Illinois

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.

Solving The Sulfur Shortage In High-Yield Soybean Systems

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 16:45:27 GMT

As more farmers push to plant soybeans early, one nutrient is emerging as a valuable difference-maker in the crop: sulfur. The macronutrient is helping deliver some of the largest yield responses Shaun Casteel says he has seen in recent field trials.

“Never would you think you’d see double-digit results, let alone 20-bushel numbers in soybean yield from one treatment,” says Casteel, Purdue University agronomist and Extension soybean specialist.

Yet that’s exactly what he has documented in some Indiana fields where supplemental sulfur was applied, especially in early planted soybean fields.

Why Sulfur Matters More Now

Sulfur is required by all crops, but Casteel says soybean needs are unique compared with grass crops like corn. In soybeans, sulfur is critical as a co-factor for nodulation, the biological process that allows soybean plants to use atmospheric nitrogen (N).

“If we don’t have good sulfur supply, we don’t have good nodulation and fixation,” Casteel explains. “If you’re sold short on nitrogen in soybeans, you’re sold short on yield in a major way.”

Historically, sulfur came “free” from the atmosphere and also from mineralization of organic matter in the soil. Cleaner air regulations have reduced atmospheric deposition, and Casteel says many farmers are starting to see sulfur shortages that weren’t obvious just as recently as a decade ago.

Historically, sulfur was readily available to soybeans via atmospheric deposition (acid rain) from industrial emissions, providing 10 to 30 lbs./acre annually. Due to the 1970 Clean Air Act reducing emissions by over 95%, this “free” source has disappeared, making sulfur supplementation essential to prevent deficiencies, especially on sandy soils, according to University Extension.

(Shaun Casteel)

The classic high-response situations for sulfur — coarse-textured, sandy soils with less than 2% organic matter — still stand out. But Casteel’s work is showing the story for sulfur doesn’t end there.

“I also have fields that are flat and black as a table, with 4% organic matter, where we’re getting sizable yield differences,” he says.

Early Planting Amplifies Sulfur Response

Casteel links some of the most dramatic sulfur responses to a broader trend across the country: earlier soybean planting.

In Indiana, planting patterns have shifted sharply in recent years. Soybeans that once went in the ground two weeks after corn are now being planted within a day or two of corn — and in many cases, are planted first.

Early planting improves yield potential by giving soybeans more time to develop nodes and reproductive branches. But it can also expose a weakness in the natural sulfur supply.

For those farmers chasing higher yielding soybeans, Shaun Casteel believes the use of supplemental sulfur deserves more consideration.

(Shaun Casteel)

Casteel points out that mineralization of sulfur from soil organic matter depends on microbial activity and warm temperatures. When soybeans are planted in late April or early May, Indiana soils – as week as soils in other states – are often too cool for the microbes to release much sulfur.

“In those cooler conditions, that mineralization really isn’t occurring,” he says.

Across multiple studies where planting date was combined with sulfur use, Casteel has seen consistently stronger responses in early-planted soybeans.

“We’ve got years that we’re averaging an 8- to 11-bushel response on prairie soil,” he says. In these trials, sulfur was (e.g., ammonium sulfate, pelletized gypsum, ammonium thiosulfate) applied pre at 20 pounds per acre during a 5-year period.

Beyond Fertility: A Surprising Disease Connection

Sulfur’s role may extend beyond delivering nutrition and helping fix nitrogen in soybeans. Casteel and his research team are seeing signs that sulfur helps reduce the severity of sudden death syndrome (SDS) in soybeans.

In a 2023 soybean trial, as Casteel began rating symptoms of SDS, he noticed a clear difference between sulfur-treated and untreated strips.

“We had good conditions for SDS development — cool, wet conditions during early vegetative growth. We had a marked, substantial reduction in SDS in those areas that had the sulfur treatment,” he recalls.

The unexpected result prompted a deeper look in 2024, when Casteel worked with Plant Pathologist Darcy Telenko on trials that combined planting dates, sulfur rates and SDS inoculation. Early data from those studies pointed in the same direction: soybeans receiving sulfur showed reduced disease expression.

“Beyond the fertility effect, beyond the fixation-boosting capacity that comes with this, there is evidence that we have some disease control or suppression,” Casteel says, cautioning that the results are still based on only a few years of data.

“If you really think about it, the first fungicides on the market 100 years ago were sulfur-based, so it’s not too surprising that we might be seeing something here,” he adds.

Big Upsides Where Sulfur Use Fills The Gap

Casteel is careful to note that the sulfur response in soybeans is often site-specific. Classic sandy soils and low-organic-matter fields are prime candidates for the nutrient. But his work suggests that even high-organic-matter fields can show strong gains when sulfur is limiting.

(Shaun Casteel)

That variability doesn’t dampen his enthusiasm. Instead, he sees sulfur as a high-upside tool for intensive soybean managers who already have the basics — variety selection, disease packages, and timely planting — under control.

“It’s fun to have treatments out there that are providing hope and promise,” Casteel says. “We’re seeing numbers with sulfur that really move the needle.”

With earlier planting becoming the norm and biological sulfur supply under pressure, Casteel expects interest in using Sulfur to keep growing. For those growers chasing 100-bushel soybeans, especially, he believes sulfur deserves more consideration as they develop fertility plans.

“If you have not explored sulfur on your soybean crops, I suggest applying strips of S fertilizer that is soluble (e.g., ammonium sulfate, pelletized gypsum, ammonium thiosulfate) between 15- to 25-pounds of S per acre to determine if you have fields or production practices that are responsive to boosting nodulation and N fixation,” he recommends. “Applications can be applied mid-March through planting with higher rates the earlier you apply the S fertilizer.”

More information on Casteel’s research results with sulfur in soybeans is available here .

Why Soybeans Don't Need A Perfect Stand To Deliver High Yields

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 20:00:12 GMT

Soybeans are built to “improvise, adapt and overcome,” says Purdue Extension soybean specialist Shaun Casteel. But whether they can actually do that in your fields early in the season depends heavily on a few management decisions you control.

Here are three takeaways from Casteel’s recent presentation at the 2026 Illinois Soybean Field Advisor Forum that focus on his planting and replanting recommendations.

1. Before You Plant, Check The Forecast For The Following 24 Hours

Many farmers aim for the “50°F soil temp” rule when heading to fields to plant and, while that’s on track, Casteel thinks that’s only half right.

“Soybeans can germinate at [temperatures] as low as 36 to 43 degrees,” he said. “But it’s not necessarily soil temperature [we’re concerned about], even though that’s what we’re measuring, it’s the water temperature.”

A soybean seed must absorb (imbibe) approximately 50% of its own dry weight in moisture for germination to start. But if it absorbs cold water, the seed can be injured, resulting in damaged cell membranes, reduced germination, and dead or weak seedlings.

Casteel’s recommendation: if a cold front with rain is headed your way and likely to occur in the next 12 to 24 hours, hold off on planting, even if the soil temperature looks OK or you feel the calendar is pushing you to plant.

He adds that the time to soybean germination and emergence is related to heat unit accumulation (GDDs), noting there “is >50% emergence after 140 to 160 air GDDs.”

2. Aim for 1.5" Planting Depth and Good Seed-to-Soil Contact
Planting depth is important for soybeans’ ability to emerge well, and it also plays a big role in setting up root hair growth, nodulation and the plants’ access to nutrients.

“If you don’t have good root hair development, guess what? You don’t have good nodulation, you don’t have a good nitrogen supply. Kiss those high yields goodbye,” Casteel says.

As a rule of thumb for planting, he recommends farmers place soybean seed at 1.5” deep with a variance of between 1.25” to 1.75” depending on soil moisture and residue.

He advises against chasing moisture too deep, like you might if planting corn, as soybeans don’t handle deeper planting well. What happens if you plant too deep? Casteel says there are commonly three results:

1) The hypocotyl has to pull cotyledons farther to reach the surface. 2) That extra distance costs time and energy, so emergence is slower and less uniform. 3) In cool or crust-prone soils, deep-planted beans are more likely to stall or die before they break through the soil surface.

3. Don’t Be In A Hurry To Replant Soybeans. Evaluate Your Stand Thoroughly First.

Casteel urges farmers to be more cautious about replanting soybeans. His own line in the sand is around 70,000 plants per acre. At or above that level, with healthy, evenly distributed plants, his data shows soybeans usually deliver about 95% of full yield potential, making a replant hard to justify. He also notes that stands in the 66,000 to 100,000 range often end up with very similar yield results.

The reason is soybeans will compensate. In delayed-emergence and overseeding studies, Casteel says he found that when part of the stand emerged late, the original plants simply “branched more and produced a larger share of the yield.”

In one scenario he evaluated, the original plants contributed 60% of the yield and the late-emerging plants 40%, yet the total yield matched a uniform stand. In a V2-type “replant” timing, roughly 95% of yield still came from the original soybean plants and only 5% from the later ones.

Because of that, Casteel says most soybean replants at V2 are “just making us feel good rather than making us more money.” Once plants are established and starting to branch, overseeding or tearing them up rarely changes the final bushels much, but it does add cost and risk.

Where he says a “full reset” is likely needed is when stands are around 50,000 to 60,000 plants per acre and it’s still roughly the first week of May—before the original plants have much node development or branching. Outside of that scenario, his research and experience say the better decision is usually to leave the stand alone and let soybeans compensate.

If you can manage that, Casteel contends soybeans will usually do what they’re designed to do: “They can improvise, adapt and overcome. It’s our job not to get in the way,” he says.

Hear Casteel’s complete presentation at the Field Advisor Forum on YouTube here . Be sure to check out what he says about managing corn residue after the 2026 harvest, so it doesn’t negatively impact your soybean crop the following year.

It’s Time For Next Gen Farmers To Adjust Their Game Plan

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 14:16:33 GMT

It’s time to write a new playbook for the next generation of row crop farmers looking to expand their businesses. Economics show expansion isn’t possible by being a high cash renter.

This is according to University of Illinois economists Gary Schnitkey and Nick Paulson, who say the current plateau projected for commodity prices ($4 corn and $10.50 soybeans) is out of line with input costs. This is particularly punctuated by cash rent trends (Illinois 2025 average is $264/acre).

High Cash Rents Equals Negative Margins

While in the past a successful strategy could be to optimize row crop operations by expanding acres with cash rent, the economists say those acres now experience some of the worst margins, and therefore have completely undercut that a strategy.

“Since 2022, we saw cash rents and non-land costs go up,” Schnitkey explained on a recent webinar hosted by the Illinois Soybean Association. “We don’t expect to see much more moderation in costs for the next year or the year after. Break evens in this situation are above what the market is offering.”

While ad hoc farmer payments are helping with some operating costs, the economists say they aren’t enough to make up the difference in production costs.

“A combination of lower prices and higher costs have pushed us into a very low return period,” Schnitkey says. “When we do budgets for ’26, we come up with a return of -$17/acre.”

The economic projections specific for rented acres are even worse.

While recognizing averages don’t represent any one individual farm, Nick Paulson says analyzing the average cash rents do provide important and useful trend data.

With statewide averages for Illinois, Indiana and Iowa reporting at $264, $227 and $274/acre, respectively, Paulson says those have steadily risen since 2020.
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The economists observe there’s not enough returns on corn and soybean production to provide both the landowner and the farmer with historical normal returns. Paulson adds there’s pressure for lower cash rents, but so far, most have only reported small adjustments. While there have been a few dollars shaved off the averages from ’24 to ’25, he says, from a farmers’ perspective, those need to decline even greater.

“If we bid above average cash rents, we’re just burning cash quicker,” Paulson says.

Looking at the University of Illinois crop budgets for 2026, Paulson reports on a 50% corn/50% soybean farm in central Illinois, the average margin on rented acres is -$32/acre.

