Spring Pre-emergence Herbicide Applications
Is it time to apply my pre-emergence herbicide? The short answer is, “Yes.” It’s after April 16, so as the weather straightens out, we are at calendar time to begin applying pre-emergence herbicides. Your crop protection retailer is the best source of information about your pre-emergence chemistry, but here are a few things you may want to consider. What rate should I run? Most pre-emergence herbicides have a rate range on the label, so how do you choose what rate you run? Remember, the reason we run a pre-emergence herbicide pass is to keep your field clean of weeds [...]
WEBINAR: Cover Crops Role in Soil Health Webinar
Scott Wohltman from La Crosse Seeds explains the role that cover crops play in soil health. He will also discuss how growers can integrate cover crops into their operation. What does soil health mean? Continued capacity of soil as a vital living system whereby plant and animal growth, and environmental quality are sustained or regenerated; a holistic approach in which plant, animal and human health are promoted Soil health can be impacted Maximize biodiversity (enhance the rotation) Maximize soil cover with continuous living roots (versus 6-7-month alternative) Minimize disturbance (with less unnecessary tillage) Increased tillage = increase risk of [...]
WEBINAR: The Bigger Picture – Analyzing Aerial Imagery
Greg Rose, co-founder and vice president of product at IntelinAir, and Ivan Dozier, M.S., senior agronomist, IntelinAir, explore the past, present and future of aerial imagery for agriculture. They discuss the types of imagery available, pros and cons of the various collection methods and why automated analysis is a key component of the usability of aerial imagery. MEASURE Remote sensing provides a new way to measure crop performance Multispectral lenses offer different perspectives Ability to collect imagery at scale ANALYZE Computer vision & machine learning Combining imagery with data-driven analysis Get to the decision quicker ACT Make in-season decisions [...]
Seed Quality and Planting Populations in Soybeans
The two most discussed topics on the meeting circuit this winter were “Plant Your Soybeans Early” and “Lower Your Planting Population.” Both are great recommendations in a time when dollars are tight. Planting early is a management practice that doesn’t cost a grower anything and lowering your seeding population can save you money. More and more data is being collected and presented showing that soybeans can still reach the upper 90th percentile of yield potential with populations as low as 90,000 seeds per acre. For many growers lowering seeding rates is a gradual process. Lowering rates 5,000 – 6,000 [...]
Terminating Covers Completely
Each year, more and more farmers are adopting the practice of planting cereal rye ahead of soybeans as a cover crop. And each year we have new situations arise that we don’t anticipate during the spring planting season. If you are growing specialty crops like non-GMO soybeans, for example, special precautions should be taken to ensure the crop’s grain is not adulterated at harvest. The specialty grain production contracts have specific requirements that must be met to receive the premium for the grain. Adulterated grain happens at harvest when there is another substance, such as other crop seeds, found [...]
Full Rate Herbicides Prevent Resistant Marestail
Marestail, one of the first glyphosate-resistant weeds identified in row crops, is still among the top driver-weeds that can significantly impact your soybean crop each year. With planting kicking off, marestail management should be top of mind. Marestail is a prolific seed producer; its seeds are light, making them highly mobile and allowing them to rapidly spread by wind to nearby areas. With this weed’s ability to produce 200,000 seeds and grow up to 6’ tall, it’s best to knock it out early and maintain control throughout the growing season. Start Clean Since marestail typically germinates in the fall, [...]
Slug Management in Illinois Field Crops
Article originally posted on the Bulletin. Slugs can be a difficult pest to manage when conditions are favorable for them, which has been the case often (particularly in southern Illinois) over the last couple of years. These mollusks can damage both corn and soybean early in the season, along with a variety of other crops; however, they have the potential to be especially problematic in soybean, where they can kill the cotyledons and ultimately reduce stands. There are a few management points to consider for slugs in field crops: Monitor slugs before planting to estimate the severity of the [...]
The Soybean Seeding Rate Conundrum
In a bean-pod… Use a soybean seed treatment Plant less than 140,000 seeds in white mold areas Target a final stand of 100,000+ plants in productive fields Target a final stand of 135,000+ plants in low productivity fields or areas within fields Soybean seeding rate is one of the most heavily debated and frankly, in my humble opinion, the most overthought agronomic decision we make in soybean. As a general rule of thumb I recommend farmers purchase a bag of seed per acre (140,000 seed count) and plant that entire bag per acre (140,000 seeds) (Figure 1). Remember your [...]
What You Should Know About Your Soybean Row
Article originally posted on the Burrus Buzz. Recently, both agronomists and growers have been circling around the question of soybean row width and during a recent Twitter poll, 37% voted for me to write about soybean row spacing. This soybean management strategy has been pondered for almost 80 years. I could go on forever citing research, but the conclusion is greater yield potential has been achieved with row spacing less than 30 inches. Don’t get me wrong, there are many that have not adopted narrow row soybeans because of economic factors which can outweigh higher yield potential such as: [...]
Planting Date – Stay the Course
This spring, plant some soybeans early and wait for “perfect” soil conditions for corn. April continues to be cold and wet, straining last fall and winter’s planting intentions. For many growers, those plans were to include early planting of soybeans. The data shows that early planting continually shows returns, but now the calendar looks to push us to late April or even May for the first planting opportunities. So, what will that do to those well laid planting plans? Unfortunately, for many growers, it means resorting to their “corn-first” plan. I disagree with this approach, since going back to [...]
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