Corn
Farmer DIY: Low-cost, weed-specific automated sprayers built on-farm are on the near-horizon for agriculture.
Tar spot and southern rust are increasing concerns and require a proactive management plan. Some fungicides can mitigate these and other diseases while protecting plants from stress. Retailers can guide your decisions.
The pest injures corn most often during the VE through V5 growth stages. Timing foliar insecticide applications is critical. They are only effective when the larvae migrate and are exposed to the pesticide.
Figure out which ‘sins of spring’ are plaguing your cornfields. Also, sign up for Corn & Soybean College. It’s just a few weeks away. We have all new agronomic topics to help you take more grain to the bin this fall!
Come join Ken Ferrie at this year’s Farm Journal Corn and Soybean College, hosted by Crop-Tech Consulting, July 26-27 in Heyworth, Ill.
All farmers suffer injuries, but the unbreakable Ward Henry was a breed apart: drill rollover, shooting, anaphylactic shock, amputation, and PTO mangling.
Match hybrids to offensive and defensive management zones.
With drivers searching for the cheapest gas price possible, gasoline with higher blends of ethanol is seeing an uptick in demand as E85 is currently priced 30% to 40% less than E10.
Evaluate your crop’s vulnerability to the destructive force of tar spot.
Drought on the mind again this summer? Many ag experts say it should be now, and next year.
Nearly 80% of the corn crop has emerged and 73% has a condition rating of good or excellent.
Yes, the problem could also be a nitrogen deficiency or even a phosphate deficiency. Check out the photos provided to identify which deficiency your crop is encountering now and determine next steps.
2,600 pumps in 31 states now offer ethanol blends. Jon Doggett, NCGA CEO, says year-round E15 will incentivize buyers and retailers to map a clear path to more E15 pumps, saving $12.2 billion in annual fuel costs.
You may need more nitrogen to fuel this year’s crop adequately. Also, cutworms are on the move. Ferrie advises dropping your threshold tolerance to 1.5%.
This spring about 100 growers in New York started shipping corn and soybeans to Europe and Africa, via the Great Lakes Seaway system.
U.S. corn planting posted another big week. As of May 22, 72% of the crop is planted, up from 49% complete as of May 15.
Pay attention to the low-lying areas, sandier soils and no-till fields and scout soybeans to evaluate stands and determine final plant population, advises Missy Bauer, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.
U.S. corn planting progress is off to its slowest start since 2013. With only 14% of the corn crop in the field as of May 1, Dan Basse of AgResource Company thinks a record U.S. corn yield is already off the table.
It’s also time to consider switching to corn planting if you are unable to plant corn and soybeans simultaneously. Beware of salt-burn risks in spring strip tillage, and start checking soybeans for bean leaf beetles.
When you plant corn does matter, but there are in-season factors that play a significant role in final outcomes as well, according to USDA and agronomists.
Much of the Midwest is seeing cool, wet conditions while the West is increasingly dry. If you plant in poor soil conditions, you will pay for that mistake at harvest, say agronomists. Their recommendation: be patient.
With these high corn prices, plant corn when conditions are right, says Ken Ferrie. Don’t act in haste and set yourself up for corn replant decisions. If you have to push conditions and plant, go with soybeans.
As input prices climb to alarming levels, Jon Stevens’ decade-long series of input trials is paying dividends in 2022.
We spoke with three weather experts this week to gauge when the best time is to press “start” on planting, what to expect this growing season and how you can use weather as a chess piece in your marketing plans.
The war in Ukraine will dictate food prices, according to Vilsack: “We don’t really know what the impact is going to be on Ukraine’s crop this year, or what it’s going to look like in terms of exportability.”
Availability could be a challenge this season. If you can only make one application, pull the trigger between tassel and R3 in corn and between R2 and R3 in soybeans, advises Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.
Running a high-speed disk with gang angles can put in compaction layers if soil is too wet. Same thing can happen with wheel tracks from vertical tillage. Make a soil ribbon to evaluate conditions and guide decisions.
Weather conditions can guide planting conditions. The calendar plays a role, too. Watch the brief video on soybean maturities and why night length is so important to the flowering process.
For 2022, USDA are expecting more soybean acres than corn. That’s according to the 2022 Prospective Plantings report released on March 31.
Here’s one way to know whether you work with a reputable seed company. Along with that, it’s time to put out lures and traps for various pests, including wireworms, armyworms and voles.