“We’ve seen farmers, particularly family farms, since the 1990s expand their farming operations by renting more ground, especially as a way to bring back more family to the farm and gain efficiencies with machinery over more acres,” Paulson says. “It’s been a strategy to rent land and use the resources built up on that rented ground to build the land base. It’s a much more challenging and infeasible strategy compared to what that strategy has done in the past.”

Take a Hard Look At All Rented Acres

While University of Illinois data points to a long-term average of $100/acre return for 50/50 corn and soybean farms in central Illinois, the current cash rent figures paint a stark contrast. As such, he says farmers should evaluate rental decisions selectively.

(University of Illinois)

“It’s not even close to the $100 average,” Paulson says. “For the foreseeable future, that’s likely to be the case. We don’t see prices increasing. Costs are coming down slowly. I don’t know where farmers can find the difference anywhere in their production budget. And particularly, this will effect younger farmers. They can’t pay to farm those acres.”

Established farmers may have an advantage as low-debt owned farmland may be subsidizing rental farmland. Owned farmland, in the U of I 2026 crop budget, shows a positive return.

“For those established farms with a stable land base, it’s time to look at the cash rented parcels and ask why. It’s tough to let a farm go. You don’t know when an opportunity arises in the future under more profitable circumstances. That’s a tough trigger to pull. Given the size of the red numbers we’re looking at, it’s a question we need to seriously ask ourselves,” Schnitckey says.

New Strategy

Paulson says a strategy for next gen farmer revenue growth can come from two areas — generating revenue from on-farm businesses or off-farm income.

“We’ve got two problems. We don’t know when the high income years from farming will happen again — it could be next week or 10 years from now,” Paulson says. “And the other problem is, in the meantime, chances for profitability are extremely low.”

When reviewing data from Illinois Farm Business Farm Management participants, Schnitckey says it’s important to look at income versus living costs.

“Non-farm income is much more stable than net farm income over time,” he says. “And today, non-farm income is a significant part of funding sources for the farm operation — it’s probably growing in significance.”

Specific to 2024 data, living expenses exceeded net farm income. And while not the first time that imbalance has been seen, it’s important to note how that erodes equity on grain farms.

(University of Illinois)

Additionally, younger farmers are challenged in these times because they are less likely to have assets accumulated, and it’s harder in current conditions to acquire assets.

“Ideally, what you want is a household to have a six-figure off-farm family income — with health benefits,” Schnitckey says. “And have other farm businesses that generate cash. If you can farm, you have business skills and entrepreneurial skills to take advantage of.”

Examples shared by the economists of on-farm alternative enterprises include:

Decommoditizing commodity production (for example, organic or non-GMO), specialty grains, food grade, etc.
Direct to consumer/branded products
Seed sales
Custom farming

No More Waiting: Operator-Free Grain Cart System Improves Harvest Efficiency

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 15:48:39 GMT

At first blush, the benefits promised by new autonomous retrofit grain cart system, OutRun, seemed too good to be true to Ken Ferrie and his agronomic team.

The system, now commercially available, promises to help farmers increase harvest efficiencies while reducing labor needs in the process.

Ferrie and team’s skepticism quickly turned to appreciation as they put the system to work harvesting large-scale Farm Journal Test Plots in central Illinois.

“Once it’s in the field, it’s kind of like a dog with a shock collar,” says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist. “It can’t leave the field, meaning that there’s a GPS fence around that field that keeps it from leaving that defined area.”

OutRun, developed by PTx Trimble (formed by AGCO and Trimble), enables a tractor and auger cart to team up and move autonomously to catch a combine on the go.

The system uses Starlink connectivity and PTx Trimble location technology, while the combine’s guidance and steering system remains unchanged. Field boundaries loaded into the OutRun system keep the cart/tractor team where it needs to be.

Less Manpower Potentially Required
Nebraska farmer Geoffrey Ruth says he is pumped about the practicality and ease-of-use of driverless grain cart automation. The opportunity to reduce manpower needs or redeploy a worker is especially appealing.

“We’re usually pretty short on labor at harvest time, so we’re looking to purchase one outright and take that operator and throw them in a semi to haul grain,” Ruth says in this recent article by Farm Journal’s Matthew Grassi: Smart Harvest: How One Farmer Is Hitting Harvest Windows, Helping Others With Grain Cart Tech

As Ruth and Ferrie quickly learned, the grain cart can be staged or called for unloading without the need for another driver.

Once full, the combine operator can then send the grain cart to a predefined truck unload zone for unloading. An operator is still needed, however, to unload the cart into a truck.

“Once you get a full tank, you call for the cart, and the cart will pull up beside the combine and unload on the go for you, or you could stage it at the end, so it’s waiting for you when you get there,” says Ferrie, whose agronomic team at Crop-Tech Consulting are running the system.

The truck driver can then disengage the cart, fill the truck and then reengage the cart so the combine operator can take control of the system again.

“Your combine operator can put the cart anywhere he wants it to go,” Ferrie says. “If you’ve got tile holes, terraces, or other places in the field you don’t want that cart to go, the combine operator can draw those areas on the screen and tell it, ‘these are no-go areas,’ so it doesn’t get itself into trouble.”

Ruth adds that the system also knows where the farmer already cut corn and will use that area as a path instead of mowing over crops that haven’t been harvested yet. It’s similar to how a drone already knows the safe path home when the pilot hits return to home on the controller.

OutRun is currently available for model year 2014 or newer John Deere 8R tractors with Infinitely Variable Transmission (IVT) and will be commercially available on Fendt models in 2026.

You can learn more about PTx Trimble’s OutRun system at www.OutRunAg.com

Scratch Your Classic Iron Itch With 3 Old Tractors That Still Steal the Show

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 20:18:11 GMT

Today’s tractors are jam-packed with GPS guidance and autosteer, sensors and camera arrays and LED lighting packages. Operators sit comfortably in air-conditioned cabs with built-in mini fridges full of cold drinks and responsive computing displays at their fingertips.

The whole deal gives the look and feel of a rolling mission control/home office on wheels and, quite frankly, many new tractor cabs are probably a whole lot nicer than your average home office.

There’s clearly no going back to the bare-bones, analog tractors with rigid metal seats and open air cabs Dad and Grandpa ran, but many of today’s farmers have cultivated an enduring affinity for the classic farm workhorses of yesteryear.

If you consider yourself among the legions of classic Iron Heads, check out this trio of recent Tractor Tales segments for a quick hit of some of that sweet, sweet farm machinery nostalgia:

Rebel With a Cause: The Ex-Pat Tractor That Wasn’t Supposed to be Sold in the U.S.

Southern Michigan farmer Nicklas Totzke might just possess the ultimate classic tractor trump card: a well-conditioned 1947 Empire 90 that Machinery Pete says is one of only about 380 known to exist today.

Totzke’s prized red Empire was originally shipped overseas to help rebuild bombed-out Eastern Europe farming villages devastated by the Axis blitzkrieg campaign during World War II. He says the spartan red machines are pretty “light duty” and were built with mostly Jeep Motor Company components — produced at the time by Willys-Overland and Ford Motor Company — and were used primarily to pull old horse drawn equipment.

Totzke says about 1,000 to 1,200 of the export-only machines reverse immigrated back to North America, ending up on farms across Canada and here in the U.S., which is how he ended up with his beloved Empire 90.

The Farmall 230 That Dutifully Trudges on in Pennsylvania Dairy Country

Pennsylvania dairy farmer Ed Thiele will never forget the day his father proudly test drove a brand new Farmall 230 around the streets of Butler, Pa. That impromptu dry run must have gone well, because today that same candy apple red beauty with the iconic pewter white IH hood ornament resides in his machinery shed near Cabot in Butler County.

“It’s been in the family ever since,” Thiele says, adding that if a fire were to set its sights on his treasured machinery barn, Dad’s classic Farmall — not the high-priced, expensive modern tractor he uses on his dairy operation — would surely be the first tractor he’d run into the flames to pull to safety.

While the machine today is semi-retired it can still run an auger, Thiele notes. The old tractor is in such good condition you can hardly tell it’s been chugging along for nearly seven decades at this point.

“Back in the day it had a sickle board mower on it, we raked hay with it, pulled silage wagons with it; we did everything with it when I was a kid,” he adds.

Wait, Machinery From the 80s Is Considered Classic Now? Well Then, That Makes Me Old

At one point in time, the John Deere 4840 tractor, at 180 hp, was the largest and most powerful row crop tractor in the manufacturers stable of farm machines. Illinois farmer Chad Jacobs says his 1982 edition represents the final swan song for the model itself, before Deere’s more advanced, new 4850 took its place in 1983.

Jacobs acquired the classic tractor to preserve his grandfather’s memory and heritage. Grandpa picked up the tractor out of necessity, right after tearing up the draw bar in his 4020 hauling manure.

“This is what was sitting on the [dealer] lot; it has 2,800 original hours on it,” Jacobs says. “We still drag a lot of wagons around, so it’s a wagon puller now.”

Jacobs farms with his brother, and the pair are working to teach the next generation of Jacobs progeny about the family farming legacy, passed down over all those rides in Grandpa’s trusty 4840.

“As far as me sitting in here and pulling wagons with it, it just brings back memories of my grandpa,” he says. “I think he’d be very proud of the fact that it’s still being used.”

For more classic Tractor Tales, head over to the @FarmJournal YouTube channel to watch archived segments, or follow Tractor Tales on X @TractorTales . New episodes of “U.S. Farm Report,” where new Tractor Tales segments debut, air every Friday afternoon on Farm Journal TV.

Your Next Read: Nebraska Farmer Calls Out Agriculture Machinery Companies Over High Prices

Building the Future: Partnerships Bring Essential Infrastructure to Rural Areas

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 19:14:00 GMT

There’s a $6 billion funding gap in essential infrastructure needed in rural communities. That’s according to Jase Wagner, CEO of Compeer Financial. Since 2006, the farm credit cooperative has been working on pilot projects to show how new partnerships and funding bridge what’s needed.

One of its latest example projects is at Lafayette Hospital + Clinics in Lafayette County Wisconsin (and the only county-owned hospital in the state) where a 84,000 square foot facility was built to double the size of its previous hospital.

“At Compeer Financial, we are a part of the farm credit system, which has consistently supported rural communities and agriculture,” Wagner says. “As we’ve looked at the trends and environment around rural communities recently, they need an extra boost of support.”

Its pilot projects have included critical access care hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

To enable the project in Wisconsin, Compeer Financial partnered with the regional Clare Bank and USDA to secure a $50.87 million financing package.

“We are ecstatic to introduce our region’s residents to our new Lafayette Hospital + Clinics, formerly known as Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County,” said Marie Wamsley, CEO of LHC in a press release. “The facility upgrades the technologies and services we’re able to offer our patients and the region’s healthcare providers, and the new location gives us room to grow. We’re grateful for the partnership with Compeer Financial in helping secure funding so we can continue to provide our rural community with the comprehensive, around-the-clock medical care it has relied on for more than 70 years.”

Citing a pattern of success with its pilot projects, Compeer is supporting legislation called The Investing in Rural America Act, which could be part of a “Skinny Farm Bill” in the near-future.

“We need to provide more permanent financing and long-term support for this market. Agriculture needs rural communities as much or more than rural communities need agriculture,” Wagner says. “The Investing in Rural America Act is a targeted bill to allow us to invest in a subset of essential community facilities. It’s primarily focused on health care, but also includes libraries, community centers, and other gathering places for communities.”

Another project currently underway is in Galena, Ill., as Compeer led a $25.75 million financing packing to expand and renovate Midwest Medical Center. This project will bring new medical providers and services, a new fitness center and new infusion clinic.
Wagner explains the nationwide $6 billion gap is the result of decades of underinvestment to keep essential facilities up-to-date across rural America.

“When we see these turn over and get new facilities in town, it’s just amazing,” he says. “It’s a rebirth kind of energy. The ability to hire people goes way up, and the ability to have good care in these areas goes up, which creates its own rural prosperity.”
Wagner is optimistic in a fly-wheel effect with cooperation across a coalition of institutions.

