While the focus among farmers right now is getting the crop planted and established, soon there will be decisions to make about keeping the crop healthy for the duration of the growing season. One of the primary tools available in maintaining plant health is fungicide, and while fungicide use is common and widespread across the corn belt, the decision on whether to spray and when to spray can be one of the more difficult management decisions a farmer must make.

As we move into the planting season, it is important to remember some of the key factors that limit yield. It is widely accepted that population is at the top of the list. It would stand to reason that without plants, there is not much you can do to preserve or create yield. Assessing population has been a challenging task considering the time constraints of spring. We can now use drones, models like the Phantom 4 or newer, to quickly and accurately assess the population of a field.

Need help controlling difficult-to-manage weeds this spring? Southern Illinois Practical Farm Research (PFR) Technician and Herbicide Specialist, Joe Bolte, has pre-emergent herbicide management tips to mitigate pesky weeds like marestail, morning glory, cocklebur, waterhemp, giant ragweed, pigweed, lambsquarter, velvetleaf, and foxtails.

Uniformity and consistency are two terms we often heard when farmers describe their ideal field with a “picket-fence” stand crop. These types of stands go hand-in-hand with high yields. However, this is potentially the most difficult objective to achieve.

So, we posed the question, “how can we obtain this desired uniformity?”

Beck’s continues to partner with technology companies to put our customers at an advantage when it comes to choices. Traditionally, that message refers to the diversity of traits offered in the Beck’s lineup. In 2020, we’ve added an opportunity for Beck’s customers to access the latest in plant health fungicide protection and weed control.

Target Spot is not a new disease but has become more of an issue in the past few years, especially in the southern regions of our marketing area. Historically, it has not been a yield-robbing disease because it typically remains in the lower canopy of a soybean plant, and those leaves do not contribute to overall yield. In 2014, pathologists began seeing more severe infections, and by 2016 it was considered a disease with significant yield impact in susceptible varieties.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. - Romans 12:2 (NASB)

This latest PFR Report features Clayton Stufflebeam, PFR Location Lead at our Central Illinois PFR discussing how to get your corn planter dialed in for #plant2020. Clayton spends time discussing how to index your planter and the importance of doing so.

For most, the words “super” and “bowl” together bring memories of hot wings, outrageous halftime shows, or funny commercials. But here at Beck’s, these words make us think of one of our favorite small seeds — alfalfa!

For some, the prospect of growing corn following corn is challenging and promising. For others, in contrast to a corn following soybean (SB-C) rotation, the corn following corn (C-C) rotation imparts concern and consternation.