Nine years ago, the Stephensons started their farm with 25 acres and a dream. Now, they farm 600 acres of corn and soybeans in the heart of the eastern Corn Belt.

Another season of Practical Farm Research (PFR)® data is in the books. Naturally, the first section I check out is the PFR Proven™ section. This section is very important when it comes to making decisions on your operation. For a product or practice to earn the PFR Proven title, it must be tested at multiple locations for a minimum of three years. In each of the three years, it must provide a positive yield gain each and every year and average a positive ROI over the combined years of research.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…” Genesis 1:26

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27

Love God. Love people. Live design. That is the motto of Freedom International Ministries, and it’s one that has significant meaning to the Beck family and many of our employees.

Farmers and others in the agricultural community have waited patiently since June for a decision regarding the labeled use of approved dicamba containing herbicide formulations for use within the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® (X2) and XtendFlex® (XF) soybean systems. The wait is finally over, and farmers now have another valuable tool to combat herbicide resistance.

Consumers continue to drive demand for organic crops, and the need to better understand organic systems and products has created an opportunity for PFR testing to help farmers who may be interested in the system. In 2020, Beck's dedicated a section of our Indiana PFR site exclusively to organic testing. In 2021, we plan to do the same at our IA PFR site in hopes to have multi-location testing that focuses solely on organic systems and products.

Nitrogen management is always a moving target. Rate, timing, source, and placement dictate yield when it comes to nitrogen management. Mother Nature has just as much influence on nitrogen management, if not more, compared to the previously mentioned factors.

What is the ideal V3 sidedress rate of nitrogen, applied in the form of UAN on corn? New for 2020, Practical Farm Research (PFR™) implemented a nitrogen rate study to determine the impact of 150, 200, and 250 pounds of nitrogen sidedressed at V3.

German chemist Justus von Liebig is often credited with ushering in the modern era of soil chemistry and plant nutrition. In the mid-1800s, von Liebigs’ research and discovery led to the development of the first nitrogenbased commercial fertilizer. Since then, soil scientists and agriculturalists around the world have endeavored to understand and manage the use of these fertilizers in corn production. Managing nitrogen (N) for corn production is a difficult task due to the complexities of the nutrient and the hundreds, if not thousands, of factors that influence N in the soil and plants.

For many of the most frequently applied nutrients, broadcast applications on the soil surface are often the most common method of application. However, in some areas, deep banding of fertilizer is gaining popularity. The placement of deep banded fertilizer is 5 to 8 in. below the soil surface in a highly concentrated band. Often, producers will utilize GPS guidance to plant directly over these highly concentrated bands of nutrients.