Disease

Corteva Launches New Fungicide For Sugarbeets

Wed, 13 May 2026 13:30:39 GMT

Corteva Agriscience announced Wednesday the U.S. launch of Verpixo fungicide, a new tool designed to combat Cercospora leaf spot (CLS) in sugarbeets.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has registered the product for the 2026 growing season. Verpixo features Adavelt active, which the EPA has designated as a reduced-risk chemistry.

New Mode of Action

Verpixo introduces a Fungicide Resistance Action Committee (FRAC) Group 21 mode of action to the sugarbeet market. Derived from a naturally occurring compound in soil bacteria, the fungicide offers broad-spectrum control and provides growers with increased application flexibility.

Cercospora leaf spot is considered the most economically damaging fungal disease for the U.S. sugarbeet industry. According to the Beet Sugar Development Foundation, the disease could have caused more than $900 million in economic losses during the 2024 production year if left unmanaged.

“Extensive lab and in-field testing confirm the efficacy of Verpixo fungicide with Adavelt active against CLS, which can cause up to 30% annual yield loss,” says Colleen Kent, specialty crops portfolio marketing lead with Corteva, in a press release.

Combating Resistance

The disease is characterized by brown spots on leaves that inhibit a plant’s ability to photosynthesize, directly reducing sugar content and root weight. Because CLS is polycyclic—meaning it can produce spores multiple times in a single season—ongoing management is required.

Current fungicides and some genetic traits have seen a decline in efficacy due to resistance. Verpixo uses translaminar movement to protect both the top and bottom of leaf surfaces.

“Verpixo fungicide with Adavelt active has no known resistance, making it ideally suited for resistance management programs,” Kent reports.

Environmental Impact

Corteva stated that the product’s natural origin and environmental profile are compatible with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs, allowing beneficial insects to thrive while controlling the fungal pathogen.

The fungicide is now available for use in the 2026 season and is compatible with standard tank-mix practices.

Cattle Futures Hit Record Highs, Are $400 Feeders Next? Hogs Fall on Pseudorabies

Fri, 01 May 2026 16:06:07 GMT

Cattle, corn and soybeans higher Friday, with hogs lower.

Feeders Hit Record Highs, How High Will Prices Go?
Live cattle and feeder cattle futures were higher on Friday’s open and quickly moved into record high territory.

Scott Varilek of Kooima Kooima Varilek says tight supplies and a record cash market have supported the move to new highs.

Feeder are back as the leaders in the complex but how high will prices go now that prices are back up into record highs?

He says, “It does feel like, okay, live cattle had already made their contract highs. Feeders were next. So, what numbers can we grab? I’ve heard the $380. I’ve heard the $390. I’ve heard the $400. We’re all just reaching, making up numbers that we can. We’ve already seen eight weights spring $400 in sale barns in the North. So it’s not something out of the ordinary that can’t happen. So once we bust through, it feels like, yeah, they have the legs to do it.”

He stresses that this could be the last higher push for a while.

“We’re going to want to be ready for it. I think this is our last charge higher. I guess it’s feeling like we’re getting towards the ninth inning of this. I think we’ve probably heard that a few times, but this is a rally that is going to be the one that’s going to be the one that we’re going to want to sell, I guess. So the chance to get to $4 is there. It really could happen,” he adds.

Live Cattle Hit Record Highs First
Live cattle had already hit record highs earlier in the week and took out those levels again on Friday.

The market says some end of month profit taking Thursday but charged back higher Friday morning chasing cash.

Record cash trade broke already on Tuesday at $11, $12 higher than last week at $258 in the North, $255 to $256 in the South.

He says it caught the market by surprise, “I mean, that’s not something that’s normal. And it’s odd because when we were getting bid the $246, And the market wasn’t trading as hot as it was. I think the packers could have just went to $248 and bought all of the show lists and bought all
of the cattle. The fact that they waited another week, was it a shoot, you caught me bluffing move? Or was there somebody that’s really long, this board that wanted it to go higher? I don’t know and we won’t know. But regardless. Big charge higher, $12.”

He says bids started Tuesday at $250 and quickly went to $252 and then to $255.

“I thought that would do it. And then was just surprised when I started hearing that everybody was passing it and then get to $258, which a lot of people did get that and did trade that. You could get it for shorter. You could get two over the August for basis contracts. So, the packer was trying to get as many cattle around them as they can. And I would believe that everything on the show list, if you’re passing that kind of price, I don’t know what you’re waiting for,” he adds.

He hasn’t seen anything like it since 2014 but it was a big inventory grab and packers bought for delayed delivery as well.

Packers Buy Ahead of Kill Cuts
Packers were aggressively getting inventory as they are talking about kill cuts starting next week.

“Just hearing that there’s some majors that are going to start kill cuts next week, start to slow down the chain. And I mean, it’s just, it’s how tight we are. In this cattle industry, we’re, you know, 8% down, 8 to 9% down on steer to heifer slaughter this year. Cow slaughter is way down. Dairy cow slaughter is down. It’s just there’s still a shortage. So this last little push is all on supply, in my opinion. And I think that’s how the packer is trying to manage it,” he explains.

He says they are cutting kills to get boxed beef to move higher and improve their margins and the industry is still down a plant from a strike.

How High Will Live Cattle Futures Run?
Live cattle have continued to push into record high areas but how high will prices go?

Varilek says it is hard to even project because there are no technical areas on the charts to even compare to now.

“You’re up in new territory. You’re just grabbing, you know whatever number comes to your mind somebody wants to say a really high number so they can get remembered. I would rather try to do you guys some good rather than just make up a number up high and try to throw it to you that’s just that’s all made up,” he adds.

But he does say it depends not just on supply but demand.

“For me it’s just that this demand is going to have to pick up if we’re going to keep these live cattle running through and that’s the part that’s seeming to be just a little bit lacking. Seeing mixed feelings on what these steak cuts are doing. You know, the ribeye rolls are down. Usually we’re trying to, you know, see how high we can get those or how much a consumer is going to pay for them this time of year in the red hot grilling season, Mother’s Day weekend coming up and we’re actually dropping them a little bit. So I don’t like that,” he further explains.

Plus, he says with energy prices soaring it is hitting consumer pocketbooks which could also ratchet back demand.

Hogs Fall on Iowa Pseudorabies Case
Lean hog futures were down on Thursday and again Friday with the uncertainty tied to the first case of pseudorabies in a hog herd in Iowa since 2004.

“So it’s five boars that were shipped, you know, were. tested positive and some were shipped from Texas to Iowa. So sounding like it was show pigs, not sure. Can’t totally confirm that, but that would make sense on how that happened,” he says.

However, the disease is manageable according to Varilek.

“So we have vaccination capabilities already, protocol in place. So, for me it’s okay I think we’re going to be able to eradicate this once again and make this a short-lived kind of a worry here because it it is something that that’s real and I mean it’s something that can have you know
they could be dead within 48 to 72 hours. Hogs are a great host likely mixed with some feral hogs so it is around.”

Is it Bullish or Bearish?
Varilek says it does severely cut production which takes supply off the market which is bullish.

However, it is still a market uncertainty.

“So uncertainty is always bearish. Packers are trying to note some certain timeframes where they would kill hogs with pseudo rabies. So they were still entering, you know. you know, the meat supply. We weren’t worried about it back then. So because they had windows where you could slaughter those hogs. So a lot to digest here real fast. Everybody’s Googling pseudorabies and trying to learn as much as they can here real fast,” he adds.

Nov Soybeans Hit Contract Highs, Corn Also Higher
Corn and soybeans were higher early with November soybeans making new contract highs.

Varilek soybeans are following the new contract highs in bean oil.

“That seems to be the biggest thing, just the energy is staying so strong. And that’s making a lot of the headlines, the war. and how high crude oil is. So, I think that those markets are starting to respect that. I mean from a production side yeah you said more acres we’re seeing a little bit of replant we’ve got some frost. Which usually those rallies that are based off of frost and replant those are rallies that are meant to be sold. But I don’t think that that’s all of this I do think it’s energy,” he states.

Can Dec Corn Get Above $5?
Corn is also higher on the biofuels push with strong ethanol margins and profits.

With $100 crude oil corn could stay supported for a while and chew through some of the large ending stocks.

So will Dec corn get above $5?

Varilek says, “So we’ve got a bar right there, $5. We’ve seen it fail there a few times. Now I think if you just poke through it. I think you’re going to get some follow through strength on it just because it’s been such a number. Oh, that looks easy. Just sell it right below five bucks here and let it break. But those triple tops never hold, they kind of say. So I feel like we’re going to be able to get through it and might get some follow
through.”

He adds that the funds are long corn and the news may finally be good enough to rally the corn and grain markets.

The 20-Bushel Wake-Up Call One Farmer Is Using To Boost Soybean Yields

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 16:42:15 GMT

For years, Stephen Butz watched his corn yields climb while his soybeans stalled. The numbers didn’t lie: corn was steadily improving, while soybeans were “average at best,” he recalls, running hot and cold from year to year with no clear pattern.

“Our soybeans were just plateauing,” says Butz, who farms near Kankakee, Ill.

The turning point for Butz came several years ago on a 120-acre field split between two soybean varieties — 80 acres on the north side and 40 acres on the south. Everything matched: planting date, field conditions, management. The only difference was the variety planted.

At harvest, the 40-acre section of the field was 18 to 19 bushels per acre better.

A talk with Butz’s seedsman revealed the answer: the higher-yielding soybeans carried the Peking source of resistance to soybean cyst nematode (SCN). That single difference explained nearly 20-bushels-per-acre the farm had been losing to SCN for years.

“Honestly, it was just one of those deals where our seed guy had said, ‘Hey, this is a good number.’ So we’d planted the variety kind of naively,” Butz says. “But lo and behold, it was a huge benefit for us and showed us a problem we had on this farm and other farms, too.”

With the initial finding of SCN, Butz started soil testing to identify how significant the problem was across his farm. Surprisingly, soil tests revealed SCN populations ranging from the low hundreds to as high as 5,000 per sample.

“We’ve got a good amount of farms in that 3,000 to 5,000 count, which is an extremely high amount that I need to address,” says Butz, who samples fields ahead of planting.

Spring 2026: Going 100% Peking

After splitting acres for several years between non-GMO and Enlist soybeans, Butz made a decisive shift to the latter for 2026 as the non-GMO soybeans do not carry resistance to SCN.

“This spring, we are going with 100% Peking,” he says

For Butz, the move is less about chasing bonus bushels of soybeans and more about stopping the hidden losses SCN has been causing. He’s certain he’s left a lot of yield potential on the table in previous seasons.

“We’re not so much adding bushels (with the Peking) as we expect to relieve the stress that’s been taking bushels away,” he says.

Going all-Peking this season is only part of his management plan. The other piece is rotating more between corn and soybeans and, over time, between different SCN technologies, including Peking and PI 88788.

Butz’s cropping pattern follows a rough structure of thirds in any given year: about a third of his total acres in corn or soybeans and another third in continuous corn. That same structure drives his soil sampling schedule and will, in the future, he says, guide how he rotates SCN resistance traits across the landscape.

He also hopes to bring new technology into the mix, including the new SCN solution on the way from BASF Agricultural Solutions, called Nemasphere. It is the first-ever biotech trait designed specifically to address SCN.

Unlike traditional native resistance found in PI 88788 and Peking, Nemasphere is based on a transgenic trait — a Cry14 protein engineered directly into the soybean — explains Hugo Borsari, BASF vice president of business management for seeds in North America.

Beyond Yield: Logistics And Longevity

For Butz, the case for more soybeans, and especially better-protected soybeans, isn’t just agronomic. It’s logistical and financial.
Soybeans help spread out workload during planting and harvest, he explains, easing the strain of managing continuous corn acres. They also inject rotation into fields that might otherwise lean too heavily to continuous corn.

“Years of continuous corn in some spots is fine, but rotation is obviously better,” he said during a recent panel discussion hosted by BASF.

Like he found out by accident, Butz says he believes many other growers might be losing significant yield to SCN without realizing it.

“You might live in an area that you raise 75-bushel beans all the time, or 80-bushel beans, and that’s amazing. But what if the potential is 90 or 100 bushels?“ Butz asks. “There’s plenty of people out there that might be losing 10, 15 bushels off the top, and that adds up fast. You’re freaking losing $100 an acre pretty quick that would help a lot with your bottom line.”

Corteva Unveils Executive Team Lineup For Its Two-Way Company Split

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 14:58:00 GMT

Corteva Inc. has reached a pivotal milestone in its corporate restructuring, announcing the executive leadership teams that will guide its transition into two independent, publicly traded entities.

The separation, which will result in the formation of New Corteva and SpinCo, is expected to be finalized in the fourth quarter of 2026.

New Corteva: A Focus on Crop Protection

Luther “Luke” Kissam has been appointed as the future chief executive officer of New Corteva, the entity that will retain the company’s crop protection portfolio. Kissam is scheduled to join the firm on June 1 as CEO.

Corteva’s Greg Page says the company board of directors selected Kissam following a global search, citing his ability to drive growth through innovation. Page notes that Kissam’s history of leading public companies and delivering market-focused solutions will benefit farmers and shareholders alike, according to a company press release.

Kissam brings a background in both agriculture and specialty chemicals to the new role. He previously served as the chairman and CEO of Albemarle Corporation and held legal and executive positions at Monsanto and Merisant Company.

Joining Kissam at New Corteva in key leadership roles will be:

Jeff Rudolph, chief financial officer
Brook Cunningham, chief commercial officer
Ralph Ford, chief integrated operations officer
Reza Rasoulpour, chief technology officer
Jim Alcombright, chief digital and information officer

SpinCo: Advancing Seed and Genetics

The second entity, provisionally named SpinCo, will operate as a standalone seed and genetics company. This business will focus on elite germplasm and cutting-edge biotechnologies, including gene editing and molecular breeding for row crops.

Current Corteva CEO Chuck Magro will transition to the role of SpinCo CEO at the time of formal separation. Magro says SpinCo’s success will be built on technological investments that allow farmers to increase yields in row crops and potentially new markets.

Along with Magro, the leadership team for SpinCo will include:

David Johnson, chief financial officer
Judd O’Connor, chief commercial and operations officer
Sam Eathington, chief technology officer
Audrey Grimm, chief people officer
Brian Lutz, chief digital and information officer
Jennifer Johnson, chief legal officer

Fall NH3 Emphasis Set the Stage For Ugly Corn Syndrome

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 17:00:32 GMT

Farmers who leaned hard on anhydrous ammonia last fall could be in for an unwelcome surprise this spring. Despite having enough N on the books, many fields of corn across the Midwest are likely to struggle soon after planting—thanks not to how much nitrogen was applied, but where it is located now in soils.

