For years, soybeans have not received the same love that corn has, and is often referred to as “that crop between corn crops.” It’s not uncommon for many farmers to plant all their corn before even thinking about starting on soybeans, and in most cases, the care or precision dedicated to soybean fields is nowhere near what it is when planting corn. Recently, however, some of the more progressive farmers throughout the Midwest have been giving soybeans a little more love.

Can in-furrow applications of sugar increase nutrient availability and yields in corn?

In this latest PFR Report, Jared Chester, PFR Location Lead in Ohio is joined by Field Agronomist Luke Schulte to discuss water quality when it comes to spraying.

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.

One question we get asked a lot is how we apply nitrogen (N) on our wheat acres. What we have observed in Practical Farm Research (PFR)^® is that, regardless of the source of N applied, split applications pay. Some of the benefits of split applications include increased yield, increased N efficiency, and the potential for lower environmental losses.

For a large part of the Midwest, the 2017 planting season has been one for the record books. Unfortunately, for all the wrong reasons. When we drive from area to area, we are seeing corn plants in a wide array of stages. Uneven stands and multiple planting dates can wreak havoc on deciding when to apply a fungicide. If you have been following Beck’s Practical Farm Research (PFR)®, we are seeing a positive ROI when we have applied fungicide at the VT growth stage. Over the last four years, we have seen a 9.4 Bu./A. advantage applying Headline AMP® at the right time, making this one of our PFR Proven™ products. Now the question to ask yourself is, how can I apply fungicide at the correct time with all the replant and unevenness in my fields?

Planting season is upon us and one thing that is on every farmers’ mind is how to maximize their return on investment (ROI) for this season. One obvious way to increase ROI is to decrease your input costs. If you are running any kind of starter fertilizer, you can improve your ROI through proper calibration.

Check out this latest PFR report as Jared Chester joins Paul Schaffert of Schaffert Manufacturing at the National Farm Machinery show. 

Emotions play a huge role in our lives and drive everything we do. They can impact our moods and drive our decision making. Our emotions can cause us to buy certain brands and leave others. That’s just the way it works.

Much of the Midwest has experienced an extremely mild winter this year. While that is great for early planting preparations, mild winters also mean that there is an increased opportunity for soil-borne insects to thrive. One proactive solution to combat these pesky pests is the use of an in-furrow insecticide.