Ken Ferrie
Agronomist Ken Ferrie provides agronomic insights, crop management tips, and practical advice for farmers to improve crop yields.
Harvest is wrapping up for the Farm Journal Test Plots. Ken Ferrie shares preliminary observations on soybean planting date, 15" versus 30" rows, sulfur products, corn planter fertility and corn fungicide plots.
Technology continues to march forward and, as Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie points out, managing the furrow has never been easier, as long as you take time to dial things in.
Prepare the field before converting to strip-till to set the stage for higher corn yields.
Farm Journal Test Plots show strong yield responses to placement, product combinations.
Rubber, poly, cast iron, dimple, smooth and spiked—there are many choices when it comes to planter closing wheels. How do you know what’s right for your fields?
Choosing hybrids for their ability to overcome the stresses in individual fields is several steps removed from simply looking at neighborhood plots and talking to neighbors, says Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie.
When you go on a 2,700-mile personal crop tour through parts of eight states, you see a lot of corn and soybeans and get a sense of where there will be stellar yields as well as below-average results this harvest.
The growing season has been far from perfect, but a northeast pocket in the Corn Belt just might be the garden spot for corn thanks to strong stands and a steady stream of rain in July.
Potassium’s behavior in the soil sets it apart from other nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. That means you must manage it differently.
“Should I use a nitrogen stabilizer?” Simple question, but the answer is complex.