Farm Journal: December 2012

Magazine Features

• See You in Chicago
  
  12/11/2012
  Attend a conference designed for young farmers
• Clock Ticks on Tax Strategies
  
  12/09/2012
  Key decisions made by Dec. 31 can save you big bucks.
• S-M-A-R-T Strategy
  
  12/08/2012
  As you look to 2013, consider developing a farm succession plan if you don’t already have one in place.
• A Yellow Brick Road to Prosperity
  
  12/08/2012
  Ports-to-plains corridor is on a roll
• Optimizing Underground
  
  12/08/2012
  Subsurface water systems can boost yields, carry nutrients
• Fertilizer Stash in the Soil
  
  12/08/2012
  While some carryover nutrients might be available to crops next spring, high crop prices for corn and soybeans will also play a major role in farmers’ nutrient use.
• After the Election
  
  12/08/2012
  Washington was bracing for a shake-up that didn’t happen as President Barack Obama outdistanced Republican challenger Mitt Romney by capturing 332 of the 538 electoral votes.
• Before You Sign On the Dotted Line
  
  12/08/2012
  Tips for constructing an oil or gas lease agreement.
• Pig Problems
  
  12/08/2012
  Feral hogs cause $1.5 billion in crop and property damage annually.
• Profitability Dries Up
  
  12/08/2012
  Drought cuts deep for livestock farmers
• Merrigan ‘Knows’ Ag
  
  12/08/2012
  USDA deputy secretary honored for local food initiative
• $100 Ideas
  
  12/08/2012
  Share your unpublished ideas and join our $100 Ideas Club.
• Stretch Your Hay Dollars
  
  12/08/2012
  The key to managing the high cost of hay this year is making every mouthful count.
• Displays and Dialogue
  
  12/08/2012
  After a scheduled hiatus, the Ag Connect Expo and Summit is back in 2013 with more exhibitors, show space and educational seminars.
• Optimizing Underground
  
  12/08/2012
  The subsurface irrigation method, first adopted in the U.S. for vegetables, fruits and nuts, is supplementing and even replacing center-pivot systems for field crops.
• Uncertainty Looms
  
  12/08/2012
  Know the danger areas for 2013 and reduce your risk
• Cash Flow Success
  
  12/08/2012
  10 ways a budget can point you in the right direction.
• Companies Clash Over Technology
  
  12/08/2012
  Herbicide carryover is something you’ll want to give thought to as you plan for the 2013 crop season.
• What Is Your Nitrogen Application Worth?
  
  12/08/2012
  University of Illinois Extension and the Illinois Council on Best Management Practices (CBMP), in collaboration with other Midwest land-grant universities, developed a new tool to help farmers calculate the optimum nitrogen rate for corn.
• FarmAssist.com Finds Mobile Home
  
  12/08/2012
  For more than 10 years, the FarmAssist website from Syngenta has provided online pest, weather, market and crop protection updates.
• A Fertilizer First
  
  12/08/2012
  Storing liquid fertilizer can be a hassle—and expensive—but are mobile collapsible storage containers changing the shape of fuel and fertilizer storage?
• Rugged Applicator
  
  12/08/2012
  A GPS-controlled variable-rate applicator built by Kelly McNichols delivers fertilizer from outlets spaced across a boom—an advantage over a spinner in windy conditions.
• The Overlooked Tool
  
  12/08/2012
  Whether a farm’s shop is a fully equipped shrine to Snap-on tools or a dirt-floored corner of a machine shed, there’s probably a vise bolted to some sort of workbench.
• Spotlight on Soil Biology
  
  12/08/2012
  The Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) had reason to celebrate 30 years of success this fall.
• Manage Carbon in the Soil Bank
  
  12/08/2012
  Researchers at North Carolina State University and USDA–Agricultural Research Service (USDA–ARS) are studying the way carbon moves in and out of the soil and its role in how much carbon dioxide (CO2) is released into the atmosphere.
• Farmers Fight Terror
  
  12/08/2012
  The ADT’s goal is to share U.S. agriculture practices with Afghan farmers so they can become more self-sufficient and less beholden to the Taliban.
• Back To The Forecast
  
  12/08/2012
  What happened in 2012, and what makes this winter so difficult to predict?
• Ask An Agronomist
  
  12/08/2012
  You can find answers to your crop production questions on Farm Journal’s “Ask an Agronomist” blog.
• Tech Tools in the Field
  
  12/08/2012
  The Farm Journal Test Plots team incorporates new technologies in their field tests every year.
• Corn Under Construction
  
  12/08/2012
  The Launsteins averaged 199 bu. of dryland corn in a continuous corn rotation was a measurable notch above 2011, despite the drought .
• Milestone Year
  
  12/08/2012
  Thanks to support from farmers, foundations and agribusinesses, Farmers Feeding the World makes a difference
• The Challenge of Nitrogen
  
  12/08/2012
  In your quest for high yields, nothing is more crucial, or more difficult, than managing corn’s most important nutrient.

Web Extra

• Tax Tips for Your Farm
  
  12/08/2012
  The Farm CPA, Paul Neiffer, shares tax tips on everything from hiring your children as employees to gift tax exemptions.
• How to Establish a Family Employment Policy
  
  12/07/2012
  Use this tool to create a family employment policy, which spells out the criteria for hiring and employing family members.
• 2012 Drought News and Impacts
  
  12/03/2012
  Read the latest about this year's staggering drought and how its affecting crops, livestock and the markets.
• 2013 Apache Sprayer Models
  
  12/01/2012
  Watch a video of the new 2013 Apache sprayer models, including details about the Plus II machines.
• CTIC Celebrates 30 Years of Conservation
  
  11/01/2012
  Founded in 1982, the Conservation Technology Information Center serves as information aggregator and dialog facilitator between agribusinesses, public agencies and farmers.

Columnists

• Who Doesn’t Love Shopping?
  
  12/12/2012
  We’re down to the last few days of the Christmas shopping season. These gift ideas worked for me and should be a hit with people like me.
• What a Drought Means Today
  
  12/08/2012
  As we head into a new year, I’m anxious about having back-to-back droughts. No matter what comes in 2013, I know the outcome will be different than the Dust Bowl.
• The Fertile Fields of Entrepreneurship
  
  12/08/2012
  One attractive aspect about farming is the opportunity to be an entrepreneur; however, some people might be programmed for success, others for failure.
• There’s More to Learn
  
  12/08/2012
  There is no better training ground than an off-farm occupation.
• From the Field: Every Year Adds Up
  
  12/08/2012
  One lesson I learn every year—what-ever the growing conditions—is to respect what a field tells you.

Departments

• All I Want for Christmas
  
  12/08/2012
  Christmas is a great time for farmers to explore new opportunities and determine which technologies might be a fit for their upcoming needs
• Back in Recovery Mode
  
  12/08/2012
  The past year will be remembered as a time of considerable supply reduction due to a historic drought that caused prices to rally to levels that effectively rationed demand.
• Tailgate Talk
  
  12/08/2012
  Nate Birt is an online journalist who spends his days interacting with Farm Journal Media fans on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
• Expansion Provides a Wider Reach
  
  12/08/2012
  Since 1997, Equipment Technologies has had one focus: to manufacture Apache self-propelled sprayers.
• Seed Industry Prepares for Patent Expirations
  
  12/08/2012
  The transition from patented seed trait technology to generic technology is about to become a better-defined process with a positive outcome for U.S. farmers.