The bin-busting bloodline is strong: 19-year-old Naaman Cullers has inherited the competitive genes of his yield-legend dad, Kip Cullers. However, the father’s overalls, white t-shirt and Redwing work boots have been bounced by the son’s blue jeans, colored Carhartt shirt, and lace-up Brunts.
In 2024, fed by only 167 lb. of nitrogen per acre, Naaman hit 363.9 bpa, second place, conventional irrigated, in the National Corn Growers Association yield contest, after hitting 363.5 bpa and ranking third in 2023.
“Part of this is me wanting to see how fast I can make the car go, and part of this is learning an ROI lesson to push across bigger acres,” Naaman says. “I believe 400 is coming next year because there’s more going on in our fields than people may realize.”
Then and Now
In November 2005, Naaman was born a year before Kip began toppling national soybean yield records in the red dirt and rocks of southwest Missouri’s Barry County: 139 bushels in 2006; 155 in 2007; and 161 in 2010; along with remarkable corn production.
Kip’s yield numbers were outrageous to all—except the son in his lanky shadow. “I grew up thinking that was normal and everyone grew record corn and beans,” Naaman says. “I thought everyone spoke at Commodity Classic.”
“My first memories are of my mom taking me to the combine, strapping me in a car seat, and being out there all day. Or I’d fall asleep in a big articulating tractor in a rough-driving field, banging my head on the window. I had no idea my dad’s yields were unusual.”
That was then; this is now. At 19, fulltime on the farm as Kip changes gears, Naaman is hooked. “I want to push and see what’s possible. I love the competition; I love the fun; and I love the lessons.”
In early April 2024, within a 65-acre field, on 30” rows, Naaman planted multiple hybrids, including DeKalb DKCC68-35RIB. “It was a field that had been in green beans previously. We breed rocks in this ground, but at least most of it is relatively flat,” he describes, wearing a grin.
“The stand came up and looked really good. I used biologicals to feed it, and although I was running the sprayer nonstop across our big acres, I was checking in on the contest field as often as I could, staying on top of its exact needs.”
Yield Robber
And what were those “exact needs?”
“Way before Naaman planted, we pulled a soil genomics test,” says Chris Masters, Biovante CEO, “and that’s the deepest dive possible into what species of microbes are or aren’t in the soil. Naaman had over 3,300 lb. of nitrogen, 1,100 lb. of phosphorus, 2,200 lb. of potassium, along with tons of nutrients for all other essential nutrient sitting in the top 7” of soil, but lacked the microbes to go get it.”
Master’s response was to impregnate the soil, in-furrow and foliar—to plug in the microbes needed to get trapped nutrients from Naaman’s soil. “Instead of starting with a fertilizer conversation, we start by asking, ‘What does the soil hold currently in surplus, but due to lack of microbes, can’t be accessed?’ Then it’s a matter of opening those pathways with one of the eight biotechnologies we offer. Bottom line: soil biology first and synthetic fertilizer last.”
Passing the June window, the crop looked strong, according to Naaman. “Eyeballing it, everything was great—until we hit trouble.”
Welcome to a downed pivot in the heart of a historic drought. “I was just about to start pumping nitrogen, when we lost power on the pivot and it was out for at least several weeks around July 4,” Naaman recalls. “We ended up dragging a braided, three-phase wire through standing corn to get the pivot back up. How many bushels did we lose? I’m not sure, but it was a yield robber.”
“You try, try, try to avoid all stresses on your crop, but that broken pivot came outta nowhere.”
Pathways
Was 400 bushels a possibility before the pivot waved adios? Masters believes so: “If he had moisture and been able to fertigate twice more, I think he would have passed 400. That’s a lotta of kernels that didn’t get filled. Considering Naaman’s in an area where 180-230 is normal, and he was in a historic dry summer, and lost his pivot, 363 is phenomenal.”
And all on 167 lb. of nitrogen?
“It was 110 lb. of dry AMS pre-plant which equates to 23 lb. of nitrogen, and Naaman did it again at about V5,” Masters notes. “The total 167 lb. of nitrogen was a collection of dry AMS, liquid on the planter, and he fertigated once.”
“He also did one foliar feed of 10-13-13, but regarding the industry standard of potash, 0-0-60, MAP, DAP, and urea, he didn’t use any. It was 2 tons of chicken litter in fall of 2023, 32% on the planter; dry AMS twice, and 10-13-13 one time. All the rest came from selecting biotechnology to open pathways to nutrients already in the soil.”
Learning and Loving
Generally, industry standards point to roughly 1.1 lb. of nitrogen per bushel. Following the traditional math, 363 bpa might necessitate 400 lb. of nitrogen per acre.
“Most guys are consistently close to those guidelines,” Masters says. “Maybe .8 to 1.2 lb. per acre. As an industry, I believe we’re sending buggies across the field like fertilizer drug addicts, even though those same fields are loaded with nutrients. That, by definition, is a flawed system.”
“There really is a way to reduce inputs and make output go up, while saving dollars,” Masters contends. “It’s happening and more people are paying attention. It’s not biology—it’s precision biology. Farming is in great hands with young guys like Naaman who are willing to consider answers outside the lines.”
Naaman’s crosshairs are set on 400 bpa in 2025. “Like I said, sometimes we just push to see how fast the car can go, but when we find something that works, that’s real ROI.”
“Next year, we’re going to switch fields and I believe we can do 400,” he concludes. And I’m gonna be learning it and loving it the whole time.”
For more from Chris Bennett (@ChrisBennettMS or cbennett@farmjournal.com or 662-592-1106), see:
Corn and Cocaine: Roger Reaves and the Most Incredible Farm Story Never Told
Cottonmouth Farmer: The Insane Tale of a Buck-Wild Scheme to Corner the Snake Venom Market
Priceless Pistol Found After Decades Lost in Farmhouse Attic
