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2025 Performance Nutrition Corn and Soybean Trial Results
Before a product ever earns a place in a farmer’s input budget, it has to answer one simple question: does it work where crops that farmer’s crops are actually grown under the challenges those crops are forced to grow in?
That question drives the trial philosophy behind Total Acre, Performance Nutrition’s independent on-farm research partner. Unlike greenhouse studies, the Total Acre model places replicated trials directly into production agriculture operations – real farms and real farmers – across diverse geographies, soil types and weather conditions. Each trial is conducted alongside a grower’s standard management program, allowing products to be evaluated under the same pressures producers face every season, including drought, disease, fertility limitations and environmental stress.
The result is data grounded in real production agriculture rather than theory.
“We’re not trying to remove variability from the equation,” Chris Underwood, Business Development and Innovation Manager for Performance Nutrition explains. “Agriculture is variable by nature. And the Total Acre model allows us to understand how products perform when farmers are managing real risk on real acres.”
RemeD8 | Corn | Fairfield, Nebraska
Belt Farms
At Belt Farms in Nebraska, RemeD8 was applied in-furrow at planting to evaluate its impact on early-season micronutrient availability in corn. Tissue sampling revealed an 11% increase in zinc uptake compared to untreated acres during early vegetative development.
That early nutrient availability matters because zinc plays a critical role in root expansion and enzyme activation. When corn establishes a stronger root system early, plants are better positioned to access moisture and nutrients later in the season, particularly during periods of stress.
In practical terms, improved early uptake helps protect yield potential before environmental challenges ever arrive. Establishment is often overlooked, but it sets the foundation for everything that follows through pollination and grain fill.
Vergence Ca + K29 | Corn | Ridge Farm, Illinois
Chestnut Farm
At Chestnut Farm in Illinois, the growing season delivered significant drought stress during pollination, one of the most yield-sensitive stages for corn production. Applications of Vergence Ca and K29 as a major part of a foliar program resulted in a 4.05 bushel-per-acre yield advantage over the control.
While yield gains are important, the broader story was crop stability. Field-wide yield losses approached 20% due to environmental stress, yet treated acres maintained stronger performance through reproductive development.
“What we continue to see is that stress mitigation changes outcomes,” Underwood says. “These products help plants maintain function when conditions aren’t ideal, and that consistency is what growers are really after.”
Maintaining pollination success during drought directly protects kernel set, making stress tolerance tools increasingly valuable as weather variability intensifies.
Pennamin FeMn | Soybeans | Beulah, North Dakota
Hillrock Farm
Soybean performance depends heavily on micronutrient balance during vegetative growth. At Hillrock Farm in North Dakota, Pennamin FeMn was applied at the V4 growth stage to evaluate nutrient efficiency during rapid biomass accumulation.
Post-application tissue samples showed a 6.5% increase in potassium uptake, indicating improved nutrient movement within the plant system.
Potassium plays a major role in water regulation, photosynthesis and pod development later in the season. Improving uptake early helps soybeans better manage stress events while supporting reproductive energy demand.
This trial demonstrates how targeted micronutrient management can influence plant health long before yield is visible, ultimately contributing to improved crop resilience and productivity.
AgraRouse | Corn | Aurora, Iowa
Jenks Partners Inc.
At Jenks Partners in Iowa, AgraRouse was evaluated as an in-furrow biological nutrient efficiency tool under challenging disease pressure from Southern rust.
Early tissue sampling showed nearly a 20% increase in phosphorus uptake, supporting improved early plant energy transfer and development despite disease challenges later in the season.
Phosphorus availability directly impacts root growth and early vigor, both of which influence a plant’s ability to withstand biotic stress. Even as disease pressure intensified, treated corn maintained stronger development compared to untreated acres.
The results reinforce how improving nutrient efficiency early can help crops better tolerate challenges that emerge later in the growing season.
Prudent Si | Corn | Crete, Nebraska
Lorenz Farms
At Lorenz Farms in Nebraska, Prudent Si was applied during late vegetative growth to evaluate silicon’s role in plant strength and stress tolerance. The trial produced a 10.6 bushel-per-acre corn yield advantage compared to the grower standard program.
Silicon strengthens cell walls and improves plant rigidity, helping crops better withstand environmental stress such as heat, wind and moisture fluctuations.
“Silicon isn’t always the first nutrient growers think about,” Underwood notes, “but when plants are structurally stronger, they manage stress more efficiently and ultimately protect yield.”
The measurable harvest response highlights silicon’s growing importance as growers look for ways to maintain performance under increasingly unpredictable conditions.
Prudent AG | Corn | Gothenburg, Nebraska
FTF Farms
The trial at FTF Farms provided one of the toughest testing environments of the season. Corn experienced hail damage and sandblasting conditions that significantly reduced yield potential across the field.
Even under those extreme circumstances, Prudent AG delivered a yield advantage over the grower’s existing fertility system.
Recovery following physical crop damage often determines final yield outcomes. Products that support plant metabolism and regrowth can help crops rebound more effectively after stress events, preserving bushels that might otherwise be lost.
Vergence Ca | Corn | Federalsburg, Maryland
Turner Farms
At Turner Farms in Maryland, Vergence Ca was applied at V10 to evaluate calcium’s influence during rapid plant growth and reproductive preparation. Treated acres produced a clear yield advantage compared to the grower standard program.
Calcium plays a critical role in nutrient transport and cell wall integrity, directly influencing grain fill and plant efficiency late in the season.
This trial reinforces the importance of mid-season nutritional support, particularly as crops transition toward reproductive stages where nutrient demand peaks.
Across every geography and cropping system, the takeaway remains consistent. Performance Nutrition products are not being evaluated under perfect conditions. They are being tested where profitability is decided.
“At the end of the day,” Dr. Underwood said, “farmers need solutions that perform when conditions aren’t perfect. That’s why testing in real fields matters.”
And increasingly, those real-field results are translating into measurable return on investment when combines roll each fall.