As hard as it was, a challenging year like 2019 can still yield applicable insights. The important thing to do is carefully weigh all the factors that can impact your results and examine the data in light of those factors. This past spring, I asked an intern to work a plot and as he began to work the ground I found myself thinking “that may be the worst decision I have made in my 35-year ag career”. 

This season will also impact how we think about future decisions as it relates to soil tests and soil testing. I asked my friend Jamie Bultemeier, an agronomist with A&L Great Lakes Laboratories, to share his thoughts on the impact of 2019.

Like many farm kids, he was driving tractors before he even started kindergarten. With deep roots in the farming industry and both of his grandpas farming before him, Tom Frank knew he wanted to continue their legacy.

The 2019 calendar year is coming to an end and the adverse effects to soils resulting from this crop season will loom for years to come. Heavy rain in the spring meant fields were planted in less than ideal conditions. This was followed by a series of production practices being conducted in less than ideal conditions — leading to soil compaction and surface ruts. The immediate thought is to run out and deep rip to remove compaction and fill ruts, but careful thought should be given to the process to provide benefit to the next crop year, but also avoid lasting issues for years to come.

After enduring the spring of 2019, it will not take much convincing for many of you that precipitation extremes have become the new normal. It’s been said that if you want things to be different, just wait until next year. While this will likely be true, the trend of punishing rain events occurring more frequently is undeniable.

Harvest time is a busy time, but FARMserver® is here to help keep you stay on top of your data game! Beck’s just recently announced a new feature to FARMserver that will be available for the 2019 harvest season; automated yield reports.

In this electrifying video, our team in El Paso tested the Weed Zapper at the CIL Organic Field Day to see if it would be a useful component in an organic weed control program.

The decision I made to take a leap of faith and change my major opened so many doors for me, and I never knew how passionate I would come to be towards the world of agriculture. It took me a long time to find my place and be okay with not being a kid who grew up in agriculture at a majority ag college, but I would say stepping out of my comfort zone would be the best decision I made throughout my entire college career.

As you set forth your 2020 vision, there are new technologies at play in the seed industry. Trait names, trade names, and marketing campaigns can all obscure the message — making it difficult to discern the right traits for your farm. In an effort to help you understand one new technology in the corn market, Beck’s Director of Research, Dr. Kevin Cavanaugh, answered a few common questions.

Over the past couple of decades, the ag industry has increased its focus on seed treatment research and development. This, coupled with the more challenging environment soybean seed is planted into as farmers plant earlier and more rapidly, has led to seed treatment being included on most soybean seed planted today.

“Jesus leaving 99 to find 1 seems crazy…until you are that 1.”

Jesus speaking…”What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?