Crop Conditions
NOAA and CPC issue an official El Niño watch with a 62% chance of forming by late summer. Meteorologist Drew Lerner explains why it’s coming sooner than expected, but warns the extreme forecasts may be overstated. What it could mean for global crops this year.
Barbell, beer can and banana are descriptive names for abnormal ear shapes that show up every season and cause yield losses — problems growers could avoid more often by tuning into three factors researchers refer to as GEM.
Bigger roots, higher populations, and easier in-season access mean fertility programs should look different for these new hybrids.
Working with Mother Nature may require adopting a new mindset, but for some farmers these four practices could be the ‘missing piece’ in having a sustainable, long-term weed management plan.
Swapping your fluency agent for a value‑added product could turn a routine step at the planter into real ROI.
New research shows that pairing hybrid root architecture with your tillage system and residue management is a way to grow more bushels.
High-yield growers David Hula and Randy Dowdy say three things deserve your sharpest focus now: your planter, fertility program and seed.
Crown rot is showing up more frequently in Midwest cornfields. Plant pathologists say it’s likely a multi-pathogen disease and offer five practical ways to address it this season.
Ignore the hype of unproven products and practices. Research shows that doubling down on five core fundamentals will deliver the best ROI.
A detailed “farming playbook” can help guide essential input investments and maximize ROI.
Planning for next season? Review the expert insights and recommendations from farmers and field agronomists on how to reduce costs and strategically reallocate resources.
A new report details the need for more ag funding to address existing weeds, insects and diseases as well as agronomic problems that have yet to reach U.S. shores.
Preemptive control of heavy-hitting diseases like white mold, frogeye leaf spot, Cercospora leaf blight and others is now possible thanks to specially designed soybeans that act like an early warning system, enabling proactive fungicide treatments and yield protection.
Several years of low commodity prices, high input costs and thin margins have taken a toll on soil stewardship in some parts of the country. As a result, farmers need to use caution and do their homework before renting ground that’s coming available in their area for 2026.
In many areas of the Corn Belt, farmers experienced 10-to-50-bu.-per-acre yield losses from disease pressure this year, says Ken Ferrie. In a period of tight margins, timely treatment decisions were more crucial than usual.
Because every growing season is unique, agronomists are encouraging corn growers to make a management plan for the “driver diseases” they’re most likely to encounter in fields next year.
Leading ag meteorologists share the weather drivers they are watching.
The fungal disease has spread to fields in at least seven states since 2018, including three new ones just this year. Once established, the pathogen is nearly impossible to eradicate, Extension plant pathologists report.
Number of bushels per acre is high on their list of priorities, but it’s not necessarily their No. 1 concern going into 2026.
As crops go into bins, growers will be looking to maintain quality until their marketing opportunities improve. Some ongoing management practices are vital to the process.
While many farmers in the state were delighted by the results the 2025 season delivered, that wasn’t the case everywhere. In some areas, Mother Nature delivered a series of agronomic problems that dominoed and turned a potential bin buster crop into one that was average at best by harvest.
Agronomists answer farmer questions about the role of nitrogen and other nutrients in lessening the potential impact of yield robbers such as southern rust and tar spot in corn.
Corn yield champs say annual soil testing is the best way to make sure fields are up to the goal of delivering profitable high yields every season.
After three straight years of having a May-planted crop that outperformed corn planted only a few weeks earlier, some Illinois farmers are ready to throw in the towel on planting corn before the calendar turns to May.
The new product also addresses other key issues in soybeans like frogeye leaf spot and septoria brown spot.
With low commodity prices and higher input costs, identifying hybrids that are a good fit for your soil types and environmental conditions is more important than ever – and can give you a leg up on yield performance from the get-go next spring.
With contributing factors ranging from insect pressure to disease and environmental stressors this season, agronomists say farmers face hard decisions on when to combine their crop in affected fields.
Third-generation farmer Amy France and team at NSP are on a mission to improve buyer demand for the crop domestically and abroad.
Herbicides and defoliants are commonly used by farmers in southern regions to quicken the harvest period and reduce the risk of shatter loss and poor test weights. Now, Midwest growers and researchers are looking at how to use the practice.
Survey results from University of Illinois ag economists show how farmers are making corn and soybean nutrient plans for 2026 and what current price trends are for N, P and K.