Pivotal Issues Blog

By: Industry Voice by Bayer CropScience If growers could pick one aspect of crop management that has the greatest impact on their success, most would choose timeliness. Here are three steps growers can take to maintain timeliness, preserve fiber quality and maximize yield: Be efficient. Understand when to defoliate. “Timely and proper defoliation is critical […]

By: Industry Voice by Beck’s Hybrids At the end of each season, one question on everyone’s mind relates to residue management. What equipment is the most effective? What residue management products would perform best in your fields? And most important, what will make you the most money? During times of challenging commodity prices, farmers are […]

By: Wallaces Farmer Each month the Timely Tips panel answers questions sent by readers. Members of the Timely Tips panel are Alejandro Plastina and Wendong Zhang, Extension economists, Iowa State University; Leslie Miller, Iowa State Savings Bank, Knoxville; and Rob Stout, Master Farmer, Washington, Iowa. Following are the questions they are answering this month. Do […]

By: Meghan Filbert It can be hard to justify the costs of cover crops when the benefits aren’t always evident in the first few years of using them. However, when those cover crops are put through a cow, value is instantly added and can often exceed the cost of establishment. Grazing cattle, or any ruminant […]

By: Alisha Bower Young farmers looking to return to the family operation in Iowa in years past would probably have taken on hogs as their main enterprise to get a foot in the door. This was work for young people — long, sweaty days. But with low entry costs and good profit margins, it was […]

By: Jacqui Fatka The use of cover crops is becoming a more mainstream practice as a new farmer survey reveals acreage planted in cover crops has nearly doubled over the past five years. With the increased use, tangible benefits to farmers are also on the rise as the survey revealed farmers reported increased yields of […]

By: Tom J Bechman If you’re comparing one corn hybrid to another and ears are present, your eyes will go to the ears first. Yield is still No. 1 in selecting corn hybrids. But if ear size is all you consider, you may be missing out on key information right before your eyes, Dave Nanda […]

By: Tom J Bechman You never know what you may find if you keep your eyes peeled while scouting cornfields. In one field, a consultant found the leaf pictured here. It exhibits what appears to be shot-hole feeding. That type of feeding occurs when an insect larva chews through leaves in the whorl. Once the leaves […]

By: Joel DeJong The 2017 crop season has again been an interesting one. Here in northwest Iowa, rainfall during the growing season was spotty, and it’s been a year when the “sins” of planting have haunted fields all season. I’m amazed at the differences in yield potential this year. Some fields look quite good, while […]

By: Jacqui Fatka The use of cover crops is becoming a more mainstream practice as a new farmer survey reveals acreage planted in cover crops has nearly doubled over the past five years. With the increased use, tangible benefits to farmers are also on the rise as the survey revealed farmers reported increased yields of […]