Crops
Make adjustments as you plant because when those final steps are done poorly, corn germinates unevenly and there’s no way to go back and undo the damage.
Parts of the Central and Southern Plains are seeing some beneficial rains, but did they come in time to improve the winter wheat crop? Farmers will know soon, as harvest generally begins in early to mid-June.
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Don’t sleep on tar spot of corn. Learn how proactive management throughout the growing season can combat tar spot infections.
The forecast for May is pointing to a rapid warm up with rains across the drought-stricken Plains, but there’s a drier forecast for the heart of the Corn Belt. One meteorologist is concerned about the amount of dryness entering the picture.
One farmer who was chased out of fields by rain this past weekend told Farm Journal, “This is the wettest drought I have ever seen.” There are some silver linings, though: soil-applied herbicides are being activated, the U.S. corn crop won’t all pollinate the same week and you have time to make stand counts where the crop has emerged.
Learn how this first-generation Ohio farmer changed his in-season nitrogen management program to boost yields.
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Nutrien Ag Manager Todd Harris shares tips for helping farmers reach their yield goals
Analyzing both old and new growth, a sap test measures nutrient levels in the plant’s vascular tissues to identify current and soon-to-occur deficiencies.
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Don’t miss the White mold treatment window. Learn when soybeans are at risk for White mold and when to apply fungicides for maximum efficacy.
Vietnam has a 100 million people and a growing middle class looking to add protein to their diet. With limited soybean crushing capacity, the country currently depends on soybean meal imports for their livestock and aquaculture feed needs.
Total Farm Marketing’s Naomi Blohm says based on her research, corn growers will likely have an opportunity to lock in better corn prices over the next few months.
USDA’s latest crop progress report puts the country at 24% of corn and 18% of soybeans in the ground. Farmers are sharing timely rains and great conditions to start the season.
GDUs offer a more reliable method to predict corn emergence and development than using calendar days, according to yield champions David Hula and Randy Dowdy. They also offer their pro tip on how to assess planting and germination depth.
Learn about an Iowa plot trial that is looking at the yield boosting potential of strip cropping corn and cover crops.
“Sunlight drives photosynthesis, which drives starch production, which drives yield,” explains Ken Ferrie. If sunlight hits the ground, it’s wasted, so maximizing sunlight capture requires closing rows as quickly as possible.
Drew Lerner, founder of World Weather, Inc., says the summer of 1968 had some strong patterns, including a wetter bias in the western and north-central U.S., but drier in most of the Atlantic Coast states and parts of the eastern and southern Midwest.
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Don’t let tar spot steal your yield. Learn how residue management and other tactics can combat this fungal infection.
Soil conditions, temperatures and weather outlook are finally aligned for planting in much of the Midwest. In the hurry to get the job done, keep in mind that to get a 300-bu. corn yield, you need to start with at least a 300-bu. picket-fence stand.
Shell Rock, Iowa, farmer Jeff Reints started planting corn on April 8 — the earliest ever on his farm. He got 50% of his corn and soybeans in the ground before 3 inches of rain parked the planters.
After several years of volatility for U.S. growers, prices and acreage of industrial hemp appear to be stabilizing or even rising modestly, according to the 2025 National Hemp Report.
A handful of rain-free days were a perfect recipe for spring planting — and farmers took full advantage of the opportunity. This week’s USDA crop progress report puts corn and soybean acres just ahead of last year’s pace.
Farmers can make a poor planting scenario better by teaching their planter how to dance across fields. The practice is particularly helpful in wet soils.
High winds have posed plenty of problems for farmers trying to spray, and even plant, this spring. NOAA says it’s one of the windiest starts to the season on record, but the bigger question is how long will it last?
Iowa farmers say a foliar fungicide application can add more bushels per acre by preventing losses to disease pressure and minimizing the impact of environmental factors, such as heat stress and drought.
David Cogen partnered with John Deere during the 2024 growing season to till, plant, spray and harvest a small field at Deere’s Boundurant, Iowa, test farm. In the process, he says he learned a lot about farming and how difficult it truly is.
On average, ag aviation makes at least one application to approximately 127 million crop acres, or one-third of the cropland in the U.S.
Maximizing ROI is Brian Scott’s No. 1 goal as he evaluates planting populations on his northwest Indiana farm. In 2024, the sweet spot was 100,000 seeds per acre, which cost $53 per acre in seed and yielded 76 bu. per acre.
Could 2025 set a new record for planting pace in Iowa? Ogden, Iowa farmers Ward and Bryant Hunter say they’ll finish planting corn on Thursday – marking the earliest finish ever on their farm.
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When is it necessary to replant soybeans? Get down to the root cause (no pun intended) of why you’re seeing poor stands and learn how to manage it.
Farmers in the upper Plains, northern Plains and Northeast came up short on snow for the 2024/25 season. In some cases, they experienced the winter that wasn’t, now sitting 10" to 30" short on normal snowfall.