Latest News From Ken Ferrie

Along with too much moisture, high numbers of corn flea beetles are posing an early-season concern. Ferrie advises checking your Stewart’s wilt bacteria rating on hybrids. There's no treatment option for infected corn.

Some Illinois farmers started planting soybeans in late March. Ken Ferrie offers tips to help you weigh the risks of planting now. Plus, be aware that poor saturated cold scores are impacting some seed corn hybrids.

Based on fieldwork he's done so far, the farmer asks, “Am I drying out the soil early in what looks to be a dry year? Or, am I making the soil more fit so roots can go down as they should?”

Your technology investment will maximize corn yield on every soil type.

Don't take equipment to fields too soon and create headaches that will linger all season. While you wait for the right timing, consider doing prep work and projects that can help set you up for yield success.

Farm Journal Test Plot research proves practices that reduce soil disturbance and sequester carbon perform best in a vertical farming system, as opposed to horizontal tillage, which creates yield-limiting soil layers.

Before heading to the field to apply anhydrous, firm up what crop you're going to plant. Growers have been kicking around the idea of going beans-on-beans, given the markets. But anhydrous essentially ties you to corn.

A sudden change in soil density that occurs from the freezing-thawing process can cause problems with corn root growth this spring and impede water movement in the soil during the growing season.

Ken Ferrie answers two additional questions: Was it allelopathic toxins in the cereal rye ahead of corn that caused such a yield ding last season? Will there be a cap to Carbon Initiative payments per farm operation?

Once you balance fertility and pH in the soil profile, and adjust to making small, more frequent lime applications, you probably won’t need to mix fertilizer into the soil, says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist.

Red clover can fix nitrogen, suppress weeds and improve crop yields. Based on test plot research in Illinois, a good stand of red clover can provide between 50 and 100 pounds of nitrogen per acre.

Growers can benefit from evaluating the dispersion of N, P and K and pH levels in no-till fields. Often, there is a drop off in soil fertility levels in no-till soils once below the three-inch mark.

The practice can be useful in some scenarios but not all. Farmers need to evaluate the potential impact on 2024 yield outcomes. Perhaps a bigger concern is how the practice impacts weed management, especially waterhemp.

For a lot of farmers, 2023 was a tough growing season and Mother Nature didn't cooperate. But don't let that drive your seed-selection process for next year. Consider these five recommendations instead.

Fall tillage is in full swing. Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie shares two videos to explain how to successfully set and operate your hybrid chisel and inline ripper.

Moisture availability is one of the biggies to check out, says Ken Ferrie. He also details some upcoming agronomic events, like his Beyond The Basics five-part webinar series and the virtual Corn & Soybean College.

Ken Ferrie offers five practical agronomic tips you can use during harvest this fall. These practices can help you improve corn performance and yield outcomes across your farm.

If your combine monitor is showing a wide range of yields in the field, Ken Ferrie says to investigate. Evaluate soybean stand, pod set and bean size while there’s agronomic evidence.

Weather woes took a huge bite out of corn yield potential this season, especially in northeast Iowa and parts of western Illinois. Where farmers got timely rains, the yield reports coming in are not as wide-ranging.

What is vertical farming and how can it set you up for future government incentives? Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist, explains it often requires mixing and matching tools for primary and secondary tillage.

A calibrated monitor usually does a good job of telling you where yield is changing in a field within a hybrid, but it may not tell you exactly how one hybrid is yielding against another.

Yields can take a 5-bu.-per-acre hit as a result of the sickle running so high on stems it cuts off branches and allows them to fall below the deck. Losses can be reduced to 1 bu. per acre with header adjustments.

Ken Ferrie expects yields to climb as Illinois farmers start harvesting more of their May-planted corn. Looking ahead, he says farmers will see some challenges from herbicide carryover in 2024.

