important.

“Don’t forget half of that crop goes out the back of the combine and it’s going to take biology to release it for the next year’s system. Residue decomposition is natural, but slow,” said Connor Sible, assistant professor at the University of Illinois in the Department of Crop Sciences.

“One of the things we’re seeing on our research is working with microbial blends and combining these biological mixes with the nitrogen/sulfur sources such as AMS tends to be synergistic and you’re getting a 1 + 1 = 3 scenario, and that’s showing up pretty consistently in the yield data.”

Proper 2025 management can turn that trash into 2026 treasure.

Matt Reese coordinates media and state relations and serves as the content creator for Meristem Crop Performance.