Crop Production
It’s been almost exactly 2 years since my first report on my pollinator plot. I was not exactly optimistic it would amount to much in the beginning. Thanks to experts and friends, things have gotten better.
Indigo Ag, Inc., is launching an on-farm storage program for U.S. farmers to enable identity preservation of corn, soybeans, cotton, wheat and rice.
Understanding the latest definition of no-till and the reasons to stay with it offer potential benefits to your management plan and can affect your bottom line as well.
Bee Vectoring Technology (BVT) achieved an average 47% reduction in incidence and a 20% reduction in the severity of sclerotinia head rot in sunflowers at three separate test locations in 2017.
When you think about crop production in the U.S., the big three are corn, soybeans and wheat—in that order. One crop that garners only a modest number of acres but might be worth taking a look at for your farm is canola. “In the U.S., the ratio of supply versus demand of canola oil is about 1:4, which presents a huge opportunity for U.S. producers to grow more canola,” according the U.S. Canola Association. There are a number of reasons for that. Among them, according to the USDA, is that canola oil for cooking ranks behind only soybean oil and palm oil. In addition, canola meal is the second-most used feed meal with livestock, behind only soybean meal. In the past 40 years, canola has gone from being the sixth-largest oil crop to the second largest globally. Even so, U.S. farmers—at 17 million acres in 2017—produce only a small portion of the global crop. North Dakota farmers produce 83% of the total crop, according to Margaret Smith with the agricultural marketing resource center at Iowa State University.
Report: Kansas corn production forecast down from last year
Canada supplies half of oats used in U.S. snack bars, cereals.
After a dicey planting season last year in Missouri, producers plan to return to their normal rotations by planting as many acres of corn and soybeans this year as they did two years ago.
Putting In A Hybrid Test Plot? Read These 5 Tips First.
Manage potential soybean risks with a systems approach
A well-planned program results in more bushels, less fertilizer and reduced loss
The value of zone management goes beyond cutting input costs; it also allows farmers to effectively focus inputs and attention. If you don’t have background information on a field, then grid-based management does the job, says Brad Beutke, who helps with the Farm Journal Test Plots and farms near Clinton, Ill. “But if you have yield history, calibrated yields maps, soil surveys, elevation maps or aerial imagery, for example, then it’s worth the effort to take advantage of the data.” Instead of trying to randomize out variability with a super-imposed grid, zone management uses historical data and experience to pave a path. Regardless of where you are on the technology adoption curve, zone management is beneficial.
The ROI of nitrogen (N) is significant—an extra 20 lb. costs less than 2 bu. of corn. That doesn’t mean you throw on some extra N and hope for the best.
Farm Journal Test Plots find rolling soybeans early gives them time to bounce back
Corn hybrids move in and out of the marketplace at a faster rate of speed than ever today. The revolving door means farmers have less time to evaluate and pick the seed best-suited for their fields.
On-farm test plots can help you identify the best hybrids for your ground
Historical data and experience divide fields based on natural variability, characteristics
For more than a decade, the Farm Journal Test Plots has varied corn populations and nitrogen rates to respond to natural management zones in the field. In 2012, the crew added variable-rate irrigation to its site-specific farming portfolio.
The first step in maximizing yield is choosing the right hybrids for your fields.
More than 20 years of Farm Journal Test Plot research has revealed a thing or two about corn and soybean row spacings—and the learning continues.
Results from field trials show placement drives starter response
Deciding where to place N—in the middle of the row with a coulter or next to the plant using Y-Drop—involves the following considerations:
Combining plot efforts with one common goal—to increase soybean yields—Farm Journal Field Agronomists Ken Ferrie and Missy Bauer continued multiyear efforts in central Illinois and southern Michigan to evaluate multiple factors that affect yield components. In 2014, the trials included soybean cyst nematode, how to control white mold and evaluating if starter fertilizer pays in yield.
In 2010, the Farm Journal Test Plots program harvested its 19th year of third-party, independent demonstration research.
With every crop year comes a new batch of technologies that are put to task in the Farm Journal Test Plots.
Farm Journal Test Plots build on knowledge of timing and placement to dig deeper with starter formulations.