“As we prove this out, we can get a broader set of investors investing in rural America, which then really helps everyone. Rural America is such an essential part of the overall operation of the United States, and I think people understand that more and more, but you need to invest in it in order to make it stay that way.”

Pete's Pick: 29-Year-Old Used Case IH Skid Steer, 2000 John Deere 8310 Draw Strong Bids

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 18:19:57 GMT

This week’s Machinery Pete “Pete’s Pick of The Week” comes to us from the world of construction equipment.

On Thursday, Sept. 11, at a retirement auction in Gaines, Mich., a 1996 Case IH 1845 C skid steer with 1,745 hours (see Facebook post below) sold for $20,700. Xyz Auction Service handled the bidding.

“Now, if I had a nickel for every time someone told me: ‘Hey, Pete, my favorite skid steer model is an 1845 C’ I’d have a lot of nickels, [and] this one was nice,” Pete says. “I thought, you know, getting up almost over $21K for an almost 30-year-old skid steer, [that’s] pretty good stuff.”

Last Thursday must have been a good day in the used equipment auction world, because another transaction that day also caught Pete’s attention.

At the Tom Mix farm retirement auction near Clay City, Ill., a well-maintained 2000 John Deere 8310 tractor with 4,222 hours (see Facebook post below) sold for $111,200. According to MachineryPete.com sales data, that is the fourth-highest price all time on a used 8310. Schmid Auction handled the bidding there.

Upcoming auctions
On Tuesday, Steffes Auction Group is hosting the Rost Farms Retirement Auction in Ivanhoe, Minn. Bidding for that sale (see Facebook post below) closes tomorrow at 8 p.m. CT.

And on Wednesday, in Dyersville, Iowa, the Alex Lyon and Son Auction Co. Rental Fleet Construction & Utility Equipment auction will feature a healthy selection of heavy duty machines pulled from rental fleets from around the country. Pete will be attending that sale in person, so be sure to say hello if you’re also checking out the auction in person.

“There are 13 skid steers on the docket, 17 excavators, 13 wheel loaders, and eight tractor loaders/backhoes,” Pete says. “I love covering all types of auctions and any chance I get to hang out with Jack Lyon and his son, Alex, I’ll take. They have sales all over the U.S. and the world, and it will be fun to have him in Iowa.”

Your next read: Navigate The Used Farm Equipment Market With 5 Smart Buyer Hacks

Auction Experts: Buy Used Farm Equipment Now Before Prices Jump, Machinery Specs Matter More Than Ever

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 16:53:14 GMT

With fall auction (and college football) season fully upon us, Moving Iron hosts Casey Seymour and Greg “Machinery Pete” Peterson are paying close attention to how the used equipment resale market shakes out over the next few months.

According to Pete, last year was just the second fall auction season in the past 22 years that saw an overall drop in used machine values, but there are signs this fall will reverse that trend. That would be a positive development for dealers and private sellers looking to get good value for their used equipment at auction.

“I mean, if we get a little positivity in the market, if that continues, it might point toward maybe a stronger end of the year,” Pete says.

Pete also thinks interested buyers need to be aggressive now, because we might have hit the bottom of the market this summer and prices are only going up from this point forward.

Two used machines sold at a Big Iron Auctions sale in Illinois this week; the results show there are still good deals floating around in the auction market, but it is anyone’s guess how long that lasts.

A 2014 John Deere S680 combine with 3,340 operating hours sold for $69,000. Last year, the average auction price for that same model/year combine was $80,185, and the year prior it was right at $99,000.

And a 2017 John Deere 8370R tractor with 4,499 engine hours on it sold for $127,850, which is well below the average auction price of $182,500.

Seymour and Pete are also keeping close tabs on the upcoming Sept. 12 USDA corn production report. A rise in corn futures following the release of that report could increase used equipment buying activity significantly.

“I think if we start to see more people coming to the table to buy stuff, then we’ll see some organic growth in prices,” Seymour says. “But it feels like there could be some volume at the end of the year that gets gobbled up because of this, and that could bleed over to that first quarter [of 2026].”

Commodities Analysis

Chip Nellinger, co-owner, Blue Reef Agri-Marketing, says fall harvest is now underway south of I-70, but a lack of moisture in the Eastern Corn Belt and increased crop disease pressure throughout the Midwest have corn and soybeans on separate paths.

“In the case of corn, you have yields coming down, but demand is phenomenal, arguably in some segments the best it’s ever been, you combine that with shrinking yields, and it can become somewhat explosive,” Nellinger says. “[It’s] kind of the opposite in beans; yields are probably coming down, but we’ve yet to see any movement on a Chinese trade deal.”

High Plains Update

Aaron Fintel, used equipment specialist, 21^st Century Equipment, joined Seymour to break down how machinery specs and different features drive resale values both regionally and nationally. Fintel says smart buyers must have a conversation with their dealer during the purchasing process so they know which machine specs used equipment buyers are looking for.

For example, combines with four-wheel drive and “Tri-Power” (power fold, power cast and power rear) are critical specs for high resale value. In the tractor segment, PTO shafts and high flow hydraulics are the current must-haves.

“With that third and fourth buyer paying more attention [to machine specs] it’s as vital as ever to get the right specs,” Fintel says. “Even if the guy has ordered the same thing for 30 years, there needs to be a discussion [with the dealer] all the time, because with how technology drives so much in ag right now, things change weekly.”

Head over to YouTube to watch the full episode. Hit the “Thumbs Up” button to “Like” the video and click on the “Subscribe” button to get a notification when a new episode drops.

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Illinois Ammonia Fertilizer Plant Closer to Construction

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 18:46:05 GMT

In late August, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announced a $2 billion investment by Cronus Chemicals to build an ammonia production facility in central Illinois near Tuscola, Ill. This comes after the state renewed a tax incentive agreement with the manufacturer.

“Illinois is building the infrastructure to power an entirely new bioeconomy by attracting major industry players to innovate right here in our state,” said Gov. Pritzker. “Cronus Chemicals is a shining example of that vision. Their new $2 billion, state-of-the-art facility in Tuscola will create more than 130 full-time jobs, serve as an anchor for the agricultural industry of tomorrow, and spur investment that will extend out across not just agriculture, but the entire Illinois economy.”

The new facility will produce 950,000 short tons of ammonia annually, and it’s been a project discussed for over a decade.

“IFCA excited about this announcement but also knows that this project has been talked about ever since 2012. If more details are released in the coming days we will pass it along to our membership,” was in a statement from the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association.

Southern Rust Set To Take Big Bite Out Of Midwest Corn Crop?

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 21:06:37 GMT

If one picture is worth a thousand words, then the video Iowa farmer Dan Striegel shot last week must be worth thousands more. In the video, Striegel is shown harvesting a field of emerald-green corn enveloped in a cloud of orangish-red southern rust.

“We were just getting that field opened up, and I looked over and saw that dust boiling up out of the chopper, so I shot the video,” Striegel says.

Southern Rust? Never heard of her.
What Cheer, Iowa. USA. #pftour25 #harvest25 pic.twitter.com/tiIsUc2CHl
— Dan Striegel (@djsinseia) August 21, 2025

To date, Striegel’s video has garnered more than 48,000 views on X, formerly Twitter.

“We’re in southeast Iowa, Keokuk County, and I think the southern rust is as bad here as it is anywhere,” Striegel adds. “Every field you walk in, if you’re wearing a white T-shirt, you’ll come out of there red.”

A Red Path Of Disease Mars The Midwest

Expect to see more red T-shirt-clad farmers walking out of cornfields across the upper Midwest, based on what the Crop Protection Network (CPN) southern rust map is showing.

The CPN continually updates its online, interactive map showing the counties by state where southern rust infections are confirmed. Now, in late August, the counties look like red steppingstones. They form a checkered path from southwest Michigan through northern Illinois and Indiana, into southern Wisconsin, across all of Iowa and nearly two-thirds of the way across Nebraska. Eastern South Dakota is also lit up with a string of red counties, as are parts of southern to central Minnesota.

The amount of southern rust present in the upper Midwest is worrisome to Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist. In severe cases, the disease can wipe out 45% of the yield potential in a field, according to the CPN.

“At most, one in 10 growers in northern Iowa and Minnesota have seen the kind of southern rust some of them are seeing this year,” says Ferrie, who was working last week with corn growers in both states.

“It was a problem in probably eight out of every 10 fields I was in, and they’d all been sprayed at least once,” he says. “Minnesota has a corn crop that’ll knock your socks off – yield potential of 250, 270. I encouraged every grower to spray their field a second time except for two fields. One had been knocked down by hail, and the other had a hybrid that was clean.”

I spoke with a good friend of mine from Iowa yesterday that is an agronomist and farmer. He said the southern rust in corn across Iowa and much of the Midwest will take 9 to 12 bushel/acre off corn yields on average from what his team and himself are seeing. pic.twitter.com/Ad1VJ9oQBg
— Captain Cornelius1 (@ISU145) August 26, 2025

Hybrids Have Little To No Resistance To Southern Rust

A combination of early-season moisture, heat and wind formed the perfect storm for southern rust this season, allowing the disease-causing fungal spores (Puccinia polysora) to move from southern climes up to the Midwest, according to Kurt Maertens, BASF technical service representative for eastern Iowa and western Illinois.

“We’ve seen it all – southern rust, tar spot, northern corn leaf blight, gray leaf spot. Our corn has been inundated with all these fungal diseases, and we started seeing them early,” says Maertens.

If there’s a silver lining to southern rust, it’s that it does not overwinter in corn residue like tar spot does. But like tar spot, southern rust takes advantage of hybrids that have no built-in resistance. For many growers, that was an Achilles heel this season.

“When you’re dealing with a 117-day hybrid like they grow in southern Illinois, Tennessee, and Kentucky, you don’t grow corn that doesn’t have good southern rust resistance, because they deal with it every year,” Ferrie notes. “When you move to Minnesota, and you’re planting 102- to 95-day corn, you’re probably not going to find hybrids with southern rust resistance.”

Striegel says that was true for his neighbor’s cornfield, which he custom chopped for silage. “That field had two hybrids in it, one was worse than the other, and the field had been sprayed with a fungicide,” he says.

He adds that he also sprayed his own cornfields with fungicide, but they are still inundated with southern rust.

“We’ve had southern rust before, and it’s not usually something we have to worry about, but this is really bad,” Striegel says. “I’m standing on my deck looking at the cornfield next to my house, and you know, all of the leaves from the ears down in that field are covered with it.”

Southern rust is real in eastern Nebraska. Fungicide 3 weeks ago, 2nd app today with some potassium acetate pic.twitter.com/WZubU6IBwz
— Trent Mastny (@TrentMastny) August 21, 2025

How Late Is A Fungicide Application Still Worthwhile?

Ferrie says the fields he scouted last week were at late R3 to early R4 and had already been sprayed with fungicide at least once, but the disease was rebuilding.

“Any field where farmers had sprayed two weeks previously, the southern rust and northern corn leaf blight, to a lesser degree, were coming back, especially the southern rust. It was resporating,” he says.

The intense disease pressure from southern rust, tar spot and others have kept fungicide use at high levels this season, despite poor commodity prices.

“Because of that [amount of disease pressure], we have seen increased demand for our fungicides this year,” says Maertens, who encouraged customers to get applications made at the beginning of tassel.

Maertens says he has fielded a lot of questions this summer from farmers, asking how late they could go with a fungicide application and still benefit.

“Our recommendation is to get in front of disease,” he says. “Generally, we stop applications before we get to dent (R5). That’s not to say a later application can’t have some benefit, but our best results have been before infection was able to take place.”

Southern rust is a yield enemy farmers routinely face in the Southeast, reports corn yield champion Randy Dowdy, Valdosta, Ga. He participated in the Pro Farmer Crop Tour last week and said on U.S. Farm Report he believes many Midwest farmers still have time to address disease.