Ken Ferrie says the current situation came about as a result of prices and product choices that drove many growers to change their N programs last fall.

“Due to price, some guys cut out or pulled back on their MAP and DAP and AMS,” says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist. “Many farmers put on their N—all their N—as anhydrous ammonia last fall due to that price difference between liquid and smoke.”

Those choices made financial sense at the time, but they also resulted in more nitrogen being placed deeper in the soil as NH₃ — away from where young corn plants can access it this spring.

“If we dropped the dry last fall and put all of our N needs on as anhydrous ammonia, we have nothing to fight the carbon penalty stage,” Ferrie says. “The NH₃band is too deep. It’s below where the ‘fence post rots off.’ Corn roots will have to grow to it to pick it up.”

That creates a Catch-22 situation.

“The challenge is, roots will need to grow to find the nitrogen, but the carbon penalty will have them stalled out,” Ferrie explains.

Ferrie shares the example of one grower he works with who normally applies 220 pounds of nitrogen per acre, split between dry fertilizer and anhydrous. This year, that grower dropped the dry program and instead applied 250 pounds of nitrogen as fall anhydrous.

“His question: Will he still need to worry about the carbon penalty with the extra 30 pounds of nitrogen he has on? The answer is, yes. His corn will stall out for a period this spring,” Ferrie says.

How Big Is the Yield Risk?

In Ferrie’s field research, the yield impact from corn crops stalling out early in the season is clear.

“With corn on soybeans, it’s not uncommon to see a 15- to 20-bushel loss per acre,” he says. “With the G and L1 hybrids, it could get to be 15 to 30 bushels. And it gets a lot worse in corn-on-corn.”

Despite those potential yield losses, he says some growers still downplay the issue.

“This grower says his neighbor told him he has corn turn yellow every year, and he says it never affects yield,” Ferrie recounts. “Well, if you don’t check it, you’ll never know. Ignorance is bliss.”

If yellow corn in the spring has become part of your farm’s “normal,” Ferrie offers a pointed warning on hybrid choice. “If yellow corn in the spring is your MO—you just don’t feel right without having some yellow corn—I would not plant G or L1 hybrids—those that flex in girth and early length,” he says.

Inches That Matter: Banding and Carbon Penalty Rates

Ferrie’s field studies in central Illinois help quantify the amount of nitrogen needed near the surface to pay the carbon penalty.

“Our studies here show us that it takes about 60 pounds of N, minimum, placed where the fence post rots off, for bean stubble to pay this carbon penalty, and a minimum of 100 pounds worth when we’re in corn-on-corn,” he says.

One common approach growers use to build that total amount is with surface-applied fertilizer.

“Typically, we take what was surface applied as our fall fertilizer—let’s say 30, 40 pounds—and then add more surface-applied spring nitrogen to it to get to that minimum for our crop rotation,” Ferrie explains.

Another option is strategically banding nutrients near the row with the planter or a row freshener. “When it comes to keeping small plants happy, inches matter,” Ferrie notes.

He emphasizes how close the bands need to be.

“Staying within 2” to 3” of the row makes a big difference, so those crown roots can find this N in that band before the carbon penalty kicks in,” Ferrie says. “Banding some N with the planter or row freshener allows you to cut these minimums in half.”

By putting nitrogen where young roots can reach it early—near the surface and close to the row—growers can help corn push through the ugly phase instead of being stuck and languishing in it.

Don’t Let The Neighbor Decide When You Roll

Nitrogen isn’t the only factor that will shape how well corn roots perform this year. Ferrie warns that spring tillage timing and traffic decisions will also have lasting consequences.

“As our thoughts turn to spring tillage, getting the seedbed ready, remember, 80% of the compaction calls I will go on this next summer will be caused by the first pass in the spring,” he says. “Yes, the one you’re getting ready to make.”

He cautions against letting social pressure dictate when to roll.

“Don’t let the coffee shop or your neighbor set when you go to the field,” Ferrie says. “Make the decision based on your own field conditions.”

You can listen to Ferrie’s complete recommendations on spring nitrogen use in his current Boots In The Field podcast, available at the link below:

Are You Planting Second-Year Soybeans And Skipping Corn?

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 20:26:30 GMT

As input prices and markets fluctuate, many U.S. farmers are considering a shift from corn to soybeans this season. For some, like northwest Missouri farmer Todd Gibson, continuous soybeans aren’t just a one-year pivot—they are a long-term strategy to capture ROI on challenging soils.

Gibson, based near Norborne — a farming community that proudly bills itself as the “Soybean Capital of the World” — keeps a traditional corn-soybean rotation on his Missouri River bottom ground. But most of his fields with tougher, gumbo-type soils haven’t seen a corn planter in two decades.

“Growing corn on some of this heavy ground just doesn’t pay,” Gibson explains. “I’ve got some fields that have been in continuous soybeans for 20-plus years now.”

More Second-Year Soybeans In U.S. Farmers’ Plans

Gibson says he will grow more soybeans this season and on his better ground. “I’m going to cut my corn acres maybe in half. I’ll have more beans on the better dirt this year, mainly because of input prices,” he says.

Other U.S. farmers – many without Gibson’s experience – are looking to grow second-year soybeans. The Allendale Report released March 18 says private acreage estimates point to a shift toward more soybeans this season, notes Rich Nelson, chief analyst. He estimates U.S. corn planted area at 93.678 million acres, down about 5.1 million acres from 2025, while soybean acres are pegged at 85.659 million acres, up roughly 4.4 million acres over last year.

In southern Illinois, farmer and broker Sherman Newlin says the conversations he has with farmers these days are dominated by input costs and fertilizer availability concerns. While some tell him they’re sticking to their corn-bean rotations, others are considering a 100% shift to soybeans. Newlin is keeping his options open.

“I’m not planning on switching, but we’ll see,” he says. “We’ve still got a few weeks to go where we can swap out seed if we need to.”

Iowa Soybean Association Agronomist Lucas DeBruin says the farmers he works with in the state are sticking with their regular rotation and planting corn if that’s what the original plan was for this season.

“We use a lot of fall anhydrous here, so most guys are pretty locked into growing corn,” DeBruin says. “A lot of them also need the corn for livestock feed. Sometimes you can still squeeze a little bit more margin out of corn than the soybeans,” he adds, “and guys like growing corn more than soybeans. It’s more fun to pick corn.”

Look Before You Leap: The Ferrie Checklist

For farmers looking to change their seed order, Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie suggests taking a hard look at your balance sheet and your fields first. Here are some of his key recommendations:

Consider What You’ve Invested To Date: If you’ve already applied fall anhydrous or dry fertilizer for a corn crop, the “switch to beans” math doesn’t work. “You can’t afford to go to beans, because you’ve already spent the money,” Ferrie contends.

Account for the Yield Penalty: In a beans-after-beans scenario, Ferrie tells growers to expect a 5-to-7-bushel yield drag due to more stress from potential disease, insect and weed pressure. His question: “If you take 7 bushels off your bean yield, does it still cash flow against your corn APH?”

The Management “Claw Back": You can potentially mitigate some of the yield penalty in second-year soybeans by moving your planting date up from May to April, Ferrie says. Early planting helps the crop get an earlier and longer flowering period which can help recover some of the lost potential.

One morning this past week, Ferrie noted that the market was leaning back toward corn and that the see-saw between crops could continue this spring — another factor to keep in mind.

“Looking at the markets this morning, I think a lot of guys would prefer growing corn at $4.90 than beans at $11.10,” he contends.

The Continuous Soybean Playbook

For Gibson, success with continuous soybeans works based on a disciplined management system he relies on every year:

Fertility is Foundational. Even if you shift from corn to soybeans, Gibson says be aware that the beans could require more nutrients. He monitors his soil fertility closely, noting that continuous beans often require extra sulfur, phosphorus and potassium. He also keeps a close eye on micronutrients to ensure the crop won’t hit a hidden yield ceiling.

Non-Negotiable Seed Treatments: In continuous soybeans, the soil is more likely to become a reservoir for pathogens. Gibson hasn’t put a bare seed in the ground in 20 years. “Seed treatment guarantees me 100% replant,” he says. “It lets you sleep better at night knowing that if you get a heavy rain, you have that insurance to fall back on.”

Row Spacing and Canopy: Gibson plants in 15-inch rows at a rate of roughly 130,000 seeds per acre. The goals are quick emergence and a quick canopy. He believes a fast-closing row is your best defense against weeds and helps preserve soil moisture in the heavy gumbo. Seed treatment use and regular scouting help him feel confident in using narrow rows.

Keep Your Boots In The Field: In a corn-bean rotation, the “break” in the cycle helps farmers manage various diseases, insects and weeds. In continuous soybeans, you lose that advantage.

Gibson compensates by routine scouting and being prepared to address problems. “If you hear your neighbors have bug pressure, assume you will, too,” he says. “Don’t have the attitude that you can ‘get by,’ because you probably won’t.”

He has similar thoughts regarding weed pressure – “be proactive.” His program typically starts with a pre-emergence/burndown or early post application, with residual herbicides used to hold back weeds. If weeds break through, he is prepared to return with a post pass.

“We kind of wish sometimes we didn’t have to worry about weeds so much,” he says. “But if you don’t, then next thing you know, you think, ‘Oh, I wish we would have sprayed.’”

The Genetic Advantage: The final piece of the puzzle for Gibson is the advancement in soybean technology. He recalls the days when he says Williams 82 was his only real option for continuous soybeans. Today, advanced traits have made managing weeds and disease in continuous systems much more manageable, he notes.

On his continuous soybean acres, Gibson consistently sees yields average in the 50-to-60-bushel range. When he factors in the lower input costs compared to growing corn on heavy gumbo ground, he believes the decision to go with continuous soybeans is a good one. For Gibson, it’s not about following a trend— it’s about knowing what his land does best and having the management practices in place to succeed.

When Weird Corn Ears Wreck the Bottom Line

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 19:58:07 GMT

Abnormal corn ears may look like a cosmetic problem, but depending on the severity, they can deliver a significant hit to yield, reports Osler Ortez, Ohio State University corn specialist.

“If a field is managed for 200-bushel corn but only delivers 100 bushels because abnormal ears dominate, then every pound of nitrogen, every inch of irrigation and every pass you make across that field becomes much harder to justify,” he says.

Yield losses from abnormal corn ears can range from 35% to 91% in affected plants, with typical field-wide impacts often trailing lower, Ortez reports.

For reference, an “average” corn ear generally produces 16 kernel rows with about 800 kernels per ear, according to the Iowa State Extension.

Irregularities such as zipper ears (shown below), earless plants or multiple ears, reduce grain yield through poor kernel set, abortion or reduced kernel weight.

A common abnormality called zipper ear is caused by kernel abortion or failed pollination. The issue is often triggered by severe environmental stress during early grain fill or pollination from factors including drought, high heat or nutrient deficiency.

(R. L. Nielsen, professor emeritus and Purdue University Corn Specialist, retired)

Ortez emphasizes no single factor explains abnormal ear development. It’s nearly always the result of an interaction between three factors that corn researchers refer to as GEM:
G — Genetics (hybrid)

E — Environment (weather, stress)

M — Management (practices)

He adds that understanding when the stress is happening, the timing of it, is also important. For instance, early-season stress can limit ear initiation and potential ear number, while midseason issues impact pollination and kernel set. Late-season stress reduces kernel fill and overall weight.

Strategic Management Levers

While the weather can’t be controlled, Ortez says understanding the GEM interaction gives corn growers more leverage than they realize.

He lists three management decisions that can help growers mitigate the risk of abnormal ear development:

1. Evaluate the genetics: Treating hybrid selection as a defensive tool against ear problems — right alongside disease tolerance and standability — is one of the clearest ways to lower risk.

2. Pick a recommended seeding rate: In Nebraska field trials, Ortez observed abnormal ears increased at both ends of the seeding rate spectrum.

“Chasing a few extra bushels with aggressive populations, especially on drought-prone or otherwise stressed acres, often backfired when stress hit at the wrong time,” he notes. Conversely, pulling populations too low also created conditions where ear development went off track.

3. Consider the planting date: Researchers found planting hybrids outside the optimal window — either very early into cold, wet conditions or very late into heat and moisture stress — made it more likely sensitive growth stages would line up with damaging stress. Matching planting date to local recommendations and the strengths of a given hybrid proved to be an important way to reduce those risky overlaps.

Ultimately, by tuning into GEM, farmers can better safeguard their investments. As Ortez points out, the more sides of that triangle a farmer can stabilize or improve, the less likely a season’s worth of hard work and inputs will be undone by a field of problem ears.

Hear Ortez share more of his research on abnormal ear development in a recent podcast sponsored by the Crop Protection Network.

Put More Spray Where It Pays

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 16:58:40 GMT

When you pull the sprayer into fields each spring, you’re banking that the product coming out of the nozzles will land where you need it to work. That’s where drift reduction adjuvants (DRAs) can become one of the most profitable—and protective—ingredients in your tank.

Consider what happens when you spray a crop protection product. Each nozzle throws out a spectrum of droplet sizes, from big “marbles” that fall quickly to tiny “dust” droplets that hang in the air, explained Greg Dahl, director of adjuvant education for the Council of Producers & Distributors of Agrotechnology (CPDA), during a recent Agricultural Retailers Association webinar.

Those tiny droplets, called driftable fines, are the troublemakers. They lose energy fast, ride the wind and can move well beyond your field. That’s not the case for larger droplets.

“Big droplets have to land. They are going to land, and they’re going to land close to where you spray,” Dahl says. “Small droplets, they probably are not going to land. They will lose their speed, and then they’ll just float in the air and go wherever the air goes.”

By design, DRAs shift more of your spray volume into larger, heavier droplets that are still effective but far less likely to drift. Across a wide range of nozzles, Dahl says industry research shows that adding a DRA can reduce the spray volume made up of driftable fines.

“Going across the whole system of nozzles, we get about a 50% reduction in the amount of spray volume that is made up of driftable fines,” he reports.

In practical terms, that means less product left hanging in the air and able to drift toward your neighbor’s crops, garden or yard.

There are at least four benefits to adding a good quality DRA in the tank.

(WinField United)

Drift Control Is Only Part Of The Benefit From DRAs

Many farmers are concerned that bigger droplets going out of the nozzles will automatically result in poorer coverage, particularly in post-emergence applications. In some cases — especially with ultra-coarse sprays — that’s true, Dahl says. Coverage can suffer, and penetration into the crop canopy can be weak. The right DRA, though, has been shown to increase droplets’ speed as they leave the nozzle, which improves penetration into the crop canopy.

