Test Plots

But downforce pressure and ground contact are keys to fully capitalize on benefits.

In this interactive eBook, Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie offers advice on how to review your equipment balance sheet.

Join us at 8 a.m. Central Nov. 10 for the Early Riser session, “Now’s the Time to Repair and Prep Fields for 2021.”

Putting In A Hybrid Test Plot? Read These 5 Tips First.

Manage potential soybean risks with a systems approach

A well-planned program results in more bushels, less fertilizer and reduced loss

The value of zone management goes beyond cutting input costs; it also allows farmers to effectively focus inputs and attention. If you don’t have background information on a field, then grid-based management does the job, says Brad Beutke, who helps with the Farm Journal Test Plots and farms near Clinton, Ill. “But if you have yield history, calibrated yields maps, soil surveys, elevation maps or aerial imagery, for example, then it’s worth the effort to take advantage of the data.” Instead of trying to randomize out variability with a super-imposed grid, zone management uses historical data and experience to pave a path. Regardless of where you are on the technology adoption curve, zone management is beneficial.

The ROI of nitrogen (N) is significant—an extra 20 lb. costs less than 2 bu. of corn. That doesn’t mean you throw on some extra N and hope for the best.

Farm Journal Test Plots find rolling soybeans early gives them time to bounce back

Corn hybrids move in and out of the marketplace at a faster rate of speed than ever today. The revolving door means farmers have less time to evaluate and pick the seed best-suited for their fields.