Manganese (Mn) is one of nine essential micronutrients for plant growth. Corn is only a moderate consumer of manganese and so deficiency in most mineral soils is rare. High organic…
Category: Agronomy
Staging of Corn and Soybeans
This time of year is very common for herbicide applications to be made in both corn and soybeans. While scouting and spraying your crops, it is important to properly identify…
Seedbed and Corn Stand Evaluations
Before we let corn planter performance and early corn stands get too far into the rearview mirror, here are a few observations from Spring 2016. 1. Residue Management High residue…
Critical Management Period for Corn
You are in the process of planting your highest yielding corn crop. How high can you aim for? Hopefully the most important rule of planting corn was obeyed – plant…
The Hot, Dry Season Strategy
There are some reasonably credible weather predictions that 2016 may be warmer and drier than usual. Is it reasonable to consider some strategies that could capitalize on opportunities or mitigate…
Are You Losing 25% of Your Soybean Crop?
I have seen soybean yields on some farms staying stagnant. Some of this is due to weather and management, but some may be due to an invisible robber, Soybean Cyst…
Late Nitrogen Insights
There is unprecedented interest and investment in applying nitrogen on corn later in the season. By later, we mean applications that are beyond the traditional planting or sidedress timings and…
Does your farm need potassium immediately?
Over the past week I have been asked a few times about what the correct rate of potassium fertilizer would be to apply this fall to prepare for next year’s…
Yield Loss at Harvest
As the 2015 corn harvest begins, it is a great time to remind ourselves of the optimum harvest conditions and where harvest losses could occur around the combine. Harvest timing…
Widening Soybean Row Widths and Management
Over the last several years, there has been a shift to more soybeans being seeded with corn planters rather than with drills across the US Midwest and in Ontario. As…