Chris Weaver, a row crop farmer in Finksburg, Maryland, is experimenting with new technology and farming strategies as he navigates rising input costs and changing market conditions, according to a May 13 announcement. Weaver manages a 1,000-acre farm along with a seed-sales business and small feedlot.
Weaver’s approach reflects the broader efforts of farmers to adapt to volatile markets while maintaining sustainable practices. “He said to me, ‘Never change your plan,’” Weaver recalled about advice from an older farmer friend. “What he meant by that was, if you were going to plant corn in a field, plant corn. If you’re going to plant beans because that’s your rotation, don’t just jump out and change everything. Somehow the market always … straightens itself out.”
To address high nitrogen prices this year, Weaver reduced his upfront fertilizer application but plans additional treatments later in the season. He emphasized timing over quantity: “A lot of times, the biggest problem with farmers is they ask, ‘How many passes on your beans did you make?’ What does that have to do with it? It’s about the right fertilizer at the right time. Not saying the four Rs are perfect, but it’s about that right timing on fertility.”
Weaver has also adopted new tools such as in-field probes for monitoring soil moisture and nutrients across his no-till fields. “The probes are in the ground, buried 4 feet, with a monitor on top,” Weaver said. He described careful placement of these devices so they avoid damage during fieldwork.
Additionally, he uses real-time nutrient analysis from Picketa Systems by collecting leaf samples for instant readings at his farm lab: “I think these probes with the tissue sampling will be the next game-changer in what we’re doing…the more data we can collect, the better that the probe [and] tissue sample company will all be able to interact toward the future.”
On marketing strategy amid recent price increases for crops like soybeans—about 60% of his acreage—Weaver has already forward-contracted part of his harvest: “We’ll just kind of wait and see some of our crop before we’ll book anymore.” He remains optimistic about barley yields despite recent frosts: “I’m still very optimistic that we’re onto a good year for barley…it’s looking really good and very promising.”
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