More in Corn Production

Mar. 15, 2013

Article

EU Fails to Ban Neonicotinoid Pesticides, Support Bee Health 1

Syngenta has responded to the failure of the European Commission to win support for an EU-wide ban on neonicotinoid pesticides. A majority of Member States refused to support the proposal to restrict their use on all bee attractive crops. The Commission must now decide whether to appeal the decision or amend its proposal....More
Mar. 14, 2013

Article

Agriculture Degrees in Demand

Linsey Howell is among a growing number of recent agriculture graduates and graduating seniors who are reporting strong job prospects with their agriculture and natural resources degrees in Ohio and nationwide thanks to the growing world-wide demand for food and an increasingly strong agriculture industry, experts say....More
Mar. 13, 2013

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Corn and Soybean Digest

Modern American Agriculture Statistics: Farmers Producing More Grain, More Efficiently on Less Land

As the world population grows, American farmers will have to produce more food in the next 50 years than in the past 10,000 years combined. All of the growth in production will have to be done with less land, energy and water consumption while conserving and sustaining natural resources....More
Mar. 13, 2013

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Are You Selling Old-Crop Corn?

I hate to sound like a broken record, but even after the recent USDA data the lyrics remain the same..."Tight old-crop balance sheets for both corn and soybeans make time-spreads a much more attractive play than flat-price." Improving rainfall and snow coverage is easing concerns regarding the US drought and therefore keeping a lid on US new-crop prices. As each week passes the ability for old-crop tightness to help keep new-crop prices supported may get...More
Mar. 12, 2013

blog

Benchmarking to the Elite: Part 2

My last article focused on some of the financial characteristics of producers who attended the Executive Program for Agricultural Producers (TEPAP) this year. Now I’ll discuss some of their management practices. This supercharged conference, coordinated by Danny Klinefelter, is an outstanding educational venue for agriculturalists that offers education and networking with individuals from over 20 states, four Canadian provinces, South America and Australia....More
Mar. 12, 2013

Article

Factor Field History, Weather into Crop Disease Management Decisions

Field history and weather patterns are important in determining how to best manage crop diseases, says Kiersten Wise, a Purdue plant pathologist. Many organisms that cause crop diseases can survive in the soil and residue for several years. The fungi that cause sudden death syndrome, or SDS, and Phytophthora root rot are two examples in soybeans. Foliar and ear rot diseases, such as Goss's wilt and Aspergillus ear rot, are examples in corn....More
Mar. 11, 2013

Article

Scout for Japanese Beetles in Soybean, Corn Crops this Season

The Japanese beetle is becoming an increasingly prevalent pest in the north-central region of the United States and can occasionally be an economic problem in soybean or corn fields, says Kelley J. Tilmon, South Dakota State University Extension soybean entomologist. For clarification purposes, Tilmon wants to ensure that readers do not confuse the Japanese beetle with the Asian ladybeetle, which is often called Japanese beetle by mistake....More
Mar. 10, 2013

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

North Dakota Corn Yield Trials Have Success with Conventional Corn Hybrids

GM hybrids aren't the only "elite" germplasm. G2 Genetics' 3-H-399 AgrisureRW hybrid, with a full complement of GM (genetically modified) traits, captured headlines with a record 309.5 bu./acre yield in the North Dakota University (NDSU) irrigated corn trials. However, the conventional hybrid runner up may suggest an even bigger story....More
Mar. 10, 2013

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

Are Corn Prices Headed Lower?

USDA has lowered the projected high-end season-average farm price for corn down to $6.75-7.45/bu. It’s a 20¢/bu. drop from last month – a trend farmers hope doesn’t continue as planting time nears. The projection came in Friday’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, which also showed tight ending stocks unchanged at 632 million bushels....More
Mar. 8, 2013

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

Farm Transition Planning: Communicate, Use Experts, Keep Focused

On Friday afternoon attendees at Commodity Classic 2013 were treated to a session on transitioning their farms. Leading the conversation were Darren Frye, Brian Hensley and Arlen Suderman, all of Water Street Solutions, and Bryce Knorr, of Farm Futures. The group started off by saying that now is the time to start planning, reminding the group that having a will and having and estate plan are NOT transition plans....More
Mar. 8, 2013

Article

Farming is a Way of Life, Not a 'System' 1

As a farmer, one of the many whom Jonathan Foley regards as “the hardest working people in America” and as “pillars of their communities,” I would like to speak out about how today’s corn farmers, their trade associations and others whom Foley has vilified have not only rethought the so-called “corn system,” but are continually improving it. Thanks to technology in the tractor and on the field, and smart agronomic practices like conservation tillage, things are only getting better....More
Mar. 7, 2013

