More in Crops

Jan. 24, 2013

Article

The Impact of Corn in 2013 1

Your planting decision may already have been made and the seed ordered. Whether that is the case or not, will you be planting more corn? Corn is more profitable per acre than soybeans, and more profitable than most cropping rotations would average. However, agronomic problems with continuous corn have pushed many farmers to consider some spice in their life with a periodic change of crop. While such considerations will have an impact on farm budgets, what happens with the value of crops nationally when more corn is planted or when alternative cropping patterns arise? Your personal decision is part of a national trend whether you know it or not....More
Nov. 27, 2012

blog

Custom Rates, Machinery Cost and Bin Checks

An increased number of farm operators are now providing some type of custom work to other farmers during the growing season. Many times, the farmers involved in custom work arrangements wonder what a fair custom rate is for the various faming practices that were performed....More
Oct. 1, 2012

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

Built From Scratch | Top Corn Yields from Desert Ground

Paul Evans stands in a lush corn field on the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Farm and Ranch and marvels at the changes on this ground over the past 20 years. A couple of decades ago, when he came to the 597,000-acre reservation in the southwest Colorado desert near the New Mexico border, this land near the toe of Sleeping Ute Mountain produced nothing. Zip. Nada....More
Oct. 1, 2012

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

Bean Bushel Busters | Soybean Yield Champs Share Some Secrets

Winning yield contests takes knowledge, skill and, often, a little luck. For some winners, their reward is not just about hitting new yield highs, but about fine-tuning their production practices. These three state soybean contest winners have made some profitable discoveries on their quests for more bushels, and they’re happy to share strategies that have worked best for them....More
Sep. 1, 2012

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

Soybean Planting, Brazil Style

September marks the beginning of the summer crop in Brazil. Farmers here in Paraná have the planters greased and tractors ready to begin. If rainfall allows, soybean planting begins in the second half of September. For many years, soybeans have been the major crop in Brazil, then corn. And that’s easy to understand – corn is more technical to grow, needing more fertilizer and nitrogen. Soybeans can grow and produce well in relatively poor tropical soils....More
Aug. 27, 2012

Article

More Grain Heads West | Will New U.S. Export Elevator Shift Corn Belt Westward?

EGT’s brand-new export terminal at Longview, Wash., sets new standards for efficiency, according to CEO Larry Clarke: “With grain so valuable, no one wants to leave it sitting in the field at risk, so the speed with which you can move it from field, to storage, to its destination is important....More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

Caution Should be our Last Name 1

I’m a farmer and agronomist in Campina da Lagoa, in the western Paraná state of Brazil. I hope to share with you soybean and farming-related concerns from a Brazilian farmer perspective, or at least my perspective, in this and future issues of the Corn & Soybean Digest....More
Jun. 28, 2012

Article

New Agriculture Offset Protocol Expands Opportunities for Corn Farmers to Participate in Carbon Market 1

The Climate Action Reserve, North America’s premier carbon offset registry, has adopted its Nitrogen Management Project Protocol. The protocol provides opportunities for farmers to generate carbon offsets by implementing agricultural management practices that reduce the application of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer to corn crops in the Midwestern United States....More
Apr. 30, 2012

video

Corn and Soybean Digest

Think Like a Grower: Syngenta's Integrated Approach

Syngenta has unveiled a new strategy to "think like a grower," as part of a new integrated approach to doing business with farmers. By thinking like farmers, the company will be better able to develop integrated solutions to address growers' needs....More
Apr. 1, 2012

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

Think Different: Input Addiction Aids Resistance

Are you a farmer who buys into the retailer/company/lender logic of adding more inputs to the spray tank, just in case insects or disease might be out there? Or are you fortunate to have a trusted source who scouts and openly discusses practices that can lead to weed, insect and disease resistance?...More
Feb. 10, 2012

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

Is a Substantial CRP Shift Coming to Corn, Soybean Acres in 2012?

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
Feb. 3, 2012

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

Technology to Track | Telematics, Crop Sensing are the Next Big Precision-Ag Tools. 2

In the world of precision ag, two technologies are the next big thing, says Matt Darr, Iowa State University ag engineer. They aren’t newly developed technologies, but they are the next big wave in agriculture....More
Feb. 2, 2012

Article

Unpredictable Weather Requires Proper Corn Management

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
Feb. 1, 2012

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

Refine your Refuge | It's More Important Than Ever This Year

Minnesota farmer Gene Stengel and his sons Kevin and Rob will plant a 20% insect refuge this spring, as usual. Although “refuge-in-the-bag” blends of Bt and non-Bt seeds are proving popular with farmers – and could predominate in coming years – many growers will still plant structured non-Bt refuges in 2012....More
Dec. 28, 2011

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

Gear Up For Planting | The Seeds of Success are Sown Now

“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
Dec. 20, 2011

video

Corn and Soybean Digest

Created Wetlands Help Reduce Nitrogen, Phosphorus Escapes

The hypoxia, or “dead zone,” in the Gulf of Mexico is one of those issues that seems to go on and off the radar of environmental activists. But farmers and government officials like Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey are continuing to work on the problem. Northey talked about those efforts following a presentation at annual Integrated Crop Management Conference at Iowa State University....More
Dec. 1, 2011

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

The Blame Game | 2011 Floods Worsened Nutrient Load Sent to the Gulf

“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
Nov. 22, 2011

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

Slurry-Seeding Synergy | New One-Pass System Combines Light Tillage, Manure Application, Cover-Crop Seeding

Manure and cover crops are a natural combination, but livestock farmers are often too busy in the fall with harvesting and manure application to worry about putting in a cover crop. Now, a new seeding technique makes it more practical for Midwest growers to reap the benefits of cover crops without an extra field pass. Slurry seeding combines liquid manure injection, low-disturbance tillage and cover-crop planting – all in one efficient operation....More
Nov. 15, 2011

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

Growing Pains in Africa

At 6° north of the equator, Ghana is always hot, so I welcomed the opportunity to return to Illinois in early October for some cooler temperatures and to help my family in Emden, IL, with harvest....More
Nov. 11, 2011

gallery

Strip Intercropping Photos
Oct. 14, 2011

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

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....More
Oct. 14, 2011

video

Corn and Soybean Digest

Farming on the Edge

Bob Recker, Waterloo, IA, explains strip interecropping and its benefits....More
Sep. 27, 2011

Article

Soil Compaction Management at Harvest Time

Farmers are eager to harvest soybeans and corn but the fields are very soggy in much of Ohio. The danger of causing soil compaction is therefore high. Let’s look at ways to increase the resilience of the soil to compaction, to avoid compaction, and ways to alleviate compaction....More
Sep. 1, 2011

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

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....More
May 12, 2011

article

Corn Replanting Decision Tool Released

A “Corn Replanting Decision Tool” has been released as part of the FAST series of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Mathematical functions in this tool estimate yields from the original and replanted stands. Estimated yields, along with cost and crop insurance information, then are used to calculate net income from replanting....More