All Posts from December 2019

Every growing season provides us with an opportunity for learning, and 2019 was certainly no exception to this rule. Although we need to be cautious about relying too strongly on variety performance from a single year, especially one as unique as the one we have just gone through, there are always agronomic lessons that we can take to heart. In my recent ...

It seems like nothing is simple anymore. After the introduction of glyphosate tolerant soybeans in the mid-1990s, herbicide applications where somewhat simplified. In recent years, with newer herbicide tolerant soybeans and the ever evolving weed resistant population, soybean herbicide operations are becoming increasingly complicated again.

Before new herbicides are released into the commercial market, extensive research is completed...

Most farmers and agronomists would agree that seed selection is one of the single most important decisions that can be made for an upcoming crop. From this single decision, one will determine field selection, row width, seeding depth, seed treatments, herbicides, nutrients, etc. Therefore, selection is a significant factor for a successful and profitable growing season. I have always recommended to my customers the importance to “control...

Weed control on soybeans will again be at the forefront going into the 2020 season. With record prevent plant acres in some areas of Illinois, 2020 could be a defining year as weed seed banks have increased on many of these acres. Although we have the potential to see increased weed pressure and different species of weeds compared to previous years, the recipe for maintaining clean fields will not change.

In the past, effective weed...

Whether ham, turkey, chicken, beef or fish take center stage at your holiday dinner table, you can thank soybeans. Why? Because livestock, poultry and fish rely on protein from soybean meal to grow into that tasty bounty.

Livestock and poultry producers are the largest customers for Illinois soybeans and feed for animal agriculture represents the top market for soybeans today. In total, over 70 percent of the soybeans grown in the U.S...

This December a new premium discount program is available to farmers who plant cover crops ahead of a federally insured commodity crop and insured with approved insurance providers. The new state program called Fall Covers for Spring Savings is administered by the Illinois Department of Agriculture and the Illinois 97 Soil and Water Conservation Districts. The $5 premium discount is available on 50,000 acres of cover crops that were planted...

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