Article

Relationship Between Crop Returns and Acreage Decisions

Relative corn and soybean prices over the past few crop years have encouraged expansion of corn acreage and the use of more corn intensive rotations throughout much of the Midwest. In general, and in central and northern Illinois in particular, increased corn acreage has come at the expense of fewer acres being planted to soybeans and, to a lesser extent, wheat....More
Mar. 6, 2013

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How to Play the Current Market: Your Corn and Beans in both Old Crop, New Crop

I am cutting straight to the facts today. We have a couple big reports coming up, and I wanted to throw my hat in the ring and call a few shots to help you get in the game and better your operation....More
Mar. 5, 2013

blog

Benchmarking to the Elite: Part 1

One of the elite management learning experiences in agriculture is the Executive Program for Agricultural Producers (TEPAP) at Texas A&M University, coordinated with leadership of Danny Kleinfelter. Now in its 24th year, this gathering of agricultural lifelong learners with an array of outstanding presenters who have a vast amount of background and experience is truly the “Super Bowl week” of education and networking in agriculture....More
Feb. 28, 2013

Article

Mobile App Provides Daily Variable Rate Recommendations to Optimize Corn Yield

An agronomy firm whose smartphone application uses GPS soil testing data and National Weather Service rainfall data to estimate corn yield and determine the most limiting factor will launch a new function on the app....More
Feb. 26, 2013

blog

The Advisor Who Paid Off

The other day our veterinarian, Todd, shared a story with me about a producer who came to him with a pinkeye problem, which was not only aggravating, but costing him a lot of money. He told me this story during a driving sleet storm as we were checking cows for heat as part of our breeding program....More
Feb. 22, 2013

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

Think Different: Rethink Agronomics 2013

As with most farm business decisions, very few escape without some type of tradeoff, be it labor, time or money. Our cover story may challenge your beliefs if you're sold on 30-in. row soybeans, because you lose yield (range from 2.9 to 4.5 bu./acre) compared to 15-in. – according to a three-year, six-state university trial....More
Feb. 22, 2013

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

Secure Your Landlords | Status Quo Land Leases May Cost You Lost Acres

How secure is your relationship with all your landlords? At a time when aggressive operators are targeting long-term relationships, offering substantial bumps to rental agreements, what would your landlords accept? Do you know how to 'seal the deal' with every landlord?...More
Feb. 22, 2013

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

Hybrid Choice is No. 1 | Three Pre-Planting Yield-Booster Tips

Before he plants a single seed, Scott Rahn plans a foundation for top corn yields. He and brother Noel focus on field-by-field hybrid selection, crop rotation and seedbed preparation in their fields near Bingham Lake, in south-central Minnesota....More
Feb. 22, 2013

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

Be a Contrarian

Doing things the way they’ve always been done provides comfort and confidence. Today’s environment, however, is sorting out those who refuse to adapt to change....More
Feb. 22, 2013

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

$7.50 Corn: Good or Bad?

In two years or possibly even in six months, many corn producers will recognize that $7.50 corn may well have been the worst thing that has happened to them in the last 10 years. I’ve said before that I am of very strong opinion that corn prices are in the midst of the biggest bear market in history. I am sure some readers have laughed at such a statement and others have thought I have lost my mind. I am convinced that $7.50 corn is actually going to be one of the worst things that has happened to a Midwest corn farmer in a long time....More
Feb. 21, 2013

Article

Corn and Soybean Digest

Don't Let Rootworms Win

The wily western corn rootworm thrives in fields where farmers choose a risky combo of continuous corn and continuous use of the Cry3Bb1 trait found in Monsanto's YieldGard RW and VT Triple products....More
Feb. 19, 2013

blog

Enthusiastic About the Future of Agriculture: Top Ten List: No. 4

Number four on the countdown list of why I am excited about the future of agriculture is the ability to be entrepreneurial and to grow your wealth over the lifecycle of the business....More
Feb. 19, 2013

Article

4 Tips For Planting Corn Early

Spring is almost here and most growers have started thinking about planting dates. Though planting corn early often results in higher yields, choosing the wrong planting date can have adverse effects on crop establishment. Planting corn early offers a number of potential benefits. For example, corn is more likely to flower sooner and escape yield-robbing effects of midsummer droughts....More
Feb. 14, 2013

video

Corn and Soybean Digest

USDA Reports Say Climate Change Will Affect Agriculture 1

Two USDA reports say U.S. agriculture and forest management will have to adapt to climate change and that some of those efforts are already underway. "It’s well documented that the climate is changing, that we are seeing changes in temperature and in changes in precipitation patterns, and that those changes are having implications for forests and for agriculture," says William Hohenstein, director of climate change program, USDA. "What these reports actually look at in more detail are the changes that we expect in changes in terms of extreme events. Changes in the probability of droughts, and floods and how that also will have implications for our resources."...More