ILSoyAdvisor Blog

Are farmers missing the boat when it comes to soybeans by not applying a starter in furrow?

Soybeans remove significant amounts of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) when harvested. Because of this, soybeans can respond to starter fertilizer applications when soil tests are low in P and K. There is even some current thinking that a little nitrogen (N) applied on soybeans at planting will stimulate growth before nitrogen fixation kicks in...

Treating corn seed has long been tradition, but not treating soybeans. Corn seed has been treated with a fungicide for decades because hybrid seed production was commercial, and seed companies wanted to get the best performance out of each seed planted.

But soybean seed treatments are a more recent advancement, especially since farmers stopped bin-running soybeans. Even on our family farm, we did not treat soybeans until I came on the...

Pay attention to the basics. That’s the advice Eddie Tackett, an Arkansas farmer who regularly grows 100 bushel-per-acre soybeans, shared recently with growers at the Illinois Soybean Summit.

Here’s a closer look at Tackett’s “witches brew”—or seven ingredients—for raising bin-busting yields on his farm:

#1: Good Soil. What’s good? It depends on what you’re trying to grow, says Tackett. Farmers who have farms...

Recent studies show how cover crops benefit soil health, water quality and farmer profits, helping to fuel a renewed interest in using cover crops, according to Mike Plumer, coordinator, Illinois Council on Best Management Practices.

Despite their diverse economical and environmental benefits, Plumer says cover crop adoption in Illinois isn’t increasing as rapidly as in other states. He estimates cover crops make up only 0.5 – 1...