Agronomy
As you begin to rein in production costs, big ticket items such as fertilizer naturally get a lot of scrutiny. Now’s the time to think through how you’ll best allocate available dollars for nutrients.
There’s a big crop in the field for many Midwest growers, and it requires fuel. N supplies ears with the energy they need to add kernels all the way to their tips and to pack on weight.
What if you could transform a task that used to half of your day to just a few minutes?
Tips for retailers to help shape effective conservation conversations at the farm-gate
Yield losses of 10 bu. to 35 bu. per acre are common in affected cornfields, especially where farmers have a later-planted crop and in those fields with L2 hybrids.
Many bean crops are somewhere between R2 to R4 right now, prime time for a foliar application if disease or insects warrant. Check out our agronomist’s video on staging your crop to get optimum ROI.
Could reducing your soybean seeding rate increase profit per acre by $40? In the right situation, yes. Make it a priority to dial in population, row width and plant characteristics for each soil type and planting date.
Rootless corn syndrome, nitrates, carbon penalty, waterhemp woes and tar spot are bearing down on corn and soybean crops now. The good news? You can take action so they aren’t a drag on crop performance all season.
Ken Ferrie says fields with good soil health can have as much disease present as an unhealthy field, but healthy plants handle stress better than unhealthy ones.
Heavy rains and high winds are contributing to dangerous dust storms and other issues in farm country. Ken Ferrie offers his take on stewardship practices that can help growers prevent or minimize these problems.
2024 Farm Journal Corn and Soybean College: Learn How to Ride the Waves of Farming’s Economic Cycles
This year’s program focuses on practices growers can use to thrive and keep their farms on track. Make plans to join Ken Ferrie and team for the event, which is slated for July 23 and 24 near Heyworth, Ill.
Bayer has requested a new label for XtendiMax from EPA. Public comment is underway. Also, farmers and retailers are urged to verify final sale and use cutoff dates for dicamba-based products in their respective states.
Abiotic stressors can trigger a response in plants called reactive oxidative species that can impair cellular function and growth. Biological products have shown significant promise in mitigating these challenges.
The oilseed could be a fit now for growers in Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, southern Illinois, and parts of Alabama and Mississippi. Bunge Chevron Ag Renewables is offering a 2024/25 production program.
The crop can survive, but it depends on the hybrid, seed quality and temperature. When temps go north of 70 degrees, the likelihood the corn will survive drops after being submerged 24 to 48 hours.
Be diligent to keep pesky and invasive weeds out of your field boundaries. Otherwise, those weeds can produce seed and drift to additional acres in future years.
Ken Ferrie says 37% of seed corn samples he’s reviewed fall below good quality levels; 11% fall into the poor category. He advises retaining 2 lb. of each questionable lot until stand establishment can be evaluated.
Research underway at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is showing promise by targeting western corn rootworm genes with RNAi technology.
RhizeBio cofounder Doug Tole joins host Paul Neiffer for Episode 143 of the Top Producer Podcast.
Don’t let the rush to plant cause you to be filled with regret and utter these five words at some point: “I wish I had waited.” Chilled seed corn struggles to emerge and grow. It can cost you 10% of your stand.
Get crops off to a good start with these weed control tips
It’s a tale of two extremes this year. Some farmers report they can’t find soil moisture to plant into, while others are struggling just to get into their fields. Agronomist Ken Ferrie weighs in on both scenarios.
Apply product when and where you need it at the optimum rate.
Consider these tips to ensure you’re complying with federal regulations when it comes to pesticide disposal.
Tim Hushon, sustainability and technology director at The Mill, details how sustainability factors into their ag retail business and how to partner with farmers on the technology adoption required.
Based on fieldwork he’s done so far, the farmer asks, “Am I drying out the soil early in what looks to be a dry year? Or, am I making the soil more fit so roots can go down as they should?”
Brian Ray is confident his soybeans will yield more this season, thanks to the use of 100 lb/A of ammonium sulfate preplant applied. He and his retailer, Brent Peters, anticipate a 4 bu/A average increase or higher.
“We are talking about fuel produced in 2025, but that is going to use the crop we are growing this year,” Mitchell Hora says.
Researchers and agronomists are using a creative way to study corn plant root structures and hope it will lead to a new understanding of how below-ground root systems can impact yields and plant stress.
A Minnesota grower asks Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist, how to improve upon the soil fertility on 90 acres he is renting for the first time this year.