“If we look where we have added in a DRA, it has actually increased the amount of speed of those droplets, so they’re going to go farther before they run out of energy, and we’re going to get better penetration of the canopy, better deposition farther down,” Dahl says.

Side-by-side comparisons in corn and soybeans using fluorescent dye tell the story more completely (see below). Without a DRA, Dahl’s slides illustrate that coverage is good on the top leaves of the crop but falls off quickly as the product moves down into the plant. With a deposition-type DRA, coverage is more balanced from the top to below the ear leaf in corn and throughout the soybean canopy.

A good quality DRA helps provide good product coverage all the way through the crop canopy, as noted in the plant on the right.

(Greg Dahl)

The ROI Of Improved Product Applications

Better coverage does show up in yield results, Dahl reports. Across hundreds of corn fungicide trials, for instance, he says adding a DRA to the tank delivered an average yield increase of about 5.7 bushels per acre compared to fungicide use alone.

In wheat, similar work showed nearly a 4‑bu.-per-acre advantage.

There’s also an economic advantage in terms of product retention. When you reduce the number of driftable fines, more of the active ingredient you paid for actually lands and stays in your field instead of drifting away.

Dahl says not all DRAs and nozzle combinations are created equal. Some thicker, polymer-type products can narrow the spray angle or even increase driftable fines with the wrong nozzle used, especially Venturi designs. That’s why choosing proven products matters. He says oil-emulsion DRAs, in particular, have shown they can cut driftable fines without creating an overly thick spray or sacrificing pattern quality.

“There’s almost 500 labels that recommend using CPDA-certified adjuvants, and there’s over 200 products that are CPDA-certified adjuvants,” Dahl says, referencing the website CPDA.com . “We think that’s where you should go for information, and we thank you for that,” he adds.

Unmask the 'Party' in Your Corn Crop

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 20:05:44 GMT

For years, crown rot was viewed through a narrow lens—a single pathogen causing a single problem. But researchers at the University of Nebraska and Iowa State University suggest the reality is much rowdier. They report that crown rot often behaves like a disease complex rather than a solo act.

According to Alison Robertson, Iowa State University Extension field crops pathologist, the disease is frequently the result of a “party” of organisms. Robertson and Tamara Jackson-Ziems, University of Nebraska field crops pathologist, have often found a crowd of fungi – including Fusarium graminearum, the organism Phytopythium ambiguum (nicknamed “Pam”) and others – within the same rotted crown.

“One of the big unanswered questions is which ones start the infection, which ones join later, and which ones are just saprophytes feeding on dead tissue,” Robertson says.

Jackson-Ziems adds that she and Robertson are exploring the possibility that these pathogens must work together to produce the severe symptoms growers frequently see in their fields. While this complexity makes the disease harder to address, the researchers offer five practical steps you can take to prevent or minimize the impact of crown rot this season..

1. Evaluate Corn Hybrid Disease Ratings

While few if any hybrids are currently scored specifically for crown rot, field work in Nebraska shows clear differences in how various genetics handle the disease. Jackson-Ziems advises looking beyond general disease ratings.

“Talk with your seed dealer about data on hybrids specific to crown rot or early plant health,” she suggests.

Matt Essick, Pioneer agronomy innovation leader, notes that other traits are your best defense. Trait scores such as stress tolerance, stalk strength and stay-green can help combat symptoms, he explains.

2. Manage Early-Season Stress

Crown rot is heavily linked to “wet feet” and cold starts. While it is difficult to replicate the disease in a lab, Robertson notes practical experience shows that planting into cold, saturated soils—especially in fields with a history of the disease—is an invitation for trouble.

Brett Leahr, a regional agronomist with AgriGold, points out that poorly drained areas and compacted soils are particularly vulnerable.

He says a lack of strong freeze and thaw cycles to break up Midwest soils in recent years has allowed compaction layers to build, trapping moisture and stressing young roots.

Fertility also plays a defensive role. “Tissue sampling can show farmers where their nitrogen is, especially at an early stage,” Leahr reports in a press release. “Making sure nitrogen is adequate ... is key to minimizing risk.”

3. Set Realistic Expectations for Fungicides

While lab tests show that “Pam” and various Fusarium isolates are sensitive to common seed treatments and in-furrow fungicides, field results have been less consistent.

“Field trials in Iowa so far have not consistently produced crown rot to prove a clear yield or disease benefit,” Robertson notes.

Pioneer’s Essick agrees that while these products may suppress early infections, they aren’t a silver bullet. The most effective strategy remains maintaining overall plant health by reducing environmental stress and preventing insect damage to the roots.

4. Scout Early And Bring A Shovel

Farmers frequently notice crown rot at around dent stage (R5), but Robertson and Jackson-Ziems say the damage often starts earlier, between V3 and V6. They tell farmers to keep an eye out for stunted, pale or off-color plants in the midst of healthy plants.

“The first thing we might notice is that some plants may die early, and leading up to that, you might see some really odd discoloration. We call it ghosting—an off, ugly, greenish-gray color where the tops of the plant die,” Jackson-Ziems explains.

To confirm your suspicions, dig up the dead plant, wash the roots, and split the crown lengthwise. Look for brown, discolored tissue and root loss.

If you find significant “ghosting” in fields, Leahr recommends a proactive harvest strategy. “If you see a lot of ghosted plants in the field, consider making plans to harvest it early,” he says, suggesting a 5% threshold for prioritizing those fields.

5. Document And Share Your Findings

Because so much is still unknown about crown rot, on-farm data from affected fields is invaluable. Robertson and Jackson-Ziems encourage growers to keep detailed records of planting dates, soil conditions and hybrid performance.

Also, consider diagnostic testing of affected plants and sharing the results with your agronomist and university Extension specialists. What you share can contribute to a larger pool of knowledge about the disease. The faster researchers can identify which organisms are leading the “party” in your corn crop, the faster they can develop the tools needed to help you shut it down, say Robertson and Jackson-Ziems.

Learn more through the Crop Protection Network’s Frequently asked Questions about Crown Rot in Corn . Robertson and Jackson-Ziems also offer more insights in their presentation on the topic, available here .

First Case of Avian Flu Detected in Wisconsin Dairy Herd

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 20:27:43 GMT

A case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been detected in a dairy herd in Dodge County, Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) announced Sunday. This marks the first confirmed detection of the virus in dairy cattle in the state.

Dodge County, Wisconsin

(USDA)

The herd was identified through routine National Milk Testing Strategy screening, not the surveillance required for moving cattle across state lines. The affected farm has been quarantined, and any cattle showing signs of illness are being separated for treatment.

Bird flu has already been detected in poultry flocks in Wisconsin. On Dec. 9, state officials reported HPAI in a flock in Marquette County, which is just one county away from the affected dairy herd.

HPAI in dairy cattle has been documented in the U.S. before, with the first detections reported in March 2024 in dairy herds in Texas and Kansas. Since then, there have been more than 1,000 confirmed cases across 18 states, primarily through targeted testing and monitoring programs. While the pace of new detections has slowed in recent months, one additional confirmed case has been reported in California within the past 30 days, indicating the virus is still a threat.

HPAI Confirmed Cases in the Last 30 Days

(USDA)

Total HPAI Confirmed Cases

(USDA)

A Wake-Up Call for Dairy Biosecurity

The Wisconsin case comes as new research from Farm Journal highlights ongoing gaps in dairy biosecurity practices nationwide. A survey of more than 300 dairy producers, presented at the MILK Business Conference, found that while many operations report having biosecurity plans in place, consistent implementation and regular review remain a challenge.

According to the survey, 68% of farms with at least 250 cows say they have a biosecurity plan, yet 34% of those producers acknowledge they do not routinely review or update it. The findings point to vulnerabilities at a time when disease threats such as HPAI, New World screwworm and bovine spongiform encephalopathy continue to raise concern across the livestock sector.

(Farm Journal)

“We need biosecurity efforts to be more impactful at the ground level,” said Kirk Ramsey, professional services veterinarian with Neogen, who reviewed the survey results. “Not only to prevent major outbreaks, but also to protect employees and families from what could be carried home every day.”

As emerging diseases continue to challenge dairy operations, the research reinforces the importance of consistent, practical biosecurity measures to reduce risk and protect herd health.

What are the Symptoms of HPAI in Dairy Cattle?

As monitoring continues, officials are urging producers to stay alert for early signs of illness within their herds, as prompt detection and response remain key to limiting further spread. Signs of HPAI include:

Drop in milk production
Loss of appetite
Changes in manure consistency
Thickened or colostrum-like milk
Low-grade fever

State officials are monitoring the situation and working closely with the farm to contain the virus and prevent further spread. DATCP emphasized there is no concern for the safety of the commercial milk supply, as pasteurization eliminates the virus. The CDC considers the human health risk low.

Read more on HPAI in dairy:

Iowa Farmer Battles Today's Pests While Eyeing Tomorrow's 'Mean Sixteen' Threats

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 18:52:50 GMT

For Worth County, Iowa, farmer Sarah Tweeten, the list of high-priority agronomic threats isn’t a political abstract — it’s a harsh reality she deals with every season.

Farming with her parents, Brian and Julie, and her uncle Roger, Tweeten has been steering the partnership toward more resilient cropping practices since joining the operation in 2021. This includes shifting from conventional tillage to strip tillage and splitting nitrogen applications.

The changes are part of a broader mindset: Protecting yields today from weeds, disease and insects while aggressively preparing for the next generation of agronomic threats. This forward-thinking approach is what led Tweeten to Washington, D.C., earlier this week as a Farm Journal Foundation farmer ambassador to help introduce a new report: “ The Mean Sixteen: Major Biosecurity Threats Facing U.S. Agriculture and How Policy Solutions Can Help. ”

Today’s Battles and Tomorrow’s Warnings
Researched and developed by Stephanie Mercier, PhD, the report takes an in-depth look at 16 significant pest issues U.S. farmers face now or could realistically in the future.

Tweeten is already battling a couple of the problems that underpin the urgency behind the research. For example, Palmer amaranth (pigweed) is gaining ground in her fields and across Iowa. The pervasive broadleaf weed can drastically reduce yields, with studies showing corn yield reductions between 11% and 91% and soybean yield reductions of 17% to 68%.

“We’ve struggled with pigweed as it continues to establish more resistance to our herbicides in our toolkit,” Tweeten says.

Two additional agronomic issues the report details include:

1. Asian Soybean Rust. First detected in the U.S. in Louisiana in 2004, this fungal disease has spread to southern states like Georgia and Mississippi. Scientists warn that warming winters could enable its migration to the Midwest, adding to existing disease pressures.

2. Corn Ear Rot. It can lead to aflatoxin production, making corn unmarketable and posing risks to humans and livestock. Aflatoxin is an issue Pickens County, Ala., farmer Annie Dee says is an ongoing problem for corn growers in her area.

“If we have aflatoxin, it can be impossible to sell the corn,” says Dee, also a Farm Journal Foundation Farmer ambassador.

A more recent threat she references is the impact of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (bird flu) on local poultry farms.

Since January 2022, HPAI has been confirmed in a commercial or backyard poultry flock in all 50 states.

(USDA)

“An important market for us is poultry feed meal, so that’s a constant worry. The trickle-down effect is if we can’t move our corn then we can’t meet our financial obligations,” Dee adds.

Despite agricultural R&D offering a high ROI — $20 in benefits for every $1 spent — the Farm Journal Foundation report notes public funding for ag research has been declining over the past two decades.

“Farmers urgently need sustained support for aflatoxin research and prevention because these risks threaten our yields, our markets and the trust consumers place in American agriculture,” Dee says.

U.S. public spending on ag research and development has been falling for two decades.

(USDA-ERS)

African Swine Fever Has ‘Devastating Potential’
Looking to the future, Tweeten says she is concerned about African swine fever (ASF) and its potential to impact crop farmers as well as hog producers. The highly contagious swine disease hasn’t been detected in the U.S. mainland, but it isn’t far away. ASF has been confirmed in the Caribbean countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, roughly 700 miles from Miami, Fla.

“Being a farmer from Iowa, where we have probably eight times the amount of pigs as we do people, an outbreak of ASF would be just devastating to our state,” Tweeten says.

Hogs are among the biggest customers for the corn and soybeans Tweeten and her family grow. If African swine fever were to shut down hog production or exports, it wouldn’t just be a blow to livestock producers – it would hurt the entire agricultural community, she contends.

Read about 5 livestock diseases that could impact U.S. food security and economic stability.

Food Security Is National Security
When it comes to justifying funding for ag research, Tweeten knows there’s competition for every federal dollar. But she believes agriculture deserves a front-row seat — not only because of its economic weight and impact on farmers, but because of its role in national security.

“There’s that argument that food security is national security,” she says. “If there’s one thing COVID made us aware of, it’s that a disruption to our food chain can be terrifying, quite frankly.”

The pandemic made consumers and policymakers more aware of supply chain vulnerability. In 2020, the shock to the supply chain came from a human disease and logistical bottlenecks.

(Sarah Williams Photography)

Next time, Tweeten says, the disruption could just as easily come from animal or plant disease — whether African swine fever in hogs, Asian soybean rust or some other pathogen in crops. She worries about scenarios where farmers could face a fast-moving disease or crop pest while critical tools are still hung up in regulatory delays.

Her message: Farmers need a full toolbox, not one that’s half-built by the time a threat arrives.

“Ag needs to be in a good position when these sorts of emerging diseases and pests come into the country,” she says, “to have the tools in our toolbox ready for farmers to pull out.”

About the Farm Journal Foundation
The Farm Journal Foundation is a farmer-centered, non-profit, nonpartisan organization established in 2010. It works to advance agricultural innovation, food and nutrition security, conservation, and rural economic development.

Living Sensors Turn Soybeans into Fungal Disease Detectives

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 21:06:49 GMT

For Aidan Kleinschmit, trying to get the upper hand over white mold disease in soybeans used to involve a frustrating amount of guesswork.

White mold can lurk in soybean fields undetected for weeks, causing significant damage before any visible symptoms appear. Kleinschmit says his annual struggle with the disease turned a corner this past season when he decided to trial the use of CropVoice from InnerPlant.

“I remember they sent out an alert on a Saturday night about white mold being detected, and by Monday we had decided we were going to treat,” recounts Kleinschmit, who farms in northeast Nebraska with his dad and brother.

“That put us way ahead of the white mold, because by the time you see it some damage is done,” Kleinschmit adds. “You might get disease suppression from a fungicide at that point, but you’re going to have some yield loss.”