Out East, Ken Ferrie saw good corn crops with delayed maturity. Black layer will be pushed out to October. In the West, one Iowa field had the highest corn yield check of the season, while other fields were burned up.

In-field and classroom sessions will address making changes to your crop rotation, tillage systems or nutrient placement; managing early-planted soybeans; evaluating below-ground issues that impact corn yields; and more.

Farmers with cornfields affected two years ago need to be ready this season, based on a corn-soybean rotation. Fields with high levels of residue are more susceptible, and beware heavy rains just prior to canopy.

Many Midwest farmers are seeing their corn crop struggle from compaction, nutrient deficiencies and herbicide carryover. Some of these issues can be addressed yet this season.

Farmers finding dead corn plants in their fields are texting pictures to Ken Ferrie, asking for help. Some of the culprits he's found include wireworm, the carbon penalty, rootless corn syndrome and herbicide carryover.

Similarly, Ken Ferrie says to time your post-herbicide application in corn based on weed size and to address cutworm based on the level of damage you find. One pass in the field could work for both, but don't bet on it.

If your corn isn't flying out of the ground, the reason is you likely need more heat units. Ken Ferrie shares the easy formula for your use. Tracking heat units can help you make better agronomic decisions this season.

Soil conditions, temperatures and weather outlook are aligned. "Let the big dogs run, and keep the planters running until you're finished," says Ken Ferrie. "This corn will fly out of the ground."

Don't let the rush to plant cause you to be filled with regret and utter these five words at some point: "I wish I had waited." Chilled seed corn struggles to emerge and grow. It can cost you 10% of your stand.

True armyworm (not to be confused with fall armyworm) is moving into Midwest wheat and corn crops now. Many are newcomers from the South, but homegrown populations are also concerning in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.

When soybean seed sits in the ground for weeks, unable to germinate, the risk for Sudden Death Syndrome to develop trends higher. Yield losses upwards of 80% are documented.

Here are some tips to help you translate your data into higher yield and ROI.

Cutworm and armyworm moths are on the move, looking to lay eggs. Wireworms, grubs, flea beetles, gophers and voles are also looking to take up residence in your fields. Act now to stop them.

Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie says there’s a lot of value in the concept of “start clean and stay clean” for full-season weed control. He shares some advice as farmers prepare for planting this year.

More ears at harvest is the key to higher yield. That requires starting with a picket-fence stand with photocopied plants, achieved by adjusting your planter as conditions change from field to field and within fields. 

Caution can help you avoid creating compaction or density layers. Plus, if you're applying anhydrous now, allowing 14 days between the application and planting can prevent dead or damaged plants and costly yield dings.

Determine the causes of gaps, late-emerging plants and missing ears so you know how to fix the problems in the future.

Corn yield results not from the number of plants in a field but rather the number of ears. Commit to season-long scouting and consider these tips for evaluating ear development.

From conventional horizontal tillage to strip-till and no-till, the key is applying a production system that can overcome each field’s weakness.

How can you reap higher yields this fall? Follow these tips to develop a plan and prep for challenges in the spring.

Some farmers saw A 40-bu-per-acre yield surge across fields in 2022, thanks to nutrient efficiencies. They lost less N and had better mineralization. Now, they ask, how can they get a repeat performance this year?

With organic matter above 3.5%, do you need to worry about applying sulfur? Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist, is seeing financially positive responses. He shares several sulfur options to consider.

Sudden density changes block root growth and water movement.

Some hybrids require nitrogen early, some require it late.

With the current season fresh on your mind, beware the temptation to base too much of your 2023 plan on what you encountered in 2022, cautions Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

Harvest is wrapping up for the Farm Journal Test Plots. Ken Ferrie shares preliminary observations on soybean planting date, 15" versus 30" rows, sulfur products, corn planter fertility and corn fungicide plots.

Ken Ferrie says fields with good soil health can have as much disease present as an unhealthy field, but healthy plants handle stress better than unhealthy ones.