Regardless of when you plant soybeans flowering still begins just after V3. The difference is the amount of foliage produced from VE to V3 with more foliage produced the earlier you plant. Soybeans in Illinois can be planted over a 2- to 3-month period, from early April for full-season beans to early July for double-cropped bean. With soybeans being daylength sensitive, how will such a wide planting window and daylength impact when soybeans begin to flower? With the delayed planting this spring, I began to wonder at what V-stage soybeans will flower as planting was delayed outside the normal [...]

To keep or not to keep that questionable soybean stand? Soybean growers are facing the tough decision on whether or not they will replant after what has been an extremely wet spring. Many publications state 80,000 plants per acre population will get you 100% of a "normal yield", however it is important to take the increasing calendar date into consideration as well when looking at replanting or leaving the original stand. Nonetheless, we must go back to the basics of soybean replant before any decisions are made. Step 1 – Identifying the Problem: Identifying the cause of the stand [...]

Pollination is mutually beneficial to both pollinators and plants, resulting in the production of seeds necessary for many plants to reproduce. However, today’s production practices can potentially lead to an unhealthy environment for pollinators to survive in and do their job: pollinate. All too often, there is conflict between row-crop farmers and beekeepers. Beekeepers often see farmers as indiscriminate users of pesticides who don’t care about killing their bees, while farmers see managed beehives as an annoyance that they are forced to consider when managing their crops. In truth, however, commercial agriculture and managed honeybee colonies are mutually beneficial [...]