Early Detection: A Game-Changer For Disease Control
The proactive treatment Kleinschmit made included whole-field fungicide applications as well as some targeted spot spraying with a drone over 500-plus acres. The payoff was evident in yield results Kleinschmit saw at harvest.

“We sprayed one entire field in our bottom ground, and it made about 86 bushels per acre,” he says. “That was well over, probably 25 bushels better, than what some of the other fields in our bottom ground yielded.”

Gary Schaefer, chief commercial officer at InnerPlant, says the big takeaway with CropVoice is the tool gives farmers real-time disease detection, informing decisions on whether to spray a fungicide. This directly addresses the ambiguity that farmers like Kleinschmit have long faced with disease management decisions.

“CropVoice is designed to deliver ROI by either saving costs in years when spraying isn’t necessary, or by enabling timely, effective action during heavy disease pressure, significantly improving the efficacy and financial return of fungicide applications,” Schaefer says.

While Schaefer doesn’t say what the return-on-investment for using CropVoice is, he contends that for every dollar a farmer spends on technology or an input “they should get at least $3 back,” a number Kleinschmit affirms as being on par for his expectations.

A ‘Cell Phone Tower’ for Soybean Fields
CropVoice is the first product InnerPlant has designed for farmers. How the technology works hinges on a seed biotech trait the company has developed that turns soybeans into living sensors that detect disease at the molecular level. The soybeans emit a fluorescent optical signal within 48 hours of a fungal infection – before any visible symptoms appear.

The company is placing its soybeans in sentinel plots that act like an early alert system in a defined geography. CropVoice analyzes the data coming from the plots 24/7. If a foliar disease moves into the plots, farmers and retailers working with InnerPlant are alerted that the disease is in their area.

Schaefer says to think of the sentinel plots as working like a network of cell towers for farmers whose fields are the cell phones.
“What you’re subscribing to is the network of cell towers that gives coverage for a broad area,” he explains.

For 2026, InnerPlant is placing 100 sentinel plots in fields across Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota to achieve the cell tower network effect for farmers in those states. Each plot will range in size from one-eighth acre to one-fourth of an acre.

Cultural Practices Play An Important Role
The soybeans grown in the sentinel plots mimic the cultural practices representative of soybean growers in each state. The strategy ensures highly relevant data for farms that are enrolled in InnerPlant’s program, which is implemented through strategic partnerships with retailers, Schaefer reports.

Farmers enroll their soybean acres in the InnerPlant network for a fee ($6 per acre for 2026). Retailers facilitate the process, mapping fields into the company’s program for retailers’ continuous monitoring throughout the growing season.

Participating farmers get weekly scouting reports, which include a disease score indicating risk levels in their area along with a detailed map showing any disease progression in their area. In addition, the company provides real-time disease alerts that are pushed directly to farmers via text anytime CropVoice detects a disease in the sentinel plots in thearea.

“The plants will turn on to any fungal pathogen,” Schaefer reports. He says end-of-year scouting reports from 2025 in Nebraska and Illinois revealed the detection of between five and seven different fungal pathogens in the company’s plots.

Kleinschmit says the proximity of the sentinel plots to his soybean fields and the early text alerts are two of the factors that sold him on enrolling a portion of his acres in the program.

“We’re only going to spray acres that we think are going to be affected by white mold at this point. I thought the technology really gave us a good benefit there,” says Kleinschmit.

“There are so many variables and moving parts in farming, so if there’s a way to help minimize the guesswork to help us make a good decision, I’m going to look into it and try it,” he adds.

Other technologies are also being explored by researchers for early soybean disease detection, such as hyperspectral imaging for charcoal rot and the Sporecaster smartphone app from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The latter predicts white mold risk based on weather data and field conditions.

Expanding the Network: Coverage for 2026 and Beyond
InnerPlant expects to scale up to more than 500,000 soybean acres across Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota in 2026 and plans to expand beyond those states over time.

To learn more about the technology, farmers can connect with participating ag retailers or reach out directly to InnerPlant.
Schaefer says the companyis hosting demos this winter, offering a firsthand look at this real-time, plant-based technology that could redefine how farmers address key diseases in the future.

He adds that InnerPlant will start field testing a corn fungal sensor in 2026, aiming to expand the plant-based disease detection technology to even more farmers and geographies in the coming years.

InnerPlant is partnering with local ag retailers to introduce CropVoice. The 2026 retailer network includes:

Illinois
Sun Ag

Iowa
Agriland
FSC
NEW
Nutrien

Nebraska
Aurora Cooperative
CHS
Hwy 75-Chem
Norder Supply
Nutrien
Rawhide Fertilizer, LLC

South Dakota
CHS
Nutrien

3 Corn Disease Lessons You Should Apply in 2026

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 22:37:12 GMT

As farmers continue to battle through the valley of the current farm economic cycle, they can glean valuable lessons about managing corn disease from the 2025 season. According to Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie, these three takeaways can apply next year:

Diseases might be severe in one area but nonexistent a few miles away.
Designating a pest boss and a pest management team pays big.
Don’t walk away from your crop.

Here You Find Disease, There You Don’t

“In 2025, in many areas of the Corn Belt, farmers experienced 10-to-50-bu. yield losses from corn disease,” Ferrie says. “The big problems were tar spot and southern rust, often in the same field. When disease was discovered in time, damage was somewhat preventable.

“Here’s what made management tricky: One field would be at threshold levels for treatment, but 5 miles away fields were disease-free. It boiled down to the disease triangle, requiring a susceptible host, a pathogen and the right environment. In some areas, where the three components never came together, growers harvested some of their highest yields ever with no fungicide.”

That hit-and-miss disease situation, in a period of tight profit margins, made scouting fields and having a pest boss making timely treatment decisions even more crucial than usual.

These photos taken through the windshield of a combine show the impact of a disease compared to two applications of a fungicide. Besides higher yield, the stay-green effect of the fungicide can also lengthen the harvest window.

(Crop-Tech Consulting Inc.)

“Where disease was present, many growers netted a 25-bu.-to-40-bu. yield response from a fungicide application,” Ferrie says. “Good managers who continued to scout often discovered diseases coming back about two weeks after treatment. Many of them sprayed a second time and netted another 20-bu. or 30-bu. response in addition to improved standability. That’s why I say never walk away from a growing crop.

“Conversely, many farmers who failed to identify disease in their fields and did not apply a fungicide found their yields shrank by 40 bu. per acre from their July estimates.”

Go Low for Rust and Tar Spot

One lesson from 2025 that applies to fungicide application confirmed Ferrie’s previous studies and observations.

“Last season, tar spot and southern rust started low on the plants and worked their way upward,” Ferrie says. “Fungicides had to penetrate deep into the canopy to control them.”

With aerial application, big droplets often fell beneath the aircraft and penetrated the canopy. But the smaller, lighter droplets floated to the outside of the pattern, remaining on the top leaves. Most years, that’s not a problem; but in 2025 it provided streaky results.

“With ground applicators, we did not see that streaking effect, because we got good penetration across the swath,” Ferrie says. “They put the fungicide down low, where it was needed.”

Lesson for 2026: To control tar spot and rust low in the canopy, when using aerial application, narrow your spray pattern.

“If you have both diseases in a field, make sure you use a fungicide that controls both,” Ferrie adds.

Your Pest Management Team

“Don’t have a pest management team yet? The offseason is the ideal time to assemble one. Here’s some advice to help:

A team can consist of farm employees, retail employees or scouting services. Hesitant to use someone who sells products? “Lots of great pest managers work in retail,” Ferrie says. “Their success depends on you being successful also.”
You might want to assemble several teams, for various issues such as weeds, disease and insects.
On a smaller operation, the whole team can be just one person, but make sure someone is authorized to make timely decisions.
The team must know how to collect accurate data, including good pictures for the pest boss. There’s no room for emotion in their reports.
Scouting must not stop after a treatment is applied. “If a disease resurges, as many did last year, it can shorten the grain-fill period and turn a great crop into a mediocre one,” Ferrie says.
Just like the scouts, the pest boss must base decisions on data, not emotion, coffee shop conversation or someone else’s team.
While market prices influence the economic threshold of when to treat, don’t let them create an emotional situation where the option is to treat or not to treat.
The pest boss must consider crop insurance coverage when making treatment decisions. Is the operator insured? The landowner? For how much? Do any other insurance factors apply?

Southern Rust Delivers A Harsh Wake-Up Call For Disease Control

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 22:50:46 GMT

Southern rust swept through the Midwest this past summer, taking big bites out of corn yield potential and forcing many growers to consider making late-season fungicide applications they hadn’t budgeted for.

Now, many farmers are asking themselves and their agronomic advisers how to plan for next season. A common question: Is southern rust going to be a significant problem in the Midwest again in 2026?

The answer: No one knows. Southern rust does not overwinter in crop residue – it has to blow in on winds from southern climes to be a problem for Midwest growers. So, what happens next year with the disease depends largely on how Mother Nature behaves.

Another fun weather fact from summer of 2025...
Chart showing why disease pressure was at biblical levels in areas this summer. Over two months of humidity levels WAY above average.

Mid June until beginning of September, nearly every day was above average humidity (blue line)… pic.twitter.com/eFHEDs4hs1
— Pioneer Troy (@deutmeyer_troy) November 18, 2025

Fungicides Paid Their Way
If there’s any silver lining to the challenge many farmers had with southern rust this year it’s that now almost everyone knows how yield-crippling the disease can be and the value fungicides can deliver.

Mary Gumz says she was fielding calls from concerned corn growers as early as the V10 to V12 growth stages of corn.

“It was a very different scenario than we’re usually in most years, and we were recommending that farmers spray earlier than usual,” recalls Gumz, a Pioneer agronomy manager.

With the tough economics farmers faced this season, some opted to forgo an application. But where corn growers made the hard call and applied fungicide, those fields delivered at harvest.

“We got some big yield increases, and you could visually see the difference between those plants where we did make the early call [with a fungicide application] compared to the usual application at tassel timing,” she says.

Another factor that made southern rust so difficult to control this season is that, in many cases, a second application of fungicide was warranted where the disease had time to rebuild.

“You can get about two or three weeks of efficacy from a fungicide on southern rust, but don’t expect you’re going to get season-long control,” says Randy Dowdy, Valdosta, Ga., and partner in Total Acre . “I’m not aware of a fungicide that you can spray at tassel for southern rust and that will last 50, 60 days or until black layer.

Southern rust does not overwinter in corn residue like some other diseases, such as tar spot. Instead, if it shows up in the Midwest, it has arrived via winds from southern climes.

(Corteva/Pioneer)

Proactive Planning For Next Season Can Help
While southern rust is a concern, Kim Tutor, BASF technical marketing manager, encourages farmers to keep in mind those tough diseases, such as tar spot, northern corn leaf blight and gray leaf spot, that are annual disease challenges in the Midwest.

Tar spot overwinters in corn residue, ready to rebuild in corn crops when weather conditions are favorable to its development, and is making its way across the Corn Belt.

“Tar spot can be infecting a corn plant, causing damage internally for two to three weeks before we are able to detect a lesion or see symptomology on the surface of the leaf,” Tutor adds.

She says if you are in a situation where models show significant disease pressure is moving into your area or you are based in an area with tar spot pressure, for instance, to consider making an early application with a fungicide that has residual control during what she calls an optimized application window – as early as V10 and through at least R3.

If you are in an area with heavy tar spot levels or you are looking to push the envelope for yield, Tutor recommends making two fungicide applications in corn, keeping applications 20 to 28 days apart.

As for which fungicide you apply, for so-called driver diseases like tar spot or southern rust, Missy Bauer, Farm Journal Field Agronomist, recommends going with what she describes as “Cadillac” type chemistry, newer technology that features multiple modes of control.

Extension plant pathologists annually update fungicide efficacy ratings for various crops, including corn, via the Crop Protection Network website. You can check the ratings for each fungicide’s performance on various diseases using the Corn Fungicide Efficacy table. Some products work better on tar spot or gray leaf spot, whereas others are more effective on rusts and other diseases.

Given the outlook for grain prices next year, be sure to also check out the new Corn Fungicide ROI Calculator on the Crop Protection Network.
You can use the calculator to look at different scenarios (grain prices, expected yield, disease severity) to see the potential ROI on fungicide applications.

Currently data available in the calculator are from university uniform corn fungicide trials conducted across 19 states and Ontario, Canada between 2019 and 2022. Primary diseases in this data set were tar spot and southern rust.

(Crop Protection Network)

Your next read: Red Crown Rot Rising: What Every Soybean Grower Needs to Know For 2026

Red Crown Rot Rising: What Every Soybean Grower Needs to Know For 2026

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 20:06:16 GMT

Red crown rot, a soilborne fungal disease that can cut soybean yields by 70% in severe cases, warrants consideration as farmers in affected areas finalize their variety selections and management plans for next year, agronomic experts say.

Historically prevalent in the southern U.S., red crown rot (RCR) is now moving northward with confirmations in at least seven key soybean-producing states since 2018, including Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin, according to the Crop Protection Network.

The speed at which the disease can move is illustrated by its progress in Illinois. A single infected field was identified there in 2018. Since then, RCR has spread to more than one-third of the state’s 102 counties.

In Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin, agronomists confirmed isolated cases of the disease in farmers’ soybean fields for the first time just this year.

“When the disease was found in Minnesota (Rock County) in August 2025, the nearest known location with red crown rot was over 400 miles away in NW Illinois,” says Dean Malvick, University of Minnesota Extension plant pathologist.

Compounding concerns is that the modes by which red crown rot is spreading into the Midwest aren’t fully known, he adds.

Red crown rot is on the move in the Midwest, with isolated cases confirmed in Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin soybeans just this year.

(Crop Protection Network)

Seed Companies Are Working On Solutions
“Most or all soybean varieties” adapted to the Midwest that have been evaluated by researchers to date appear to be susceptible to the disease, although differences in disease susceptibility have been reported, Malvick notes.

“Certainly, the seed companies are looking at resistance… and are getting some idea of what genetic backgrounds relate to resistance to red crown rot,” he said during a recent podcast .

While no soybean varieties are fully resistant, high-performing, disease-tolerant seed can help growers reduce the potential impact of RCR, according to Bill Kessinger, Stine technical agronomist.

Red crown rot can be tricky to identify early in the season, and its symptoms tend to be more prevalent in July and early August. On leaves, it often looks like SDS, showing yellowing and browning between the veins, according to Dean Malvick, University of Minnesota plant pathologist.

