ILSoyAdvisor Blog

Not too late to plant deeper!

For a long time producers and agronomists believed that the correct planting depth for soybeans is 1 to 1.5 inches while corn is 1.75 to 2.25 inches.

Soybeans can’t be planted as deep as corn because they generally do not have the strength in their hypocotyl to push out of the soil. Two other factors are that soybean seed requires more water to germinate and emergence can be more easily impeded when...

Gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O) is a mineral mined from sedimentary deposits created by the evaporation of saline water, where sulfuric acid comes into contact with calcium carbonate. A number of productive gypsum quarries have operated in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula over the last 150 years, marketing the mineral as plaster, stucco and fertilizer. Agricultural gypsum is applied as a soil amendment and fertilizer containing roughly 22 percent calcium and...

Treating soybean seed is a good risk management tool for a relatively small investment per acre. It is usually not done at a seed plant, but rather at a dealer’s seed warehouse, and can be applied before delivery. Making the decision to treat soybean seed has to remain flexible until the very last moment because once the seed is treated, you own it, can’t return it (like corn seed), can’t market it as grain and can’t store it until next year...

There are several Apps that companies and public institutions have developed with the unique goal of increasing product exposure, reaching broad and progressive audiences, and improving effectiveness in communicating news, educational materials, and support tools. Without doubt, Extension is changing and the audience is evolving. During the winter meetings we’ve had this year, we have seen more and more people using smartphones and tablets...