Pivotal Issues Blog

By: Larry Stalcup 1 A proper insecticide seed treatment can be the difference between whether early cotton seedlings can survive thrips or other insects just after planting — a time when young plants are already under pressure in typical cool, damp conditions. Seed treatments may be even more important with the newer herbicide-resistant cotton varieties being […]

By: WallacesFarmer Improving the odds of having a successful cash crop following a cover crop is the aim of several new projects funded by the Iowa Nutrient Research Center at Iowa State University. “Based on strong farmer interest and input from our center advisory committee, almost a third of this year’s $1.7 million in project […]

By: WallacesFarmer Results of a five-year study at various locations across Iowa show cover crops added to a corn-bean rotation have no negative effect on yield while significantly reducing the nitrate concentration in subsurface water. Conducted by Iowa Learning Farms, Iowa State University Extension and Practical Farmers of Iowa, this study helps dispel the commonly […]

By: Tom J Bechman Nearly 25 years ago, Dave Nanda estimated that corn could yield more than 500 bushels per acre. It wasn’t just a wild guess. He based his estimate partly on how many raw ingredients corn plants could capture per acre for photosynthesis. Over the past couple of years, farmers in national corn yield […]

By: Meaghan Anderson Before the combine gets stashed away for winter, an end-of-season clean-out is a way to check the combine over for necessary maintenance and remove material that could act as food or bedding for pests, like mice or raccoons. These animals can cause damage by chewing wires or nesting in the engine. Cleaning out […]

By: Gil Gullickson For the most part, there’s good news about corn rootworm in 2019. Wyffels Hybrids had an extensive rootworm-trapping network this last summer for adult rootworm beetles in order to assess next year’s larval (root damaging) populations. “We have not seen a huge spike in numbers,” says Mitch Heisler, marketing manager for Wyffels Hybrids. […]

By: Gene Johnston How much nitrogen does your corn crop need each year? That question is one of your toughest, you’ve said in surveys. Newell Kitchen, a soil scientist with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service in Missouri, is sympathetic to your quandary. The sources of plant-available nitrogen in the soil, coupled with the year-to-year variability of weather, […]

By: Enlist Weed Control System David Underwood grows cotton, corn and soybeans on his farm in central North Carolina. He takes a proactive approach to weed control, carefully monitoring each field and trying technologies to limit the impact weeds can have on yield. Each year, Underwood plants more than 1,000 acres of cotton. He plants several […]

By: Sara Brown   Researchers at the University of Minnesota are looking at new ways to use hog manure for fertilizer. In a recent podcast, University of Minnesota Extension specialist Melissa Wilson talks about one of her research initiatives to compare the use of liquid hog manure in sidedressing applications. “One of the big things I […]

By: WallacesFarmer Farming in Wright County in north-central Iowa, Tim Smith wants to be part of the solution. In 2011, he began adding practices that kept soil in place and held nutrients to improve soil health and water quality. Smith says he’s thankful for the assistance and guidance he receives from his local Natural Resources Conservation […]