(University of Illinois plant pathologists)

Kessinger tells growers in affected areas he believes the No. 1 goal is to continue focusing on selecting high-yielding soybeans that will provide the best return-on-investment. Secondly, then consider how well those varieties score for resistance to RCR before making your final selections.

“We have to understand, with regard to seed, what we are going to give up compared to what we are going to get, and what risk we want to take as a grower,” Kessinger says. “It’s not an all or nothing decision … and everything still has to revert back to yield.”

BMPs And Seed Treatments Can Help
Integrated management practices are critical to addressing RCR, as the fungus overwinters and survives in the soil, reports Horacio Lopez-Nicora, Ohio State University assistant professor of soybean pathology and nematology.

“Once established, this pathogen is nearly impossible to eradicate, so integrated management is the only sustainable path forward to reduce its impact on our soybean crop,” Lopez-Nicora explains in an online article .

He says practices such as crop rotation with nonhost crops, improving drainage, using seed-applied fungicides and managing soybean cyst nematode populations — which can intensify red crown rot severity — will be important to farmers working to protect yields in RCR-affected areas next season.

Malvick adds that some seed treatment fungicides are reported to reduce the impact of red crown rot in soybeans.

“There’s more evidence building now that’s showing some of them work against both SDS and red crown rot,” Malvick says. “We don’t again have that evidence for the northern U.S. but we have enough information to say we probably have products that will be reasonably effective at least.”

Current soybean seed treatment options include Saltro and Victrato (pydiflumetofen, cyclobutrifluram; Syngenta), ILeVO (fluopyram; BASF) and Pretium SDS, a biological seed treatment (natamycin; Nufarm). Manufacturers advise checking with local retailers to see which seed treatment products are approved for use in your specific location.

Your next read: New Seed Treatments Available For Soybeans, Cotton & Cereals

Corn Yield Champions Share Their Top 4 Hybrid Selection Strategies

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 19:54:56 GMT

Yield potential is always top of mind for farmers in the middle of evaluating and selecting corn hybrids for the next season, and this year is no exception. If anything, farmers are more tuned in than ever on hybrid evaluation, given the outlook for commodity prices in the year ahead.

Here are four ways David Hula and Randy Dowdy are approaching their hybrid selection process for 2026 and, in sharing, they hope their information will be helpful to you as well.

1. Balance yield potential with the other top two or three agronomic benefits you need.
“My No. 1 focus for a hybrid is it had better be standing when I get ready to harvest it, because there is nothing more miserable than having to take more time and risk equipment damage in harvesting down corn,” says Dowdy on the latest Breaking Barriers With R&D podcast.

His second priority is grain quality. Dowdy says he studies data from hybrid field trials and the performance of hybrids he tests on his own farm to evaluate plant health and what vulnerabilities they might have to specific diseases and insects common to the area.

His third priority is yield. While this ranking might differ from what most agronomic experts recommend, Dowdy puts it in perspective this way:

“We can make high yields with nearly all the hybrids out there that fit our farm today, so for me it’s more about managing the risks associated with them than just the yield potential alone,” explains Dowdy, who farms near Valdosta, Ga.

Dowdy and Hula share more insights on how they pick hybrids during their discussion earlier this week on AgriTalk:

2. Select hybrids for broad acreage use only if you have tested them on your own ground first.
Hybrids change so quickly today that Hula says it’s more important than ever to have evaluated new seed technology on your own ground.

“I challenge growers to try just a couple, three to five, new hybrids and evaluate them,” says Hula, Charles City, Va. “The results from your own personal management style, soil type, and weather conditions are going to give you the best data.”

Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie agrees with Hula.

“I’ve seen the same hybrid vary by 20 bu. to 40 bu. per acre because of different management practices used in a company test plot versus a farmer’s field,” Ferrie says. “Few farmers do plots, but the cost of seed today makes it worthwhile.”

Hula adds that he makes a point to split his planter with two different hybrids. “So when we’re going across most of our acres, that’s a way for us to compare a hybrid we know against a new one,” he says.

3. Look at a variety of performance data beyond your farm
While Hula and Dowdy are especially tuned in to how new technologies perform on their respective farms, they believe it’s still important to evaluate hybrid performance trial data companies provide.

“I like to consider how the trial is harvested, whether the data is just done by a yield monitor on a combine or with an actual weigh wagon,” Hula notes. “Sometimes the winning hybrid is not the one that the yield monitor says it is, so you have to be careful to filter out data that might not be accurate.”

Look for hybrids that perform consistently across locations and are well adapted over a wide range of climates and conditions, advises Jon LaPorte, Michigan State University Extension farm business management educator.

“Alternatively, evaluate data for testing locations nearest to you and your soil types. Make sure you consider at least three years of data for each hybrid. This will provide insight to how a hybrid performs over different weather scenarios. No two years are the same. Hybrids that are consistently performing at the top indicate that they are well adapted to various climates, LaPorte says in his article, Seed Selection: Beyond Yield and Disease Resistance.

4. Build relationships with seedsmen whose companies have a good product lineup for your area and who will help you succeed with their products.
Good seed dealers have integrity, a deep understanding of their company’s products, are good problem solvers and are looking for mutual success.

“Ask your seedsman what hybrids you need to be looking at,” Hula advises. “They’ll want to stack the cards in your favor and theirs, so they’re going to tell you the best hybrids to look at out there from start to finish.”

Talking to your seedsman and reading his company literature can give you some insights into product performance, but be prepared to ask more questions to get answers to the nitty gritty details about yield potential--especially for those new-to-you hybrids.

“Sometimes you have to read between the lines to figure out how a hybrid will perform,” Ferrie says. “With disease ratings, which can go from 1 to 9, the company literature might only use the 7 to 9 ratings and nothing lower because they know the competition would pick them apart otherwise. A good seedsman knows this information and will tell you the weaknesses to look out for, where to put that hybrid on your farm or whether you should even grow it,” he adds.

Your next read: 8 Expert Tips for Choosing the Best Seed Corn for 2026

Watch this week’s Breaking Barriers With R&D on YouTube . In this episode, lifelong farmers and founders of Total Acre, Randy Dowdy and David Hula, explore how technology, genetics, and innovation continue to redefine what’s possible on the farm.

New Seed Treatments Available For Soybeans, Cotton & Cereals

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 17:00:26 GMT

Farmers looking to address plant-parasitic nematodes and diseases in soybeans and cotton now have access to a new seed treatment from Syngenta. The product, branded as Victrato, has been registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Syngenta reports Victrato features a new active ingredient, Tymirium, and will be “available in 2025 in preparation for the 2026 planting season, subject to state approvals.”

In soybeans, Victrato addresses Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) and a broad spectrum of nematodes, including soybean cyst nematode, root knot, reniform, lance and lesion.

“I’ve worked with this compound under field evaluation over the last 10 years, and I am thrilled for soybean growers to experience this never-before-seen level of protection,” says Dale Ireland, Syngenta Seedcare technical lead, in a prepared statement.

“Victrato preserves more yield than any other molecule available, and it protects against all life stages of nematodes: eggs, juveniles and adults. This stops in-season feeding and limits future populations, giving growers the most robust solution available,” Ireland says.

Victrato is also the first federally labeled seed treatment management tool for Red Crown Rot, according to Syngenta. In addition, the product “will fortify soybean plants through early-season suppression of important foliar diseases such as Septoria brown spot, frogeye leaf spot and target spot.”

Targeted Issues In Cotton
For cotton, Victrato addresses cotton root rot and nematodes, including root knot, reniform, lance and sting.

Syngenta reports root knot and reniform nematodes led U.S. cotton yield losses in 2023-2024, while Cotton Root Rot can cost Western growers up to $100 million annually in lost yield, fiber quality and harvest efficiency.

New Premix For Cereals
For the 2026 season, Syngenta will be offering CruiserMaxx Vibrance Elite, a fungicide and insecticide seed treatment premix. The product has been registered by EPA for use in the upcoming growing season.

The premix, positioned by the company as an upgraded formulation of CruiserMaxx Vibrance Cereals, provides protection from a broad spectrum of early-season seedborne and soilborne diseases and insect pests. In addition, the product will help cereal crops emerge “evenly with strong stand establishment and root mass and help maximize plant populations.”

CruiserMaxx Vibrance Elite includes two modes of action on Rhizoctonia, Fusarium and Pythium, including mefeboxam- and ethaboxam-resistant isolates.

“The mixture of trusted ingredients helps cereal crops emerge evenly with strong stand establishment and root mass, helping to maximize plant populations,” says Bryn Hightower, product lead for Syngenta Seedcare, in a prepared statement. “Compared with other seed treatments available on the market, we’ve observed an average of 18% greater plant stand and a 3.3 bushels per acre yield increase in Pythium-inoculated winter wheat,” Hightower adds.

Your next read: Nutrien Says Quality and Resilience Are Its Fertilizer Focus, Will Review Options for Its Phosphate Business

Unpacking the Disappointment: 5 Reasons Some Iowa Growers Had Ho-Hum Corn Yields

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 22:43:59 GMT

A growing season that started with tremendous potential in east-central Iowa finished with yield results that left many growers in the area disappointed by average or below-average results, according to Agronomist Nicole Stecklein.

Stecklein details five key factors she believes contributed to disappointing 2025 yield results. Here are her key takeaways from this season as well as some recommendations for 2026.

1. A ‘planting date effect’ occurred: Stecklein says she is an early-plant advocate and likes to see farmers start planting when the soil is fit and a good weather forecast is in the cards.

“In eight years out of 10 years, that usually turns out pretty good. In a lot of cases, the early planted corn will be your best corn, but that wasn’t the case this year,” she says.

Early-planted corn, particularly those hybrids in early to mid-maturities, generally underperformed.

Stecklein identified two main culprits. First, there was considerable localized soil crusting. Even with rotary hoeing, significant variability in ear development and inconsistent pollination impacted the crop and contributed to yield loss.

A second culprit was that the earlier planted corn seemed to bear the brunt of later-season stresses, particularly from disease issues, heavy moisture and above-average temperatures.

Too much rain and disease were problems for Ward Hunter, Ogden, Iowa, especially southern rust. He told U.S. Farm Report’s Tyne Morgan that his early corn hybrid yields were disappointing, coming in at around 220 bu. per acre, even though he applied a fungicide.

“We were at about our APH,” he says. “If it hadn’t been for disease pressure, I think we could have been in the 270s or so [with early maturing hybrids] here in central Iowa.”

FBN Poll Results: This week's poll, with over 1,700 responses, shows 50% of participating FBN members seeing corn yields below expectations. Review the full results and share your thoughts: https://t.co/37lji8uYSc #farmersfirst #harvest25 #corn pic.twitter.com/LoijKZGnJ5
— FBN (@FBNFarmers) October 31, 2025

For farmers wondering if they should move to later planting dates across the baord in 2026, Stecklein says probably not. Instead, she says to continue to evaluate soils and weather conditions at planting.

Ken Ferrie offers similar advice to farmers in central Iowa and central Illinois. “My advice for farmers is if we have a green light in April, plant some corn,” says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

However, Ferrie says farmers shouldn’t be afraid to wait until May to get a green light from Mother Nature to start the planting process.

“We never know how the rest of the year will play out. So, breaking the planting window up is a good way to mitigate risk and take the jam out of the fall of having everything ready at the same time,” he explains.

2. High winds were a blow to corn performance: June brought a series of severe high-wind events to large swaths of east-central Iowa.

The damage manifested in root lodging, green snap, and willowing. Corn that had already tasseled before the winds hit fared better, thanks to better developed root systems and brace roots, Stecklein reports.

Conversely, corn that had not yet tasseled suffered the most severe root lodging and green snap, as its rapidly growing, brittle nodes were highly susceptible.

Willowing, which occurs where corn plants bend at the waist, proved to be a stealthy yield robber this summer. The stress from bending, particularly around the developing ear node, led to poorly pollinated ears with short husks, leaving grain exposed to elements, birds and disease, significantly impacting quality and yield.

Tons of sub 150 corn in our area. Harrison and Pottawattamie county Iowa. Too much wind/greensnap and too much diesese. It’s the crop that never was.
— Brandon Clark (@clarkbrandon44) November 3, 2025

While wind is an unavoidable reality across the state, Stecklein would advise farmers in consistently windy areas to consider prioritizing root and green snap scores when selecting hybrids for 2026.

“This is not a foolproof way to get around the wind. It’s just knowing that some hybrids have a lower possibility of getting hit by wind in a window when they’re vulnerable, because all corn is vulnerable. The wind is all about timing. But if you shorten that window, then you’re decreasing the chances that you’ll get hit at a vulnerable time,” she explains.

3. Heat took a bite out of yield potential. Another major factor impacting 2025 yields in east-central Iowa was the pervasive overnight heat during grain fill, specifically in July and August.

Stecklein says the general rule of thumb is for each night during grain fill that temperatures stay at 70 degrees Fahrenheit or above, your corn crop will experience about a 1% yield loss in each 24-hour period.

What happens is the result of a lack of equilibrium between the process of photosynthesis during the day and then respiration at night.

“During the day, the plant is taking sunlight and carbon dioxide and making sugars. It’s creating energy,” Stecklein explains. “Overnight, you have respiration occurring. Respiration is using energy to repair cells, And the rate of these processes is very temperature dependent.”

When nighttime temperatures remain high, the rate of respiration dramatically increases. This means the plant burns through its energy reserves much faster.

Stecklein says that in July and August, parts of east-central Iowa had 15 nights that stayed at 70 degrees or greater.

“If you’re good at math, that means a 15% yield loss. If you had 300 bushels to lose at tassel, that brings you straight down to 255, bushels, just based on overnight temperatures,” she says.

4. Disease pressure reached unprecedented levels for some farmers. The big gorilla this season was southern rust, which took most Iowa farmers by surprise.

”Southern rust is the one that everybody is talking about, because it’s so aggressive and because, honestly, in Iowa, we were not prepared for how aggressive it was going to be,” Stecklein says.

Unlike tar spot, southern rust is not a disease that overwinters in residue. It must “blow in” from the South, and it also needs corn to infect to complete its life cycle. For those reasons, Stecklein would advise Iowa farmers to not make hybrid decisions for next year based on concerns for southern rust.

However, she would advise them to take tar spot into consideration as they evaluate which hybrids to plant in 2026.

“If you are going to spray [a fungicide], you’re going to be OK if you do choose a hybrid that’s susceptible, because there are some very good hybrids out there that aren’t super tolerant to tar spot. Make sure that you’re planning on at least making one fungicide pass at tassel. But if you will not spray two passes of fungicide, do not choose a hybrid that has a very poor tar spot rating, because if we get the weather that’s very conducive to tar spot, you’re going to lose some bushels,” she adds.

