Corn and Soybean Digest

Susan Winsor

Email swinsor@csdigest.com

Before joining Corn and Soybean Digest, Susan was an agricultural magazine editor for Miller Publishing, a newspaper reporter for Gannett newspapers and Manager, Marketing Publications for Cenex/Land O’Lakes Ag Services. She graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Journalism.

Articles by Susan Winsor

Coming To a Field Near You: Nitrogen Reduction Credits 1

You can soon earn credits for reduced fertilizer application if you prove it reduces nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, which are a potent greenhouse gas. That could be a big "if."

Be Soil Savvy While Tilling, Tiling 2

Dave Legvold is soil savvy. When he picks up a new piece of ground, he initiates a standard transition process to decrease compaction and improve soil structure to build productivity. The Northfield, MN, farmer’s newest silty clay loam field had been poorly drained and conventionally tilled before this spring.

New Holland Introduces New Tractors, Combines, Tracks, Features

New Holland Agriculture, long known for its hay and forage equipment, continues to expand its row-crop 4WD tractor and combine offerings. It was recognized for innovative design and performance offerings in 2011 by AE50 awards from the prestigious American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

What Happens if the Soybean Farmer's Biggest Customer is More Regulated or Moves Offshore?

Regulations on our biggest customer – the U.S. livestock industry – could add more than $16.8 billion annually to U.S. consumers’ grocery bill. So says a study funded by the United Soybean Board (USB) if regulations are imposed on U.S. poultry and livestock sectors that raise input costs by 25%, the study finds.

How to Curb Goss Loss | Prevention is Main Tool in Dodging Goss’s Wilt

Bill Curran has devoted 18 years to a mystery that’s new to many of us. As lead scientist for Pioneer’s LaSalle, CO, Goss’s wilt hybrid development and screening program, he preaches prevention because there is no remedy.

Benchmark Your Input Consumption | Nebraska Farmer Conserves More Than Soil Thanks to Sustainability Initiative

Ever wonder how your input use stacks up against other growers? Mike Thede, Palmer, NE, benchmarks his use of fertilizer, soil and water vs. local and national counterparts, thanks to the Field to Market Fieldprint Calculator.

Raise the Bar: Proactive and Progressive | Risk Management Drives Most Long-Term Decisions at JCS Family Farms

Can you trace a kernel of your corn back to its field, seed lot and agronomic program? Can you delegate field operations to free your time for marketing and risk management?

Responsible Tillage Boost Profits

Emerson Nafziger harkens back to time spent in fields with a three-bottom moldboard plow. “When it took so long to till each acre, it really was tillage,” says the University of Illinois Extension crop-production specialist.

Rethink Soil Value | Why Not Reflect the True Cost of Soil Erosion in the Economic Value of Land?

If your soil became worth 10 times what it is today, would you modify your management systems to better preserve it? When a parcel of Iowa land recently blew up the market at $20,000/acre, was that a reflection of the productivity of its soil? Or simply two aggressive buyers?

Boost Profits with No-Till | Reducing Tillage Saves $25-30/Acre

Emerson Nafziger remembers pulling a three-bottom moldboard plow years ago. “When it takes that long to till each acre, it really is tillage,” says the University of Illinois Extension crop-production specialist.

Less Is More | No-tiller Collin Jensen Grows corn With Just Two Field Passes

Time is money for Collin Jensen, who has better things to do than fall tillage. He appreciates the reduced equipment cost and fuel needs of reduced tillage, but even more he values every ounce of soil that stays on his West Union, IA, hillsides.

Lane Gain | Controlled Traffic Conserves Most Precious Resources: Soil, Rainfall

Richards Farms planted a month early in Circleville, OH, at a time when local rainfall was 90% above normal this spring. Thanks to controlled traffic farming (CTF), the family has 30-year-old established traffic lanes in its corn and bean fields. They provided improved traction and drainage, while neighboring growers sat on their hands as a soggy April and May turned to June. Richards Farms was among only 1% of Ohio farms with corn planted by the first week in May, according to USDA statistics.

Update Cash Rental Rates

Land rents are still being negotiated through the winter months, says Iowa Extension and Outreach Field Specialist Tim Eggers. “It’s a common misperception that rents are set before the lease termination deadline of Sept. 1,” he says.

Farming on The Edge | Strip Intercropping Edges Capture More Light, Reward With Higher Yields

How can we translate “farming smarter” and technology into an extra 40 bu.? Fasten your seatbelts for a tour of what may be the future of corn and bean farming.

New Equipment Sharing Math | How to Get the Numbers to Pencil Out When Your Son Comes Home to Farm

Instead of farming more land to solve this challenge, Ron Miller, Towanda, IL, shared equipment with an old friend. When his son Ben returned from college, they had plenty of labor, but Miller had lost two-thirds of his ground to estate sales. “I was doing some trucking on the side, but farming is what I really wanted to do more of,” Miller says.