ILSoyAdvisor Blog

To say that Southern Illinois has been blessed with rain this spring is an understatement. Here at our farm we have had over 9 inches of rain from April 1 until June 10. And that rain has also come with some storms. Those storms along with a fast-growing wheat crop and late-season nitrogen applications have come combined to give us something we don’t want—lodging.

Lodging is a term used to describe wheat that has fallen down flat or...

Background
Soil testing is a useful and commonly used diagnostic tool for making phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilization decisions. Tissue testing has been suggested for decades as another tool for these and other nutrients. However, tissue testing has not been widely implemented for P or K in Iowa or the North Central region because of inconclusive results from limited field calibration research based on crop...

Growers or their agronomists should start scouting fields beginning with emergence and assessing plant stands and early weed emergence and identification in May. In doing this inspection, we may see the first signs of insects and diseases.

By June 20, most soybeans are at R1 – early bloom, even though they will continue vegetative development. Some of the early season’s diseases and insect pests to look for include...

Big data gives you the ability to capture information you can use to make decisions that improve the yield and profitability of your soybean crop.

Success in soybean production today is becoming increasingly dependent upon data—data about varieties to choose, data about pest management under your production system, data about inputs, data about yield---all types of data that can be used to guide decisions before, during and after the...