“We need to implore the fungicides, the technologies out there and get after it and protect this crop, especially that crop that still has not reached dent,” he says.

Farm Journal Field Agronomist Missy Bauer likes to see farmers complete their fungicide applications on the front side of dough (early R4). “Once we get to early dent, I think it’s a little more challenging to get the payback consistently, though we’ve applied at early dent (R5), and seen a nice response,” says Bauer, who is based in south-central Michigan.

Under the tough disease pressure farmers are facing this year, Bauer is telling growers to scout fields and evaluate what growth stage their crop is in before they walk away or pull the fungicide trigger one last time.

She adds that farmers need to check the label to make sure the product used is able to address southern rust effectively. She describes these as “Cadillac” products containing the newest chemistry.

“When it comes to some of these diseases, especially southern rust and tar spot, I do believe a little bit of a Hail Mary pass can be effective,” she says. “Will it be as effective as an application you could have made on a more timely basis? Well, no, you could have made more money doing it timely, but you’re still protecting bushels and gaining ROI at the end.”

Ferrie adds that farmers might want to do the late-season fungicide application to keep their corn crop standing until they can put their harvest plan in place.

“Be doing the push test to check stalk quality,” he advises.

Southern Rust/Silage Alert!!

Southern Rust has been aggressively advancing in many fields, especially those without a fungicide treatment. In some situations the plants are shutting down prematurely and plant material is senescing rapidly.

While we typically want to get down… pic.twitter.com/aK3hGgZE19
— Pioneer Troy (@deutmeyer_troy) August 26, 2025

Striegel says some of the farmers around him are heading to fields to harvest their silage corn sooner than later, because of standability concerns. “Some of this corn got planted early, and we had a lot of heat. The crop matured quickly, and the diseases are kind of shutting it down. It’s just dying out, and guys are going to go get it,” he explains.

That’s the strategy Ferrie encourages farmers to use in regular production corn, too.

“Harvest the fields most at risk first. But if a field of corn goes down, go combine the fields where the corn is still standing and come back to that one later,” he recommends.

The reasoning is you don’t want to risk more corn going down while you’re harvesting the field of corn that already has.

“While I was driving through Iowa last week, I kept thinking that if I built corn reels to pick up down corn I’d bulk up my inventory, because I know where they’re going to get used,” Ferrie says, only half joking. “Yes, harvesting corn at 25% moisture is expensive, but down corn will kick your butt.”

Your next read: Revenge Applications: Why They Don’t Work, Cost You Money and Bushels, and Are Frankly Illegal

Iowa Corn Has High Potential, Illinois Crop Looks Average and Soybeans Shine in Both States

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 23:58:02 GMT

Bright orange is a great color for pumpkins but not so much for corn. Nonetheless, that was the prevailing color Brent Judisch reports seeing as he evaluated crops Wednesday morning in northwest Iowa’s Harrison County.

“Our first six or seven samples were terrible with southern rust,” says Judisch, a Pro Farmer Crop Tour scout and Iowa farmer. “We saw three fields in a row that were actually gross. I walked out of them just covered with it. After that, while we’ve seen it all day, it’s been more in the lower leaves and not nearly as drastic.”

Chip Flory, lead scout for the western leg of the tour, says the northwest Iowa crop is the best and worst he’s ever seen.

“In the snapshot that we took of it, and the measurables we saw in the field today, it is the best corn crop,” Flory reported during the tour’s nightly live broadcast.

But the disease pressure in the Iowa crop has Flory spooked.

“Disease pressure is putting a lot of bushels — a huge number of bushels — at risk,” he adds. “You can take 20, 30 bushels off of corn yield with what southern rust can do to the crop, even at this late stage in the game. It’s a dangerous crop that we’re looking at out here right now.”

Chip Flory says he was surprised to see corn that was well into R5 (dent) in northwest Iowa. “I can’t tell if it was this mature because of pressure from the southern rust, or if it was because of higher nighttime temperatures at pollination,” he reports. “I am concerned about how much disease is out here, and what it’s going to look like in another week or two.”

(Chip Flory, Host of AgriTalk)

Can The Iowa Corn Crop Still Hit A Record?
The Iowa corn results were a big shocker on Wednesday, given the amount of disease pressure scouts saw, according to Emily Flory Carolan, Pro Farmer Crop Tour data consultant.

“I would say all three districts were setting new records. They were consistently high in all measurements for corn in ear count, inches long and kernels around,” she says.

Carolan’s summary of the results scouts tallied in Iowa revealed some high yield estimates, despite the disease pressure:

*District 1 was 197.89 bushels, up 12.06% versus 2024 and up 9.89% versus the three-year average.

*District 4 was 207.25 bushels, up 5.82% versus last year and up 14.01% versus the three-year average.

*District 7 came in at 195.03 bushels, up 1.80% versus 2024 and up 6.35% versus the three-year average.

(ProFarmer)

Flory is concerned southern rust will impact standability in the Iowa crop, which he says is starting to dent in areas, and cause some of it to go down.

“I’d want to keep an eye on the stalk condition of this crop, because if this disease pressure continues, farmers are going to want to get out and prioritize fields for harvest before we get there,” he adds.

Illinois Corn Crop Looks Average
Scouts report the Illinois corn crop appears lush from the road, but once they walked out into fields, picked ears and pulled back husks, most described finding an average crop.

“We’ve seen some good corn, we’ve seen some average corn and we’ve some stuff that’s got a long way to go,” tour scout Jake Guse told U.S. Farm Report’s Tyne Morgan on Wednesday morning.

That perspective played out in the total results tallied and shared during the nightly tour meeting. Illinois corn averaged 196.19 bushels per acre, down 2.24% from last year but up 1.72% from the three-year average.

(ProFarmer)

Ninth and final stop 4 miles North of Roseville, IL. Population was very good at 34,000. The yield is 213. Kernel depth is just under a 1/2 inch. Some disease was showing up here including tar spot! Soybeans had 1778 pods in 3X3 area. #oatt #pftour25 pic.twitter.com/xAcDSxJL0q
— Darren Frye (@Frye_WSS) August 20, 2025

USDA-NASS estimates released August 12 project the Illinois corn crop will come in averaging 221 bu. per acre for the state, up 4 bushels over 2024.

That’s outside what Guse’s expectations are for the state.

“As you’re driving along the road, you can see ears that are already tipped over. I just don’t see it reaching [USDA’s projection],” he says.

Lane Akre, Pro Farmer economist and host for the eastern leg of the tour, agrees with Guse. He reports pulling several samples of corn that exceeded 200-bu. per acre as well as one that only hit 143 bushels.

“The Illinois crop just wasn’t what we’d hoped,” Akre says. “USDA is anticipating a 1.7% jump from a year ago, and we’re actually down 2.2%.”

Akre’s leg of the tour went through three Illinois counties that are typically heavy hitters for corn yields: Bureau County, Henry County and Rock Island County.

“There’s really good dirt through that area, and the farmers there are very good at actively managing their crops and what they do with fertilizer, herbicide and fungicide,” Akre notes. “We saw some poor emergence and that might’ve weighed on the samples we took.”

Soybeans Could Be the Star of the Season
Soybeans offered a better yield picture for Illinois farmers than the corn crop, Akre notes.

“We didn’t have a single sample in the state that was south of 1,300 pods in a 3’x3' square. We saw a lot of pods and a lot of potential out there,” he says.

The average counts Illinois scouts recorded was even higher than what Akre found, with an average of 1,479.22 pods in a 3’x3' square area. That is up 4.24% versus 2024 and up 12.65% versus the three-year average.

(ProFarmer)

Iowa soybean results across the three districts were equally impressive.

“This year’s crop is better than last year by far,” Greg Lehenbauer, Pro Farmer crop scout, told AgDay’s Michelle Rook. “They’ve had adequate rain across this part of Iowa almost all summer long.”

#pftour25 Day 3. Stop 2 Plymouth Co. IA. #Soybean pod count 816. @AgDayTV @FarmJournal @USFarmReport pic.twitter.com/GgmulwJ8UI
— Michelle Rook (@michellerookag) August 20, 2025

Carolan’s data confirmed the excellent soybeans that crop scouts found on Wednesday in all three districts:

*District 1 soybeans: 1,279.25 pods, up 15.38% versus 2024 and up 15.05% versus the three-year average.

*District 4 soybeans: 1,376.15 pods, up 9.73% versus 2024 and up 13.63% versus the three-year average.

*District 7 soybeans: 1,562.54 pods, up 14.37% versus 2024, and up 24.66% versus the three-year average.

(ProFarmer)

While Flory is cautiously optimistic about the Iowa soybean crop, he says stem rot and sudden death syndrome is taking root in more fields and threatening yield outcomes.

“Some of the routes through southern and west-central Iowa have seen a tremendous amount of disease issue on the soybeans, so I’ve got a feeling it’s going to look a lot different in a week than what it does right now,” he predicts. “Now, if it was September 10, that’d be one thing. But it’s August 20, and there’s still time for those bean diseases to take some yield away.”

Flory’s sentiment about what fields revealed in Iowa was shared by scout Brent Judisch.

“What it’s going to come down to here in the corn and the beans is, does the crop mature faster than the disease moves, or will disease outpace the crop?” Judisch says. “We won’t know for sure for another two or three weeks.”

Watch On-Demand: Pro Farmer Crop Tour Day 3 Results from Illinois and Iowa

Watch On-Demand: Pro Farmer Crop Tour Day 2 Results from Indiana and Nebraska

Watch On-Demand: Pro Farmer Crop Tour Day 1 Results from Ohio and South Dakota

About the Pro Farmer Crop Tour
The Pro Farmer Crop Tour is taking place Aug. 18-21, 2025. Simultaneously, the tour follows an eastern and western route, with the two culminating in Rochester, Minn. Nightly meetings in each location review daily results, scouting observations and historical comparison data. Attend nightly meetings in person or watch the nightly broadcast online at AgWeb.com/croptour .

BREAKING: John Deere Confirms 238 Layoffs Across 3 Plants

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 20:56:26 GMT

Following its earnings announcement for the third quarter and rumors of layoffs, ag bellweather John Deere confirmed layoffs at three sites in Illinois and Iowa. The company says a struggling ag economy continues to impact orders for its equipment.

On Friday, the equipment manufacturer issued a statement detailing workforce adjustments across sites in East Moline, Ill., Moline, Ill., and Waterloo, Iowa.

Here is the full, unedited statement from John Deere:

As stated on our most recent earnings call , the struggling ag economy continues to impact orders for John Deere equipment. This is a challenging time for many farmers, growers and producers, and directly impacts our business in the near term.

As the entire ag sector navigates these challenges, John Deere continues to provide customers the high-quality equipment they deserve while strengthening the foundations of U.S. manufacturing.

We remain committed to keeping our U.S. manufacturing footprint strong, viable and competitive. We are investing nearly $20 billion over the next decade to upgrade and enhance manufacturing facilities across the country. This is on top of recent U.S. investments to open new facilities and expand/modernize others.

Due to decreased demand and lower order volumes, the following factories will be implementing workforce reductions in the coming weeks. Affected employees were informed today.

Facilities involved include:

Harvester Works in East Moline, Ill.: 115 (last day of work Aug. 29)
Seeding and Cylinder in Moline, Ill.: 52 (last day of work Sept. 26)
Foundry in Waterloo, Iowa: 71 (last day of work Sept. 19)

Deere adds affected employees are eligible to be recalled to their home factory for a period equal to their length of service, and those laid off are automatically placed in seniority order for openings “they are qualified to perform at the factory.”

Laid off employees will also receive a handful of financial and health benefits that include supplemental income payments and continuing healthcare coverage for up to six months.

This follows earlier pushback from John Deere about erroneous reports that it was laying off over 800 employees in the Quad Cities, Ill., area. Illinois WARN has since issued an apology, pointing to an internal error as the culprit.