5. Phantom yield loss showed up at harvest. Based on phantom yield loss data, Stecklein says there’s about 2 bushels lost per percent of moisture. How that translates into a yield loss: if you like to harvest at 22% moisture but the crop is at 16% moisture when you finally combine it, you’re looking at a loss of 12 bushels per acre.

If you find yourself consistently harvesting corn at a drier level than you want, Stecklein would say it’s time to adjust your hybrid maturities. If phantom yield loss isn’t a consistent issue you face, then you’re probably OK to stick with your current maturities.

Her final advice for 2026: “I keep wanting to say that every year I learn something unique, but at the end of the day, my key takeaways from every year have almost always been the same: if you plan for failure and if you give up, you’re going to be met with failure. However, if you are persistent through hardships and manage according to those hardships, you’re setting yourself up for success.”

Watch Stecklein’s recent video, Corn 2025: What happened , for more insights on the east-central Iowa corn results.

Can Good Fertility Levels Reduce The Need For Fungicides?

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 16:56:17 GMT

A farmer recently asked Ken Ferrie this two-part question: Can a soil test help determine the need for a fungicide application, and does healthy soil correlate with less need for fungicide?

“The answer to these questions is yes, maybe and sort of,” says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

The final determination is based on the disease triangle – you must have the disease, a host and the right conditions to trigger a disease outbreak. Soil health falls under the area of conditions, and soil tests can help identify conditions.

What a soil test doesn’t do is detect the presence of disease in a field – an insight that is valuable to know if you experienced heavy disease pressure in corn this season.

“Healthy soils do not prevent disease from moving into a field, but we do know healthy plants handle stress better than unhealthy plants,” Ferrie explains.

That fact was evident in Farm Journal corn fertility test plots in 2021 and again this season in Midwest farmers’ fields as Ferrie and his agronomic team helped corn growers deal with a toxic mixture of multiple diseases ranging from southern rust to northern corn leaf blight and tar spot.

“In some of our nitrogen (N) plots, an additional 30 pounds of N looked like a fungicide application when it came to keeping corn greener longer, packing more starch in before disease shut down the plants,” he recalls.

What Farmers Need To Consider For 2026
Soil tests done this fall can give farmers some indication of which fields could be at risk to any disease pressure that shows up next season. Ferrie offers several scenarios as examples:

“Low potash testing fields will have more trouble than fields where the potash is adequate. Fields that are acid and need limestone will be more susceptible to disease pressure,” he says.

“Fields that run out of nitrogen during grain fill are more susceptible to disease pressure. In our test plots where we pulled N rates back and disease was an issue (in 2021), some hybrids died a month early, knocking 30 to 50 bushels per acre out of the yield,” he adds.

Fungicides and good fertility levels will lessen the impact of a disease outbreak, but they will not eliminate it. “Therefore, we want to be careful pulling back too far on our fertility, especially in those fields that aren’t at the optimum levels to begin with,” Ferrie says.

Along with that recommendation, Farm Journal Field Agronomist Missy Bauer encourages growers to keep some level of nutrients in the field.

“So even if you put reduced rates of fertilizer on, keep soluble nutrients in front of your crop,” she advises.

Crop-Tech Consulting Field Agronomist Isaac Ferrie says to manage pH levels based on what soil tests show. Even small changes can have a significant impact on plants, nutrient availability and soil microbial activity.

“Keeping your pH in check will help keep other nutrients more available, so make sure your pH levels are in good shape and lime where needed,” he advises.

Your next read: 26 Ideas To Cut Fertilizer Costs In 2026

Breakthrough Fungicide Delivers White Mold Disease Control in Key Crops

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 20:08:40 GMT

BASF Zorina fungicide has received U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registration and is approved for 2026 use in soybeans, canola and dry beans, subject to state approvals.

For soybeans, Zorina is designed to provide specialized white mold control as well as foliar control of other key diseases, including frogeye leaf spot and septoria brown spot.

White mold (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) is consistently one of the most yield-limiting diseases across the Midwest and Northern Plains.

Yield losses can reach 80% in soybeans under severe disease pressure, according to Albre Brown, BASF technical marketing manager. She says U.S. soybean farmers experienced an estimated loss of more than 26.1 million bushels due to white mold in 2024 alone.

A Power-Packed Combination
Zorina fungicide combines the proven white mold performance of Endurafungicide with the long-lasting, broad-spectrum disease control of Revysol fungicide.

The active ingredient in Revysol is mefentrifluconazole, a triazole that’s classified as a Group 3 product. Endura contains the active ingredient boscalid and is classified as a carboxamide, a Group 7 product.

In combination, the two active ingredients are able to provide preventive and curative disease benefits in approved broadleaf row crops.

Application Timing Is Critical For Optimum Results
As pressure from white mold continues to rise in crops like soybeans, settling for disease suppression is not enough according to Brown. She says farmers must be proactive in preventing it from taking hold in their crops in the first place.

“A white mold fungicide application has to be timed appropriately, because the pathogen enters into the plant through the blooms,” she explains.

For optimal white mold control, Brown says to apply Zorina fungicide preventively at full bloom when soybean, dry bean and canola crops are most susceptible to infection by Sclerotinia ascospores: R2 growth stage in soybean and dry bean, and 30% to 50% bloom in canola.

The R2 application timing is earlier than what many soybean farmers are accustomed to targeting.

“Our traditional fungicide application timing for foliar diseases is at the R3 soybean growth stage, but that is after the pathogen entry time,” Brown says. “For white mold, you actually have to shift your application timing back to R2 to get that treated and targeted effect.”

She adds that a key benefit of using Zorina fungicide is farmers won’t need to make two foliar applications to address disease pressure.

“We formulated Zorina to have long-lasting residual activity. You’ll get the extended benefit of the residual activity that will carry through to control diseases like frogeye leaf spot and septoria brown spot,” Brown says.

She adds that some Midwest farmers have asked about going with a two-pass fungicide program, with the second one used as a plant health application. In that scenario for soybeans, Brown says farmers can apply Zorina at R2 and then come back between R4 and R6 with a product such as Veltyma fungicide.

“By R4 the plant is starting to be more robust, and it’ll be shifting into putting on biomass. That’s when we want to see that plant health application made to positively support growth and development,” Brown explains.

To learn more about Zorina fungicide, contact your local BASF representative or visit agriculture.basf.us .

Your next read: 8 Expert Tips for Choosing the Best Seed Corn for 2026

8 Expert Tips for Choosing the Best Seed Corn for 2026

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 16:07:55 GMT

Think of seed selection for next year as an opportunity for profit enhancement. With low commodity prices and higher input costs, identifying corn hybrids that are a good fit for your soil types and environmental conditions is more important than ever – and can give you a leg up on higher yields from the get-go next spring.

Here are eight top tips Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie offers that will help you in your seed corn selection process.

1. Put performance and yield performance above the price. Yes, seed corn is expensive, but focus on what the hybrid can deliver instead of how much cheaper one hybrid is over another and pencil out the potential ROI.

“If I ask a grower what hybrids he is going to plant and he reels off a list of maturity ranges, rather than specific hybrids or traits, I know he spent too much time looking for the best deal and too little time seeking the best performers,” Ferrie says.

2. Spread your risk. Midwest corn growers often plant their crop in five to seven days so don’t plant just one or two outstanding hybrids. That could create the unacceptable risk of all your corn pollinating at the same time and being subject to heat and other stresses that are present at that point.

“Not long ago, one hybrid had two big years, so growers planted a lot of it the following season,” Ferrie says. “Only then did they discover that the hybrid couldn’t handle 96°F temperatures during pollination and ear fill — it got kicked in the teeth on yield. That hybrid still won a lot of plots that year, but only in northern areas, where temperatures were cooler. If a disease problem had shown up, growers could have managed it by applying a fungicide; but you can’t manage against heat.”

3. Make new hybrids prove themselves. Don’t build your whole starting lineup for next season with hybrid rookies or one-hit wonders.

“Put a few of them on the bench, and keep them on a small number of acres until they prove their way,” Ferrie advises.

“Also, don’t throw out hybrids just because you’ve been told they’re old, and that the new kid is here to replace them. Keep those hybrids as long as they continue to perform, and make the new kids earn their way into the lineup through performance,” he adds.

Back to spreading risk — once your draft board is picked from multiple maturities, and are all-star performers, then group them into early- mid- and late-season hybrids so you have a large pool of hybrid candidates to choose from.

4. Use information from test plots. The purpose of test plots is to help guide your seed choices for next year. But you must know the right way to use the information.

“First, understand the difference between show plots and test plots,” Ferrie advises. “Don’t make your seed choices based only on show plots. Show plots have value in demonstrating higher-end genetics. But they are planted next to a road to show off hybrids in ideal conditions.

“Show plots may have received extra nitrogen and two fungicide applications. If you don’t sidedress nitrogen or apply fungicides on your own farm, show plot results may be meaningless to you.”

Study actual test plots that were planted with soil, climate and management practices similar to your own. Taking factors like these into account may add another 15 bu. or 20 bu. per acre, compared with picking hybrids based on general plot performance, Ferrie says.

Although test plots are valuable, it’s possible to rely on them too much, he cautions. “Weather makes hybrids shine,” he says. “Look at regional plot data over a period of years. It will tell you if a hybrid is not suited for your conditions, such as high temperatures.”

5. Make sure you are getting a mix of genetics. When analyzing test plot data, keep in mind that genetically identical hybrids may be marketed by several companies.

“I have seen growers plant the three or four top hybrids in local plots and then discover they all contained the same genetics, only from different companies,” Ferrie says. “That does not diversify risk.”

To avoid planting identical genetics from several companies, check the seed tags. Under the Federal Seed Act, companies are required to include the unique variety name (as opposed to the company’s brand name or number).

You also can ask your seedsman to help identify similar genetic lines sold by other companies. Or you can buy all your hybrids from one company.

6. Consider each field’s environment and match it to your hybrids. Look at each individual field and make a list of its strengths and weaknesses.

“We need to add players to the team that will help strengthen the weak areas in our present hybrid lineup,” Ferrie says. “In the process of truly identifying a field’s weaknesses and strengths, the farm management, operators, and the pest team must come together and compare notes.”

The reason to involve those various individuals or teams is because each one has a different perspective on what’s important and needed in a hybrid and in each specific field.

“Management may be looking at volume discounts or non-GMO contracts; whereas, the operating crew is looking at how tough it is to get corn up in a certain field or how quick it runs out of water in another. Likewise, the pest team may be concerned about diseases or resistant weeds that they are trying to control,” Ferrie explains.

7. Follow your plan and keep good records. “Often, I see growers lay out a nice plan, showing where each hybrid is going to go, based on soil conditions,” Ferrie says. “But in the stress of planting season, they fail to plant each hybrid where they intended.

“This leads to all kinds of unfavorable consequences. I’ve witnessed growers put a hybrid that resists deer damage next to a highway instead of next to their woods. Others plant herbicide-resistant hybrids where conventional hybrids were supposed to go, leading to misapplication of herbicides,” Ferrie says. “Losing track of which hybrids go where has caused some growers to plant their refuge hybrids without an insecticide.”
As you implement your plan, record keeping is critical.

“If planting conditions force you to deviate from your plan, be diligent in recording what you did. It will keep you from spraying a conventional hybrid with Roundup or Liberty herbicide or failing to apply an insecticide on conventional hybrids,” Ferrie says.

With newer planter monitors, you can build an as-applied map, showing what hybrid was planted in each field, on which date.
“If you have an older planter, you can record this information in a book in the tractor cab,” Ferrie says. “Some growers do both, in case they have a computer problem and lose some data.”

8. Make sure you utilize your best resource – your seedsman. Many farmers don’t use their seedsman enough, Ferrie contends.

He says there are a lot of good seedsmen out there, and they understand their products. Most have seen all of their hybrids under a variety of conditions and management styles, and they can relate that experience to your operation.

“Discuss your situation and your management techniques, such as your rotation, tillage and fertility program. Talk about your harvest schedule and things like how much wet corn you can handle,” he says.

Drill down and ask about hybrid strengths and weaknesses—like disease and insect resistance, drought tolerance, emergence and standability. “If you identify a top-yielding hybrid, ask your seedsman how you can farm out its weakness and manage around it,” Ferrie advises.

Darrell Smith contributed to this article.

Your next read: Manage Corn Yield Drag with Hybrid Selection

Ferrie: Why Your Corn Crop Could Be Drying Slowly This Fall

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 19:06:05 GMT

While some Illinois corn growers are heading into harvest early, others are telling Ken Ferrie their corn is drying slowly in the field – they’re seeing moisture levels drop only one point per week.

The rule of thumb historically is that mature corn that dies after reaching black layer will dry in the field at a rate of 0.5% to 1.0% per day in September, and then 0.25% to 0.5% per day in October, according to Iowa State University Extension .

Generally, it takes about 30 GDDs to lower grain moisture each point from 30% down to 25%. Drying from 25% to 20% percent requires about 45 GDDs per point of moisture, according to Peter Thomison, Ohio State University retired Extension state specialist for corn production.

But many agronomic factors come into play that influence dry down, including genetics, delayed planting, nutrient use, weather conditions — especially temperature, humidity, and rainfall — and disease issues.

Reaching Black Layer Prematurely Plays A Role

One reason for a slow drydown process in some fields is a result of the crop dying prematurely.

Premature corn death occurred in parts of the Midwest crop and for multiple reasons. In dry and droughty areas of Illinois, farmers saw high heat kill their corn crop prior to black layer. Likewise, Ferrie says many Iowa and Minnesota growers had corn that died before black layer due to southern rust and other disease pressure – even where the crop had adequate water.

“Corn that dies before black layer from dry weather, high heat or disease pressure can dry down slower,” says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist, in this week’s Boots In The Field podcast.

The damage caused by adverse weather or disease can cause the plants to reach physiological maturity (black layer) prematurely, leading to poor dry-down and higher grain moisture, according to Purdue University corn specialists in an online article.

“When it comes to corn that dies pre black layer, you are at the mercy of God’s corn dryer,” says Ferrie, who encourages farmers to keep checking corn moisture levels and stalk quality to determine when to start harvest.

He offers three additional recommendations:

1. Don’t forget to calibrate combine yield monitors. “We need good, calibrated maps for when we analyze this crop at your yield map meetings this winter,” Ferrie says. “What these maps will teach us is invaluable in helping us shape our plans going forward, especially for you guys that are on the high-res program.”

