Harvest gets closer with each passing week, and the story of this season remains the same: Massive precipitation events in some areas and too little in others.
- Benjamin Herrold
As August rolls on, the anticipation of harvest builds with each week. Farmers see the sunsets creeping earlier and crops moving closer to the finish line. The last weeks before harvest are a time for getting equipment ready and making plans for storing grain.
- Crystal Reed
CHRISTIAN COUNTY, Ill. — Water quality is driving state agriculture funding decisions and political campaigns this year.
- By Garland Dahlke, Iowa State University
AMES, Iowa – This past weekend, a severe hailstorm ravaged parts of eastern Iowa, destroying what was expected to be a record-contending corn crop. Following any hail event, a call to your insurance agent and crop advisor is the first step. After insurance adjustments, next is: how do we bes…
- Crystal Reed
Harvest is coming. Farmers are counting down the days.
Editor’s note: The following was written by Chad E. Hart, Iowa State University Extension economist, for the July Ag Decision Maker newsletter.
Each season, growers sorting through seed decisions face a flood of yield claims and performance data. Company X says its seed outyielded Company Y’s, and the comparisons keep coming. Instead of clarity, the numbers can create more questions and leave growers unsure what to do next.
- By Jeff DeYoung, Iowa Farmer Today
Silage choppers will soon be dotting the landscape as farmers bring in that valuable crop. Until then, there are things that need to be done, said Ben Beckman, Extension educator with the University of Nebraska based in Hartington.
- Crystal Reed
Warm and inconsistent weather patterns are leading to increased pest pressure for farmers in the Midwest.
- Benjamin Herrold
While every growing season has its own variety, over a century of weather data helps portray what an average growing season looks like in different areas.
- By Ankit Yadav and Amit Jhala, University of Nebraska
Escaping weeds may tempt growers to spray later into the season, but corn growth stage restrictions remain critical.
- Tim Kenyon
Mother Nature is imposing changing and challenging Midwest conditions this growing season.
- Benjamin Herrold
Native warm-season grasses can benefit pastures, especially during the hot summer months. University of Missouri Extension Agronomist Valerie Tate said they can complement cool-season grasses.
- Benjamin Herrold
Grain marketing plans take a variety of things into consideration. University of Missouri Ag Economist Ben Brown said ultimately, they are about being intentional.
Editor’s note: The following was written by Tamra Jackson-Ziems and Dylan Mangel, University of Nebraska Extension plant pathologist, and Talon Mues, Extension educator, for the university’s Crop Watch website June 19.
- Sue Roesler
For the last 250 years, agriculture has been on a fast track with technologies that improve weed control strategies in farming and ranching.
- By Tim Kenyon, Iowa Farmer Today
Josh Nelson views cover crops as another way to diversify, enhance and sustain good black soil for more production on his farm near Belmond, Iowa.
- By Ivair Valmorbida, University of Missouri
The first corn leafhoppers of the year were detected June 16 and June 22 in Missouri corn fields during routine field scouting in Boone County as part of regular in-season monitoring.
- By Crystal Reed, Illinois Farmer Today
When most people think of crops in the Midwest they think of the common offerings — corn, soybeans and wheat.
- By Marianne Stein, University of Illinois
Soils exposed to prolonged drought often develop desiccation cracks, which impact soil properties and exacerbate moisture loss through evapotranspiration.
- Tim Kenyon
MONTICELLO, Iowa — Observation with educated guidance helped about 20 participants increase understanding about grazing pasture rotations at an Iowa State University Extension event in eastern Jones County.
- By Crystal Reed, Illinois Farmer Today
Soybeans are vulnerable to all kinds of diseases that can rob yields from farmer’s fields, from red crown rot to sudden death syndrome.
- By Lauren Quinn, University of Illinois
Few pests eat away at farm profitability as much as soybean cyst nematode. Causing at least $1.5 billion in yield losses annually, it’s soybean’s single biggest threat.
- Benjamin Herrold
When it comes to implementing conservation practices on the farm, farmers consider both the economic impact of those practices as well as how they help achieve environmental goals.
- Crystal Reed Lee Agri-Media
The United States produces about $300 billion a year in agricultural commodities, and all of that is vulnerable to climate change.