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September 2021

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 [...]

By |September 28, 2021|

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 [...]

By |September 15, 2021|

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 [...]

By |September 14, 2021|

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 [...]

By |September 14, 2021|

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? [...]

By |September 14, 2021|

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

By |September 9, 2021|

Calibration: The Key to Harvest Data Utilization

As harvest quickly approaches, many things are on the minds of farmers, from who is going to be running the grain cart to when is the best time for each specific field to be harvested. Farmers are chomping at the bit to start harvest, however with harvest comes a very important step in the precision ag cycle: calibration of the machines. What is Calibration? Calibration, in terms of harvest calibration, is the act of baselining a machine’s sensor to a standard measurement in order to have the most accurate yield detection system. Though there are multiple types of calibration [...]

By |September 3, 2021|
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