2. Stay on top of harvest losses. Dry crops will mean more header loss for both corn and beans. “The tip pullback we’re seeing in [central Illinois] corn means we’re going to have to work a little harder to get this stuff off the cob. So keep a close eye on your thrashing losses,” he says.

3. Be proactive with your soybean harvest. “If they’re testing but cutting tough, keep grinding them out at that higher moisture. Don’t let that get away from you,” Ferrie says. “If you can knock beans out of the pod and they’re testing, even though that combine’s groaning, keep going as these moistures drop.”

Ferrie gives an update on yields he’s seeing across Illinois in this week’s Boots In The Field podcast here:

5 Critical Insights From The Southern Rust Rampage In Midwest Corn

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 17:48:29 GMT

Northeast Iowa farmer Elliott Henderson sprayed a fungicide on part of his corn crop three times this season and nearly all of his crop twice, battling to break the chokehold of southern rust in his fields.

Henderson, who farms in Buchanan County, wasn’t alone in his struggle to contain the disease. Iowa State University (ISU) Extension estimates southern rust reached all 99 counties in the state.

Most corn growers were aware of the disease but hadn’t experienced the ruthless destruction it could cause.

For many, that changed this season.

The farmers Henderson routinely connects with are finding extreme yield losses now, as they start combining a corn crop that in many cases dried down and died prematurely. What occurred is common to southern rust – the disease pustules ruptured corn leaf surfaces, making it hard for plants to retain or regulate moisture.

“I made some calls around to see what guys are getting, and yields are down. I mean, we’re talking 30 to 60 bushels,” says Henderson. “We’re seeing guys with a 240-bushel APH, and they’re talking 180-bushel corn.”

An update on this field. The kernels are many but extremely small. The cob is almost rubbery. One ear doesn’t tell the full story, but this field did not handle southern rust well. #ISUCrops https://t.co/QDDtBWHa0r pic.twitter.com/fiYUboKN1E
— Meaghan Anderson (@mjanders1) September 12, 2025

Yield losses of up to 45% can occur from southern rust in severe cases, according to the Crop Protection Network (CPN).

Along with the yield loss, Iowa test weights are also taking a hit and could result in lower prices for growers. The official minimum test weight in the U.S. for No. 1 yellow corn is 56 lbs. per bushel and for No. 2 yellow corn is 54 lbs. per bushel, according to Purdue University Extension.

Henderson says he’s hearing farmers share test weight numbers well below those.

“We’re seeing lows in the 40s, some upper 40s, so it’s definitely being affected,” he says.

A Perfect Storm Of Disease Pressure
Plant health issues were the biggest challenge many corn growers in the Midwest encountered this season, Randy Dowdy contends.

“It was not a pollination issue. It was not a kernel development issue. We didn’t see the tight tassel wrap. It was disease pressure — that was by far the limiting factor for growers this year,” says Dowdy.

When he participated in the Pro Farmer Crop Tour in mid-August, Dowdy says he saw corn crops from Ohio to Iowa that were affected by multiple diseases. The four main ones were southern rust, gray leaf spot, northern corn leaf blight and tar spot — sometimes all four were on the same leaf in Iowa.

“Those growers that sprayed and stayed on it and understood that a fungicide couldn’t last but for 21 days at best, and made multiple applications, I think they’re going to reap the benefits,” says Dowdy in this week’s Breaking Barriers With R&D podcast.

You can watch this episode of the podcast on YouTube: Breaking Barriers with R&D: Late-Season Wins and Soil-First Strategies

The Crop Protection Network map shows where southern rust was confirmed in counties across the U.S. as of September 16. Notice how far north the disease traveled in Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

(CPN)

Both Dowdy and David Hula, business partners in Total Acre , lament that many Midwest growers didn’t take a cue from their southern brethren and spray fungicides multiple times this season.

“Industry, in general, says if you spray at VT or tassel time, you can get by with one time. That is mostly accurate under a normal weather year,” Hula says. “But this year [some Midwest states] just had that explosion of southern rust, so they were dealing with a disease that’s historically not been a problem. You just had the environment for it.”

With growers beginning to plan what to do next season, Dowdy and Hula spent some time this week considering how growers can build an effective agronomic management plan for 2026.

Here are five of their key takeaways:

1. Formalize a plan to address disease (and pests, too).

“You have to stay proactive with your scouting and be willing to go with earlier fungicide or multiple applications, depending on what shows up,” Hula says.

In the process of being prepared to make multiple applications, keep in mind that you might not need all of them. While tar spot overwinters in stubble, southern rust doesn’t. The latter might not be a severe problem next season, as it is blows in from warmer climes.

Dowdy believes the weather system bringing southern rust to the Midwest this season originated in the Delta.

2025 Colfax County Nebraska Crop Tour results: 12 dryland fields, 207.5 bu. 2nd highest yield on record (2021 was 214). Stands were slightly lower than expected. Tar Spot lighter than expected. Southern Rust probably will reduce this yield. #25croptour pic.twitter.com/72VZCFMdZQ
— Chris Clausen (@ChrisClausen34) September 11, 2025

“Let’s face it, the incubator for you was the fact that you were wet and then had high, nighttime temperatures. It was hot, and you had corn everywhere, and you had a perfect environment,” he says.

Henderson agrees, noting moisture at the wrong time and too much heat were factors.

“We had a lot of heat right after pollination into that blister stage. We were stacking GDUs up really fast on that early-planted corn,” he recalls. “I do think some of this later planted corn is probably going to have a better experience finishing out.”

2. Work with like-minded farmers, agronomists and industry experts.

Be aware of disease pressure that is around you or headed in your direction by tapping into a local agronomist or groups such as the Crop Protection Network, and stay abreast of what’s happening in other regions.

“Everybody here is on pins and needles about southern rust every season, and we are constantly getting feedback from county [Extension] agents and industry, who are pushing the information out to the farmer, because everybody is well aware of the ramifications of southern rust,” Dowdy says.

Henderson, who works with Dowdy and Hula via their Total Acre program, also has a network of farmers in Iowa that he connects with on a regular basis.

“It’s a network of dozens of us farmers that call each other, bounce ideas off each other,” he says. “The things we’re talking about are often time-sensitive. It can be a daily thing.”

3. Understand how to use fungicides for maximum ROI, if you have given them little consideration in the past.

“It’s all about coverage,” Dowdy says. “Drone applications can be fine, but no matter what you do, if a guy is spraying two to three gallons, and you compare it to a ground rig spraying 15 to 25 gallons, I mean, there’s just no comparison in that coverage.”

Another aspect of coverage, Hula adds, is making sure the fungicide gets into the plant canopy far enough to have the desired effect.

“Fungicides have a tendency to work from the leaf they’ve come in contact with and move up,” Hula says. “So, if you’re trying to protect at least that ear leaf – and I like to protect the leaf opposite and below the ear – you’ve got to get penetration with that product.”

For a drone application, Hula says growers might have to spend a couple extra dollars to get sufficient volume for the product to get down below the canopy.

“If that’s what needs to be done, let’s do it,” he encourages. “If I’m spending $30 or more an acre, then I want to at least have the success that I’m paying for.”

4. Use products labelled for the disease issue you face.

That sounds like a no brainer, but in the heat of battle the wrong product can get applied, or you can select a product that isn’t up to the task.

With a tough disease like southern rust or tar spot, using newer chemistries with more than one active ingredient is also a plus.

5. Stay with your crop throughout the season; don’t walk away.

Today’s corn genetics tend to have more back-end potential to add yield through kernel fill.

It’s a key reason to evaluate what a fungicide application can do for a crop that’s advanced into one of the later reproductive stages, say Hula and Dowdy.

Brian Herbek, who farms near DeWeese, Neb., has leaned into their advice the past few years.

“I found out a couple of years ago, there’s a lot of hidden yield out there that a lot of us leave on the table,” Herbek reports.

What he learned from Hula and Dowdy is corn has the genetic ability – some hybrids more so than others – to pack starch into its kernels late-season to create higher test weights.

He scouts corn late-season to decide where to make “the finishing pass,” an application of fungicide or nutrients or some combination of the two.

“It’s not for every field. I’ll tell everybody that right now, there are certain fields that don’t deserve that attention,” Herbek says. “But if you know what you’re looking for, and you have that potential, that application does makes sense, but you’ve really got to know what’s out in your field.”

Dowdy and Hula share additional thoughts on how farmers can improve next season’s corn crop in the face of disease pressure in the latest edition of their Breaking Barriers With R&D podcast on Farm Journal TV and YouTube .

More ideas and recommendations are available from the two corn yield champions on the Tuesday morning edition of AgriTalk with Host Chip Flory. Catch their discussion here:

Your next read: Farmer Finds A Silver Bullet For High Corn Yields

Focus On Stalk Quality To Maximize Harvest Results

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 18:36:33 GMT

As Caleb Hamer evaluated his corn last weekend, he says the crop looked like it flipped a switch and decided it was done growing for the season.

“Between the southern rust, some tar spot, and I think the heat, that’s all pushed stuff along. I think the corn shut down probably sooner than need be, which is slightly alarming,” says Hamer, who farms in northeast Iowa.

Severe foliar disease can weaken corn stalks.

Test stalks using the pinch test and prioritize harvest for that field if 10 percent or more stalk rot.

Ask local Extension for more info. @alisonrISU @DTelenko @MandyBish1 @maddishires @MartinChilvers1 @badgercropdoc @tjcksn… pic.twitter.com/qz24gae8aM
— Crop Protection Network (@CropNetwork) September 3, 2025

Farmers Adjust Corn Yield Expectations
Some combination of extreme disease pressure, moisture at the wrong times and too much heat are factors likely to pull some states’ corn yield averages down from USDA’s August 12 WASDE report, which made a record 188.8 bushels per acre average yield projection.

Hamer says he has already adjusted yield expectations for his corn crop.

“I kind of had us shooting for some sort of single digit percentage over last year, and last year was a really good crop in our area. Now I’m hoping we’ll be on par with last year, but I don’t think we’re going to beat it at this point,” Hamer told AgriTalk Host Chip Flory. “I think a lot of that’s related to how fast the crop matured in August, because you’d like it to be slow, not fast in August.”

1/ #Illinois crop progress and condition, for the week ending Sept. 7:

- #Corn condition: 53% good-to-excellent (down 2% from last week)
- Corn dented: 87% (up from 72%)
- Corn mature: 27% (up from 15%)
- Corn #harvested: 2%https://t.co/Sqv7OB25Ou pic.twitter.com/4wwFi9wIZF
— FarmPolicy (@FarmPolicy) September 9, 2025

The fast maturation underway means a lot of corn in the Midwest, especially in parts of Iowa and Illinois, had a more shallow kernel fill than desired which will result in lower yields, according to Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

“I still expect an average crop in Illinois, but not the bin buster we thought was possible early on this season,” he says.

Bloomberg's #corn and #soybeans crop production survey for the September WASDE report on Friday, 9/12. Corn yield estimated at 186.0 bpa and soybeans at 53.2 bpa. Good luck!!! pic.twitter.com/jbVnlt4v62
— HTS Commodities (@HTSCommodities) September 8, 2025

Make A Harvest Plan For Each Field
Ferrie says some central Illinois fields were caught in wind events last week and corn went down, and fields were also plagued by foliar disease pressure in much of the state.

Iowa fields have also been hit hard by foliar disease, especially southern rust, according to Alison Robertson, Iowa State University Extension field crops pathologist. What she says commonly happens is when severe leaf disease impacts corn plants, they remove carbohydrates from the stalk and roots in order to fill kernels in the ears.

“That leads to stalk rots, which leads to poor standability,” Robertson explains “If you have a field that has shut down, you will need to get into that field and harvest early.”

The severity of southern rust across Iowa this summer has Robertson thinking corn yield losses could reach up to 30% in those fields where no fungicide was applied. She discussed the issue on Monday with Chip Flory, host of AgriTalk. Listen to their discussion here:

Ferrie offers advice similar to Robertson’s. “Put these fields high on your harvest list to get corn out before the plants go down anymore and ear molds set in. Spend a little money on dryer gas and keep the harvest loss as low as possible,” he says.

Kentucky farmer Ryan Bivens says he is trying to stay positive despite seeing much of his corn crop die prematurely from a combination of foliar disease and too much heat.

“We’re probably 25%, 30% off our yield expectations, so it’s really tough out here,” says Bivens, who farms south of Louisville. “I’ve said all along, if we can come out of this year with 150- to 160-bushel yield, which is substantially lower than our APH, I think we better be happy.”

We’ve been shelling corn for a few days. Yields are 20% off last year across the board. pic.twitter.com/tXRCw9vZpc
— Eric Schwenke (@erschwenke) September 8, 2025

As farmers evaluate and prioritize fields for harvest, Missy Bauer recommends three steps that can help you in the process:

1. Split stalks open to gauge stalk health.
“When you split stalks open this time of the year, we should still see some integrity down in these stalks,” says Bauer, Farm Journal Field Agronomist. “If the stalk is cannibalized, and has a Styrofoam appearance, there’s little to no integrity left in the stalks.”

2. Do the pinch test. Pinch the stalk at one of the lowest two internodes with your thumb and fingers. If the pressure causes the stalk to collapse, it fails the pinch test, and that field needs to be toward the top of your harvest calendar.

3. Try the push test.
Another way to evaluate stalk integrity is with the push test. “You grab the plant right about the height of the ear, and extend the stalk over toward the other row a full arm length,” says Bauer.

If the stalk snaps off, or stays leaning over, then you know you have a greater potential for down corn in that field. Again, move that field toward the top of your harvest list.

For your planning purposes, here’s a summary of harvest considerations from Pioneer:

When prioritizing fields for harvest:
· Estimate corn yield. The Pioneer Corn Yield Estimator or the Yield Estimator in the Granular Mobile app provides quick, in-field yield estimates

Manually estimating corn yield:
· Measure one one-thousandth of an acre
· Count harvestable ears
· Determine average kernels per row (avoid tip kernels)
· Count kernel rows per ear
· Calculate: Estimated yield (bu/ac) = (ears × kernel rows × kernels per row)/90 — Example: (32×16×28)/90 ≈ 159 bu/ac

Assess stalk strength:
· Scout 2–3 weeks before harvest and use the push test; harvest weaker fields first to reduce lodging risk
· Check ear molds and calibrate monitors
· Watch for mold issues, especially in corn-on-corn or high-population fields

Calibrate yield monitors and re-check periodically during harvest.

