Latest News From Rhonda Brooks

The profit estimates are based on fall delivery prices of $6 corn and $14 soybeans, according to Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois Extension economist and Soybean Industry Chair in Agricultural Strategy.

Up to $12.06 million can be passed to your loved ones upon death, exempt from federal estate tax. While living, you can also gift $16,000 annually to as many individuals as you'd like. Of course, some exceptions apply.

It's in low supply, and the price is high -- if you can even get it. This checklist can help you get the best weed control outcomes from whatever supply of glyphosate you were able to secure for this season.

The U.S. is "no where near" having 100% of the fertilizer products farmers need at planting, according to The Fertilizer Institute. Soil sampling and good nutrient stewardship principles are more important than ever.

If you’re thinking about cutting starter fertilizer this year because of surging costs, Ken Ferrie has three words of advice: Don’t do it.

Combination herbicides usually include between two and four active ingredients and have become the industry norm, as companies work to help farmers stamp out tough weeds and grasses.

Expect Russia's invasion of Ukraine to dominate the State of the Union address tonight. As for issues affecting agriculture, there may be few details offered, says USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Yield losses of 5 percent are par for the course in second-year soybeans. Pest problems can boost those losses to 50 percent or more.

The new agreement means farmers will have "more choices and additional tools" for integrated weed management. In the process, Bayer remains committed to marketing its current crop systems and developing new technologies.

An oil price of $120 a ton could send the global economy into a major recession and fan inflation in the U.S., which Jim Wiesemeyer says is already in double digits for rural Americans.

There are issues on multiple fronts, including worries about higher energy prices and the potential for "cyber attacks" in the U.S.

Many products are hard or nearly impossible to get. If you have any glyphosate, consider how you can get the biggest bang for your buck. It may not be with a burndown treatment.

Here are a few considerations for your 2022 weed controls strategy.  

There can be huge costs -- monetarily and in human capital -- if you don’t set up the structure of succession well, say Paul Neiffer, with CliftonLarsonAllen, and Rena Striegel, Transition Point Business Advisors.

Play the long game; draw up a plan that pays.

A red zone is defined by the White House as an area with 100 or more new infections over a one-week period. The good news is the rate of new cases is dropping, says Alan Morgan, CEO, National Rural Health Association.

Leah Halverson's great grandfather started growing potatoes 80-plus years ago on only 10 acres. Today, her family grows potatoes in 10 states. She encourages other farmers to share their unique stories with consumers.

There is a big 'ick' factor with this tick. Hundreds can be found on a person after a 30- to 60-second ATV ride through an infested field, says one researcher. While any animal can provide a meal, they prefer cattle.

A systems approach to weed control can help you prevent weeds and pocket more dollars this season.

There's plenty of disease inoculum in cornfields across the Midwest. It's just a matter of whether Mother Nature will unleash the devastation this season that many farmers saw in 2021.

Leasing ground for hunts and other recreational uses can sometimes help you get additional benefits from marginal ground or wooded acres.

If you normally use starter fertilizer, keep using it, advises Ken Ferrie. "Five gallons of 10-34-O will give you a bigger kick than 300 pounds of broadcast DAP, due to placement and timing," he says.

Fertilizer is cited as the No. 1 concern. Plus, 45% of farmers say their plans for this spring are being impacted by the tight machinery inventory, according to the Ag Economy Barometer.

Most years you won't see fall anhydrous applications kick-in and help your corn crop until around V6 or V8 when the corn is about knee-high, says Ken Ferrie. This week's podcast offers some recommendations.

USDA currently pegs soybean plantings at 87.5 million acres. Market analysts offer projections both above and below that number and explain their rationale, which includes the South America crop and weather forecasts.

The Association says both are widely supported across the U.S. cattle and beef industry.

Options to consider include going to no-till or making an equipment change, such as using a row freshener or a vertical harrow.

As you evaluate input options for next spring, here are five steps to size up whether a biological might be a good fit for your farm.

The initiative is designed to help create a unique digital carbon footprint measurement to drive more sustainable supply chains and mitigate the impact agriculture has on the environment.

A USDA-National Resources Inventory report shows soil erosion rates on cropland decreased 35% from 1982 to 2017. Even so, some members of the agricultural community say rates are unsustainable for crop production.

Running a vertical tool now can help break up tracks and ruts your harvest equipment left behind. It can also help you address volunteer corn -- yes, it's likely to be a problem based on corn lost during harvest.

This population of waterhemp is currently resistant to six herbicide groups and is now “activating detoxification genes before the herbicides can do harm," says one researcher.

Open slots and false bottoms are being created as farmers build strips for their spring planting pass.

“The answer to these questions is yes, maybe, sorta,” he says. "One of the things we do know is healthy plants handle stress better than unhealthy plants."

In most scenarios, companies want to incentivize growers by paying them to use regenerative farming practices, especially no-till and cover crops, on ground where they haven’t used such practices previously.

The Clemson EMC Calculator can help you with wet soybeans. With strips and anhydrous applications, focus on building a good seedbed for next spring.

Make adjustments to your combine now to get more yield out of the field before more corn goes down and molds set in.

Don't get caught leasing ground with poor soil pH and too-low nutrient levels.

The first-of-its-kind, two-year pilot project will quantify and certify biodiversity credits. The financial incentive will average around $100 an acre for growers who develop or enhance pollinator-friendly habitat.

Randy Russell, The Russell Group says it will impact 2022 midterm elections and, very likely, the next farm bill.

If pasture, rangeland or forage is important to your farm's success, insurance could be a valuable risk-management tool.

Some Illinois farmers are combining corn with fins and scales this fall. No, that’s not a fish story.

Some Illinois elevators are taking soybeans with up to 18% moisture. Another option is if you have open bins with good air capacity, you might be able to put beans in the bin and apply air and heat to them.

In some instances, the speed of the combine and the speed of the header in combination are resulting in too much corn going out the back of the machine.

Too much corn is not making it to the bin in central Illinois as harvest season nears the finish line. If you're still combining, consider Ken Ferrie's recommendations to bolster results.

“I’ve seen some fields with 20-bu. per acre corn that wasn’t getting picked up. We’re leaving too much corn on the cob,” says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

Growers who hit all three factors just right are combining monster crops this fall. Those who didn't are seeing average yield results.

Farmers will need to sift through their production data from this year carefully to see what they need to change or keep the same.

Put these practices to work to improve your corn harvest outcome.

The two go hand-in-hand in farm country.