Rhonda Brooks

Agronomy Editor, Farm Journal

Rhonda Brooks is the Agronomy Editor for Farm Journal and AgWeb, covering all aspects of crop production. A Missouri native with a background in agricultural communications, she has previously worked on multiple Farm Journal brands.

Latest Stories

Sprayer - preemergence application - spraying - Lindsey Pound

Crops

Put More Spray Where It Pays

Drift reduction adjuvants help keep products where you want them in the field and deliver measurable yield results.

January 29, 2026 10:58 AM

Rhonda Brooks

Crops

4 Ways to Cut Costs Without Bleeding Bushels

To keep expenses in check, high-yield growers are rethinking everything from fertilizer use and planter prep to pest programs and how they manage field borders.

January 28, 2026 02:48 PM

Rhonda Brooks

Soybeans

Why Soybeans Don’t Need A Perfect Stand To Deliver High Yields

Purdue’s Shaun Casteel shares three lessons from the field on the value of letting your soybeans ‘improvise, adapt and overcome’ early in the season.

January 27, 2026 01:47 PM

Rhonda Brooks

Planting - Corn Seed - Talc - Lindsey Pound

Crops

Talc And Graphite With ‘Added Benefits’?

Swapping your fluency agent for a value‑added product could turn a routine step at the planter into real ROI.

January 23, 2026 03:38 PM

Rhonda Brooks

Crops

Umbrella vs. Deep Diver: Which Corn Root Personality Fits Your Farm?

New research shows that pairing hybrid root architecture with your tillage system and residue management is a way to grow more bushels.

January 22, 2026 11:28 AM

Rhonda Brooks

Machinery

Faster Tillage, Smarter Spraying: John Deere Expands Its Machinery Lineup

New high-speed disk models offer autonomous operation while See & Spray provides new upgrades, delivering more ways for farmers to manage heavy residue and stubborn weeds.

January 22, 2026 08:00 AM

Rhonda Brooks

Crops

Control the Controllables To Capture More Bushels

High-yield growers David Hula and Randy Dowdy say three things deserve your sharpest focus now: your planter, fertility program and seed.

January 16, 2026 01:25 PM

Rhonda Brooks

Crops

Unmask the ‘Party’ in Your Corn Crop

Crown rot is showing up more frequently in Midwest cornfields. Plant pathologists say it’s likely a multi-pathogen disease and offer five practical ways to address it this season.

January 15, 2026 02:05 PM

Rhonda Brooks

Crops

HERMON Offers Farmers Fresh Hope In The War On Weeds

A new multi-state monitoring network using unique diagnostic tools is hard at work, identifying herbicide-resistant weed populations faster so farmers can get a leg up on control before the problem gets totally out of hand.

January 14, 2026 01:30 PM

Rhonda Brooks

Graphic for Boots in the Field Report with agronomist Ken Ferrie who has spent over 40 years helping farmers maximize corn and soybean yields.

Crops

Master Your Emotions To Drive More Profitable Crop Decisions

Ken Ferrie gives some practical tips on how you can rely more on facts and less on your gut to reduce management mistakes and achieve better cropping outcomes.

January 12, 2026 10:55 AM

Rhonda Brooks