Identify disease, insect and weather stress:
· Flag stressed fields and move them up in the harvest sequence

Operational tips:
· Consider starting at 20–25% grain moisture to spread workload and reduce field and standability risk
· After harvest, review the season’s performance to inform next season’s hybrid selection

Your next read: Corn Market Resilience Continues

5 Yield-Saving Combine Adjustments For Touch-And-Go Fall Harvest

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 18:15:53 GMT

As if 2025 hasn’t thrown farmers enough curveballs for one growing season, corn harvest in the Midwest is setting up to be a tricky affair as well.

Iowa State Extension digital agriculture specialist Doug Houser says it’s been “a long time” since he’s witnessed a corn crop set farmers up for such a difficult harvest season.

The reason for Houser’s concern heading into fall harvest is the remarkable levels of disease pressure that scouts and farmers have noted in corn fields across the country.

He says farmers need to get out and scout fields with a drone (if they have a Part 107 pilot’s certification) so they can get a full picture of just how much disease has taken hold, and then prioritize the fields where they need to get the crop off to avoid fallen plants or additional yield loss.

Moisture variability within fields is also something Houser is worried could trip up some harvester crews this fall.

“I see a lot of fields that have corn and it’s dry, and then in other parts of the field it’s wet,” he says. “It might be a situation where we have to go one way and pick again. I’m not trying to throw the scare tactics out there, but we just have to get prepared for this harvest.”

Houser has five combine settings adjustments he advises farmers to dial in each time they start harvesting a new field:

Rotor/Cylinder Speed: Many fields will require a reduction in combine rotor speed to minimize harvest losses , he says. The moisture swings within individual fields will mean varying kernel test weights, and higher-moisture kernels that are soft will be prone to cracking.
Concave Settings: Houser thinks it might be prudent this year to set your concaves a little wider than you normally would, because soft, high-moisture kernels will often crack more easily with narrow concave spacings.
Fan Settings: Houser says to be very diligent here making your adjustments, because the lighter test weight kernels will want to float backward. You might have to visually inspect the rear of the combine to ensure you’re not throwing kernels out the back end with your residue spreader.
Sieve and Chafer: Start with a wider sieve opening and adjust down from there. The higher moisture, disease-ridden corn leaves have a tendency to gum up and plug up the sieve.
Ground Speed: This is a recommendation a lot of farmers won’t be too happy to heed, but harvesting at slower speeds this fall can help reduce losses. Southern rust and other foliar corn diseases often lead to weak stalks, which increases your risk of lodging.

“I keep saying it, but it’s so important to prioritize those fields [with high disease pressure]. Get those off as soon as you can,” Houser says. “The fields where we’re seeing stalk deterioration, we want to make sure we get those off in a timely manner. I know a lot of producers will say ‘Well, yeah, but Doug, [what about] the drying costs?’ My answer there would be if we don’t get it into the bin in the first place, that’s not going to help either.”

Corn Ear Drop Before Black Layer Signals Yield Loss Is Ahead

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 19:52:18 GMT

A cute bassett hound with droopy ears might be endearing, but corn hybrids with drooping ears before black layer are a dog of a different kind and costly.

“I saw too many corn ears hanging down in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois fields, and man, that is a hybrid failure in my opinion,” says Randy Dowdy of his experience evaluating corn crops on the eastern leg of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour in late August.

He ponders that, perhaps, a genetic attribute in some hybrids helps counterbalance long ear shank weakness, such as drought tolerance or disease resistance.

“There’s likely some characteristic that got that hybrid advanced to be part of the [company’s] production lineup,” Dowdy tells David Hula during their recent Breaking Barriers With R&D podcast.

“The seed companies are aware there is no perfect hybrid for every year, for every occasion, in every environment. It doesn’t exist,” Dowdy adds.

There can be several contributing factors beyond genetics that cause early drooping of ears, including drought stress, high temperatures, poor root development and planting population, according to Aaron Nygren and Jenny Brhel, University of Nebraska Extension educators.

Keep Nutrients Flowing To The Ears
Dowdy likens the problem of drooping corn ears to getting a kink in a garden hose you’re depending on to deliver water to garden vegetables. When a kink occurs, the water can’t move through the hose and get delivered to the plants. The same scenario exists when corn ears drop prior to black layer.

“You need all the starch, all the sugars, all the nutrients that you can possibly muster to drive yield, and if that ear shank is getting long, then that’s a problem,” he says. “No. 1, you didn’t maximize the weight of the ear, then you can lose it to wind or in the harvesting process — just because the long shank made the ear vulnerable.”

Many farmers associate drooping corn ears with crop maturity and drydown. Those are OK things to see in the field but only after black layer and just prior to harvest, notes Hula.

“We do want those ears to come off the stalk really easy, just not before we pick it or if a wind event goes through,” he says.

Check Hybrids In Preparation For 2026
If corn ears droop prematurely or fall to the ground during the harvesting process, growers are leaving yield – and money – in the field.

The timing of the onset of droopy ears determines the magnitude of the expected yield loss, according to Bob Nielsen, Purdue University professor emeritus and former Extension corn specialist, in an online article.

If grain fill is totally shut down at the full dent stage of grain development (milk line barely visible at dent of kernels), the yield loss can be as much as 40%, he writes in an online article . If grain fill is totally shut down at the late dent stage of grain development (milk line halfway between dent and tip), Nielsen says yield losses for the affected ears can equal about 12%.

One of Dowdy’s concerns is how prevalent droopy, long-shanked ears were in the corn crops he evaluated while on the Pro Farmer Crop Tour. “I saw it in probably 50% of the fields I was in,” he says.

“I told all the scouts on [my leg of the] tour, ‘I hope you will never be able to unsee this problem. I want you to go out and be looking for this as part your yield assessments from now on,’” Dowdy adds. “After I said that, man, I had pictures being sent to me left and right and people coming back to me saying, ‘Man, I had no idea this is a problem.’”

Because each leg of the tour went through at least four states, Dowdy believes the issue of long shanks is probably in a range of hybrids. He encourages growers to look for the issue now, as they start evaluating and selecting seed corn for next season.

“Go look at some of these variety plots and strip trials that the seed companies are doing and see if some of those hybrids are having this problem. Maybe avoid them next year,” Dowdy advises. “You don’t want to be the one buying that hybrid, in my opinion, even if it is the highest yielder in the field. I just don’t see a win with that longer shank. It’s just too risky in my mind.”

David Hula talks with Chip Flory on AgriTalk about how the use of fungicides this season preserved corn yields for many growers. You can listen here:

You can watch this episode of Breaking Barriers With R&D on YouTube.

Your next read: Four Pro Tips To Help You Harvest More Soybeans

Is the U.S. Corn and Soybean Crop Getting Smaller?

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 15:16:51 GMT

From disease to drought, this 2025 crop has been thrown a curve ball late in the season. It’s also pushing the crop to maturity quicker. And with USDA projecting currently projecting a record yield and crop, many analysts say the U.S. crop is likely going backwards in terms of yield, but that doesn’t necessarily mean USDA will cut yield projections next month.

USDA’s August crop production report showed a record-high 2025/26 U.S. corn yield projection of 188.8 bu. per acre and a record-high soybean yield estimate at 53.6 bushels per acre.

But as AgWeb reported earlier this week , southern rust could take a big bite out of the U.S. corn crop this year. The disease is causing turmoil for farmers who have a large crop in the making. In some cases, a Hail Mary fungicide application at R4 up to early dent (R5) might make sense this season, say agronomists. But in severe cases, the disease can wipe out 45% of the yield potential in a field, according to the Crop Protection Network (CPN) .

A map of counties where Southern Rust has been confirmed or reported in 2025.

(CPN )

Add to that fresh concerns about drought, as the latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows drought is now covering 33% of the country. When it comes to agriculture, 5% of the corn crop is now considered in drought, 11% of the soybean crop and 30% of the cotton crop.

USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey authored the Monitor this week, saying the drought picture has drastically changed over the past month.

“We’re seeing rapid expansion flash drought across the mid-south, lower Midwest into the Northeast,” Rippey says. “All of this drought has come on in just the last few weeks. At the end of July, we were virtually drought free in the Midwest, so to see these yellows and tans starting to light up, that is reflective of the overall dryness. Of course, it’s a different story in the West where we’ve got drought really deeply entrenched. But from the big picture here, a lot of focus on those developing drought areas from the mid-South into the northeast.”

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows how the dry August is impacting the drought picture across the country.

(U.S. Drought Monitor )

Rippey says as the taps turned off for some areas, some portions of the Eastern Corn Belt are seeing their driest August on record. He says that dryness is extending westward into parts of the southern and eastern Corn Belt.

“Agriculturally, all eyes are on the Northern Mississippi Delta into the Ohio Valley and the southern Corn Belt. A lot of those areas are receiving less than half of the normal rainfall during the month of August. A few areas have less than 25% of normal,” Rippey says. “And with those taps turning off, that is depleting topsoil moisture. We’re going to have to wait and see with crop production in September to see how the crops have handled this late dryness.”

The map showing the percent of normal precipitation proves areas of the Corn Belt, West and Northeast have turned off dry to end the summer.

(Brad Rippey, USDA)

Rippey says, on a positive note, temperatures have remained mild. So, even though the moisture has been sparse or absent, at least temperatures didn’t amplify the situation. But a dry August is still a concern.

Impact on Yield
Peter Meyer, who helped lead Pro Farmer Crop Tour in the east last week, says with the amount of dryness that’s entered the picture —and the fact that disease has exploded in many Midwest fields over the past week — he thinks the crop is getting smaller, not bigger. But that’s something that likely won’t show up until USDA factors in test weight, which will be the October report.

“I think the crop has gone backward since [Pro Farmer] Crop Tour,” Meyer says. “When I start to look at some of these numbers for the month of August, it was extremely dry in many, many areas. We’re talking the top 10 or 15 dry years out of the last 150, 160 years. So, that’s why the crop ran out of gas. It had a lot of moisture. The heat was there. It pushed a crop further and faster. I think we have an issue.”

Meyer says based on those factors, he’s dropped his yield estimate from the 183 bu. per acre he personally projected during Crop Tour last week.

“But I’m still not below 180 [bu. per acre]. I think we’re going to have an early harvest, and I think we’re going to have an earlier harvest in beans, too. That’s represents a problem here as far as the market is concerned.”

“It definitely feels like it’s going backward,” said Jim McCormick with AgMarket.net on U.S. Farm Report. “When we talk to our clients, which we have some all across the country, they are really concerned about it. Probably a little bit more in the east and the west where we’ve seen some of the driest conditions in 130 years in parts of Ohio. Is it a disaster? No, but it’s definitely taking the top end off the crop.”

Dan Basse, who’s AgResource Company’s president and founder, agrees the U.S. corn and soybean crops could be losing yield, but he warns that it may not be a dramatic cut.

“I think its going backward, but maybe not to the degree that the farmer would like,” Basse said on U.S. Farm Report. “We dropped our yield estimate from 189.2 to 187.1 [bu. per acre]. So, we’re down a skosh from USDA, but this is still a big crop. And some of the early deal data we’re getting out of Kentucky, Missouri and Kansas is above what expectations were. When you think about this crop, southern rust is a bad disease if you get it into blister or early milk stage. But when it happens at dent, you’re looking at yield losses of zero to 4%. So, let’s hope that farmers applied one application of fungicide and that kept them until the crop got in the dent. I’m hoping that’s going to limit yield losses going forward.”

USDA’s next yield revision could come Sept. 12. That’s when the agency is slated to release its latest crop production report. But if you look at USDA’s methodology in September, which is to factor in ear counts and pod counts, Basse thinks USDA could potentially raise its yield estimate next month.

“I think, in general, they tend to grow a little bit bigger,” McCormick says of USDA’s historical pattern of yield estimates from August to September. “I mean, look at last year’s analog year. The crop was big in August, it got bigger in September, then again in October before they started revising it down. It would not be a surprise that they will go bigger, but there’s gonna be a lot of pushback, like Dan said, from the disease pressure. There’s going to be a wide range on the estimate for the September WASDE when it’s all said.”

Basse adds: “I wouldn’t be surprised if USDA raises yield next month. Even on the Pro Farmer Crop Tour, it showed us record ear counts and record pod counts. Those are the two most important ingredients for the September report. Now, in October, we’ll have more to know about pod weights and ear weights. But for September, I’m kind of expecting USDA is going to be a few bushels, if you will, from the August estimate. It’s the October report that will determine how big is big.”

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Fall NH3 Emphasis Set the Stage For Ugly Corn Syndrome

How Big Is the Yield Risk?

Inches That Matter: Banding and Carbon Penalty Rates

Don’t Let The Neighbor Decide When You Roll

Are You Planting Second-Year Soybeans And Skipping Corn?

More Second-Year Soybeans In U.S. Farmers’ Plans

Look Before You Leap: The Ferrie Checklist

The Continuous Soybean Playbook

When Weird Corn Ears Wreck the Bottom Line

Strategic Management Levers

Put More Spray Where It Pays

Drift Control Is Only Part Of The Benefit From DRAs

The ROI Of Improved Product Applications

Unmask the 'Party' in Your Corn Crop

1. Evaluate Corn Hybrid Disease Ratings

2. Manage Early-Season Stress

3. Set Realistic Expectations for Fungicides

4. Scout Early And Bring A Shovel

5. Document And Share Your Findings

First Case of Avian Flu Detected in Wisconsin Dairy Herd

Iowa Farmer Battles Today's Pests While Eyeing Tomorrow's 'Mean Sixteen' Threats

Living Sensors Turn Soybeans into Fungal Disease Detectives

3 Corn Disease Lessons You Should Apply in 2026

Here You Find Disease, There You Don’t

Go Low for Rust and Tar Spot

Your Pest Management Team

Southern Rust Delivers A Harsh Wake-Up Call For Disease Control

Red Crown Rot Rising: What Every Soybean Grower Needs to Know For 2026

Corn Yield Champions Share Their Top 4 Hybrid Selection Strategies

New Seed Treatments Available For Soybeans, Cotton & Cereals

Unpacking the Disappointment: 5 Reasons Some Iowa Growers Had Ho-Hum Corn Yields

Can Good Fertility Levels Reduce The Need For Fungicides?

Breakthrough Fungicide Delivers White Mold Disease Control in Key Crops

8 Expert Tips for Choosing the Best Seed Corn for 2026

Ferrie: Why Your Corn Crop Could Be Drying Slowly This Fall

5 Critical Insights From The Southern Rust Rampage In Midwest Corn

Focus On Stalk Quality To Maximize Harvest Results

5 Yield-Saving Combine Adjustments For Touch-And-Go Fall Harvest

More harvest machinery content:

Corn Ear Drop Before Black Layer Signals Yield Loss Is Ahead

Is the U.S. Corn and Soybean Crop Getting Smaller?