20
Nov
2020
The imagination of a child has a way of bringing out the magic of the holiday season. Here’s to all the creative little farmers out there. May all your farming dreams come true this Christmas!
Categories: Why I Farm
Tags: Why I Farm
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Is using the fully automated FurrowForce setting better than using a manual downforce setting on a planter?
Categories: PFR, PFR Reports
Tags:
Harvest is wrapping up in most of our marketing area, which means it's time to start planning for next season. As we evaluate our 2020 crop, we should be thinking about nutrient management options to replace or build soil fertility. One factor that farmers often overlook when calculating fertility needs is the value in crop residue.
When is it warranted to replant corn after a frost event?
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Farmers deal with so much out of their control – weather extremes, commodity prices, land values. With these factors in play, stress is not hard to fi nd on a farm. But that does not mean that farmers should have to bottle up their stress and anxiety until it starts wearing on their physical, mental, and emotional health.
Categories: CropTalk, 2020
Tags: CropTalk, farming takes hope
Location leads from three of Beck’s six Practical Farm Research (PFR)® sites are eager to share their answers on common questions stemming from the 2020 growing season. Location Lead Caleb Shoemaker provides insight on what’s happening at the Colfax, Iowa, site along with Clayton Stuffl ebeam from the Central Illinois (El Paso) site and Brady Rogers from our Indiana PFR site.
Tags: CropTalk, PFR
Benjamin Franklin once said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This quote can be applied to weed management today. Preventing weeds from emerging protects yield. University data indicates that growers will sacrifice 2.5% of their final yield for every leaf stage that a postemerge application is delayed. When it comes to post-emerge applications, the best weed to control is a weed that never emerged.
Tags: CropTalk, SOA, power in the pre
The soil's ability to cycle essential crop nutrients is undervalued in agriculture today. Considering that a large percentage of our crop budgets revolve around fertility, we need fi rst to understand how to utilize the nutrients already contained in the soil, and the previous year's crop residues. Microbes can help with this. One of the critical components to achieving a proper cycling soil is its microbial population. Fortunately, many factors contributing to a healthy soil's microbial population are controllable.
Tags: CropTalk, microbes, cycling nutrients
Agronomists get many calls during a typical growing season when things aren't going right in corn and soybean fi elds in the geographies that we cover. Most of the time, problems are caused by common diseases or insects. Sometimes, though, we receive calls about damage to plants that is caused by uncommon pests.
Tags: CropTalk, pest alert, corn blotch leafminer, corn leafminer
“Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.” Deuteronomy 4:39
Tags: CropTalk, The Sower
7
Oct
We've got a whole new focus on organic research in PFR!
In this video, Central Illinois Practical Farm Research (PFR) Location Lead, Clayton Stufflebeam discusses a study that combines nitrogen timing and nitrogen systems.
Join Clayton Stufflebeam, Central IL Practical Farm Research (PFR) Location Lead, highlights the preharvest findings on Prescription Tillage Technology’s STP Disc Openers.
Wondering how to rescue and harvest down corn this year? The Iowa Beck’s Practical Farm Research (PFR) site in Colfax suffered damage from the 2020 Derecho windstorm on August 10.
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What is the ideal placement for nitrogen starter fertilizer?
What options does a farmer have when fields are left in fallow syndrome situations due to challenging spring conditions?
1
It's too good to be true. It sounds like a gimmick.
Many farmers have these sentiments when they first hear about Beck’s Commitment Rewards program, but how do those feelings change as they begin to take advantage of the program?
Tags: CropTalk, commitment rewards
Location Leads from three of the six Beck’s Practical Farm Research (PFR)® sites are eager to share their answers on common questions from the 2020 growing season. Jonathan Perkins, Southern Illinois (SIL) Location Lead, will provide insights on what’s happening at the Effingham, Illinois, site, Jared Chester from the London, Ohio, PFR facility, and Brandon Somers from the Henderson, Kentucky, location.
Corn rootworm tends to be a measurable issue every year, but 2020 corn rootworm incident reports have been higher than normal. Although farmers across Beck’s marketing area experienced higher rootworm populations, northern Iowa has the most documented reports. Iowa Field Agronomists NATE MAYER AND JON CASPERS have been in the trenches, evaluating corn rootworm damage, trait integrity, and measuring beetle populations to provide proactive recommendations for 2021 success.
Tags: CropTalk, corn, corn rootworm
Each year, Beck’s plants a plethora of plots to evaluate individual seed treatment components and combinations available in the industry to ensure our offering is the best available. For 2021, both corn and soybean seed treatments are changing to improve our Escalate® yield enhancement system further. In corn, the seed treatment will receive an additional broad-spectrum fungicide. In soybeans, there will be a more robust seed treatment included at no additional charge. There will also be a premium seed treatment that can be added where the disease and pest pressure warrant additional protection.
Tags: CropTalk, SEED TREATMENT, ESCALATE, seed treatment corn, seed treatment soybeans