Prior to Roundup Ready, you could always tell the farms where the kids weren’t required to work. The soybean fields on those farms were weedy.
This year, despite all our herbicide tools, there would be plenty of work if kids were so inclined. Volunteer corn is a big problem in both corn and soybean, but there’s also a salad bowl of broadleaf weeds and grasses. I stopped in at the University of Illinois weed science field day yesterday to learn that this problem extends across most of the Midwest. OhioState and Purdue weed scientists in attendance were telling the same tale.
University of Illinois weed scientist Aaron Hager says this year should deliver a wake up call to farmers who didn’t utilize residuals in their weed control programs. Frequent rains have delayed postemergence sprays and as a result, weeds have gotten a good foothold in both corn and soybean fields.
Listen in as Hager describes what’s happening and what can still be done.
USDA’s August report cut corn yields by 2.3 bushels per acre while strong export demand tightened ending stocks, avoiding the bearish surprise traders feared from last year.
Passing the farm to the next generation takes more than deciding who gets what. The right estate plan can help avoid family conflict, unexpected costs and headaches down the road.