UPDATE: John Deere Releases Q3 Earnings as Mass Layoff Notice for Illinois Plant is Posted Then Removed

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 16:21:29 GMT

UPDATE: An Illinois WARN notice, posted on Wednesday, showed John Deere was laying off 819 employees at its John Deere Harvester location in East Moline. However, by Thursday afternoon, the notice had been removed.

EARLIER: The posting showed the notification was received on Aug.13, 2025 and July 1, 2024.

But Dustin Lemmon, public relations manager for John Deere, released a statement to Farm Journal saying, “If there is a workforce reduction, we will first communicate directly with our employees.”

Earlier this year, Deere reported a significant drop in first-quarter profits. It also predicted a 30% decline in large agricultural equipment sales in the U.S. and Canada in 2025.

On Thursday, Deere released its third quarter earnings summary — reporting a net income of $1.289 billion, or $4.75 per share. That’s compared with a net income of $1.734 billion, or $6.29 per share, at the same time last year. The results topped Wall Street predictions.

For the first nine months of the year, net income attributable to Deere & Company was $3.962 billion, or $14.57 per share, compared with $5.855 billion, or $21.04 per share, for the same period last year.

Worldwide net sales and revenues dropped by 9%, to $12.01 billion, for the third quarter and decreased 18%, to $33.290 billion, for nine months.

High Yields, Poor Profits: Corn Farmers Search for New Demand to Drive Prices

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 15:19:58 GMT

USDA’s record 16.7 billion bushel corn crop estimate in the August WASDE is raising concern among farmers and farm groups — including the National Corn Growers Association.

They’re questioning the accuracy of USDA’s yield and acreage projections and asking for demand solutions to blunt the threat to the livelihood of farmers already facing record-low prices.

Corn Acreage a Double Whammy
Corn profitability was already in the red before the August WASDE.

But the record 16.7 billion bushel corn crop and 2 million additional acres just added insult to injury for Tom Haag, who farms near Eden Valley, Minn.

“When they first had their intentions earlier in June, I thought we were pretty close to where we were. I don’t know where they come up with these extra acres or where they found them,” Haag says.

Illinois and Iowa acreage was unchanged, but between the June Acreage Report and August Farm Service Agency (FSA) certified acreage, states including Kansas, North and South Dakota had 1.2 million more acres.

Some could be silage, but these are fringe states.

Krista Swanson, chief economist with NCGA, says even with record yields, those states can’t lift the national yield average.

“The higher acres are, the less likely we have an extremely high yield because of those fringe acres. I think that certainly comes into play, as maybe challenging ‘Can a yield of this level be hit?’”

Validity in Question
The yield methodology for the August report is also in question since it doesn’t use field data.

Swanson says, “So, what happens when we start to getting into harvest is left to be seen. You could analyze, ‘Well, if a state like Iowa has exceedingly high yields, then you wouldn’t necessarily need that record’. But you come out around 190 if every state achieves their maximum yield of the past five years.”

And the record yield projected for the No. 2 corn producer, Illinois, is debatable with crop ratings at only 63% good-to-excellent — well below last year.

Kent Beadle, Paradigm Futures, says that’s well below last year’s rating, and it has dropped 8% in the last few weeks.

“Right now, the good-to-excellent rating is suggesting an average Illinois crop, and of course USDA gave it a record at 221,” Beadle says.

USDA Lowers Average Corn Price
Swanson says as a result of the record supply, USDA lowered the national average corn price.

“USDA also reduced its projected market year average price for the 2025 crop from $4.20 down to $3.90. That would be the lowest market year average we’ve had since 2019.”

But cash prices are much lower in the country — pushing profitability further in the red for farmers like Haag.

Dec. Corn Profitability

(USDA)

Losing Money at This Price
“Our break-even at the farm is right around $4.25, and cash corn to where we haul today is $3.59,” Haag explains.

And with USDA’s cost of production on corn at $897 an acre, he isn’t the only farmer below break even.

Beadle says, “You know, at the 181-bushel level, we were going to need $4.95 on average for the average farmer to break even. If you add this 7.8 bushels an acre, you still need $4.75 to break even.”

Call to Action on Demand
The bleak outlook has NCGA issuing a call to action from Congress and the Trump administration, including year-round E15 — which could use an estimated 457 million bushels of corn.

“If we could get E15 — and also California to use E15 — that would burn up a lot more bushels,” Haag says. “A lot of states don’t have the infrastructure to burn E15, as their pumps are not set up. We need some adjustments there also from EPA to allow E15 to be used in your normal conditions like unleaded 87 is.”

Swanson says they’re also looking for demand in the export market.

"[We’re] also stressing the importance of continuing to work on some of these new trade frameworks and build international market access as well.”

Unfortunately, if help comes, it may not be in time to stop the bleeding at harvest time.

Pete's Pick: Two John Deere Tractors in Illinois Shine in Used Farm Equipment Auction

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 16:51:00 GMT

Older, used pre-DEF equipment in good condition continues to hold its value on the farm equipment auction circuit. This week’s Pete’s Pick of the Week is a shining example of that trend.

On Tuesday in Mt. Sterling, Ill., a pair of 1980-era John Deere 4440 tractors brought solid returns to the Kerr Auctions Mt. Sterling 2025 Summer Sale.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

The first 4440 to hit the auction block (shown above) was pushing just under 10,000 operating hours (9,183) and it fetched $25,500.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

The second 4440 (shown above), which is this week’s “Pete’s Pick of the Week” selection, only had 3,163 engine hours on it. That tractor, which was purchased after the original owner won the Illinois state lottery, sold for $40,000, which Machinery Pete says is “very solid.”

“Todd (the previous owner) told me he was hoping for $35,000,” Pete says. “And Alex Kerr, the auctioneer, said he was hoping for high $30s. The older stuff in good condition, like we’ve been talking about, is holding very solid.”

Here’s video of the two John Deere 4440s selling at auction from Pete’s Facebook page:

And it’s not just older machines moving the needle on the auction circuit. Pete is also seeing sales data come in on late model, high-horsepower row crop tractors showing “some pretty good buys” for farmers at the moment. For example, Pete watched a pair of John Deere 8R tractors, one a 2023 model and the other a high-hour 2024 model, sell at auction last week for $333,500 and $280,000, respectively. Consider for a second what a brand-new John Deere 8R tractor costs off the dealer lot right now, and those are both actually very solid deals for the buyers, Pete adds.

Pete also shared a Deutz Auctions sale on Tuesday in Minneota, Minn., where he says a 2007 John Deere 9760 STS combine with 31,167 engine hours sold for $50,000.

“The pre-DEF combines are up in value because, again, there’s (price) pressure in green country on the 1-2-3-4-year-old ones,” Pete says. “There’s, you know, there’s just some good buys happening there, but the nice, older ones, it’s competitive bidding on those, too, no doubt.”

Upcoming auction to watch

After spending the bulk of last week on the road at farm equipment auctions, Pete will spend a week tending to things on the home front before heading off to Bronson, Iowa, on Monday, Aug. 11, for the Chuck Widman Family auction. That sale features four used Versatile tractors (three of them are 300 hp or higher) and two low-hour used New Holland CR combines.

You can check that sale out and get registered for online bidding here.

Your Next Read: Used Equipment Values Have Stabilized in 2025, But the Surprising Trend Might Not Last

Unbelievable Find Alert: 40-Year-Old John Deere Combine With 675 Hours Up for Grabs

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 18:35:48 GMT

If you had “40-year-old combine with under 700 hours” as this week’s “Pick of the Week” on your bingo card, go down to your local corner store and play your lucky numbers.

That’s because this week’s spotlight shines squarely on a relic of the past you just don’t see every day, or even every few years: a 1985 John Deere 6620 combine (shown below) with a pickup head and just 675 operating hours. The harvester is out of Baudette, Minn., and it spent a good chunk of its life in barn storage while the original owner used it to cut a small plot of wheat.

(MachineryPete.com)

This particular “Pick of the Week” is also unique because it isn’t listed with any of the major auction companies. Its new owner (the combine belonged to the listing agent’s uncle) quietly uploaded photos and listed it for sale by owner for $21,500 on MachineryPete.com.

That small act opened the proverbial online floodgates, and now interested buyers from all over the Midwest are reaching out to let Pete know they intend to bring that bad boy home to their own barn.

“We posted this (combine) across our social media this weekend and there were 5,000 clicks on it just last night,” Pete says. “I’ve got people that I know pinging me like, ‘Greg, I want to buy that thing’. It just shows you can’t find them like that (anymore). It was really kind of an interesting item.”

While some might view the price tag as a bit steep for a four-decade old machine, those that know about such things can spot a good deal in the wild, Pete says.

“I think $21,500 — I mean, that’s why I’m getting phone calls like, ‘My checkbook’s out, I want to buy it’. That’s what I suspected (would happen),” Pete says. “It’s difficult to price it now, and we always encourage people to go to our website to look for a (anything) comparable. But it’s hard to find a comparable on a 40-year-old combine with 675 (hours).”

If you’re interested in bidding on this week’s Pick of The Week, there’s still time. Head over to MachineryPete.com and get registered.

“You just don’t find them at that age and that nice,” Pete says. “So again, there’s a lot of heat when you find an older one that’s in great condition like that.”

This Week’s Auction To Keep An Eye On

Machinery Pete will be in Mt. Sterling, Ill., on Tuesday, July 29, for the conclusion of the Mt. Sterling Summer 2025 Auction. Kerr Auctions is handling the bidding, and owner Alex Kerr and his team have pulled together a nice auction docket featuring eight John Deere 8R tractors and a fleet of used harvest headers.

Check out the auction preview video above from Machinery Pete’s Facebook page and get registered to bid online over at KerrAuction.com.

Your Next Read: What Problems Are Showing Up In Your Corn Fields?

Insights From Seed Companies on Tackling Tassel Wrap Challenges

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 15:47:14 GMT

Probably no crop has been scouted better through pollination than in 2025 says Austin Schleich, a technical agronomist with Channel. Across his geography in western Iowa, Schleich says the phenomenon of “overly tight tassel wrap” has agronomists, farmers and scouts walking the rows, looking up, and evaluating from stalk to tassel.

“In the last two weeks, it’s really blown up and had a lot of questions about it [overly tight tassel wrap,]” he says. “Myself alongside the Channel seed professionals I work with are out in the fields, monitoring our pollination pretty intensely. We are extremely happy with our pollination progress so far. However, we have seen the tight tassel wrap in other products within the geography outside the Channel lineup.”

Overly tight tassel wrap has been reported by farmers and agronomists from Ohio to Nebraska and Missouri to Minnesota. Matt Montgomery from Beck’s Hybrids says this agronomic issue “does not, at the moment, appear to be at epidemic levels but at elevated levels.” The agronomic issue is attributed to many factors including environment, genetics and rapid growth stages.

Regarding this year’s growing season, Corteva provided this statement: “The weather conditions we have seen this year have really been an anomaly – in some areas we’ve seen as much as double the normal rainfall with sustained, higher-than-normal temperatures. These same conditions can lead to the presence of disease-causing pathogens. Our field teams and agronomists are working with customers to proactively monitor and manage the potential for disease development and treatment.”

Identify The Issue

Montgomery and the team at Beck’s are encouraging farmers to make two scouting passes this year.

“We are telling farmers to conduct at least two scouting tours where they find tassel wrap,” Montgomery says. “If they detect the issue and do some preliminary scouting, they should follow that visit with a second visit a few to several days later. In many (but not all) cases, we have found that the wrapped portion of the tassel eventually does emerge.”

“The best thing we can do this year is get out in your fields and scout and evaluate your pollination,” says Lance Tarochione, agronomist with Dekalb in Western Illinois. “If the tassel was wrapped up a month ago, you weren’t really going to know that if you weren’t there at the right time to see it because the tassel gets unwrapped eventually.”

