Agronomy Centre

Understanding the Continuous Corn Yield Penalty

With renewed interested in planting corn comes additional corn-on-corn acres.  The continuous corn yield penalty is a well know phenomenon, however, why the penalty exists is not well understood.  Research at the Illinois State University identified three main factors which may help when positioning fields for corn-on-corn acres. Common belief in the countryside is that…

The non-sexy planter check list

Winter meetings have led to discussions on planting with greater speed, increased depth accuracy, superior seed placement, and better seed singulation.  I consider these the “sexy” topics, but what about the non-sexy topics (the basics)?  Spending money on all sorts of add-ons will never improve your planter performance if the components that touch the soil…

Maintaining Fertility with Variable Yields

January turned the page to the 2014 growing season, and with that comes crop planning.  A vital part of the crop plan is managing the fertility plan.  Approaches to fertility differ, but are primarily based on replenishing nutrients removed by the crop. Sound fertilizer management begins with regular soil tests.  These tests provide the basis…