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June 28, 2019 Many producers in Southern Illinois double-crop soybeans after wheat and this creates an additional opportunity for revenue for the farm. In addition, winter wheat acts as a cash cover crop and planting soybeans into wheat stubble adds living roots which supports biological activity in the soil when growers may otherwise let the field lie fallow.
Producing double-crop soybeans is a challenge because you’re... |
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June 26, 2019 There are 18 essential nutrients in plants: Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are the most likely to be added as fertilizer. Water, carbon and oxygen come from air and water. Calcium, magnesium and sulfur are needed in large amounts as well, and in Illinois we generally take what we get from nature. Sulfur now commonly needs to be added along with the big 3. We add calcium and magnesium when we lime, although in Southern Illinois we... |
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June 24, 2019 Father’s Day was just over a week ago, and since we couldn’t be in the fields, I invited my dad to join us for supper to catch up on things from home. Talk inevitably turned to the crops and #plant19. My dad was born in the late summer of 1934. He has farmed all his life, by my estimation if we assume his first cropping season was when he was fifteen, he’s seen 69 crops. Dad looked me in the eye and said, “I’ve never seen a year like this.”... |
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June 20, 2019 Understanding and practicing good soil health improves soil quality and productivity, is better for the environment and can lead to more sustainable crop productivity. The nutrient cycle is slightly different in a healthy soil versus one that does not have the same characteristics. For example, a long term no-till/cover crop system will have better soil health characteristics than a conventionally tilled field without cover crops. Listen in... |
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June 20, 2019 Growers need to understand risks with continuous soybeans before addressing product placement. Remember the goal is to get an even stand with seedlings that emerge at nearly the same time and develop at the same rate (Figure 1). In the past, most sources say that there can be up to 5 to 15% yield loss attributed to soybeans planted after soybeans if compared to a corn after soybean rotation. However, research done by Emerson Nafziger... |
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June 17, 2019 Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is known to cause considerable yield loss in soybeans. Often that loss is accompanied by undetectable crop symptoms and options to control it seem increasingly limited.
In an earlier blog SCN: The Soybean Nemesis, Dr. Nathan Kleczewski at the University of Illinois stated “You may not realize it, but... |