Agronomy: Meet Your Soy Envoys: Randy Stephens
Hello, my name is Randy Stephens and I am an agronomist, CCA and work with Helena Chemical in Martinsville, Illinois. Practicing modern agronomy is the solution to higher-yield soybeans. My excitement in agronomy lies in the adoption of conservation practices and the addition of modern techniques of fertilization to raise soybean yields. Tillage and fertilizer practices need to be rethought in a lot of instances to break through personal yield barriers. If you can grow soybeans with less input cost from planting, that is as good as a yield increase. Traditional planting dates, as well as other cultural practices, [...]
WEBINAR: Making Soybeans More Than a Rotational Crop for Corn
With a downturn in commodity prices, many farmers are wondering what changes they will need to make in 2015 to remain profitable. In recent years there has also been strong interest in managing soybeans more aggressively for higher yields. Are high yield, high management soybeans still an option in today’s economic environment? To help growers answer these questions and plan for high-yielding soybeans in 2015, Lance Tarochione, agronomist with Monsanto, led an ILSoyAdvisor.com webinar on top soybean management practices. Watch the webinar below for information on soybean management, tips for high yields, and ways to make soybeans more than [...]
Agronomy: Setting up Your Planter
Today most soybeans are seeded with a conventional planter. There are still some growers that use drills and air seeders because they are planting cereals or they are planting double crop soybeans and want a high population and narrow rows. When it comes to planting soybeans no one thinks much about the planter and what it is required to do since they are more concerned that corn gets planted right. And if a planter can plant corn seed right then it will work fine for soybeans – which is generally true. For corn, seed needs to be singulated and [...]
Agronomy: Soy Checkoff Discusses How More Protein Brings More Value to Soybeans
This ASA educational podcast is brought to you by the Soy Checkoff. Value added soybean meal could lead to profit for soybean farmers and provide animal agriculture the quality it desires. A recent Soy Checkoff study found that increasing protein content by 1 percent, leads to greater value per acre. Listen now to learn more about how more protein can bring greater value to soybeans. LAUNCH AUDIO >> This article originally appeared on the American Soybean Association's website and has been reposted with permission.
Plant & Soil: Soil Health: Six Questions to Ask in the Spring?
Spring is here and soils are slowly beginning to warm up. As they warm up, they become microbially active, feeding on carbon and recycling nutrients. Your goal is to optimize soil conditions so you can optimize biological activity, including soil microbes and critters that live in the soil. Remember, the soil sustains them and provides them with the resources they need to survive and hopefully thrive. And in return their activities keep the soil healthy and productive. But as the season begins, think about a few key elements that are necessary to stimulate biological activity. Remember you can’t have [...]
Disease: New ‘Focus on Soybean’ Webcast Helps Expand Your SDS Management Options
Sudden death syndrome wreaked havoc in fields across the Midwest U.S. and Canada in 2014, resulting in much yield loss and frustration for farmers. Although selection of resistant cultivars is the best management option for SDS, other management options may complement resistance. A new webcast titled “Soybean Death Syndrome Management Update” and published in the Plant Management Network’s Focus on Soybean resource, highlights three years of research focusing on these complementary options. The talk, authored by Dr. Daren Mueller, Extension Field Crop Pathologist at Iowa State University, offers practical information on SDS management through: Seed treatments Planting date Glyphosate [...]
Agronomy: Meet Your Soy Envoy: Mike Wilson
I’m Mike Wilson and I live and work in southern Illinois, NASS Crop District 9. I have been involved in production Ag for about 35 years and my experiences have run from seed production for corn, soybeans and wheat in the beginning of my career to Ag retail for the last 20+ years. While I enjoy working with all crops, soybeans have always held a certain allure for me. About 10 years ago we began an initiative in Wabash Valley to improve soybean yields. To accomplish this we have taken a Stress Mitigation approach. Our aim has been to [...]
Agronomy: Set up success of double-crop soybeans by controlling weeds in winter wheat
Last week I spent time talking with a client about corn planting. But for the most part we really just talked about the weather and how all the rain will delay corn planting. Delayed corn planting due to wet weather usually means that nitrogen and herbicide applications to winter wheat are also delayed. In talking about this delay in addressing the needs of the wheat crop our discussion centered around not getting the nitrogen on the wheat, but also focused heavily on getting an application of herbicide on it, too. This farmer shared an observation he made last year. [...]
Agronomy:Top Yield Robbers in 2014: Farmer Survey Results
The 2015 growing season is just around the corner. What were your biggest yield limitations in 2014—and are you doing anything different this year to keep those factors at bay? By beginning with the end in mind, your decisions can make the most of the 2015 growing season and prevent the obstacles you encountered in the field last year. Last fall we asked growers throughout Illinois to share the biggest yield limitations they encountered in 2014. Pay attention to these top yield robbers this season to up your management game: Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) – Growers around Illinois reported [...]
Agronomy: Top Six Soybean-Planting Tips
The days are longer, the birds are chirping and the trees are beginning to bud. For soybean farmers, it can only mean one thing: Planting season has arrived. And with planting season comes a wave of information; some of it helpful, some maybe not as much. Because everyone needs their lives made a little easier this time of year, here are the top six planting tips you should keep in mind. Know your soil type and condition. Coarse? Dry? High-residue? Knowing your soil is crucial in determining a range of factors when planting this season, including the right depth [...]
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