He provides this scouting guide:

Do you see long silks?
Do you see clipped silks, for example from insects?
Do you see strange pollination patterns on the ear?
Do you see kernels on the ear that are in vastly different stages–most of the kernels on the ear are at the same stage, but if you’re having pollination problems and the pollination window gets strung out longer, you might have kernels of different sizes on an ear
Did the tip fill?
Did the butt fill?
Does the tassel look normal, small, have only one spike and no branches?

“We’ve observed that tassels with a big flag leaf are more likely to wrap,” he says. “And perhaps tassels with a hybrid with a tassel with a single spike and no branches might be more prone to tassel wrap. Hybrids that don’t exert the tassel well up above the leaves in the corn plant might be more prone to tassel wrap. There’s a lot of hybrids that have a very upright leaf structure.”

What to look for is one aspect, and equally as important is how to scout for pollination issues.

Brian Weihmeir, sales agronomist with AgriGold in central Illinois says, “Do scouting in the right way. We don’t want to go out and shuck back one ear and think you have a problem. Take multiple samples. Look at multiple hybrids. Multiple planting dates. Make sure we get a handle on what we are seeing.”

Weihmeir says his geography across central Illinois has not seen an overabundance of tassel wrap.

In western Iowa, Schleich says he’s seen a field where a majority of the plants were exhibiting tight tassel wrap—tassels gripped by the flag leaf to where pollen will not shed to reach silks below.

Is it Genetics or Environment?

Tarochione says opinions vary widely as to what is causing overly tight tassel wrap. But he believes undoubtedly it’s a function of genetics and environment and he strongly affirms there are more pollination issues in 2025 than just tight tassel wrap.

“Obviously, it’s ‘G by E.’ We talk a lot about how genetics and environment interact in all things agronomy. This is no different. But I don’t know that I feel confident we have a good handle on if there are specific environmental conditions that are causing it,” Tarochione says.

Genetics

Weihmeir points to plant characteristics exhibited by hybrids—pointing to hybrids with more inline tassels—less branching.

“It’s a more condensed tassel structure,” he says. “We have hybrids with condensed tassel types, but I haven’t seen tight tassel wrap in our portfolio widespread.”

In western Iowa, Schleich has observed the most consistent observation for tight tassel wrap has been in hybrids with tassels having a single branch.

Planting Dates

Schleich says he’s seen the tassel wrap phenomenon across a wide variety of planting dates–from April 15 to May 7.

Tarochione adds, “I don’t think that there is a specific planting window. It’s been observed in many states as pollination has progressed northward in the corn belt. I do not think it is restricted to a particular planting date window. I’ve seen May planted corn doing it. I’ve seen early April planted corn doing it. To me the planting window is the 2025 growing season.”

Other Pollination Issues

While tight tassel wrap brings a novelty interest in pollination issues, there are many other agronomic concerns during this important time in the corn crop.

“The tassel wrap phenomenon itself is a little bit unique based on my experience, but there’s other things that are causing pollination issues that are not unique,” Tarochione says. “In some cases a little bit too much attention is being paid to tassel wrap when there’s other things that can cause pollination issues.”

He points to timing issues such as when hybrids miss the nick, and silks aren’t adequately pollinated. Additionally, he reports many fields with smaller than average tassels and tassel development issues.

“Tassel development happens at about V6 in a corn plant. So we’re talking a long, long time ago that the tassel was formed in the corn plant long before you could see it. I see lots of very small tassels. I see lots of tassels with no branches. I see tassels with skeletonized branches. I see tassels that are probably producing less pollen than a normal healthy tassel would. So I think that can be playing into the pollination issues as well.” He says.

Schleich agrees says timing is paramount for successful pollination—from the emergence of silks, the length of silks and the spread of pollen once it sheds. In his geography—but not necessarily within Channel hybrids—he’s seen elongated silks which also cause pollination issues.

“If you are seeing pollination issues now, go back in a couple of weeks and evaluate pollination success with overall ear development to see how any of these problems contribute to overall yields,” he says.

What could tight tassel wrap mean for yield?

Tarochione says you can have tight tassel wrap and acceptable pollination.

“You can have tassel wrap and have acceptable pollination in a field with tassel wrap. And you can have poor pollination in fields that aren’t struggling with tassel wrap,” he says. “So it’s more complex than just does it have tassel wrap or not when it comes to pollination. Because if you’ve got two hybrids in a field like in a split planter scenario where you had hybrid A on the left side hybrid B on the right side of the planter. It might pollinate just fine, even with a wrap tassel, because the other hybrid will pollinate it.”

What does this mean for next year?

Clayton Robinson, Channel Corn Brand Portfolio Lead says, “ultimately, our breeding organization is very aware of that this issue [tight tassel wrap] is going on in the industry, and we are probably looking at this with a finer tooth comb moving forward. We’re really happy with how Channel corn products have pollinated in the field this year, but it’s always a good reminder to continue to be vigilant, to look for potential genetic issues that can present themselves when the environment is right.”

And for next year’s seed selection, AgriGold’s Weihmeir says this agronomic phenomenon highlights the need for genetic diversity across the corn hybrids planted.

“Every year is different. With our research, it’s important to have genetic diversity to mitigate risk and maximize yield,” Weihmeir says.

Farm Journal reached out to all major corn seed companies who supply the Corn Belt. Some did not respond. Stine Seed and Wyffels Hybrids said their agronomists are not seeing the tight tassel wrap in their portfolio and therefore chose not to comment further.

The Sweetest States: Where America Loves Ice Cream Most

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 20:53:24 GMT

July is National Ice Cream Month, and Americans are indulging like never before. But which states truly have the biggest sweet tooth? Recent research from SpinBlitz analyzed Google Maps listings nationwide to rank states by ice cream shop density, specifically the number of ice cream shops per 100,000 residents. Here are the top states who take their frozen dairy treats most seriously.

Top 10 Ice Cream-Loving States

1. Vermont (18.51 shops per 100K residents) Vermont tops the list with the highest number of ice cream shops per capita, and it’s not just thanks to Ben & Jerry’s. The state has a strong dairy foundation and a deep appreciation for small-batch, locally made ice cream. Whether in rural towns or tourist-friendly spots, ice cream shops are a visible part of Vermont’s food culture.

2. West Virginia (18.08) West Virginia ranks second in ice cream shop density thanks to a strong presence of locally owned parlors, custard stands and small-town scoop shops. It might not be a headline-grabbing food destination, but the state has a steady, long-standing appreciation for traditional favorites like banana splits, hand-dipped cones and floats.

3. Rhode Island (17.84) Rhode Island earns bronze in the nation for ice cream shop density. Known for regional favorites like frozen lemonade and coffee milkshakes, the state also supports a strong network of ice cream parlors across its coastal towns and neighborhoods. From tourist areas to local main streets, frozen treats are easy to find.

4. Pennsylvania (17.58) Pennsylvania ranks fourth with a diverse ice cream scene that reflects its mix of communities. From family-run creameries in rural areas to innovative shops in urban centers, the state offers a wide range of frozen dessert options.

5. Wisconsin (16.44) Known far and wide for its cheese, Wisconsin also delivers big on ice cream. Known as the Dairy State, it’s no surprise the state is brimming with mom-and-pop scoop shops, custard stands and local brands producing rich ice cream. Whether you’re at a farmstead creamery or a college-town cone counter, Wisconsin’s pride for ice cream shines.

6. Illinois (16.12) Chicago might be the driving force behind Illinois’ ranking, with its booming food scene filled with Instagram-worthy sundaes, small-batch gelato and quirky flavors. But don’t overlook the rural towns and suburbs, where old-school diners and small-town scoop shops keep the classics alive.

7. New Mexico (15.89) The only Southwestern state to crack the top 10, New Mexico might surprise you. But with sizzling summer temperatures and a thriving local food culture, it makes sense frozen treats are in demand. You’ll find shops serving everything from chile-spiked chocolate to cactus fruit sorbet.

8. Michigan (15.79) Snow doesn’t stop Michiganders from indulging. With thousands of inland lakes and summer tourists flooding towns like Traverse City and Petoskey, ice cream is a lakeside staple. From old-fashioned scoops to cherry-studded blends, Michigan’s ice cream culture is powered by nostalgia, local ingredients and a serious sweet tooth.

9. New Hampshire (15.54) New England knows its dairy, and New Hampshire is no exception. This state might not be flashy, but its abundance of seasonal roadside stands, maple-infused flavors and mom-and-pop ice cream stops make it a solid contender. Summer drives through the mountains or along the lakes are rarely complete without a cone in hand.

10. New York (15.35) New York ranks 10^th, where ice cream is as diverse as the state itself. From trendy, creative scoop shops and food trucks in the heart of New York City to time-tested creameries in upstate towns, there’s a flavor and style for everyone. With tourists and locals alike lining up for their favorite cones, New York’s ice cream doesn’t disappoint.

See How Your State Stacks Up in the Ice Cream Race
Whether you’re craving a classic cone or something a little more adventurous, it’s clear that some states really know how to satisfy that ice cream craving. Curious how all 50 states stack up in the great ice cream showdown? Check out the full ranking and see where your home ranks:

Rank	State	Ice Cream Shops per 100,000 residents
1	Vermont	18.51
2	West Virginia	18.08
3	Rhode Island	17.84
4	Pennsylvania	17.58
5	Wisconsin	16.44
6	Illinois	16.12
7	New Mexico	15.89
8	Michigan	15.79
9	New Hampshire	15.54
10	New York	15.35
11	Massachusetts	14.99
12	North Dakota	14.92
13	Ohio	14.90
14	Maine	14.89
15	Nebraska	14.83
16	Alaska	14.79
17	Indiana	14.78
18	Idaho	14.27
19	Delaware	14.05
20	Montana	14.00
21	South Dakota	13.96
22	Hawaii	13.78
23	Florida	13.67
24	New Jersey	13.61
25	Wyoming	13.56
26	Mississippi	13.25
27	Iowa	13.02
28	North Carolina	12.58
29	Texas	12.40
30	Arkansas	12.23
31	California	12.10
32	Arizona	12.09
33	Kansas	11.71
34	Connecticut	11.60
35	Virginia	11.25
36	Oklahoma	10.66
37	Nevada	10.54
38	Utah	10.38
39	Minnesota	10.37
40	Oregon	10.37
41	Tennessee	10.26
42	Louisiana	10.20
43	Georgia	10.00
44	Colorado	9.98
45	Kentucky	9.73
46	Washington	9.43
47	Alabama	9.23
48	South Carolina	8.80
49	Maryland	8.56
50	Missouri	8.44

From Omaha to Georgia: Inside the Farm Machinery Reshoring Boom

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 19:04:17 GMT

After releasing our “Where Farm Equipment Is Made” 2025 update in February , we circled back with farm equipment manufacturers to get a read on how tariffs will affect where machines are made.

Many companies across a wide range of industries are considering or even moving forward with plans to reshore production from overseas back into the United States. We’ve learned this process involves long-term, strategic investments in new facilities and/or expanding factories already established here in the States.

Although each manufacturer shared differing visions for how, when and where it plans to build out additional manufacturing capabilities in the years ahead, a common theme did emerge: farm equipment builders are investing big dollars into reshoring, and many have been for quite some time now.

Let’s hear what the machinery companies are planning:

AGCO Corp.

(AGCO Corp.)

The Duluth, Ga.-based equipment manufacturer says its dedication to American farmers and its own strategic investment plans are “key drivers of our overall growth strategy,” according to an AGCO spokesperson.

The rest of the statement from AGCO, which builds the Fendt and Massey Ferguson equipment brands along with its own AGCO machines, regarding U.S. expansion plans can be found below:

Since 2020, we have invested just under $3 billion in the U.S. across new and expanded manufacturing facilities, product innovations and the largest ag tech deal in the history of the industry. Our commitment has extended across our various brands, locations and Research & Development (R&D) efforts, including the notable 2024 joint venture establishing Colorado-based PTx Trimble, the inauguration of Fendt Lodge – the North American headquarters of Fendt – in Minnesota, a new precision ag production facility in Illinois, modernization of systems and technologies in one of our Kansas plants, and U.S.-based R&D for new sprayer and planter technology.

