Pivotal Issues Blog

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 […]

By: Lon Tonneson A grain dryer and grain handling upgrade made a big difference in how smoothly corn harvest goes for Todd, Wade and Wayne Heinrich. Brothers Wade and Todd farm with their father, Wayne, near Dickey in south-central North Dakota. They raise corn and soybeans. They usually haul soybeans to town at harvest and dry […]

By Erick Larson As much of the Mississippi corn crop reaches tassel stage, it is apparent some fields are noticeably shorter than normal. What caused the corn to be short and will it reduce yield potential? Corn height can be influenced by both environmental and management factors. The most common management variable which influences corn height, […]

By Jessie Scott Recent research by the University of Illinois and Illinois Farm Business Farm Management indicate that soybeans will continue to generate higher returns than corn in 2017. The report, Revenues and Costs for Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, and Double-crop Soybeans, showed that in Illinois returns were higher for soybeans than corn from 2013 to […]

By Jennifer M. Latzke A central Kansas wheat field, two combines roar to life and start to make the rounds, slowly bringing in the harvest. Now, this in itself is not an unusual sight for Kansas in mid-June. But what is unusual is the models of combines that are moving through that field. They don’t gleam […]

By Russ Quinn For those of you who don’t know me personally, I am very rarely at a loss for words. I tell people I had to take speech therapy classes in grade school, and those folks did such a good job I haven’t stopped talking since then! One of the rare times I was […]

By Kay Ledbetter Too much water doesn’t help corn producers make more crop; too little water also takes away from yields. Ongoing Texas A&M AgriLife Research studies are determining a formula for finding the right amount for the right results with other best management practices. Qingwu Xue, Texas A&M AgriLife Research crop stress physiologist at Amarillo, […]

By Farm Progress Nebraska Farmer A common misperception is that grain can be held above 15% moisture without risking quality or loss of net income, says Gary Woodruff, GSI grain handling applications manager. To safely store corn postharvest through the following spring, moisture content generally should not exceed 15%. To safely store through the fall, […]

By Clint Thompson Cotton growers currently control stinkbugs, a key pest, through use of a ground rig or aerial application. At times, farmers struggle to make critical, timely applications. Pesticide application through center pivot irrigation systems, called chemigation, could allow Georgia cotton growers to treat multiple fields while lowering application cost. Through chemigation, insecticide is combined […]

By Brad Haire The Panama Canal expansion, which has been touted for what it will do for global trade, opened officially June 26 when a Chinese megaship successfully eased through the manmade canal. Here are 4 things to keep in mind about this new passage for global agricultural trade: 1. The first vessel through was […]