ILSoyAdvisor Blog

The use of foliar fertilizers has been steadily increasing in recent years. I believe this is due to the drive to reach higher yields by more efficiently managing soybeans. 

I’ve seen some positive results using a program that can also be incorporated in a post spray pass to increase early season growth and aid plant health. For example, the combination of a ZMB (zinc-manganese-boron) product such as Helena® Axilo® BMZ along with a...

Most growers have been pushing the planting envelope earlier and earlier, of course weather permitting. However which crop, corn or soybeans, benefits more from early planting?

The diehard corn growers out there will probably vote that corn yields benefit more from early planting because the yield penalty for late planting can be greater. However, those who study soybean planting date and yield trends recognize that soybeans benefit...

Soil sampling has traditionally been done in the fall, after crops are harvested. The objective is to know how much fertility the soil already has to produce next year’s crop.

But in my business, more than half my sampling is done in the spring. We usually begin sampling when fields are planted or ready to plant and continue until crops are no more than 12-inchs tall to minimize damage to the crop. I have found ATV damage to be...

Every year growers battle weeds in soybeans. We spend most of the winter making crop plans, including weed control, then Mother Nature decides to give us a wet spring. Here are some thoughts around controlling weeds in soybeans in a delayed spring:

Winter Annuals – Any field that did not receive a tillage pass in the fall will have some pressure from winter annual weeds like henbit, chickweed and marestail....