FUNDED BY THE ILLINOIS SOYBEAN ASSOCIATION CHECKOFF PROGRAM.

Dawn Kielsmeier

Bringing Better Beans to Polo and Mendota

The Illinois Soybean Association hosted two Better Beans Series events in the northern and northwestern parts of the state. Better Beans came to Polo on January 30 in partnership with Pearl City Elevator and then hit Mendota on January 31 in partnership with Northern Partners Cooperative (NPC). The local events drew over 200 attendees, industry experts and exhibitors. The programming was excellent, tailored to the needs and challenges of growers in the area, and received many wonderful comments—with one producer even stating that it was, “One of the most beneficial meetings that he had attended for quite some time.” [...]

By |February 2, 2018|

Learn from Your Weed Challenges

As we approach harvest this year, it’s a good time to reflect on what happened during the season. It was an extremely trying year for planting and for implementing a successful weed control program. As I drive past fields up and down the state, there are many weed control failures still affecting our fields moving into harvest. Most of the weed problems I notice are giant ragweed, waterhemp and marestail. Growers need to consider mapping and recording each field individually, identifying the weeds that are present and problematic. Doing this will help set them up for a more successful [...]

By |September 27, 2017|

Follow-up to Postemergence Weed Control in Soybeans

Weeds are tough to control today, but throw in weather-related issues and it’s a recipe for disaster. This season we are facing some tough weed challenges in Illinois. In my blog last month I reviewed the weed control struggles I have been seeing this season. I have since had the opportunity to evaluate herbicide applications on some of this season’s more difficult weeds, and here is what I have found. Marestail – In my experience, the best control of this weed was made with an application of Classic® and Resource® together. That application seems to have killed most of [...]

By |August 23, 2017|

Seeing Postemergence Problems in Soybeans

Weeds are tough enough to control today. Throw in weather-related issues and it’s a recipe for disaster. This is the year we can all learn from our experiences with so-called “resistant/tolerant weeds.”  I have been experimenting with many different combinations of chemicals to find the most effective suppression, because I do not think we will ever have full control of these most troublesome weeds. First and foremost, we need to begin targeting each weed individually, instead of a blanket chemical program across all acres. This means we need to map and record each field and identify the weeds that [...]

By |July 26, 2017|

Why Weeds Become a Control Problem

Controlling problem weeds post-emerge in soybeans begins with pre-emerge planning. The past few days have been filled with many service calls on both waterhemp and marestail control. These weeds are becoming major challenges in our crops and this season has proven to be one of the tougher one I have encountered in my career. The task of killing these weeds is already a challenge, but this season has been especially challenging. Here’re are few tips on controlling these weeds. Waterhemp Glyphosate-resistant waterhemp can be controlled by PPO inhibitors such as Cobra® or Flexstar® or Liberty® if Liberty Link® soybeans [...]

By |June 23, 2017|

Weeds to Watch Out For

It’s time to get up close and personal to know the super weeds invading your fields. “Super weeds” are becoming increasingly more widespread within Illinois and many of us in the agriculture industry are quite aware of their presence. These weeds typically are resistant not only to glyphosate, but also to other herbicides, making them even more challenging. Some may be resistant to two, three or even four different chemistries. By identifying these so-called super weeds early in the season we can develop a positive plan of attack to control them. Pigweed species  Redroot/Smooth pigweed: Round to oval leaves [...]

By |April 26, 2017|

Choosing Roundup Ready or Liberty Link

Comparing the Liberty Link® to the Roundup Ready® System in soybeans—how do you know which to choose? With the onset of resistant weeds such as marestail, waterhemp and Palmer amaranth in soybeans, many growers are looking to move from depending on the Roundup Ready system to a Liberty Link system. We need to take into consideration the differences between them and carefully consider which system will be best suited for your farming operation. I feel there are three main questions to consider when making this decision. The first question is whether there any differences in yield. In researching this, [...]

By |February 13, 2017|
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