Nitrogen (N) application timing and placement is important to farmers in Missouri who face nitrogen loss from denitrification and leaching.

In this latest agronomy upate, I am joined by our summer intern, Amy Johnson, and PFR Partner, Adam Casner, as we discuss the PFR Partners study taking place near Carrollton, MO

We experienced quite the planting season this year with heavy rainfall events occurring in much of our marketing area, resulting in significant replant of corn and soybean acres. Though the decision-making process and additional work seemed difficult at times, your efforts were not lost. Most replant stands that I have evaluated are looking very good and progressing nicely toward the genetic and yield potential of each hybrid and variety. With that said, I wanted to share with you some observations I have made in respect to the sulfur (S) nutrition in many of the fields I have observed.

We are midway through March and have experienced some above average temperatures that have left many of us feeling as though our corn planters should be running. We have actually heard a few reports of corn being planted around the state, but I believe it is in your best interest to be patient and postpone your planting operations for just a little bit longer.

Kansas State Plant Pathologist Erick De DeWolf has put out, in my opinion, the most accurate winter wheat fungicide efficacy ratings. You can review it here. In it, he summarizes performance ratings and also provides insight we can utilize as we make plans for fungicide applications on our wheat this year.

In addition to these ratings, I wanted to share with you a few thoughts I had looking back on the 2016 season.

Happy New Year from your Beck’s Missouri agronomy team! Alex, Clint, Norm, Matt and I look forward to the opportunity to help you succeed in 2017. With timely information, research, field diagnosis and experience, our goal is to help you make this year the most profitable it can be. Growing row crops in a low market environment can be challenging and requires us to sharpen and apply our management skills.  

This is an exciting time of year as many of our kids head back to school and those of us walking fields anticipate solid corn and soybean yields following a year of adequate rainfall and soil moisture.

At times rainfall was excessive, dew periods were long, and there were “perfectly timed” drops in air and soil temperatures at critical the stages of crop development that caused a “not so exciting” thing to look at in our soybean fields.

Over the past week I have been called to numerous fields to evaluate emerging soybeans that are weak, injured by feeding or herbicides, or were impacted by seedling disease, primarily Pythium (root rot/damping off). I wanted to take a minute to discuss PPO-herbicide injury.

As we get closer to planting, many farmers develop, or consider developing, variable seeding rate prescriptions for their fields. Experience levels vary and, as might be expected, accuracy in prescribing the correct seeding rate in a given field location for any given year varies as well. I thought this would be a good time to share some of my experience as well as my findings from a variable rate corn seeding project I conducted this past growing season.

Planting is well underway in Missouri. It is always exciting to be part of the prospect for an abundant harvest this fall. I’d like to share the following field observations from my early season field scouting.