These investments, AGCO says, will not only enhance production at its U.S. facilities for years to come, but also ensure AGCO remains at the forefront of ag innovation around the world.

Claas

(Matthew J. Grassi)

Claas is still a somewhat fresh face to the North American farm equipment market, but the company has deep roots in Europe. It was founded over 100 years ago in a small German farming town, and today the company has global headquarters in Harsewinkel, Germany.

But you may not be aware that Claas has also built a significant manufacturing operation in America’s heartland. The company opened its Lexion combine production campus, located just south of downtown Omaha, Neb., in 1997. This year marks 10,000 Lexion combines rolling off the main production line inside the 120,000 sq. ft. facility.

(Photos: John Deere, Matthew J. Grassi, AGCO, Kubota)

Claas has significant expansion plans in place for its Omaha campus, including doubling its overall production footprint for the main manufacturing building as well as adding a new training and apprenticeship building.

Here is the statement Matthias Ristow, president & managing director of business administration – Claas Omaha, shared regarding the company’s expansion plans:

Claas is investing significantly in its production hub in the United States, and not only recently. Over the last five years, we have added to our production facility to provide a better location for our rework and reconfiguration areas, as well as a dedicated work area for our quality control department for the pre-delivery inspections each machine must go through before being shipped. This is part of our comprehensive quality assurance program.

We also have built a new service academy where we train all the technicians from our U.S. dealer network (we have a similar location in Canada) so we can keep their skills up to date and make sure they have the proper certifications to work on our machines. Technology updates and changes are trained there as well.

Furthermore, our new service academy houses our apprenticeship program where we train the future assembly technicians in a three-year rigorous training program, managed by the German Chamber of Commerce. The program has several advantages. Technicians receive a regular paycheck (“earn while you learn”), receive an associate’s degree from a community college we partner with, receive a certificate from the German Chamber and have a job when they graduate from the program debt free.

Farm Journal recently had the opportunity to tour Claas’ Omaha operation, where we learned the manufacturer is also expanding its partnerships with domestic material and component manufacturers. For example, it recently began working with a finished parts supplier local to Nebraska to fabricate the grain spout for each Lexion combine.

CNH Industrial (Case IH and New Holland)

(CNH Industrial)

Although short on specifics, CNH Industrial (Racine, Wisc.) confirms it plans to “continue to expand our footprint through capital investments in our U.S. facilities, partnerships with local suppliers and programs that strengthen the communities where we live and work.”

CNH adds it currently employs more than 9,000 people across 17 U.S. states, with 14 manufacturing facilities and 22 R&D centers active throughout North America.

And approximately 70% of the components used in CNH Industrial’s U.S. plants are sourced from domestic suppliers while 95% its steel is purchased from U.S.-based mills. It says this approach to domestic material sourcing supports thousands of suppliers’ jobs and reinforces its investment in American-made quality.

John Deere

(John Deere)

The farm equipment manufacturer with global headquarters in Moline, Ill., was first to share its future investment plans with Farm Journal. Back in May, the company announced a 10-year, $20 billion outlay plan for its U.S. production base. This year alone, Deere says it will pour $100 million into its U.S. operations.

John Deere says this initiative includes:

A 120,000 sq. ft. expansion of the company’s remanufacturing facility in Missouri.
Construction of a new excavator factory in Kernersville, N.C.
Expansion of its Greeneville, Tenn., turf equipment factory.
New assembly lines for 9RX high-horsepower tractor production in Waterloo, Iowa.

John Deere plans to invest a total of $22.5 billion into its U.S. manufacturing network once the 10-year project is complete.

Kubota North America

(Kubota North America)

Kubota Tractor Corporation (KTC) established its North America headquarters in Grapevine, TX., in 2017. The Japanese equipment manufacturer shared the following statement regarding U.S. expansion plans.

North America is critical for Kubota, and the U.S. is our largest market. We firmly believe in local production for local consumption and have made more than $1 billion in U.S. infrastructure investments in the last couple years to meet the growing needs of our dealers and customers. For example, we recently announced the opening of a new loader facility in Gainesville, Ga., (invested $190 million), a new Western Distribution Center in California (invested $72 million), and an R&D facility (invested $100 million) that’s also in Georgia. We have other network investment announcements in the works, and we plan to continue to invest over the next five to 10 years as we respond to market demands. Today, we are more than 7,000 American workers strong who market and sell, and fabricate, weld and assemble equipment with domestic and global parts.

Want to learn more about where your favorite farm machines are made? Check out “From the Factory to Your Fields: Where Farm Equipment Is Made”.

Your Next Read: The 20 Embarrassing Problems that Make Your Farm Truck Unique

Be Aware: Dangerous Asian Longhorned Tick Continues Migrating West

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 14:42:46 GMT

The Asian Longhorned Tick (ALHT) poses a serious threat to cattle health. ALHTs carry Theileria, which is a protozoan parasite that infects red and white blood cells. It can lead to anemia and, in some cases, death.

ALHTs are native to eastern Asia, eastern China, Japan, the Russian Far East and Korea but were introduced to Australia, New Zealand and western Pacific Islands. In other countries, it can also be called a bush tick, cattle tick or scrub tick.

In the U.S., ALHT was first detected in New Jersey in 2017. Since then, it has spread to more than 20 states with recent confirmations in Illinois , Michigan and Iowa .

According to USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) ALHTs are known to carry pathogens, which can cause disease and may also cause distress to the host from their feeding in large numbers. For example, a dairy cow may have a 25% decrease in milk production after becoming a host.

A female can reproduce without a mate and lay up to 2,000 eggs at a time. This can cause great stress on a heavily infested animal and result in reduced growth and production. A severe infestation can kill the animal from excessive blood loss.

Asian longhorned tick life stages and relative actual size.

(Photos of unfed ticks by Centers for Disease Control. Photos of engorged ticks by Jim Occi, Rutgers, Center for Vector Biology.)

What does it look like?

Unfed ALHTs range from a light reddish-tan to a dark red with brown, dark markings. While the adult female grows to the size of a pea when full of blood, other stages of the tick are very small — about the size of a sesame seed.

Adult females are a grey-green with yellowish markings. Male ticks are rare.

APHIS reports it only takes a single tick to create a population in a new location.

The above photos are of a AHLT engorged (on the left) and an adult AHLT not engorged.

(New Jersey Department of Agriculture)

ALHTs need warm-blooded hosts to feed and survive. They have been found on various species of domestic animals — such as sheep, goats, dogs, cats, horses, cattle and chickens — and wildlife. The tick has also been found on people.

What are the health risks?

APHIS says ALHTs are not known to carry Lyme disease, but they can cause tickborne diseases affecting humans and animals such as:

Rocky Mountain spotted fever
Heartland virus
Powassan virus

APHIS says those diseases have not been confirmed outside of a laboratory setting in the U.S. In addition, U.S. ALHT populations can transmit U.S. Theileria orientalis Ikeda strain (Cattle theileriosis) in the laboratory.

In an Iowa State University release , Grant Dewell, Extension beef veterinarian and associate professor, says cattle affected by Theileriosis will show signs of lethargy, anemia and difficulty breathing. They may develop ventral edema, exercise intolerance, jaundice and abortions.

“Although signs of Theileriosis are similar to anaplasmosis, younger animals and calves often display more severe signs compared to mature cows and bulls,” he says. “Due to anemia from both tick infestation and Theileria, the risk of death can be elevated. If cattle producers suspect either Theileria or ALHT, have a veterinarian collect appropriate samples and submit them to a veterinary diagnostic lab.”

According to an Oklahoma State University press release , under laboratory conditions ALHT is a competent vector of numerous pathogens that can cause disease in humans, including Rickettsia rickettsii (Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever), Heartland Virus and Powassan Virus.

In “ Clinical Infectious Diseases, ” Bobbi Pritt, MD, MSC, with the division of clinical microbiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., reported a human bite that occurred in New York in 2019. She says though the report of a human bite isn’t surprising, it proves the invasive longhorned tick continues to bite hosts in its newest location.

“This is extremely worrisome for several reasons,” she writes. “One reason is Asian longhorned ticks can carry several important human pathogens, including the potentially fatal severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) virus and Rickettsia japonica, which cases Japanese spotted fever. While these pathogens have yet to be found in the United States, there is a risk of their future introduction.”

Also, Pritt says several other human pathogens have been detected in the ticks, but it’s not clear if the ALHT species are able to transmit them to humans. They include Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, and Borrelia species. Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria.

She warns the organisms are present in states where ALHTs have been found and that it’s possible the tick — known to be an aggressive biter— might be able to transmit Heartland virus given its close relationship to SFTS virus.

How to Tackle Ticks

According to APHIS, various strategies effectively mitigate tick populations on hosts and in the environment.

Regular tick treatments should be effective against ALHTs. Consult your veterinarian or agriculture extension agent about which products to use.
Check your livestock for ticks regularly.
Safely remove ticks from people and pets as quickly as possible. If you think you’ve found an ALHT, seal it in a zip-top bag and give it to your veterinarian for identification.
Habitat modifications can help prevent ticks on feedlots and pastures. This may include mowing grass, removing trees, reducing shade by thinning trees, understory removal and placing mulch barriers.
Apply acaricide using label instructions to tick habitats, such as woodland edges and grassy patches, during times when ticks are most actively seeking hosts. Although it varies by year, ALHTs are generally active from March to November. Consult your state and local regulations for approved acaricides.

“Cattle producers should aggressively control external parasites this summer,” Dewell summarizes. “Insecticide ear tags alone are not enough to control ticks. Consider incorporating a back rubber or regularly applying a pour-on during the summer. Pyrethroid-based products are also available that include a tick control label. If an increase in tick infestations is observed, an avermectin pour-on may be the best intervention.”

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No, John Deere is Not Freezing Production or Stepping Away From its U.S. Factories

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 16:48:43 GMT

An online report last week claimed John Deere is shutting down ALL manufacturing in response to the ongoing tariff situation in the U.S.

But we looked into it, and we’re here to tell you: don’t take the bait — or, as the kids say, feed the trolls — because it’s simply not true.

An article authored by Kieran Schalkwyk and titled “John Deere Freezes U.S. Manufacturing in Unprecedented Shutdown” appeared on MSN.com and was aggregated by Google News feeds last week, claiming the manufacturer is “making a radical move that some might think is ‘un-American.’”

John Deere shared the following LinkedIn post Friday afternoon. You can also visit Deere.com for more information on the company’s U.S. manufacturing presence.

The MSN.com post has since been taken down and brings up an error page:

MSN.com screenshot

(MSN.com)

It’s somewhat bewildering timing for this particular misinformation ploy.

John Deere recently put out a blog post outlining its commitment to U.S. manufacturing. The statement says John Deere will invest $20 billion into its U.S. footprint over the next decade, which includes major expansion projects in Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Today, the company has 60 manufacturing facilities in more than 16 U.S. states and employs over 30,000 American workers.

What is true is over the past 18 months, the company has been forced to lay off some employees , and it strategically slowed manufacturing at some production facilities in Iowa in response to depressed farmer demand for new tractors and combines.

Of course, John Deere is not alone navigating a treacherous global farm economy. Machinery rivals AGCO and CNH also made the tough choice to layoff factory workers over the past 12 months. CNH even completely shutdown its overseas machinery imports during the first few days of the tariff policy rollout, although that pause was only temporary.

In February, we updated our popular “Who Makes What Where” feature showing where major farm equipment is manufactured around the world.

Our analysis of John Deere’s global factory network shows that of the 60 John Deere machines relevant to U.S. farmers, 50 of them (83%) are manufactured here in North America. Of all the major farm equipment manufacturers we polled, John Deere has the largest U.S.-based manufacturing footprint other than Canadian-based Buhler Industries, which is 100% North America based.

