Ken Ferrie
Agronomist Ken Ferrie provides agronomic insights, crop management tips, and practical advice for farmers to improve crop yields.
True armyworm (not to be confused with fall armyworm) is moving into Midwest wheat and corn crops now. Many are newcomers from the South, but homegrown populations are also concerning in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.
When soybean seed sits in the ground for weeks, unable to germinate, the risk for Sudden Death Syndrome to develop trends higher. Yield losses upwards of 80% are documented.
Cutworm and armyworm moths are on the move, looking to lay eggs. Wireworms, grubs, flea beetles, gophers and voles are also looking to take up residence in your fields. Act now to stop them.
Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie says there’s a lot of value in the concept of “start clean and stay clean” for full-season weed control. He shares some advice as farmers prepare for planting this year.
More ears at harvest is the key to higher yield. That requires starting with a picket-fence stand with photocopied plants, achieved by adjusting your planter as conditions change from field to field and within fields.
Determine the causes of gaps, late-emerging plants and missing ears so you know how to fix the problems in the future.
Caution can help you avoid creating compaction or density layers. Plus, if you’re applying anhydrous now, allowing 14 days between the application and planting can prevent dead or damaged plants and costly yield dings.
Some farmers saw A 40-bu-per-acre yield surge across fields in 2022, thanks to nutrient efficiencies. They lost less N and had better mineralization. Now, they ask, how can they get a repeat performance this year?
Sudden density changes block root growth and water movement.
Some hybrids require nitrogen early, some require it late.
Harvest is wrapping up for the Farm Journal Test Plots. Ken Ferrie shares preliminary observations on soybean planting date, 15" versus 30" rows, sulfur products, corn planter fertility and corn fungicide plots.
When you go on a 2,700-mile personal crop tour through parts of eight states, you see a lot of corn and soybeans and get a sense of where there will be stellar yields as well as below-average results this harvest.
The growing season has been far from perfect, but a northeast pocket in the Corn Belt just might be the garden spot for corn thanks to strong stands and a steady stream of rain in July.