Recent scouting has show that the suboptimal planting conditions experienced in McLean County, Illinois are having some impact on the corn crops in the area. As corn approaches the V3 growth stage, I have found that populations are lower than what was planted due to issues with sidewall compaction.
 

I wanted to share with you some observations I have seen in corn after fielding some chemical complaints over the last few days. 

Review your fertility options for getting your corn crop going.

Now that the weather has finally warmed up, farmers and ranchers around the country have been preparing for a new season.Here’s what spring looks like for some of our Why I Farm Roadtrip featured farmers around the country.

Many farmers in our area have finally started planting while many others are getting ready to start. I wanted to share a few reminders with you as you fine-tune your planting operations to ensure the best chance of success om 2018.

As commodity prices leave us looking for new ways to be leaner and leaner with our on-farm practices, one consideration that rises to the top as a cost effect practice is applications of sugar in-furrow. Why sugar in-furrow? You may have noticed that many in-furrow starters already have a small percentage of sugar within their fertilizers. The idea behind applying sugar in-furrow is to stimulate the microbial activity. If we can stimulate microbial activity in the soil, then more nutrients will be readily available to the plant, thus promoting yields.

Each year the Beck’s Practical Farm Research (PFR)® program aims to test 1) products and practices on their way to becoming PFR Proven, 2) new technologies just introduced to the marketplace 3) cost effective management practices and 4) timely topics that farmers are considering on their operations.

While agricultural practices have changed over the last few decades, one factor has remained at the top of farmers minds: cost savings. As farmers, we’re great at finding new ways to save money, while still accomplishing our goals. And if we can increase profit while cutting expense costs, all the better! But what if we could continue to do this, but change our execution slightly to increase profits? Let’s talk about soybean seeding rate and row spacing.

The pinnacle of Christianity is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!  It is the hope of eternal life that makes us want to believe, but how do we know it really happened?  Let’s take a look back at how all the people reacted at that time:

Rain is inevitable during spring turkey hunting. This can be especially frustrating if it rains on the few days you are able to hunt. If all you have is one weekend and it rains both days, you might think your season is over.

But that's not necessarily true, and I know from experience as I've had more than my share of rainy day turkey hunts over the past 50+ seasons. Here are a few ideas that might help you be more successful if you're faced with less than ideal weather this season.