So, it feels safe to say we can put this rumor to bed once and for all: No, John Deere is not shutting down its factories. Myth Busted. Shutdown the rumor mill.

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Illinois Legislature Passes Bill to Improve Pesticide Applicator Process

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 13:39:05 GMT

Illinois lawmakers have passed a bill to amend the pesticide applicator licensing process. In what’s expected to be in place by 2027, the current exam renewal required every three years will be replaced instead with continuing education requirements.

“It’s finally good to be on offense down at the Illinois State Capitol rather than being on defense,” says Kevin Johnson, president of the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association, the organization which initiated the legislation.

The bill passed the Illinois Senate 50-4 and the state house 116-0.

“That’s not usual. Many ag bills in the state of Illinois don’t get those kind of kind of numbers, so we’re proud of that,” Johnson says. Now, it’s on to Gov. Pritzker’s desk for consideration to be signed into law; he has 90 days to act.

There are more than 36,000 registered pesticide applicators in Illinois — of which 11,000 are farmers.

In the potential new process, for the initial license issued by the state’s department of agriculture, a first-time applicant would need to pass the 100-question exam. Then, going forward, they could renew their status via the continuing education requirement.

“We have been an outlier for quite a few years. A lot of states have done this for 20 years,” Johnson says. “Our applicators are specifically asking for this, and so this has been a thing that we’ve worked on many years.”

Assuming the governor signs the bill, Johnson says it will go into effect Jan. 1, 2026, but industry stakeholders should expect about a year for the entire process to be developed with the official availability in 2027.

Not only will the new structure provide an in-demand change by pesticide applicators, but it will also give the department of agriculture an opportunity to provide timely, ongoing training for industry professionals.

“The continuing education will focus on the general standards, but it does give us the opportunity to update some topics every year,” Johnson says. “So, for example, it could be about the herbicide and insecticide strategies for the Endangered Species Act, so in coming years more about tank clean out.”

Why U.S. Agriculture Needs More AI Investment to Stay Ahead in Global Crop Innovation Race

Tue, 20 May 2025 18:15:48 GMT

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a key tool in accelerating the discovery, development and manufacturing of new crop protection molecules to fight yield-robbing weeds, pests, and diseases in U.S. farm fields.

The technology helps researchers shorten the discovery window and find new and novel active-ingredient molecules that are much more difficult and expensive to uncover using traditional research methods.

That was among the talking points that emerged from Tuesday’s congressional hearing on AI in farming, held in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Science, Space, and Technology Committee in Washington, D.C.

Related: The New Space Race: Why America Must Focus On AI

At the hearing, key agricultural stakeholders advocated for increasing government investment in AI technology and infrastructure. The group warned Congress that America’s status as a world leader in AI has been usurped by Japan and China, while other rival countries are also gunning for top positions.

Testifying on behalf of U.S. agriculture was Corteva Vice President of Agricultural Solutions Brian Lutz, University of Florida associate professor Chris Swale and University of Illinois assistant professor Boris Camiletti.

“AI is without a doubt one of the most profound technologies ever to be invented,” Lutz said. “We believe there is tremendous opportunity for our government to support and incentivize advanced innovation — including by leveraging the benefits of AI — to benefit American farmers. If we want to win, we need to move smarter and faster than our competition. Corteva believes with the support of our government, we will do exactly that.”

Lutz said researchers at Corteva recently used AI to model how 10,000 different molecules might be used in crop protection, all within a matter of weeks. The Corteva model was able to identify dozens of new potential crop protection molecules that its overworked chemists could not have found otherwise. He said the company is currently testing a handful of these molecules and AI will also play a role in moving the testing phase along more quickly than traditional lab-based methods.

Lutz also told Congress how Corteva scientists have deployed AI technology in its fermentation processes, which the company uses to create what he called “molecules of interest” for evaluation. Over the past few years, Corteva has used AI modeling to engineer various bacterial strains that drive fermentation reactions and optimize reaction conditions, allowing the company to run a manufacturing operation that is as efficient as possible. This application of AI helps Corteva maintain a strong U.S. manufacturing base in the Midwest, Lutz said.

“This is the new face of ag innovation,” he added. “We can accelerate discovery of new classes of crop protection products, like biologicals — nature-based solutions that help farmers grow more food by working alongside traditional crop protection products. With AI, we can begin to predict the incredible diversity of biomolecules and metabolites that are produced by microbes and other organisms, with the goal of unlocking the secrets within plant biology to develop the next generation of safe, highly targeted, nature-inspired products.”

Swale testified to AI’s role in helping researchers on his team find and develop biological-based treatments to combat Asian citrus psyllid, an invasive pest that has left the Florida citrus industry — valued at almost $10 billion just five years ago — teetering on the brink of collapse. Effective synthetic chemicals to manage the Asian citrus psyllid exist, but the regulatory hurdles to get those products onto the market are too high, he said

“We have turned to using AI to help discover chemicals of the natural world because the registration requirements are significantly lower when compared to synthetic insecticides,” Swale said.

Camiletti leads a team of researchers combining plant pathology, remote sensing and AI to help U.S. soybean farmers overcome red crown rot, a soil-borne disease first detected in Illinois soybean fields in 2018.

Illinois has been hit the hardest by the yield-robbing disease, Camiletti said, and the pathogen is spreading rapidly to Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri. The disease is difficult to detect visually, he added, and once symptoms appear it’s often too late for successful remediation.

“My team uses satellite imagery and machine learning to identify red crown rot hot spots, and we train the models with high resolution multi-spectral data to near-infrared bands and use ground observations to teach the algorithm what diseased plants look like,” Camiletti said. “This technology has real on-farm impact. We are building tools that generate prescription maps so instead of applying fungicides across entire fields farmers can target only the affected areas.”

After key witness testimony concluded, the committee opened the floor to questions from members of Congress. Watch the full hearing via the video embedded below:

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Midwest Farmers Dodge Spotty Rains as Planting Season Jumps Ahead of Schedule

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 20:40:40 GMT

Timely rains and great conditions have farmers racing to put seeds in the ground. USDA’s latest crop progress report shows 24% of the corn crop is now planted. That’s 2% ahead of the five-year average. For soybeans, 18% is now in the ground, which is 6% ahead of normal.

The weather and soil conditions are cooperating for the farmers on the “Plant Your Independence Tour” this spring. In Iowa, despite some rains, corn planting is 6% ahead of the five-year average at 34% complete. Soybeans are a quarter of the way done.

Jeff Reints farms near Shell Rock, IA

(Wyffels)

Jeff Reints farms in northeast Iowa near Shell Rock and has received 5" to 7" of rain across his ground since Easter Sunday. Right now, he still has about half of his acres left to plant. He’s hoping to get back in the field later this week to get back on schedule.

“We could still be completed with planting by May 10, which is a good, normal goal for us,” Reints says.

Ward Hunter farms in Ogden, IA

(Wyffels)

In Ogden, Iowa, farmer Ward Hunter said planting got off to its earliest start ever, but dry weather had him concerned. Now things have flipped. Hunter says he didn’t turn a wheel last week, and his fields have seen anywhere from 2" to 4" of rain.

In Minnesota, corn planting stands at 26% done, which is 5% ahead of average. Soybean planting sits at 13% this week and 7% ahead of normal.

Mike Madsen farms in Heron Lake, MN

(Wyffels)

Mike Madsen farms in Heron Lake, Minn., and saw 1.5” of rain between Friday and Monday. He’s planning to resume planting this week and expects to finish the last of the corn.

“Our farm has 150 acres of corn left to plant. No soybeans are in yet,” Madsen explains. “We have a little way to go, but it’s OK. It’s still April.”

Six hours southeast in Whitewater, Wis., Casey Kelleher says the ground is warm and working up beautifully. He says once they got started, the crop is going in quickly.

Casey Kelleher farms in Whitewater, WI

(Wyffels)

“About 50% of our corn, or roughly 1,200 acres, is in,” Kelleher says. “We’re just getting going on soybeans, and we’re in our first field now.”

Across the border in Illinois, some farmers were able to plant around the rain. Brent Johnson says they planted Wednesday, Thursday and over the weekend around Ashland, Ill. He has about 22% of his soybeans left to plant and 45% of his corn.

Brent Johnson farms in Ashland, IL

(Wyffels)

USDA says overall, 22% of soybeans are in the ground across Illinois. That’s 2% ahead of average. Corn is at 16% planted, which is 10% behind the usual pace.

The shift in planting pace is happening as more farmers put soybeans in first for agronomic reasons.

That’s a similar story for the Parkinson farm in Wataga, Ill. Their beans are done despite dodging storms on their way toward completion.

Rod Parkinson farms near Wataga, IL

(Wyffels)

“We’ve had a little over an inch of rain in the last week,” says Brian Parkinson.

He farms with his brother, Rod,, who says rain on April 17 kept them on the sideline for a few days.

“We hadn’t planted any corn, and I have a lot of friends, neighbors and customers in the same boat,” Rod says. “They got their beans planted but are waiting to start corn.”

The Parkinson brothers are the fifth generation on this family farm. Rod’s son, Austin, is the sixth generation.

“There’s been a lot of generations and a lot of hard work and effort to get to where we are today,” Austin says as the trio checks soil conditions once more. “This ground condition isn’t far off. It really just needs a full day of sun, and then guys will be able to get back in.”

With beans done, their focus is turning to corn, which currently offers better potential for returns.

“Corn does pencil a lot better this year,” Rod says. “With beans, you need an 11 in the front of them, and I don’t know that we’re going to get there. So, we did switch an 80-acre parcel to corn.”

This year their operation is roughly a 60/40 split between corn and beans.

As morning grey turns to midday sun, corn planting on their corner of Illinois commences.

“This winter was different than last because we had a lot of freezing and thawing. That’s why the soil is so good,” Rod says. “A year ago, we never had one freeze, and it stayed heavy all spring.”

Even with the delay, they’re in good shape agronomically.

“Last year, our Wyffel’s data showed April corn through May 15 corn really had no yield drag,” Austin says. “After May 15, you have a little bit. But it’s really all about planting conditions. If you can plant when the conditions are good that’s going to be the best way to go.”

Patience with the planter is key as the Parkinsons dodge raindrops.

“I think guys are feeling pretty optimistic right now,” adds Rod as he watches Brian put the first corn rows into strips.

He’s optimistic the planting will get done, even as the growing season is just beginning.

Calcium Sulfate Fertilizer Plant Opens in Illinois

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 15:43:39 GMT

With capacity to produce 100,000 tons of calcium sulfate fertilizer, SUL4R-PLUS opened a new plant in Marissa, Illinois.

Manufactured from by-products from coal-fired power plants SUL4R-PLUS is a patented, dust-free, low-salt, calcium-sulfate fertilizer. This is the company’s second production facility and is located near the Prairie State power plant. SUL4R-PLUS is distributed by HELM, and the Marissa plant can supply up to 2 million crop acres.

(Arthur Fager
)

“Our commitment to innovation is somewhat unique in the fertilizer industry, but we believe new developments in crop nutrition can help support the need for farmers to produce more,” says Terry Gill, SUL4R-PLUS president and CEO. “It’s important that farmers have cutting-edge crop nutrition products to match the innovation in their seed and crop protection products. Farmers who have used SUL4R-PLUS are seeing the crop yield and environmental benefits, and it has led to strong demand.”

SUL4R-PLUS is a slow release granular product providing sulfur, calcium and fulvic acid and is designed for use in soybeans, corn, small grains, alfalfa, forages, fruits or vegetables.

default

(SUL4R-Plus)

“Our team is committed to bringing innovative solutions to ag retailers and their growers as they look to increase crop production and nutrition,” adds Gill. “This new location is one physical example of our dedication to the future of agriculture here in the heartland.”