Pivotal Issues Blog

By: Chrystal Houston The crop at the Project GROW (Growing Rotational crops on Wellfields) demonstration plot is thigh-high, the rows of fuzzy bean pods a muted golden brown. Leininger pulls a pod from a plant and pops it open to reveal three perfectly shaped milky-white ovals. “These are ready to cut, ready to combine. They’re dry […]

By: Kansas Farmer A new community-based awareness initiative is informing growers about the risks of waterhemp and Palmer amaranth and teaching them how to fight back. Weed scientists with The Ohio State University have worked with the United Soybean Board and the Ohio Soybean Council to launch a “No Pigweed Left Behind” campaign in their […]

By: Ron Smith Producers interested in planting cover crops this fall should select species based on what they expect to achieve. Options for erosion control, for instance, vary from those that improve soil structure, scavenge and cycle soil nutrients, alleviate hardpans or increase organic matter. “Having a clear objective for planting a cover crop aids in […]

By: Chris Torres A look at the most recent Crop Progress Report for Pennsylvania shows that marestail, or horseweed, has started to emerge in some fields across the state and in other parts of the Mid-Atlantic. Controlling this weed can be very challenging, as most farmers already know, but the sooner you try to control it […]

By: Steve Groff Although I try not to pitch cover crops as a magic bullet for cost saving, the truth is that the answer to the question, “Do cover crops pay?” is a resounding “Yes!” Often, we tend to focus on where they pay off in profit with increased yields. But one of the most overlooked […]

By: Tom J Bechman Who says there’s nothing new under the sun? Source is not only new, it’s also the first product from a new player in agriculture. Called Sound Agriculture, the company formed in 2013. Eric Davidson, co-founder and CEO, says Source is a unique, science-backed molecule that activates microbes within the soil. It’s not […]

By: Megan Vollstedt In 2020, turn your attention to affordable edge-of-field conservation practices like saturated buffers, which can remove 41% to 98% of the nitrate concentration leaving your farm. A saturated buffer is designed to treat tile drainage water from fields that are adjacent to rivers, streams, lakes, and ditches. The saturated buffer intercepts a field […]

By: Gil Gullickson Wind and water get their most ink when it comes to the ravages of erosion. Still, the cause of much erosion sits in the sheds of many farms: tillage tools. That’s what David Lobb, a University of Manitoba soil scientist, explained to attendees at this week’s Conservation Tillage Conference in St. Cloud, Minnesota. […]

By: Bill Spiegel Details matter. For years, that’s been the message Lee Briese shares with the farmers for whom he is a certified crop advisor. It’s those little details that can make a good crop great, says Briese, who works for Centrol Crop Consulting in Edgely, North Dakota. It’s also the little details that turned […]

By: Jolene Brown We are in a real mess. My husband, Joe, was admitted last month into a memory care center for advanced Alzheimer’s. We have good long-term care policies. Our farm operation has been in really good hands since our son, Alan, and his wife have farmed with us for 34 years. Actually, with […]