Maranatha Acres

05/30/2026

Let’s talk about Anhydrous Ammonia (Gas). 👇🏼

What is it? Some refer to it as gas, others Anhydrous. Going to get very scientific here but hang on. Anhydrous Ammonia a chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH₃. When injected into the soil, it quickly reacts with water in the soil to form ammonium hydroxide, NH4OH. The ammonia binds with the organic matter to form ammonium (NH4+). Then during the growing season, soil microorganisms convert the ammonium to nitrate, which is the main form taken up by plants. Anhydrous can stay in the soil for up to 135ish days and is 82% nitrogen.

Why do we use it? Anhydrous is one of the most efficient sources of nitrogen fertilizer that can be applied to corn. There are other sources of nitrogen, and we even use some of those as well, but the majority of what’s applied on our farm comes after the corn is up in the spring while the corn is small enough that if driven over it will pop back up (or some farmers apply it in the fall or spring pre-planting).

Why don’t some people like to use it? As with anything, there are risks with using it. It is a dangerous gas. I don’t know anyone who enjoys dealing with it. It’s something that most who deal with it take seriously when it comes to handling. One slip or missed step could lead to life-changing consequences. There are plenty of news articles about accidents related to NH₃ if you care to look it up.

Overall, we apply Anhydrous Ammonia on our corn acres and have found it to be the best for our operation. We are careful when applying, moving tanks, and hooking up tanks to keep everyone safe. We feel it is the most cost-effective (in most years) and efficient way to feed our corn the right amount of nitrogen it needs to get through the growing season. 🌽

05/29/2026

Wheat Fungicide time. 👌🏼

This pass includes a fungicide, insecticide, and a foliar fertilizer to help get the wheat to the finish line in late June or early July!

Fungicides help defend against diseases that can rob yield and reduce grain quality, while insecticides target pests like Army worms, that can absolutely decimate a wheat crop.

This pass is an important one to get the wheat to the finish line. So we also include a product from BW Fusion called AmiNo, which is a foliar Nitrogen product that helps supply readily available nutrition to support plant health, grain fill, and overall crop efficiency.

Drone application gives us the ability to treat the field quickly and accurately while minimizing wheel tracks and crop damage - and come on, isn’t it pretty awesome to watch. 😉

The goal is simple: keep the wheat healthy, maximize yield potential, and produce the best crop possible.

Thanks as always Vertical Ag!

05/26/2026

The sky looked fake the day we planted our corn test plot this year. 🌽
- 24 different varieties
- 5 different seed companies
- Head-to-head
👀

Yes, we change varieties at both ends of the field so one of us rides on the planter to help clean out and refill with the next variety.

05/20/2026

Excited to share that we have been featured in this month’s Drago Corn Heads “Row by Row” Newsletter!

We've been running Drago corn heads since 2013, and they’ve made a huge difference in our harvest efficiency — better kernel capture, way less trash in the combine, and reliable performance year after year. It’s been a smart investment on our farm.

A big thank you to Paul Martin & Sons for their excellent support and service over the years. If you’re looking for a Drago corn head, we highly recommend giving them a call.

Read more about our experience here:
https://www.dragotec.com/blog/combine-header-critical-in-increasing-roi/

Sam Riegsecker returned to his family’s Ohio farm in 2022, and new Drago combine header (and better harvest efficiency) came soon-after.

05/16/2026

Little rain delay here so here is some corn planting footage from earlier in the week for your slo-mo viewing pleasure. 🌽

05/14/2026

Rolling through corn acres! 🌽
The wind has been almost impossible to fly in. It was giving all it could to stay mostly steady during this footage.

05/09/2026

Getting the party started this week in old school fashion. 🌱

We got some of our NEW Pioneer Seeds Plenish Enlist Soybeans in the ground. Excited to see this new technology in production.