Pivotal Issues Blog

By: Clarke McGrath It’s been another challenging season so far. A combination of cold temperatures creating challenges for seedlings, untimely rains impeding planting progress, and windy days wrecking spray schedules hit the highlights, or maybe lowlights, of the start of the 2018 growing season. With soils cool and wet at soybean planting time, we are set […]

By: Tom J Bechman OK, corn likes it warm when growing. That’s a no-brainer. But a pair of researchers looked at exactly how corn responds to warmer temperatures as it germinates and grows. What they found may help you better understand why corn planted in cool soils or subjected to cool weather after planting struggles until […]

By: Industry Voice by Dow Enlist Don’t let weeds rob your crop of valuable nutrients and yield potential. Ryan Miller, Ph.D., market development and new technology specialist, reminds farmers to remain proactive to control tough weeds. You can implement a successful weed control program with a few key steps. Here are Miller’s six suggestions for developing […]

By: Terry Basol Each year in the spring, as corn is emerging, my colleagues and I get called out to assess why some fields are exhibiting uneven corn stands. There are many reasons why a couple of corn plants could be missing here and there in your corn rows. Here are five common causes for you […]

By: Iowa State University If you have cornfields in Iowa this spring, start scouting emerged corn for armyworm in late May. Larvae may be present and chewing on young corn plants, says Adam Sisson, an Iowa State University Extension pest management specialist. Insecticide treatment may need to be sprayed if armyworms reach threshold levels in the […]

By: Rod Swoboda With delayed spring weather and low or uncertain grain prices, farmers and crop consultants are asking questions about using starter fertilizer for corn this spring. The placement of small amounts of plant nutrients in bands offset to the side and below the seed row or in the seed furrow increases the concentration of […]

By: Rod Swoboda With the cold, wet weather earlier this spring, planting was delayed in much of Iowa and the Midwest. Farmers have had to hustle to get seed in the ground, and they’re now looking ahead to the next big question: Is there enough nitrogen? You don’t want your crop to run short of N […]

By: Lon Tonneson Next Level Ag LLC has come up with a combination of traditional soil test and a soil health test that has helped its customers increase their crop yields and cut fertilizer costs. The Indicator Test is a combination of the traditional university-style soil test and the Haney soil health test. Next Level Ag […]

By: Industry Voice by Beck’s Hybrids It’s important for farmers to get a good start on their season while ensuring that their crops have the greatest potential for success from the moment they are planted. And as temperatures warm and spring planting begins, many farmers have contemplated different starter fertilizer options. Starter fertilizers typically include various […]

By: Soil Health Institute The initial methods cooperating scientists will use to assess soil health indicators has been released. According to Dr. Steven Shafer, Chief Scientific Officer of SHI, the lack of widely-applicable measurements and methods for assessing soil health are significant barriers to adopting soil health practices and systems. “Something you often hear scientists and […]