Crops

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) signups start in one month, but economic pressures could be tempting many farmers to choose crops rather than conservation, says Paul Kassel, Iowa State University Extension field agronomist. "With grain prices and land prices as high as they are now, the economic situation may be causing farmers to return any retiring CRP acres into corn and soybean production," says Kassel. "However, before farmers do so, they need to make sure they have a realistic yield expectation. Former CRP ground typically has less yield potential than other land, due to soil type."...More

There may be no such thing as the "normal" growing conditions of old that many corn farmers have been longing for after enduring extreme weather in recent years, says Bob Nielsen, a Purdue Extension agronomist. Instead, he suggests corn growers look at a variety of management techniques to give crops the best chance at success – regardless of the weather....More

“It all comes down to the planter. If you don’t get it in the ground right the first time, nothing else matters.” That simple philosophy is at the heart of what Minster, OH, Crop Consultant Bill Lehmkuhl says is one of the most important parts of the crop cycle: getting ready for planting season....More

  “It’s tough to convince someone in Minnesota that they need to do something to improve the water quality in the Gulf of Mexico.” That profound statement from Bill Honker, from the Dallas EPA regional office, illustrates the critical need for multi-state cooperation in attempts to manage nutrient runoff that can cause hypoxia – or the dead zone....More