Latest News From Rhonda Brooks

There are ways to pull back on fertilizer effectively -- up to a point. Join Ferrie for the Winter Corn & Soybean College this Thursday, Jan. 5. Get practical answers to your questions during this live event.

Matt and Lisa Moreland hoped at least one of their sons would return home to farm after college. What they didn’t anticipate? All three sons wanted to come back. Here are four things the family learned in the process.

On the low end, expect to invest at least $50 an acre in the Midwest and $85 in the South for products. Some corn and soybean farmers are evaluating adjuvants and management practices that could help trim expenses.

Drugs such as penicillin and some others routinely used to treat cattle, hogs and other food animals will be available only with a prescription from your veterinarian, starting June 12, 2023.

Urea can be used to replace part of your spring N needs, but there are risks to be aware of and evaluate before you decide to go with it. The same is true for a mono-crop, especially if you choose continuous corn.

Iowa State Extension agronomists say there are at least two strategies farmers can consider using in 2023 to address this phenomenon, especially if they expect to be hit by hot, dry weather conditions again next summer.

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.

Dry conditions and limited herbicide supplies crippled many farmers' weed-control efforts this year, setting up a perfect storm for weeds and grasses next season. Here are five ways to take charge of the situation.

Farmers are asking, ‘Do I chisel first and then apply anhydrous? Or will I get better results doing the opposite?’ Get Ferrie’s answer and his insights on addressing hybrid weaknesses to harvest more corn in 2023.

Experts say the Fed is looking for signs of weakness in the economy before deciding interest rates have been raised sufficiently to curb inflation. Some signs are available now, says Vince Malanga, LaSalle Economics.

Highly productive areas with adequate soil moisture are where you can usually trim seeding populations, says Matt Duesterhaus, Crop-Tech Consulting agronomist. He offers seven additional recommendations.

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service announces the Federal Grain and Inspection Service will publish a proposed rule seeking public comment on whether to make changes to U.S. grading standards for soybeans.

Some Iowa growers saw huge yield losses this season from a so-called edge effect. Illinois farmers also report seeing it ding yields. Agronomists are working to confirm contributing factors but haven't nailed them down.

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.

Increasingly the members of Congress who hold the primary responsibility of drafting the farm bill come from suburban and urban areas. They need the information and insights farmers are uniquely equipped to provide.

The crop management decisions you make this fall will set you up for success or headaches next spring. As you finish harvest and start to plan for 2023, take these steps. 

If conditions are good in your area, you won’t have wheel tracks or ruts to deal with. However, you do need to think about a winter burndown to keep fields clean before planting next spring.

Asian copperleaf was found in an Iowa soybean field this summer. Agronomists are evaluating how much of a concern the weed poses to row crops there. It has been confirmed in only one other U.S. location: New York City.

Results are also in from some corn teaching plots planted at the Heyworth, Ill., campus, including four starter plots, a series of sulfur timing plots, plus nitrogen and planting population plots.

This was a familiar scene in fields across the Midwest this season. Not only did volunteer corn impact soybean yields, agronomists say it sheltered rootworm eggs that can overwinter and infest corn crops next spring.

Moisture is needed to temporarily hold the ammonia so it can become attached to clay or organic matter in the soil. In addition, if dry soils are cloddy and do not seal properly, the ammonia can be lost.

More grain is damaged by improper storage than any other reason. Learn how to avoid common problems.

Your annual harvest goal: Get grain out of the field in good condition. But what about how well that grain holds up in storage? 

As the crop nears black layer, you can determine whether it's going to be the bin buster you hoped for, an average crop or simply "meh." Ken Ferrie says there are several things to look for now.

Harvest is underway with corn yields showing a wide range of results, particularly based on how much moisture the crop received and when it was received. Planting population and stresses also shed light on the results.

Are your corn hybrids undergoing stress 10 to 15 days before black layer and experiencing top kill? That's going to hurt kernel depth and knock off those top-end yields you want to combine.

The 60-plus year-old product is used on more than 70% of U.S. corn acres to control grass and broadleaf weeds.

Geringhoff is showcasing its latest addition to its NorthStar Elite XL series of corn headers, now available to North American farmers.

Use the fall season to get a head start on weed control for next spring.

Farmers looking to gain the upper hand over corn rootworm (CRW) pests have new tools to deploy in the field, thanks to Ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) technology.

When you go on a 2,700-mile personal crop tour through parts of eight states, you see a lot of corn and soybeans and get a sense of where there will be stellar yields as well as below-average results this harvest.

Driver weeds can vary depending on your geography, the time of year and the crops grown.

Janna Fritz, newly named DF Seeds president, speaks to the need for both conventional and specialty seed products that can fuel farmer profitability and also meet consumer wants and needs.

Pivot Bio announced an industry first for farmers this week – the development and introduction of on-seed microbial nitrogen for crops including corn, grain sorghum and spring wheat.

Corteva Agriscience and BASF Agricultural Solutions are partnering to bring the first four-way herbicide-tolerant trait stack, based on PPO chemistry, to the marketplace for soybean growers.

Day 4 of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour is revealing some good to excellent corn and soybean crops in Iowa and Minnesota, along with concerns about drought in corn and the appearance of sudden death syndrome in beans.

The third day of the 2022 Pro Farmer Crop Tour is revealing a lot of average crops in some states, but Illinois and Iowa corn and soybeans are showing some strength.

On Day 2 of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour, scouts see a wide range of conditions in Indiana and Nebraska. Some irrigated corn and soybean fields are performing well, while dryland crops are struggling.

Bayer Crop Science has the first truly new MOA in the herbicide-tolerant pipeline for soybeans in more than 30 years, the company reports.

Watch Day 1 Results Live: Field checks tell the story: some missing ears on the western leg of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour. On the eastern leg, scouts see ears but not record yield potential.

One of the most overlooked and misunderstood tax laws — available to married farming couples — is an opportunity called portability.

Dick Billings passed away several years ago, but his wife, their son and granddaughters have been able to build upon his vision for the family’s operation, thanks to a team of farmers and a forestry consultant.

Maverick features three modes of action and application flexibility to help growers address tough weeds, including waterhemp, Palmer amaranth and marestail, and annual grasses.

Trying to control adult CRW beetles can be a losing proposition. But this year, given the amount of population pressure in some fields there is better potential for a return-on-investment, agronomists say.

Soybean cyst nematode can ravage a crop and destroy up to 80% of its yield potential. Two partners encourage farmers to take action between now and early September to address the pest.

Join us for a conversation with cattlemen at 3 p.m. CST, Wednesday, July 27, to learn how they’re managing through the situation. 

Corn needs 1/2" of silk to pollinate. In some cases, the pest pressure in parts of the Midwest is heavy enough that's not happening and is signaling full-blown resistance problems.

Non-GMO soybeans at R2 to R3 are seeing weed flushes. You will 'burn' the beans to get rid of waterhemp, but that's a better option than leaving the weed to flourish, go to seed and fill the seed bank for next spring.

After 30 years working in the field of rural mental health, Ted Matthews understands the factors that stress farmers and knows how to help them.

If your traditional approach to fungicide applications in corn is to wait until you see signs of disease pressure, it could be time to rethink your strategy.