Understanding the Fundamentals of Soybean Growth
Soy Envoy Kris Ehler explains how understanding the fundamentals of soybean growth may help develop better soybeans.
New Crop Insurance Dates Offer Earlier Soybean Planting Opportunities & 3 Tips for Successful Early Planting
Soy Envoy Kris Ehler provides insight into the new crop insurance dates and shares how to be successful when planting soybeans early.
Early planting of soybeans and population
Planting soybeans early? Consider reducing the population to let the plant exploit this opportunity.
Will Bean Leaf Beetle populations in 2021 be a Bigger Issue?
In late August of 2020 I started to see a disturbing trend. Bean Leaf Beetle (BLB) populations were well above previous years. In East Central Illinois, we continued to monitor these populations, but they remained below any threshold worthy of action. With drought-like conditions, no rain in the forecast and sub $8.50 soybeans on the board of trade, many growers would not have been excited to make a late aerial application for a crop that was headed in the wrong direction. Unfortunately, many growers in geographies along the U.S. Route 24 and north of that, had no choice but [...]
Soybean Seed Sizes for 2021 Planting Season
What looked to be an extremely good soybean year for growers in 2020, ended up being average to slightly above average. Last year was set up for better soybean yields than 2018’s record crop in many areas, but very dry August and September conditions took the top end out of the yields. This was very evident in the seed size at harvest. This is also carrying through for soybean seed for the 2021 growing season. Seed is much smaller than years past. It is not uncommon for many of the seed lots I have seen and treated to be [...]
Navigating the New Herbicide Market
The 2019 season will provide soybean growers with some recently approved trait options as well as the potential for amendments to their current system. This topic has been a hot button at many meetings, coffee shops and roadside conversations. One thing is for sure, having options moving forward to combat weed resistance is a good thing. We already have the dicamba-tolerant Xtend® trait. The dicamba technology is a tool enabling growers to combat resistant weeds. However, the volatility of the product created headaches in 2016 and 2017. Up for review are the labels for the three Xtend dicamba chemistries. [...]
PODCAST: Flying High with Aerial Imagery
Kris Ehler, sales agronomist with Ehler Brothers Co. in Thomoasboro, IL and 2018 CCA Soy Envoy, has recently had the opportunity to check out some AKER and IntelinAir aerial imagery products and is excited to share his feedback and experience with our listeners. Listen to the podcast here:
Making Early Applications in Soybeans
Post applications to promote soybean growth should be timed for optimal efficacy. As growers, we often look for the application timing that is convenient, or most cost effective, and can apply multiple products in a single pass. For many of the products on the market, there are recommended timings to optimize their efficacy. Soybeans will determine their number of branches between V2 and V3. Some growers have done a form of mechanical damage to influence branching at this stage. Rolling is the most common practice, but some have used a form of mowing to also induce branching. As with [...]
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 [...]
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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