“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.” — Johnathan Lock, Illinois farmer

CANTON, Ill. (AgPR) Aug. 14, 2025 — With an August projection of the largest-ever U.S. corn crop from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 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, 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 corn fields 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 made Excavator® AMS powered by Cyclestrike™ a key part of Lock's operation for breaking down corn residue and releasing nutrients for the following soybean crop.
"I used Excavator AMS plus Cyclestrike with a fall burndown last year for the first time and it definitely was a game changer," Lock said. "It worked amazingly. 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 Excavator AMS, soybeans were spotty coming through and they were kind of yellow. Where we used the Excavator AMS, it made a big difference in emergence. The beans didn't have as much residue to try to push through. Excavator 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."

Meristem launched this newest version of Excavator in early 2025 with a powerful blend of microbes in the patented Bio-Capsule® liquid ready designed to keep biology alive through field application.

"It's time to rethink your synthetic fertilizer for crop year 2026. If your soil test levels are above 21 ppm in phosphorus and over 200 ppm in potassium, you can consider taking the year off and cut $100 off your dry fertilizer spend this fall. Replace that with Excavator AMS powered by Cyclestrike and reduce a tillage pass," said Mitch Eviston, Meristem Founder and CEO. "It's better for next year's crop, it's a better use of your nutrients and it is better for your farm's bottom line. This is the very best residue breakdown product on the market."

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 Dr. 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."
For more from Dr. Sible on residue management, visit: youtube.com/watch?v=sM1k-3-qSSc.

About Meristem Crop Performance

Meristem® Crop Performance, Inc. helps farmers produce more bushels for less cost per bushel. Meristem is the global leader in delivering live, in-field biologicals through the patented Bio-Capsule™ technology platform. Meristem significantly reduces waste and increases productivity in crop input systems through accelerated access to innovation, improved supply chain efficiency, and advanced concentrates. Learn more at www.meristemag.com.