Pivotal Issues Blog

By: Tom Bechman You felt like late-season disease hurt test weight and yield in 2016 corn. You booked hybrids back in September. Should you go back and switch to hybrids with more disease resistance? How much yield potential can you afford to sacrifice to get better disease resistance for next year? Betsy Bower answers these […]

By: Kansas Farmer, Farm Progress Oahe is a new South Dakota winter wheat with high yield potential and an “excellent” disease package, according to Sunish Sehgal, South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station winter wheat breeder. From 2013 to 2015, Oahe ranked No. 1 in mean grain yield among hard red winter wheat trials in the North […]

By: Jeri Geren, Crop Production Agent, Wildcat Extension District Many producers are curious about the conditions of the soils they farm. Does the North 40 need lime? Is the Old Home Place low in phosphorus or potassium? Does the alfalfa look poor due to the soil or is it another factor? Soil sampling can offer […]

By: Mike Travis Stewardship is defined by Merriam-Webster as the “careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.” As farmers and agriculturalists, we are directly entrusted with the care of the soil. How we handle this responsibility and privilege is of paramount importance not only to the current generation, but also to the […]

By:Samantha Grenrock, University of Florida | Southeast Farm Press During most of this last year, Suwannee County, Fla., farmer Sammy Starling never had to guess when he did or didn’t need to water his corn. With a new smart-agriculture technology, he could access soil moisture readings right from his phone with updates every three hours. […]

By: Nicole Heslip A group of farmers in Lenawee County who have implemented conservation practices for more than 20 years partnered with the local conservation district to host the Center for Excellence Field Day. The Bakerlad and Raymond and Stutzman Farms near Clayton have seen a lot of on-farm research in the past two decades, […]

By:Chris Cogburn Exceeding expectations is now an annual occurrence for U.S. sorghum producers. Since the drought of 2011-2012, each year means another record broken or another challenge overcome. This progression is nothing new for an industry often thought of as on the brink of extinction. However, a few specific numbers behind the great sorghum comeback […]

By: Tom Bechman Disease will factor prominently into the story when agronomists summarize the 2016 growing season for corn across the Corn Belt. Especially in the southern half of the Corn Belt, disease reached high levels late in the season. Foliar diseases such as gray leaf spot and southern rust set cornfields up for stalk […]

By: Keith Robinson Guidance offered in Water Temperature and Herbicide Performance is based on research by Purdue University weed scientists who studied the effectiveness of certain herbicides on several weed species when mixed with spray water at various temperatures. The researchers concluded that moderate to warm water — but not hot — was better than cold. […]

By: Southeast Farm Press Planting has come a long way from the days of scattering seeds on the ground and hoping for the best. For two decades, Randy Taylor has paid close attention to new farm equipment technology, especially planters. Taylor is assistant director of agriculture programs at Oklahoma State University. Previously an extension machinery […]