Thoughts for the 2022 Planting Season
In agriculture today, we’re blessed with some of the highest grain prices on record. Jason Boehler provides his recommendations as you plant this spring.
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
Proper Soybean Staging and Implications for Management
Illinois grows the most bushels of soybeans of any state in the United States. The varieties we typically grow here are called “indeterminate” which means their pattern of growth can change as the season and conditions allow year to year. Staging soybeans is an important aspect to managing a healthy crop because many of our crop protection products have specific usage windows. Let’s walk through the stages and discuss crop protection considerations at each growth stage. Preplant – This one is pretty self-explanatory. Preplant is the term used to describe a field of soybeans that has yet to be [...]
Diagnosing Field Issues in Soybeans
It is that time of year again when spring gives way to summer heat. Crop planting has all but wrapped up across the state, and all emerged fields are growing at breakneck speed. Post emerge applications are mostly complete on corn fields and post emerge applications in soybeans are in full swing. This time of year, it is not uncommon to notice oddities in your crop fields. Sometimes it is easy to jump to conclusions, that may not be accurate. Let’s go through a couple of scenarios and walk through some considerations. Case 1: Deformed Leaves Photo credit: Steven [...]
Pandemic-Induced Supply Chain Issues Still Prevalent
The past 14 months have been extremely tough on all of us. What started as “Two Weeks to Flatten the Curve,” stretched into over a year of unprecedented government lockdowns and restrictions. Thankfully, we have watched the marvels of modern science develop, implement, and roll out a vaccine faster than ever before. Here in mid-May, we are seeing much of the United States open back up or at least being scheduled to open with restrictions lifted. As full of uncertainty as 2020 was, we were fortunate enough to begin the season with fully stocked pipelines of products. In many [...]
Why Should I Care About Soil Health?
Everywhere you turn, the words “soil health,” “regenerative,” and “sustainable” are buzzing in the agriculture space. There are carbon credit markets, EQIP and CSP programs, and more N.G.O. programs than I can begin to name out there, each offering differing incentives in this space. If you are reading this hoping for insight on the meaning of “sustainable” or “regenerative,” I cannot offer any insight. If you are hoping to get direction on what programs are available to subsidize these practices, again, I am not an expert in that space and cannot provide you direction. However, what I can offer [...]
When Should I Harvest My Soybeans?
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 [...]
When to Seed Fall Crops
Here in late August 2020, the days are getting shorter and we’ve been waking up to unseasonably cool morning temperatures that remind us fall is around the corner. For an ever-increasing number of fields, there will be a quick turnaround before they get seeded to their next crop. In traditional crop rotations, still common in Southern Illinois, fall is when next summer’s wheat crops are seeded. It is a common practice across much of Illinois to plant a shorter maturity of soybeans on those fields preselected to be planted to wheat. In my experience, the best stands of wheat [...]
Evaluating Soybean Plots to Set Yourself Up for Success in 2021
If you have lived for very long in an area where soybeans are grown, you’ve likely passed more soybean plots than you care to count. Most people drive by them without a second thought. Most farmers even drive by them without giving them much thought, other than they’re a pretty product showcase for a seed company. They’re so common we take for granted what there is to learn from them. They take a fair amount of time for farmers, seed dealers and agronomists during very busy seasons to put in and take out. So, what is there to learn [...]
Balancing Beneficial Insects in Soybeans
Insects are everywhere. For every man, woman and child on the face of the earth there are 200 million insects. In honor of National Pest Week, which is June 22-28, I thought I’d write my article this month about insects in soybean production. When you hear the word insect, many people have a negative reaction. While there are certainly several insect pests in our world, there are generally many more beneficial species—that keep the populations of crop pests well in check—that we tend to glance over and not acknowledge. Lady Beetle Lara about to prey on aphids. Credit: Mississippi [...]