I think one of the most overlooked problems with farmers trying cover crops is not paying enough attention to the herbicide program that was used in the cash crop before the cover crop was planted. We, as farmers, spend a great deal of money to control weeds in our cash crop fields. Over the last several years, many “hard” to control weeds like waterhemp and resistant marestail have pushed many of us to use herbicides that have more residual...
All Posts from July 2021
|
July 21, 2021 |
|
July 22, 2021 There is no right way to farm, however, there have been many methods of farming that have been tried and tested. When thinking about weed control, our industry once relied heavily on mechanical control, which eventually lead to major erosion and environmental impact. When glyphosate-tolerant soybeans were introduced to the market, they allowed for less tillage, reducing environmental impact. Over the past 10 years, chemical controls alone... |
|
July 29, 2021 Reading through the history of the formation of grain and feed associations on the state and national level, you will notice a foundational block was to have a uniform system for grading and inspecting grain. Prior to establishing nationally agreed upon grades, it was a tumultuous time. The importance to the grain trade of having fair and consistent procedures cannot be minimized. This is true from the farm gate to the end user.... |
|
July 27, 2021 Planting a crop can be an emotional roller coaster for a farmer, besides selling grain too soon. My grandfather would say “put your bare bottom” on the soil and if you cringe, it’s too cold and too early to plant. Based off how often I heard this same story this past spring, the generation prior to us was definitely one of the greatest. The last three springs have brought up a lot of debate on when we should or should not be planting. In... |
|
July 26, 2021 At first glance, soil looks rather uninteresting. It might be brown, red, gray, white, or other colors depending on organic matter content and mineral characteristics, pieces of crop residue may be present, and if you are lucky, you might also see an earthworm. Have you considered, however, that each teaspoon of soil contains billions of bacteria and countless other microscopic organisms? This world, hidden in plain sight, influences many... |
|
July 23, 2021 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... |