For carbon and ESG markets, one thing is clear—it takes a village
Contributed by Bradford Warner Vice President of Sustainability & Business Development, Farmobile The increasingly frenetic and frequent conversations around carbon markets, water quality, regenerative ag, and sustainability have spawned more questions than answers. What Farmobile can definitively say is that carbon credit and environmental, social and governance (ESG) markets are not going away. A new market is popping up every week, every month. At the grower level, however, there are a lot of questions. Is this for me? What hoops will I have to jump through? What will I have to do to participate? Perhaps most importantly, is this [...]
Using Harvest Aids/Desiccants in Soybeans
Soybean desiccation Soybean desiccation is not a new tool in other parts of the country, it has just not been used in Illinois with any frequency. In the past, harvest aids have been used to remedy problems that interfered with efficient soybean harvest e.g., green stems or excessive weeds. What is new is that more farmers are looking to desiccation in combination with earlier planting for an earlier harvest and reduced harvest loss and foreign materials (FM) that can lead to dockage. The potential yield advantage with earlier planting has been well-documented and 2021 saw many growers planting a [...]
Are Your Crops Networking?
In my blog from July 26, 2021, I discussed ‘The Hidden World Beneath Your Feet,’ a look at some of the microscopic inhabitants of the soil that influence soil health and crop productivity. In this article, we will take a closer look at mycorrhizal fungi to understand what they are and why they might be important to crop productivity. Are your crops networking? I am not suggesting that your soybean plants should attend a cocktail party or join a popular online networking app. Instead, I am referring to the presence of mycorrhizal fungi in the soil and the association [...]
Drive Harvest Profitability with Digital
It’s gettin’ busy in the Midwest. When it comes to harvest, no one knows your land and crops better than you. But don’t forget to dig into your data. On average, U.S. corn and soybean farms generate more than 2,500 data records during a typical 10-month growing season. The data captured this season, and years past, can take you well beyond last year’s yield and this year’s growing conditions and provide invaluable insights to prioritize decisions before, during and after harvest. Digital tools like Granular Insights™ make it easy for farmers to tap into the often siloed data on [...]
The Importance of Calibrating your Combines and Analyzing Your Yield Data
As harvest nears full swing in the Midwest and farmers are watching the yield data flow in on their monitors, there is little guidance on how to ensure that all the hard work of the season is recording properly in the cab. Yield monitors are an important tool for gaining knowledge about an operation and can connect the dots when managing hybrids and fertility based on soil variability. The biggest area of confusion with setting up yield monitors and using them is that not all yield data is quality data. Oftentimes confusion surrounds why the data is not reflecting [...]
SCN in Soybeans: Do I have an issue?
As I drove around Southern IL this summer, I noticed a lot of fields that have areas in them that were showing the symptomology of Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN). Often these spots are stunted, yellow and just generally not in good health. Now, there are a lot of reasons for soybeans to show this symptomology, and very likely not every one of these spots were SCN, but SCN counts have been on the rise over the last few years and now is a great time to be testing for the pest. SCN, like all nematode species, is an unsegmented [...]
Use Your Toolbox to Control White Mold Infections
As the growing season progresses and we near harvest, Illinois soybean growers often see increased disease symptomology in their fields. They may wonder what can be done to combat diseases once symptoms appear, but with some pathogens the infection occurs many weeks prior to the onset of visible signs of disease. Once the infection is apparent, it is often too late for effective control. The best-known illustration of this is Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS), but white mold is another example. Figure 1 shows very early symptoms of the disease appearing in the upper canopy. Although it may be too [...]
More than One Way to Add to Nutrient Stewardship
Submitted by Illinois Farm Bureau Cover crops are becoming increasingly popular to manage nutrients in a corn-soybean rotation. But they are not the only practice farmers can implement to enhance nutrient stewardship. In fact, there are multiple strategies that might fit your farm and magnify your impact. To shed light on some of these strategies, Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) sponsored a Nutrient Stewardship Grant Program that featured 21 projects across 28 counties this year. Several county Farm Bureaus hosted field days during the spring and summer to showcase how farmers can improve soil health and water quality to address [...]
The Air You Breathe
In last month’s blog ‘The Hidden World Beneath Your Feet,’ we looked at some of the microscopic inhabitants of the soil that influence soil health and crop productivity. In this article, we will take a closer look at how soil microbes participate in soil nitrogen cycling, and ultimately the movement of nitrogen from the atmosphere into forms that enable life on earth. The air you breathe – that may seem like an odd way to begin a discussion about soil biology, but have you ever paused to consider where most of the nitrogen present in our environment is located? [...]
PODCAST: Soybean Field Observations and Getting Ready for Harvest
Jason Boehler, a 2021 CCA Soy Envoy, joins the podcast this month to share observations he is seeing from the fields as harvest gets closer. He also shares tips to prepare for a successful 2021 soybean harvest. Listen to learn more. ILSoyAdvisor Podcasts · Soybean Field Observations and Getting Ready for Harvest
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