Pivotal Issues Blog

By: Heather Barnes Walking through the cornfield in front of our house last week, my farmer husband and I found plenty of cornstalks but not many ears of corn. The ears we did find were either undersized or missing most of their kernels. We were lucky to get the corn planted at all. The planter should […]

By: Jodi Henke Black tar spot is a fungal disease on corn that was first identified in the U.S. in 2015 and has infiltrated several states in the Corn Belt, reducing yield. Like many fungal diseases that produce spores, tar spot is carried by wind and can easily spread from field-to-field. Nathan Kleczewski is an Extension […]

By Raylene Nickel While most often harvested for grain, fast-growing buckwheat also offers a source of forage when conditions present limited feed supplies and an extremely short growing season. “Buckwheat is a particularly good fit for producers who typically plant crops in the spring for forage but, for some reason, are prevented from a timely […]

By Raylene Nickel Building a cowherd of 100 head has been Rusty Myskiw’s long-term goal. Hand in hand with growing the herd has come the need to provide plenty of winter shelter for the cattle. Myskiw’s farm near Warren, Manitoba, sits on an open patch of prairie offering little protection from the region’s long, cold […]

By Successful Farming Staff Barley farmers who want to transition their conventional fields to growing organic can contact the organic beer Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold about a contract. Michelob ULTRA will purchase the transitional barley at a premium price. The process of transitioning to organic is full of high costs and risks, says the company, […]

By Gil Gullickson The marvels of metabolism occur every time a crop plant breaks down a selective herbicide that kills adjacent weeds. These days, though, it’s almost like the weeds are watching. That’s because biotypes of two pigweed species – waterhemp and Palmer amaranth – are mimicking the same type of metabolism field crops use […]

By Mark McLaughlin We farm 1,100 acres with one son; our two daughters and another son don’t farm. We’ve helped our off-farm son financially a few times, totaling $65,000. We’ve given $35,000 to a daughter. We doubt they’ll pay it back. The other daughter makes subtle comments, and our farming son is upset because it […]

By Jodi Henke The old, wooden barn that’s been on your family’s land for decades is a relic of the past and has emotional value. However, after years of standing up to the brutal forces of Mother Nature and possibly neglect, it’s showing its age and a decision needs to be made. Do you tear […]

By Dee Goerge When Amber Kuemerle places a label on a jar of her Starfire Farms Hot Pepper Butter, she knows it meets her quality standards because she has done it all – from cleaning and grinding the peppers, to adding a few real food ingredients, cooking it to the right temperature, and filling jars. […]

By Jodi Henke The landscape of the Upper Midwest is pockmarked with prairie potholes, thanks to glaciers that scraped out the area centuries ago. The potholes fill with snowmelt and rain. Some will eventually drain, but some don’t which has detrimental effects on both early and late crops in a farm field. Research has shown […]