The November 9, 2020, USDA Harvest progress report indicates that, on average, the 18 states that are monitored are slightly ahead of the 5-year harvest average. Bringing the information closer to home, Illinois is about 96% (+/-) complete with harvest, with its 5-year average at 92%. For many Illinois soybean farmers, harvest has come and gone somewhat quickly. Soybean plants were able to mature relatively nicely, allowing for harvest to begin earlier than usual. The benefit of early harvest in soybeans is that it allows for corn fields to have additional time to dry while overall harvest operations can [...]

Soybean harvest has had its ups and downs this fall. But if I had to single out the biggest in-field challenge, it would be trying not to combine through the waterhemp escapes and spread weed seed all over the field. Waterhemp seed is very small and there is plenty of it per plant. And given the difficulty in trying to control it, you don’t want to make the problem worse at harvest. Waterhemp continues to be a growing problem in central Illinois. We typically find it emerging where rainwater flows through our fields and the seed is moving from [...]

Harvest data is very beneficial when showing us what happened in a field, or to a product, but it doesn’t always give us the “why” we may have gotten a certain result. This data can be very powerful to help us to make input decisions and can be enhanced with technologies that provide insights into performance of these inputs. The question is often asked,” What was my most limiting factor?” and we can use digital tools to investigate this question. These technologies could range from as applied data to aerial imagery, however the two I want to focus on [...]

If you have followed any of my work over the past few years, it will come as no surprise that I am an advocate of planting soybeans early. Ongoing research at Bayer Crop Science sites across the state of Illinois has provided valuable information on the benefits of early planting. Even so, I must admit that with a heavy frost in May and overall slow early development of the soybean crop, I was rather nervous about how the early planted beans would perform. As it turned out, my fears were unfounded. In this article, I will share some of [...]

Fall harvest is a busy time for farmers. You see a lot of combines and other equipment working in the fields, sometimes around the clock, to get crops out before any bad weather arrives. Our fifth-generation farm is no different, although I am just as likely to be caring for our dairy cow herd as I am combining corn and soybeans or doing weed research for Purdue University. I put in a lot of long hours all year wearing so many hats. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. You might think that our activity on the farm [...]

With harvest underway for most producers in the state, the next big challenge is to properly manage logistics to successfully deliver high quality grain to the point of sale. Depending where a producer is located it may or may not make sense to sell corn or soybeans right out of the field for numerous reasons (basis or future price, deferred income in next tax year, etc.). Harvest crop moisture can add another layer of complication for the 2020 growing season. So far this fall corn is taking a while to get dried down, and in some situations, soybeans are [...]

Q & A with Christy Ford, Grain Originator with CHS Carrollton I’m sure we can all agree that we will be glad when the challenges of 2020 are behind us. However, we may all come out stronger and more appreciative of how life used to be and how simple it was to do business. With soybean harvest underway in some parts of the state, I felt it was important to reach out to a good friend and my personal grain advisor to share how to handle the grain elevator during fall 2020. Christy Ford is the grain originator with [...]

With harvest starting on some early maturing varieties, soybean yields are on a lot of growers’ minds. This year Illinois experienced a large feeding frenzy by Bean Leaf Beetle in many areas that called for late application of insecticide, but what else could explain loss in yield? Apart from June planted beans, little can be done at this point to help retain yield, but there are a few things to scout for in order to help explain some problem areas that you might encounter this fall or possibly next year. Insects & diseases Final stand counts Stressed areas Soybean [...]

Four years ago, I entered a field in the Illinois Soybean Association 100-Bushel Challenge. The field was an early planted full-season variety. To say they looked great was an understatement. They had a good stand, good branching, and, most impressive of all, great pod counts. Unfortunately, the year turned dry at the end and my plants wound up dropping about 30% of their pods. My full season maturity hurt me. They still looked good (not great), so I decided to enter them into the contest. I had hoped to cut them at the end of the week, but due [...]