Pivotal Issues Blog

By Dave Mowitz Kendall DeJonge’s mission is to take plants’ temperatures. But the crops, like corn, that he is working with don’t have to open up and say, “ahh.” Instead, DeJonge employs an infrared radiometric thermometer (IRT). This is a simple point-and-detect tool that any farmer could own. The USDA Agriculture Research Service (ARS) engineer, who works […]

By Daniel H. Smith and Paul Mitchell Crop insurance policies include various rules with guidelines on the use of cover crops. Recent changes in these rules provide an opportunity to review their application to cover crop practices.  Farmers should always communicate with their crop insurance agent to determine whether or not a specific practice will affect […]

By Tyler Harris In the last 30 years, there haven’t been any new modes of action (MOAs) introduced from chemical companies. However, recently, growers have some new tools available to them to mix up their MOAs using existing technologies, notes Debalin Sarangi, weed science postdoctoral research associate at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. “Many of them […]

By Forrest Laws | Delta Farm Press As if farmers needed more reasons for planting winter cover crops, University of Tennessee researchers have found another one – they appear to significantly reduce the amount of nutrients moving from their fields to nearby streams. Using what is known as a Soil and Water Assessment Tool, scientists […]

By High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal Imagine an agriculture field. Most are planted with row upon row of tidy cash crops. Now imagine that same field with rows of trees between the rows of crops. This forested field concept is called alley cropping. Alley cropping helps famers diversify by growing long-term tree crops alongside short-term cash […]

By Farm Journal Guest Editor Thinking Beyond Farming to Optimize Soil Moisture Using these tools can help maximize the benefits of every raindrop and help preserve our water supply. By the year 2030, global demand for water is projected to outstrip supply by as much as 40 percent, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global […]

By Tom Bechman Row spacing is still a big deal if you’re after maximum corn yields. Most modern planters do a very good job achieving accurate spacing. With equipment like 20/20 SeedSense from Precision Planting, you can monitor performance and make adjustments to get excellent accuracy. However, even planters that perform well are rarely perfect. Sooner […]

By Ben Potter Water – no crop can live without it. Even so, there’s still much to learn about proper management of this resource, according to officials at Beck’s. That has prompted the seed company to launch a new water manager study at its Practical Farm Research (PFR) site in Effingham, Ill. “We hope that the […]

By K-State Research and Extension A new type of farm has been established in Kansas with a primary focus on water conservation in addition to crops and livestock. Three Water Technology Farms have been created recently in response to public input and identified in the Long-Term Vision for the Future of Water Supply in Kansas (Water […]

By John Otte Making field operations more efficient can help farmers maintain margins as crop prices soften. Understanding how odd-shaped fields impact machine costs per acre can help farmers fine-tune cash rent bids. Kansas State University’s spreadsheet, KSU-GPS guidance, examines machine operation costs relative to field size and shape. It also evaluates economics of guidance […]