1
Aug
2019
In light of the remarkedly wet season that most of the Midwest has experienced, irrigation is likely in the back of most farmers' minds right now. That said, we continue putting irrigation/fertigation systems to the test with our Practical Farm Research (PFR)®. In the case of sub-irrigation, three of our PFR sites have been able to utilize tile drainage systems in certain areas on the sites and backfl ow water through them for a multi-functional drainage plus irrigation system.
Categories: CropTalk, 2019
Tags: CropTalk, Practical Farm Research, PFR, Water Management, TIle Drainage, Sub-Irrigation, Drip Fertigation
5
Dec
2018
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.
Categories: PFR, PFR Reports
Tags: Practical Farm Research, Soybean Population, PFR, PFR Report, Beck’s, Soybean Row Width
7
Nov
Join Eric Wilson, Field Agronomist, and Miles Mcgovney, PFR Agronomist, for some post-harvest updates on our Landroller Study.
Based on the numerous requests received from farmers, Beck’s PFR team is testing the Mandako Landroller for the first time this year. We launched this study in an effort to determine if Land Rollers would provide any yield benefit to a soybean crop.
Tags: soybeans, Practical Farm Research, Agronomy, PFR, PFR Report, landroller, rolling soybeans, soybean studies
14
May
Can in-furrow applications of sugar increase nutrient availability and yields in corn?
Tags: corn, Practical Farm Research, PFR, PFR Report, Sugar, Sugar In-Furrow, eXceed Nano Brown Sugar, Carbose, feed grade dextrose, solvita test
Review your fertility options for getting your corn crop going.
Tags: corn, planting, Practical Farm Research, PFR, PFR Report, PFR Proven, Starter Fertilizer, macronutrient, micronutrient, fertilizer, P-Max LFS, NACHURS imPulse 10-18-4, PureGrade Diamond 6-24-6.
2
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.
Tags: Practical Farm Research, Ohio Agronomy, PFR, PFR Report, Water Conditioning, Water pH, Water Quality
30
Apr
In this May 2018 PFR Report, PFR Agronomist and Location Lead Jonathan Perkins joins us from the Wheat Planting Depth Study at our Southern Illinois PFR site to provide some updates on heaving, or in this case, lack thereof, once we reached April and were through the freeze/thaw cycles.
Tags: Practical Farm Research, Jonathan Perkins, Wheat, PFR, PFR Report, Wheat Planting Depth
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.
Tags: Practical Farm Research, PFR, PFR Report, Planting Date, Alex Knight, Sugar, Sugar Study, Sugar In-Furrow
6
Mar
Planting season is almost here which means many of you are probably thinking about all of the decisions that need to be made before the planter ever hits the field. Questions like “when should I start planting?”, “how deep should I plant?” and “should I wait for perfect conditions?” are all valid questions you may have. But answering them may require some planning and preparation to ensure you start your crops off in the best possible situation.
Tags: Practical Farm Research, Planting Depth, PFR, PFR Report, Planting Date
2017
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.
Tags: Practical Farm Research, Wheat, Nitrogen, Fungicide, PFR, PFR Proven, Nitrogen Timing
In times of lower commodity prices, we’re always trying to find new ways to cut cost. One area to consider is cutting costs on soybeans is your fall burndown program. But, before making that decision, you should evaluate the benefits of a fall burndown.
Tags: Practical Farm Research, PFR, PFR Report, herbicides, Spring Burndown, Fall Burndown
27
Jun
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?
Categories: Precision Farming
Tags: Beck's Blog, Beck's Hybrids, Practical Farm Research, Fungicide, Crop Health Imaging, Farmserver, PFR
16
#AskPFR:
How long can corn seed survive in the ground?
Categories: PFR, #AskPFR
Tags: planting, Practical Farm Research, corn seed, Agronomy, Emergence, PFR, #AskPFR, AskPFR
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.
Tags: planting, Practical Farm Research, PFR, PFR Report, ROI, Planter Calibration, Starter Fertilizer
4
Join Chris Robinson, Beck's Kentucky PFR Location Lead, as he and the team in Henderson prepare to get their first corn and soybean planting date plots into the ground for 2017.
Tags: Practical Farm Research, Jonathan Perkins, Corn Planting Date, Soybean Planting Date, Southern Illinois, PFR, PFR Report, Planting Date, PFR Proven, Joe Bolte, SIL, soil temperature
Check out this latest PFR report as Jared Chester joins Paul Schaffert of Schaffert Manufacturing at the National Farm Machinery show.
Tags: Practical Farm Research, PFR, PFR Report, Schaffert Manufacturing, National Farm Machinery Show, Closing Wheels
In this latest report from southern Illinois, PFR location lead Jonathan Perkins and PFR operator Joe Bolte discuss the 2017 planting date study for corn and soybeans and why it’s so important.
8
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.
Tags: Beck's Blog, Practical Farm Research, Beck's Agronomy, PFR, ESCALATE, PFR Proven, Jim Schwartz, Capture LFR
3
Last week the Daytona 500 officially marked the beginning of NASCAR season. This iconic race is not only the biggest race of the season, but it is also super important for multiple reasons. The first, obvious bragging rights and a confetti shower for the crowned champion. Second is that the Daytona 500 sets the stage for the rest of the season. It’s important for the drivers to get off to a good start, not only when that green flag waves in Daytona, but also for the remainder of the season as they sprint towards that coveted cup.
Tags: Beck's Blog, Practical Farm Research, Beck's Agronomy, Kentucky PFR, Fungicide, PFR, Insecticide, in-furrow
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.
Tags: Beck's Blog, Practical Farm Research, Beck's Agronomy, Fungicide, PFR, Insecticide, Capture VGR