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One of the biggest benefits from waiting to plant corn until conditions are ideal, is the crop emerges more uniformly and forms those picket-fence stands that deliver huge yields, says Agronomist Missy Bauer.

Along with too much moisture, high numbers of corn flea beetles are posing an early-season concern. Ferrie advises checking your Stewart’s wilt bacteria rating on hybrids. There's no treatment option for infected corn.

Some Illinois farmers started planting soybeans in late March. Ken Ferrie offers tips to help you weigh the risks of planting now. Plus, be aware that poor saturated cold scores are impacting some seed corn hybrids.

Based on fieldwork he's done so far, the farmer asks, “Am I drying out the soil early in what looks to be a dry year? Or, am I making the soil more fit so roots can go down as they should?”

After launching an initial “frontrunner” a group in Illinois, Bayer says its Crop Science division is ready to roll out the company’s new operating model, Dynamic Shared Ownership (as it’s known internally, DSO).

If weather stresses have you looking for ways to give your crop a stronger start this spring, consider whether a plant growth regulator could be part of the solution, especially in high-yield environments.

Do you want to plant early-season soybeans? Do you grow non-GMO crops? If the answer to either question is yes, Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist, says to address weeds in the process.

“Our mission is to improve and expand our program to create additional opportunities for even more American farmers,” said Leonardo Bastos, Senior Vice President of Ecosystem Services at Bayer Crop Science.

A sudden change in soil density that occurs from the freezing-thawing process can cause problems with corn root growth this spring and impede water movement in the soil during the growing season.

“It’s hard to put yourself in growth mode when things are getting so expensive,” says Tanner Ehmke with CoBank.

Forty million dicamba-tolerant soybean and cotton acres would be directly impacted by the ruling the U.S. District Court of Arizona in Tucson made Tuesday. EPA has not said when it will respond to the court's decision.

Ken Ferrie answers two additional questions: Was it allelopathic toxins in the cereal rye ahead of corn that caused such a yield ding last season? Will there be a cap to Carbon Initiative payments per farm operation?

According to two sources, in recent days the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has interviewed former ADM employees, ramping up pressure on the global commodities giant.

“We can move so much faster. By our estimates, less than 2% of farmers are participating in these programs industry wide,” Truterra president Jamie Leifker says.

With recent turnover in company leadership, a divestment in its insurance business, and a growing list of partnerships, FBN is re-focusing its business. 

While you can't make Mother Nature send rain, you can review crop-rotation restrictions on chemistries you applied last year. Knowing that information can guide what crop you plant where this spring.

Vikram Luthar’s leave is pending an ongoing investigation being conducted by outside counsel for ADM and the Board’s Audit Committee.

Red clover can fix nitrogen, suppress weeds and improve crop yields. Based on test plot research in Illinois, a good stand of red clover can provide between 50 and 100 pounds of nitrogen per acre.

AgriTalk has extended an invitation to all the 2024 presidential hopefuls to join Host Chip Flory and answer five standard questions about what they would focus on once in office.

Combined, the organizations have a reach of over 85,000 producers in eight states.

Growers can benefit from evaluating the dispersion of N, P and K and pH levels in no-till fields. Often, there is a drop off in soil fertility levels in no-till soils once below the three-inch mark.

The company, with sales of $94 billion last year, will create legally separate entities for the three units, trade union IGBCE said in a statement on Thursday, which was confirmed by a company spokesperson.

Helping farmers do the Biggest Job on Earth is Job One for scientists at BASF Agricultural Solutions. Helping to maximize yields and minimize challenges through innovation are vital to that mission.

It’s no secret that today’s agriculture industry faces unprecedented challenges, and retailers stand on the front line facing them every day. These challenges span the globe.

The practice can be useful in some scenarios but not all. Farmers need to evaluate the potential impact on 2024 yield outcomes. Perhaps a bigger concern is how the practice impacts weed management, especially waterhemp.

As using sustainable practices becomes an even more essential part of farm business, BASF remains committed to helping the industry achieve its goals and to helping measure and communicate what is already being done.

The Last Acre Act would help expand high-speed internet access across eligible farmland, ranchland and farm sites. At least 15% of farms and ranches have no access to the internet today. 

Illinois farmer Ryan Myers has increased his 60-bushel-per-acre yield average to 70-plus-bushel averages in just three years. How? By focusing on the details from variety selection to in-season management.

Moisture availability is one of the biggies to check out, says Ken Ferrie. He also details some upcoming agronomic events, like his Beyond The Basics five-part webinar series and the virtual Corn & Soybean College.

Farmers applying NH3 can maximize their dollars and use of the product by not applying it until soil temperatures are no more than 50 degrees and trending lower, according to Iowa State University Extension.

Effective Jan. 1, 2024, Jeff Rowe will be CEO of Syngenta Group.

Ken Ferrie offers five practical agronomic tips you can use during harvest this fall. These practices can help you improve corn performance and yield outcomes across your farm.

If your combine monitor is showing a wide range of yields in the field, Ken Ferrie says to investigate. Evaluate soybean stand, pod set and bean size while there’s agronomic evidence.

USDA's latest insights show the two companies dominated U.S. retail seed sales for the three crops from 2018 through 2020. That is the most recent period for which market estimates are available.

A calibrated monitor usually does a good job of telling you where yield is changing in a field within a hybrid, but it may not tell you exactly how one hybrid is yielding against another.

The IRS allows most taxpayers affected by disasters additional time to file and pay their taxes. We review some of those details.

As extreme weather events affect the profitability of agriculture, here are four areas to bring focus to the ripple effect.

USDA forecasts net farm income will decline $41.7 billion (22.8%) from last year’s record to $141.3 billion in 2023, though that’s up from its February outlook of $136.9 billion.

“There are some things that we've adopted over the years that really aren't particularly useful and I think in some cases even detrimental to our performance,” says Dave Mitchell.

The oilseed crop offers farmers the opportunity to grow three crops in two years. It can be used for sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel and animal feed production.

An ongoing lack of water and volatile prices bring heightened focus on fertilizer and nutrient management. They are critical components to creating a more resilient ag production system, says one industry agronomist.   

Is the magic gone?

The judge ruled based on the dialogue that the deal was “at least verbally struck.” The judge directed the Canadian farmer to pay the grain elevator $82,000 plus interest and costs for failing to deliver the flax.

Farmers finding dead corn plants in their fields are texting pictures to Ken Ferrie, asking for help. Some of the culprits he's found include wireworm, the carbon penalty, rootless corn syndrome and herbicide carryover.

Michael Swanson says we’ve likely seen the peak for food inflation last summer. What drove the 14% food inflation since the COVID pandemic has been four factors: transportation, labor, shipping and packaging. 

The change will not impact how farmers work with their current seed salesman in 2023, a Bayer spokesman tells Farm Journal. However, a different go-to-market approach is in the works.

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point and signaled it may pause further increases. In an overt shift, the central bank no longer says it "anticipates" further rates will be needed.

Scale tickets from elevators could soon be a document of the past. In the future, your grain could have all its characteristics filed digitally and accessed via a QR code as it moves through the supply chain. 

While fertilizer prices are off March lows, they are still from 45% to 60% lower than this time last year, depending on the nutrient or product.

Farmers are facing a headwind other than the weather heading into the spring planting sesaon. Credit is tightening as farmers finalize or renew operating notes or loans for capital purchases.